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ABOUT

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Hello! My name is Karen De Borja...
I am a very blessed wife to be married to my best friend whom I've known since I was just 12 years old!
I am also the very proud mother of four beautiful little girls, and four sweetest little boys..yes that's a total of 8! lol!
 Last but definitely not the least, I am also just someone who absolutely loves Jesus Christ trying my best to shine His light,
love people, and capture all the beauty He keeps showing me!
My love for photography was planted in my heart when I was just a little girl...
It always fascinated me how a vapor in time can be captured visually and preserved forever!
God's love and my family is the main inspiration for my photography...
My kids have grown so fast that i feel as their mom it's a must for me to visually document their precious moments in life...
There is so much beauty in every corner of this life, and i can hear it's call "Take A picture of me!"...
(or it's probably my kids i'm hearing!)...
i love God....
i love my family...
i love life...
and i love photography!

I hope to have the opportunity to bless you with images you can cherish forever!

Thank you & God bless,
Karen
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ABOUT KAREN'S WORK

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Karen De Borja, the photographer behind Vere & Lumen, (previously known as "Karen DB Photography")
is Hawaii's award winning premiere portrait photographer
specializing in commercial portrait photography
and customized, boutique style newborn, children, family, senior portrait, engagement and boudoir photography!
In 2023 her family left the beautiful islands of Hawaii and started to plant roots in their new home of Chula Vista, California.
In the fall of 2025, she has rebranded to her new name, "Vere & Lumen Photography,"
Vere meaning Truth and Lumen meaning Light!
With new meaning and new name, she is ready to tell
"your story, written in light"
for the San Diego, Chula Vista, and all Southern California communities!

Her work has been published in multiple local, national, and international magazines
and graced the covers of Honolulu Family Magazine from 2010-2020!
Voted as Honolulu Family Magazine's "Best Child Photographer" for 7 consecutive years, from 2013-2020!
Experience in working with hundreds of children in a single day capturing professional headshots for the coveted
"Honolulu Family Magazine Cover Kid Contest"
Projects have included work for dozens of local businesses such as
Choco Le'a Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Bank of Hawaii, Honolulu Fashion Week, Honolulu Magazine, Honolulu Family Magazine, Hawaii Business Magazine, Hawaii Home and Remodeling Magazine,
and photos seen in Marie Claire Magazine, IVI Magazine, and Walmart to name a few!
Photography mentor during Honolulu's Reach The Runway fashion mentorship program and served as a photography teacher for one year for
the middle school students at Pearl Harbor Christian Academy!
Preferred style is candid, meaningful, emotional and strives to capture raw emotion in magical moments!
Loves golden light, praise and worship music, and sounds of laughter..
oh and chocolate, lots and lots of chocolate!


 

Some notable commercial work include:​

Honolulu Family Magazine cover photos from 2010-2020

Feature in Central Pacific Bank Magazine

Bank of Hawaii print ad in Honolulu Magazine

Multiple fashion features in Honolulu Magazine

Cover for Hawaii Business Magazine

Editorial Features in Hawaii Home and Remodeling Magazine

Cover for Honolulu Fashion Week Book

Kahala Mall Magazine Covers and Marketing Materials

Pearlridge Shopping Center Wall Barricades, Marketing Materials and Website

Feature in Walmart.com

Feature in Marie Claire Magazine

Cover for International Vape Illustrated Magazine

Marketing Campaign for Le Jardin Academy

Headshots for WATG Hawaii team, an international luxury architectural firm

The Recorder Magazine Cover for Pacific Union Conference

Providence Rhode Island College Magazine

Kamehameha Publishing Science Text Book "Pāhana ʻĀina Lupalupa"

Marketing Campaign for Ka Makana Ali'i Mall Shopping Center

Salvation Army Hawaii Army of Hope Gala program

Marketing Campaign for Inkinen & Associates

Marketing images and book cover image for Choco'Lea

Marketing Campaign for Inkinen & Associates

Nationwide Marketing Campaign for L&L Hawaiian BBQ

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AWARD WINNING CHILD & FAMILY PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER

All content including images and text COPYRIGHT © 2008-2025 Vere and Lumen Photography ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

RECOGNITIONS

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   ~As
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TESTIMONIALS

“Just wanted to tell you that I Love the pictures. Some of them literally made me cry.! ”

~Libby Ryan-Kern

 

“We really love them all. so hard to choose! you did such an awesome job karen! I'm not surprised that the director of the agency called. like i said, you struck a chord in our hearts and i still tear when i look at the pics. Thank you again for capturing Ryder's spirit. We will recommend you to everyone we know looking for an epic photographer!!“  ~Lisa Goto

 

more...

 

"Karen has taken our family holiday photos twice now, and both experiences have been great. Once was in her studio a few years ago and this year at the Helemano Christmas Tree Farm. She's wonderful with our son and is able to get natural candid photos of our family, which we love. She was responsive to the questions that I had and flexible in scheduling the appointment so that we could take our photos at the Christmas Tree farm. She also provided multiple options for the photo packages so we could find the best one to fit our needs and our budget. We took our photos in November and were able to view our proofs and make our final image selections the 1st week of December. We'll definitely be taking our family holiday photos with Karen again."

Jay P. - Kapolei, HI 

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"FANTASTIC EXPERIENCE! We had a great experience using Karen for my daughter's senior pictures. First of all, her work is unbelievable. The pictures turned out beautiful and Karen connects really well with teens. We found her to be highly engaging and very honest. Not only did we have a ton of great shots to choose from, she made sure my daughter had a GREAT experience in the process. I would highly recommend her!"

Rhonda L. - Rochester, MI

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"Always a pleasure having Karen do our family sessions!!!

Karen has been taking pictures of my family for over 5 years. Every session is relaxed and fun. She knows how to get toddlers to laugh and have a good time when they really don't want to. She is very responsive with setting up a session, providing final photos

and placing an order. We will definitely be using her again as my son gets older."

Othelia A. - Mililani, HI

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"Our session was scheduled during hurricane lane but she worked with us to get it rescheduled before our vacation ended. Our daughter is 21 months and can be a fussy pants. As parents, we struggle to even get her to look at the camera but she was able to get her to laugh and smile! You can tell she works well with children and I love the outcome of the shots. My husband doesn't like his photos taken but after then shoot, he was content with how the session went. She was very quick to email me the edited photos, which was very much appreciated. Overall, I highly recommend Karen for your photography needs, especially if it's a family photo shoot."

Monie L - Wichita, KS

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"What a wonderful photographer and wonderful experience!  Karen was a joy to work with and captured such precious pictures! Mahalo nui loa!!"

Jasmine K. - Honolulu, HI

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"Karen is the BEST!! She took our son's pics when he was four and we absolutely LOVED how she was able to capture his spirit and personality. She made an immediate connection with him which made the photo session so comfortable. Fast forward six years later, she still has the same magic with my son! His session was so quick because they had so much fun together! And like six years ago, she was able to capture his spirit and personality. We couldn't be happier with the photos Karen took of our son and would highly recommend her. Karen is very genuine, and I believe the reason why she is able to take such beautiful and memorable photos is because children feel her caring and gentle spirit and trust her."

Lisa G. - Honolulu, HI

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"Karen is the best! I searched online for photographers to take photos for my families before the trip in Hawaii. She was recommended by a local photographer and I think she is the one I am looking for! Karen is very warm and the website is well designed. On the photo day, it was cloudy and windy, and I was so worried about the little ones. Karen had the magic to make everyone feel very relaxed and exciting (including my 1-year-old boy). I really love every moment she captured for us. I will definitely recommend her to my friends and look forward to having her for our family photos next time. :)"

Jie Z. - Sunnyvale, CA

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"Karen is the absolute best!  She was so amazing with our 4 week old daughter and was able to get all of the poses that were on my wish list.  We received our online gallery in about 2 weeks and the  finished photos were beautiful.  We had such a hard time narrowing down our favorites  We will most definitely work with Karen for future family photos!"

Jill M. - Honolulu, HI

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"I wish I could give Karen more than these 5 stars because she is absolutely amazing!!! She captures everything you want in a photo and more! Her skills are impeccable and she captures the moments that you will want remembered for a lifetime. Not only is she the best at what she does but she is truly a heartfelt sweet and genuine person that makes it even more of a blessing
We have so much appreciation for her and are so grateful that she has touched our lives!"

Kim P. - Honolulu HI

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"Wanted to have our first family photo, but was worried about my extremely hyper toddler. Karen was amazing! She had our son cracking up and the photos were absolutely beautiful! I couldn't have asked for a better photographer! Thank you Karen DB photography for giving us such wonderful memories to cherish."

Wendy B. - Honolulu, HI

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"Karen is a beautiful photographer inside and out. It takes some serious leg work to follow an active toddler around and still catch the most beautiful shots a mother could ask for. Thank you so much Karen, it's been an honor and a treat to work with you."

Talyn G. - Honolulu, HI

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"Karen is so AWESOME! She is not only an amazing photographer but a great person as well. Her and her makeup artist Meileen are so welcoming and makes your feel very comfortable being photographed. It felt more like hanging out with girlfriends rather than just a photo shoot. She is also quick to send out your photos. I will definitely be booking more shoots in the future with her!"

Ke'ala R. - Kapolei, HI

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"Karen is absolutely incredible.  On a whim, I signed up for one of her boudoir photo sessions, and it was an experience I will never forget. She is so warm, friendly, and instantly made me feel relaxed, which is not easy as I am not comfortable in front of a camera (and don't normally wear make-up or dress up). I arrived feeling so insecure about my hair, skin, weight, and age (middle aged mom of two!).  Thankfully, her hair and make-up assistant, Coco, is a genius with make-up brushes and curling iron!  What I really loved about the session is that Karen has the eye of an artist and truly appreciates the female figure.  When I saw her first test photos, I honestly could not believe it was me.  I felt like crying.  The light, the dreamy quality of her composition...they are beyond anything I could have hoped for.  I have never felt this beautiful, and these photos are a gift to myself that I will cherish forever."

Jana I. - Wailuku, HI

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"I used Karen for our family photos this year. She was able to get my three girls to smile and there were so many great shots I had a hard time deciding which photos to purchase. She did a awesome job capturing my girls while at the same time the beautiful background scenery. In one of the photos she captured the mountain, sea, and land during golden hour! She is a true artist at her work. I ended up using them for our Christmas cards and blown up on canvas prints. 
Karen is a person that is so easy to work with. She helped me pick a location for the shoot and was willing to drive all the way to Makapuu. She is friendly and personable which made the photo session so fun and easy. I would recommend her to anyone that wants a good family or child photographer."

Zhan S. - Honolulu, HI

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"Karen was very accommodating.  We made our photoshoot request in a very short amount of time.  We were able to have a shoot that worked out very well with our short vacation schedule.  She was very easy to work with and was very good with our daughter.  Our daughter even took to her daughter, when it was time for our solo's, like family.  We'd definitely recommend her and could see ourselves using her in future trips to Oahu.  From a technical standpoint, she knew the optimum time, location, and background combination that yielded the best exposure for our photo's.  As an added bonus, our daughter and her youngest son share the same birthday.  She made us feel very much like family."

Virgil T. - San Francisco, CA

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"Karen is super talented and has all of the qualities you want in a photographer that works with children. She is patient, kind and knows how to make everyone feel comfortable. We were on vacation, and she took photos of my 1 1/2 year old son, two 4 year olds, my grown niece and my mom. The photos that I previewed look gorgeous, and I had a really difficult time selecting which images to purchase. She was able to catch a couple of awesome group photos with everyone smiling and laughing AND looking into the camera.  Thank you Karen for giving us wonderful keepsakes that we will always be able to look back upon! I can't wait to see the prints!!!"

Natasha J. - San Francisco, CA

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"We can't say enough wonderful things about Karen.  If I needed to focus on one truly special aspect of her work, it's her unbelievable connection with children.  She is able to take otherwise shy kids and make them shine in front of the camera.  She has such a wonderful and positive personality that kids just immediately open up and act like themselves.   The hidden sides of their personalities that make your kids unique truly come out in her photographs.  She is such a pleasure to work with and if I could give her more than five stars, I would!"

David A. - San Francisco, CA

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Vere and Lumen Photography | Vere and Lumen San Diego photographer | San Diego child photographer | San Diego newborn photographer | San Diego senior portrait photographer | San Diego Photography | San Diego child photography | San Diego newborn photography | San Diego senior portrait photography | Karen DB Photography | San Diego Best Child Photographer

 

Hawaii photographer | Hawaii child photographer | Hawaii newborn photographer | Hawaii senior portrait photographer | Hawaii Photography | Hawaii child photography | hawaii newborn photography | hawaii senior portrait photography | Karen DB Photography | Hawaii Best Child Photographer

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