22182 Vienna Family Photographer - Canvas

Does this sound familiar? I have a ton of great pictures of my daughter and they are just sitting on my hard drive. I have the best of intentions to do something, anything with them so they can be displayed for others to see. I have made a promise to myself that over the next few months I will start having my photos printed and displayed in my home so I can enjoy them at any time and not just when I am not sitting at my computer.

This canvas is the first of a series I hope to purchase by the end of the year. I have also vowed that I will upgrade the size of my photos for the walls of my home. I look around at my 8x10's and 5x7's and realized that if I was sitting across the room, I couldn't see them like I wanted to. This canvas is 22x26 and I LOVE it! It is one of my favorite pictures of my daughter and now I get to see it several times a day as I walk down our main hallway.

The corners on these are just done so well.

I love this texture. So rich looking.

I especially love that I don't have to worry about framing it. It came out of the box and I hung it on the wall. It took a total of 5 seconds. I didn't have to travel around looking for exactly the right frame. So easy!

Vienna, VA Family Photographer - Sigh!

All the signs are out there. Summer is coming to an end. We have hit some cooler days around here (I hope they stay but I am sure we have a few more scorchers to come) and all the talk in the circle of moms is of school, activities and Halloween costumes.

I LOVE being a stay at home mom. I can't imagine not being home to see all the little ways my daughter changes and grows on a day to day basis. Lately I can see how quickly those changes are coming and I know that when she starts school in two weeks, that she will grow even more quickly in this new stimulating environment. She will do great, I on the other hand, might shed a tear or two.

This week she has done some things that just make me smile and want to hold onto this time before it slips away. She is potty trained, sleeps in a big girl bed without rails and has only fallen out once, knows all her letters and can spell very simple words, and remembers to say her prayers before dinner and before she goes to bed. The only real remainder of babyhood is her precious "lil blanky.

She cannot go in the bathroom without brushing her teeth because they are "germy". She hates to wear her clothes (a direct result of potty training I am sure) and in the mall this week she took off her shirt 8 times and the shoes were off before we got into our first store. And her obsession with lipstick has expanded to 'scara and eyeshadow.

It is always an adventure and I love it! Thanks for making my life complete little one.

Here are some pictures from today. Not sure why she decided today was the day to paint her face with whatever she could find, but it is. I need to do a better job and putting up my mascara and hide the highlighters.

Vienna, VA child photographer - My Own

Any person will tell you that photographing your own child is hard. My child is no exception. Tonight was gorgeous so we went down to the Town Green and took a few pictures. She sure is cute, even if I do say so myself! :) I can't believe my little girl is almost three, where does the time go?

I love you sweet girl!

Fairfax Family Photographer - Nice Camera

I think this post is sort of a right of passage for me. Most photographers will post something like this on their blog every so often just to get something off of their chest. It isn't bad, but more of an informative post for anyone with a camera or wanting to hire someone with a nice fancy camera.

I knew I was getting fairly good with my camera when all of a sudden I started getting e-mails, facebook posts, and comments from friends saying, "wow, those are great pictures, what kind of camera do you have?" I am always happy to tell people that I shoot with a Canon 5d Markii but started with a Canon Xsi. I am a Canon girl, always have been and don't see myself changing over to Nikon anytime soon. Don't know why I picked Canon other than the fact that I had very good luck with all of my Canon cameras in the past and most of the photographers whose work I really admire also used Canon Cameras.

So back to the comments... As time went on those comments started to get under my skin just a teeny, tiny bit. Not because I don't like people asking me about my equipment, I LOVE talking shop. But because I wondered would they walk up to Josh Groban and ask him what kind of microphone he uses or to Picasso and ask what kind of paint brush he used? Probably not.

They way I look at it is that my camera is the tool that I use to produce the photographs that I want. Putting it on the auto function and shooting is not an option for me. I use the manual function all the time, no exceptions. That means I tell the camera what aperture, shutter speed and ISO to use on every single shot. I have spend over two years learning how all these things work together to produce the very best that I can from my camera and only hope to improve in the future.

I believe pictures probably explain this best.

This picture is of my favorite college student who agreed to come over and sit in a chair for a few minutes the other day. I took this all on the auto function letting the camera choose the settings for me.

Hmmm, a little dark and for some reason she looks a little green, although I assure you, she is not green. I thought maybe I should pop on my flash to see if it did a better job.

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EEEEK! I don't think that worked either. Too bright. See those bright white spots on her nose, chin and lips? I think we can do better.

So I turned her slightly and took off the flash. Then I adjusted all my settings manually and took this picture. I then loaded it into photoshop and after 30 seconds of editing, I got this. Much better!

All of these were shot in the same room, within 10 minutes of each other, using my Canon 5d Markii and a 70-200 2.8L II lens.

Thanks for being my model for this McCaul. Good luck in school this semester!

Vienna Photography -Newsletter update

Hi gang! The next newsletter will be going out in about two or three weeks. It will include all you want to know about booking your fabulous holiday portraits AND also how you can nominate someone for my "Giving is Awesome" campaign. This year the theme is going to be service.

Please sign up by clicking this link so you don't miss it!

Dorie Howell Photography Newsletter

Fairfax Family Photographer - Winners!

So in my last post I offered up a challenge to those who wanted to take a stab at finding out what type of flower was shown in the post. I had three daring ladies submit entries and all of them guessed correctly of the family of flower. They all weren't right about the exact type but I am going to go ahead and give all three of them a coupon to get an 8x10 of their choosing from my macro gallery.

I believe that Judi had it exactly correct by guessing it was an "Anna Louise" Clamatis.

Thanks Ladies!

Congratulations to Robyn, Joanna and Judi! Look in your inbox in the next couple days for how to order your photo!

Thanks for playing!

Vienna VA photographer - Macro

I am taking a break from gorgeous faces today feature some of my macro and nature work. You may not know this but all of these pictures, plus some, are available for sale. I love the fact that my art is hanging on the walls of people's homes. Hanging a beautiful picture of a child is special and allows a moment to be frozen in time. But let's face it, flower pictures are really a dime a dozen and when someone purchases mine, I know it is because they really, really love it and want to see it on a daily basis.

Here are a few of the pictures that I took on our recent trip to Portland. Portland is known as the City of Roses. Did you know that? Many think Pasadena, California is because of the World Famous Rose Parade and Rose Bowl game that happens every New Year's Day. But no, the official City of Roses is Portland, OR. They have the rose gardens to prove it too. While we were there we went to the Rose Gardens located in Washington Park. Washington Park is also home to The Portland Zoo and The World Forestry Center. If you visit Portland, go at the end of May to experience the Rose Festival and all it has to offer.

It would figure though, that my favorite pictures that I took that day were not of roses at all. I found some rhododendrons that were all in bloom, like walls of purple and red. And then one other flower that I never did find out the name of but was growing like a vine on a lamp post in the parking lot. See, in the famous words of Madonna, beauty's where you find it. :) So if you are the first person to let me know the name of the flower featured in the first picture and provide a reliable source for verification, I'll send you a free 8x10 of it. To see more versions of the photo to help you out a little bit visit the online gallery.

To see more of my macro and nature photos, please visit my online gallery HERE.

Do you know what this is?

Also, I you have a color scheme or design theme in mind that you would like me to photograph I would be happy to entertain custom work on a case by case basis. Please e-mail inquiries to dorie at doriehowell dot com

Reston Family Photographer - One!

I had the pleasure of meeting this little guy with his mom and dad last week at one of my favorite places to walk with my family. We walk this trail often after dinner looking at the boats, the ducks, and anything else that comes along. It might have seemed like an odd place for a session but it worked out perfectly.

This little one was so smiley and happy that he just made my job so easy. Happy First Birthday and thanks for letting me help you celebrate it!

Vienna VA family photographer - Precious!

This was such a fun session for me. I love doing siblings. I get a chance to get to know them individually then see how they interact with each other. These two could not have been better models. I don't even think I heard the little one make a peep the whole time I was there.

An added bonus of this session was the yard where we did the session. It was like a secret garden. Every where I turned there where flowers, beautiful light, and greenery. It was just the perfect location for such a sweet session.

Thanks for a wonderful morning. I'm looking forward to seeing you all again soon!

Fairfax Family Photographer - Sisters!

So here is blog #2 in the blog-o-polooza of this week!

About a month ago I had a fun session with this great family. They met me on a HOT afternoon in one of my favorite locations. Thanks for a great session "M" family. I can't wait to do it again soon.

I love this first picture. They may not all be looking at the camera and smiling perfectly but it captures a real moment between these three girls that I hope they treasure.

Vienna Photography - A Challenge

OK, I fully admit that I have been a bad, bad blogger. I have been having sessions behind my reader's back and have not shown them to you. Not because I don't want to. My hard drive is full of wonderful images of beautiful babies and children. I just have chosen to get my clients their images sooner and by not spending the time posting on my blog, I am able to do that. But I promise to be better about updating you on my sessions. So my challenge to myself this week is to put up a new blog entry every day for 7 days. These posts will feature sessions that I have had over the past few weeks and just haven't had time to feature them here.

To start out the week of the blog, I am showing a few pictures the I took today on our family trip to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. I loved the Jellyfish exhibit and could have stayed there all day long. And, of course, one picture of my little one. I have not taken any proper pictures of her in months and that needs to change as well. I am sure that will make the grandparents happy. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and check back every day this week for more new posts.