Potomac Maryland Family Photographer - Tooth

I was so excited to do this session with this great family. I have known them for awhile through church and they are just as sweet as can be. We met on one of the hot, hot, HOT summer days, earlier this year, for a sunset session along the Potomac River.

The reason they wanted to have a session at this time was that their daughter had just lost her first tooth and they wanted to make sure they documented this occasion in photographs. I love people who look outside the normal events of every day life and choose to document them.

Thank you for letting me document this important milestone in Phoebe's life.

AND Thank you for the hand me downs clothes AND the chocolate cake you brought to the ordering session, we are enjoying all of them!

Vienna, VA Family Photographer - Beautiful Family

I met with this family last week for a family session in one of my favorite locations. It was cold but the light was beautiful and we were able to not only get some great shots of the entire family but also some of each individual child in the family. During the session mom and I were talking and she was telling me that usually they do a traditional studio picture for their holiday card and by the end she usually is sweating and yelling. As any mom knows, getting kids to sit still, look at the camera, smile and act like they like each other is no easy task. Multiply that by 5 kids and if you walk out of the studio with something that you are happy to show off to your family and friends, it is nothing short of a miracle.

I am happy to report that not only was no one sweating or yelling at the end of the session, I actually heard Dad say that it was fun. WHAT! Dad's never think this is fun, but I have to admit, this was fun session.

This entire family is gorgeous. Seriously, the ladies could all be shampoo models. I am a little jealous of their shiny, flowing locks. And the men, well, of course they are as handsome as can be!

I don't want to ruin the surprise by unveiling the family holiday picture, but here are some of the individual shots I took of the kids.

Love me some sun flare!

This was the outfit that he picked out to wear in the photos. No, this is not the final outfit but I made sure he got a picture in his favorite Clifford top.

Could this be a shampoo ad, or what?

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!

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!

Northern Virginia Family Photographer - LOVE!

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of doing a session with my Sister-in-Law and her future husband. It was Halloween morning and if you live in this area you might remember that it was an exceptionally cold day. They were good sports and we had a fun time walking around one of my favorite places taking all sorts of pictures.

Thanks for braving the cold with me Cindy and Jon. It was so great to spend the morning with you and document the excitement you have for your future life together. Welcome to the family Jon!!!

If you know my Sister-in-Law you know that she LOVES to shop.

Northern Virginia Family Photographer - Boys!

Today I had such a great time hanging out with this family. I come from a family of two girls and I have one daughter. Being with boys is something totally different, especially two young ones that are as fully of energy as these two. Don't let the angelic faces fool you. As beautiful as they are, I have many shots with tongues sticking out, funny faces, etc... Some people might think that is a bad thing. I truly believe that it is my job to capture people as they are, not how we think they should be. Part of the fun of working with children is that even though they are all different, in most ways they really are the same. Full of energy, accepting of others and beautiful no matter what stage they are in. They were being themselves and I loved it.

Thanks "C" family for a great session. Enjoy your sneak peek.

(don't worry mom, there is a full gallery of beautiful non-tongue sticking out pictures as well. :)

{Northern Virginia Photographer} Whew!

So sitting in my office today I heard something that I never really thought I would hear coming out of my husband's mouth, "Grab the baby and get out of the house!" What? Did I hear you right? So as I was running up the stairs my husband explained that the connection to the gas meter on the outside of our home had disconnected and gas was spewing out of the pipes. Well, all I could imagine was the vision of my house exploding so I did exactly what he said. I grabbed the baby and ran out of the house. On the way through the kitchen I did grab the phone and before I was even out of the garage was dialing 911.

In a situation like that what would you grab? I always thought I would grab my purse and a few random things but no, all that mattered was that three of us were safely out of the house and help was on its way. I wasn't concerned about the computer, pictures, purse, car keys, or misc. jewelry. If my house blew up at that moment the two most important things were right there with me and that is all that mattered.

All it takes is a situation that turned out fine but could have been catastrophic to put things in perspective.

After the gas was shut off and the air was clear, the fire and rescue crew from our local firestation let me go inside the house to get my camera. While we were waiting for the gas company to arrive I was able to snap some shots of them. They were good sports and I think secretly they enjoyed it a little (but I won't tell anyone).

Thank you so much guys! We appreciate you and the work you do to keep our community safe!