Vienna Family Photographer - Three!

Two weeks ago I had a last minute cancellation which resulted in an open slot in my schedule for a session. I was so happy when I was able to book this family and take advantage of a beautiful afternoon. We could not have asked for more beautiful weather and our little subject was in a very playful, fun mood. A perfect combination to create some wonderful family portraits!

Want to arrange for a session? I would love to hear from you. I still have some availability in June and July.

Fairfax Virginia Family Photographer - Faces!

This week the topic for my Project 52 was "muse". Well I only had to think for about 2 seconds to come up with the the subject of my photograph. My daughter inspires me every day to be a better artist, mom, wife and person.

We took these pictures today after school while sitting in our living room talking about life in general. I knew that picking one picture would be impossible as she is the master of expressions and loves to be overly dramatic when she is telling a story.

Love you sweet girl!

The real reason she sat in one place for longer than 20 seconds.

Even her toes are expressive.

Northern Virginia Newborn Photographer - Sleepy!

My first session of 2011 was with this sweet little one. She made is so simple by just sleeping the time away. I would move her around, change her hat or flower, roll her around and she really didn't act like it bothered her at all. It made my job so very easy.

Thanks for letting me hang out with you for the day. It was great meeting the whole family.

How fun is this ruffle blanket? I couldn't wait to use it.

Oh to have this gorgeous skin again!

I love these ruffle bloomers and matching socks!

Big brother was so great at holding her.

A dreamy little shot as I looked at her through her crib rails.

If she gets 20 comments on this post, I will give her mom and dad a really great gift from her session. But play fair, only one comment per person please!

Northern Virginia Photographer - Number One

Every year we photographers are prompted to start what is known in our business "The 365". That means we gather up our camera and take at least one picture a day and post it either on flickr, facebook or other source so others can see. I am sure that all of the people who start this project have very sincere thoughts of finishing it, but I know for a fact that I NEVER would be able to keep up. In fact, I do not know of one person finished it last year.

This year I think we all got a little more realistic and a new challenge was put out there by many mentors and vendors in the field. Enter "Project 52". The new and modified "Project 52" is something that I think I could actually follow through on. The one I joined is going to give a particular theme each week that we have to try and incorporate into our picture we submit. We don't win any money, it is just a change to stretch our creativity and be inspired by others interpretation of the same theme.

This week the theme is "something around the house". As you can probably tell, that is a very broad theme. It could be anything from a Tylenol bottle to a child sleeping, and everything in between. As I was contemplating what I wanted to photograph for the project I had an itch to get my macro lens out and put it to work. Poor little thing has been sitting in my camera bag for almost 3 months just waiting to be put to good use.

So here is it. I'm putting it out there for the world to see and keep me accountable. This is today's "Friday 52" Number 1.

And a few others I took at the same time just to make it more interesting.

Vienna, VA Family Photographer - Fall!

Two weeks ago I met with this great family to take some pictures of their sweet little girl. You might remember them from their maternity session a few months ago. At our session we also took some new photographs of her big brother and the entire family. We took advantage of the last few fall colors on the ground around my home. I don't think I have taken that many pictures in a session for a long time. It has been so hard narrowing it down.

Thanks for coming over to my house for the session. It is always great to see you and I loved snuggling with Little "A" when we were all done. Nothing like a baby who falls asleep in your arms. Love it!

Anyone who knows me knows that I love those baby toes!

I love this shot. Just happy momma and her adorable baby.

You can see more pictures from this session on my Facebook Page Here: Dorie Howell Photography on Facebook

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?

DC Metro Family Photographer - A Navy Man

I love the other photographers who work along side me in the Northern Virginia Area. There is quiet a tight network here and it is great to be able to help each other out once in awhile. A few weeks ago fellow photographer, Stephanie Johnson of Babysnap photography sent out an e-mail asking if anyone was able to take a session that involved a VERY tight time schedule and a family that wanted to be photographed downtown at the monuments. Luckily for me, I was able to fit them into my schedule at the last minute and we had a great time.

Thank you for meeting me downtown and letting me photograph you in and around some of our nation's most beautiful architecture.

Congratulations on that beautiful little boy and best of luck with your move. Thank you for your service to our country, we are lucky to have families like you working in our armed forces.

Look at that cute little nose!

There was a gentleman that sort of followed us from place to place that afternoon and was very taken with our cute little model. When we were at this location he actually stepped in and asked to take a picture of "my" family. Also, a woman who saw me taking pictures intentionally stepped in front of me as I was trying to get this shot in front of the Vietnam Memorial. Not all of the interesting characters are found in political office around here.

Now our little model let us know many times that he was not impressed. He was such a trooper and hardly fussed but I bet I have 30 pictures of him yawning

Go Navy!

Washington DC Newborn Photographer - Squeezable!

How squeezable is this little one? Seriously, don't you just want to squeeze her right up? I met her, her great parents and doting grandmother last weekend and we had a long session together. She was pretty determined to stay awake and see what all the fuss was about but we finally wore her down so we could get some great sleepy shots.

Thank you for spending the afternoon with me. Congratulations, she is just precious!

Centreville Family Photographer - Big Sister!

I have had the pleasure of photographing this little one twice now and let me tell you what a difference a year makes! Last time we met down on Capital Hill and had a fun time but those smiles were few and far between. Now this year, I think we hit a record for smiles and laughter. We had so much fun!

I also got to photograph her mommy to help make the announcement that "L" is going to be a big sister. How exciting!

I saved this post in honor of the fact that her birthday is today and she is turning three years old! Happy birthday "L"! I hope we get to see you again soon!

Northern Virginia Child Photographer - Three!

I can hardly believe that three years ago today, a little person came into our lives that would change it forever. Nothing has allowed me to be as fulfilled as becoming a mother to a terrific, fun, spunky, smart, beautiful, little girl. She fills my days with laughter and challenges me in ways that I didn't think were possible.

What a great, fun ride this has been and I can't wait to be your mommy for many years to come. I love you sooooooooooooo much little one! Happy Birthday!

Here she is, perfect and less than 12 hours old.

And now, just as perfect almost three years later.

Northern Virginia Child Photographer - Cheeks!

Don't you just want to kiss these cheeks. Here are a few more from my session last weekend with this sweetheart.

Vienna Photographer - Directions

Can someone please give me directions to the pot o' gold office? Obviously the pot should have been left outside my kitchen window at the end of the rainbow. Someone must have gotten a little lost. I don't mind going to pick it up at all. :)

Fairfax Virginia Family Photographer - Back to School!

I am sure when you saw the title of this blog that you expected cute little pictures of my little one in her first day of school outfit ready to hit the books. Sadly, no, that will be next week. :) This post is about me. See to some of you I am a photographer of little people. To many others though who knew me before I picked up a camera, I am a singer.

I started singing at a very young age and have always been involved in some sort of production in one way or another for years. Before I had my daughter I was in school full time pursuing that elusive performance degree that I never bothered to get when I was younger. I really loved being in school the energy was great and being constantly pushed out of my comfort zone was something that I became used to. There is nothing like the pressure of being given a song in a language that you have never sung before and told that you will be singing it in front of your peers and instructors for a grade in a weeks time. As a singer, I put my emotions and talent out on the table every I sang. Talk about nerve wracking.

So when I got pregnant that goal was put on hold until my daughter started school of her own and I had time to get back to classes. Well, in the meantime I started this photography thing that has kept me more than busy. But it is time to get back to classes so I can finish what I started. SO does that mean I am giving up photography, NOT A CHANCE! But I will have one more ball to juggle in the air for the next year or so. I'm looking forward to the challenge, more sleepless nights and doing something for myself.

I go to George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. Here is George welcoming all who come to study there. Usually he is decorated in some fashion but today he was standing alone.

While I was on my leave a beautiful new wing of the performing arts department was built.

And here is me on my first day of school this semester. (No, not the angry looking soprano with her mouth gaping open, although I probably do look like that most of the time when I am in my lessons.)

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!