Northern Virginia Family Photographer - Hawt Momma!

This morning I was scheduled to meet with this great couple at 9:00 for their maternity session. Imagine my surprise when I looked at the thermometer and it read 31 degrees. I don't know about you, but this California girl was sooooo not interested in going outside in 31 degree weather for any period of time, let alone, for over an hour for a session. So I called my clients and we agreed to postpone our session for an hour so it could warm up a bit outside. Thankfully it did warm up quite a bit (not enough for dad though) and we had a great time and got some great shots.

I brought this book along as a little something to do for dad as he waited for me to work with mom. It is a great book for future dads. It is a super quick read. Dad liked it so much he asked if he could keep it so he could finish it. Of course I said yes. If you want to pick it up you can do so here. This is a must for all new and future dad's. Mom's you won't regret getting him a book on child birth that he will actually read.

After spending some time outside we went inside and did a few things that are a bit different in style for me. Mom was such a good sport and let me try anything. I especially liked the way this one turned out.

Thank you so much for a fun morning! I can't wait to meet your precious little girl in December so we can have her first photo session. Enjoy your sneak peek!

Northern Virginia Child Photographer - Secrets

Living here in Washington D.C. if you believe what you see in the movies, you would think that everyone here is involved in some sort of secret agency working undercover in dangerous jobs that protect our freedoms and that we are all keeping secrets from everyone and living double lives. Well, I'm not to sure that is true but I am becoming very good at keeping the secrets of my clients and am honored that they trust me enough to do so.

I have had a session with an FBI agent that couldn't be blogged in order to protect him and his family. It was great too, I wish I could have shown it to you. :) We held it downtown with the Washington and Lincoln Monuments in the background. I had an engagement session where the couple didn't want to be blogged because they hadn't announced their engagement yet. They want to use the pictures we took on their engagement announcement and didn't want the news to leak out. I have also had sessions with a couple of moms who didn't want the name of their future little one leaked out but wanted the name featured in some of the pictures we took to share at a later date. So I had to walk around knowing the name of their little one for weeks, I almost burst!

In any case, in the next few days I have four sessions scheduled for Holiday Cards and again, I know I will have to keep some secrets. After all, who wants the best family picture of the year leaked out over the internet before it arrives in the mail? I will blog these sessions but I won't show any pictures that are close to the final product. Those will be shown after the holidays and after all the cards have been sent out, ooh'ed and aaahh'ed over, and the decorations have been put away.

It is truly an honor to hold these secrets close. Thank you to my clients for allowing me to capture such intimate portions of their lives.

No post is complete without a picture, right? Here is my little one today in the leaves with the one thing that made her sit still for longer than a half a second.

And as promised:
Her vest is by Carter's
shirt by Gymboree
Jeans are by Children's Place
Boots are from (dare I say) Wal-Mart

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 Family Photographer - Awesome Winners!

I am so happy to announce that Anna, Dan and their precious daughter are the recipients of a free photo session and more prints than they will know what to do with as winners the of my "Giving Is Awesome" campaign.

Many thanks to Allison for submitting their names and telling me their story. As the nominator, Allison also won a free session and discounts on prints.

I received some great nominations and want to thank everyone who took the time to send in the stories of their friends and loved ones. It was a hard decision that is for sure!

Can't wait for our sessions in the near future.

Northern Virginia Child Photographer - Two!

I can't believe that two years ago today our lives changed forever when a cute little bundle of joy arrived. What an absolute blessing it has been to watch her grow, change, learn and develop into one of the greatest little girls I know. (If I do say so myself :) She is funny, happy, bouncy, and loving. Words can hardly express how much her daddy and I love her and we are looking forward to watching her grow.

Happy Birthday sweet little girl! Mommy loves you soooooooooo much!

And one from a little session we did about a month ago that I never shared. One of my favorite pictures of her to date.

I often get asked where I get certain items that are seen in my photographs. From now on I will try and reference the vendors that have items in my pictures.

Tutu by Gymboree
Birthday shirt by Carters
Bow by Unbowlievable
White Dress by Old Navy

Northern Virginia Child Photographer - Update

Ok, so I know this isn't going to be the update that most of you will really be interested in but I wanted to show it off again. The HUGE wasp nest that is near our house is still intact and has even grown a bit larger. I have taken some pic's to show it's progress but today I had a little bit of fun. Thankfully the wasps were well behaved as they have been every other time I am out there standing right under it. I am sure the neighbors think I am crazy but it won't be the first or last time that happens. I still think this is an amazing creation and will be sorry to see it eventually fall or be torn apart. It looks like the side is starting to come apart a little bit so it is probably just a matter of time.

The sun was in just the right spot for me to get some incredible flare. Usually photographers don't want too much of this in their photos. I happen to think it looks pretty cool in these.

These shots are pretty much straight out of the camera with very little post processing done to them. You can create this effect in Photoshop but that is not the case here.

Northern Virginia Child Photographer -- Talent

Every person has a talent. Something that they excel at. I have many talented friends but today let me tell you about my good friend Christi. Christi and I are friends through the wonderful invention of the internet. She lives in Oklahoma and I am in Virginia. We "chat" almost daily through Facebook and if we lived closer to each other we would probably get in trouble for shopping too much, laughing too loud and would love every single minute of it. Christi is talented. She makes these AMAZING handmade children's clothes and quilts. Christi suggested to me a few months ago that in exchange for a camera lens that I had, she would make me a 1st year quilt. Leave it to a mom to be creative in getting what she wants. :) Well long story short, the UPS man dropped of a box this past Friday of the most beautiful quilt I have ever seen. It is covered with clothes that my little one wore during her first year. Included on it is a hair bow, socks, her first Easter outfit, 3 and 6 month picture outfits, her first pair of jeans, my favorite onesies that she wore, all put together in a gorgeous creation. Words cannot express how much I love this quilt. I cried when I opened the box. Only a true friend could create something like this that will be treasured for a lifetime and only take a simple camera lens in exchange for it.

If you would like to see about getting one of these for your little one, look Christi up at www.thesassyruffle.com. You will not be disappointed.