Families ::The “W” Family::

Two are better than one. That is the motto of this family. The “W” family is the kind of family you just WANT to be friends with. These 4 year old twin girlies, Madeline and Mackenzie, are the type of girls you WANT your kids to be friends with. They are smiley, they are sassy, they are sweet, and they don’t mind getting just a little bit dirty…even in sparkly blue bow flats . Once the shyness wore off after about 5 minutes, their true personalities beamed through. Couldn’t get enough.

They wanted to climb on trees, play in the water, play in the dirt, fling sticks, dig up flowers. They just wanted to have FUN! I can get down with that. Mom and dad and twin-lettes made my saturday afternoon just a bit brighter in beautiful Great Falls Park.

It’s Friday, that means the weekend is just around the corner. Start yours off having some fun getting to meet the “W” family.

Sneaky Peaky ::The “W” Family::

Oh hello, ya’ll thought I left the planet, never to be heard of again? Nope, you’re not that lucky , but things have been capital B.U.S.Y around here with new pup, new house, new city, and tying up those last minute pesky items that stand between me and graduation. BUT, I did find some time to spend a few hours with a sweet little family with two sweet little twins with double the sass and double the fun .

Families ::The “R” Family::

I met the “R” family a week or so ago in downtown Leesburg. The weather report said it would be 72 and sunny, it was more like 50 and cloudy, but we managed!

They are a sweet family of 3, 2 girls, 1 boy. We walked up and down the streets of old town looking for fun spots and me avoiding getting hit by cars as I stood out in the street, clearly, this was successful .

As i am now no longer an old town Alexandria resident, I’ll have to spend more time looking into great hide aways in old town leesburg to have fun with. The possibilities seem endless . Ivy walls, cobblestone streets, big old houses, I like it all!

Here are just a few favorites from our morning session:

My new second shooter.

It’s been a busy busy weekend over here! Between moving and getting settled into our new place, we finally got to meet and bring home our new little pupster! I apologize in advanced for the excessive amount of photos I will be taking of her, I just can’t help it.

Meet Gracie, my new second shooter! She gives good side eye

 

Maternity ::Parisa::

Parisa and I met a few years ago when we started working on the same project. At the time, she was in charge of making sure our project was on track, on schedule, and not a complete mess.  Sounds like pretty perfect training to be one great mommy! Parisa is about to be a new mum to a brand new little boy at the end of May. She is just oozing with pregnancy glow and delight. Mom and dad can not WAIT to meet you little man .

Take a look at some of my favorites from our afternoon session!

First Look ::The “R” Family::

Sunday morning in Downtown Leesburg with the “R” family.

My Story.

One of the first things I get asked when meeting a new client is, “have you always been a photographer?”

My instinct is to say no, I have not. But, the more I thought about it…and started thinking back a bit, I kinda have. Professionally? no, not in the least. But, I have always found myself behind the camera. But it wasn’t until I got my hands on a “semi-decent” not just a point and click camera that I started to dig a little deeper into the art of photography.

When I was younger, it was the age of the disposable. And I went through ALOT. I used to ride my bike down to the local CVS with packs of film and disposables and spend most of my pay check on getting them developed. In high school, I took 4 years of photography, both film and digital. It was my first introduction to a dark room, to developing my own film, to creating my own projects, to working my hands in those dark black bags where you had to feed the film through the reel blindly…THAT WAS HARD!! We took yearly trips to harpers ferry to change up our subject matter, this…was always…the greatest day…in history. A full day out of classes where my entire day was focused on taking pictures? sign me up. My senior year, I had my first introduction to photoshop, the ghetto, school version. It was awesome. My parents still have a number of my early day photo projects strung around their house, they just recently dug up one I had done of a gradient of my old dog Dillon. Looking back on it, I know why I got a B+, my blacks were not very profound .

In college, I went through dozens…DOZENS of new cameras because I took a camera with me so many places…and I always inevitably dropped it, broke it, destroyed it, and ruined it, sorry mom and dad .

When my dad would take me to maryland games, I would CLIMB onTOP of his big red van, sit there, and snap pictures for hours on end. Mostly of people, trees, and the marching band. I’m sure these are all awful in quality and dimension, but I count this as a stepping stone for me growing into my love of the art of capturing life.

The amount of photos I have of my childhood pets growing up…is wrong…just wrong. Did I really need to snap 100 pictures of my dog sleeping..in the same position…for hours? Apparently, I thought I did.

But, this doesn’t really answer the question of if I have ALWAYS been a photographer. This leaves too many years unanswered. I do remember getting one of those fisher price cameras as a tot, but the first camera I really remember ever having was a long, skinny, pink camera with a long rectangular flash that you put in and took out. As soon as I got this little bad boy…game on. I no longer felt the need to be IN pictures…my camera was too good for me to be IN them. I wanted to take them…because thats what my mom did…and I wanted to be just like her. Proof of this, lies below…you are welcome.

Take a look at a maybe 7 year old version of myself.

Look at that camera….qu-al-it-y.

I can’t say that yes, I have always been a photographer, but I have always loved it, was curious about it, tried it, dabbled in it, and felt more comfortable behind the camera than in front. And today? I’m having fun, and I’m sure a little part of each of those moments still lies in my photography today.

Engagement ::Lena and Dre::

I used to work on the same project as Lena. We sat across from each other and she unfortunately had to stare at me all day. However, she also was privy to my constant rolling of the eyes and facial expressions over daily frustrations. She is the sweetest little thing from South Carolina with a contagious belly laugh. If you are going to have someone sit next to you in a crowded cube city, Lena is your girl.

Whenever we could, Lena and I would talk about what her future wedding would be like to her boyfriend (at the time) Dre. Would it be big? small? What would her ring look like? What colors did she like? When did we think the proposal would happen? You name it. We chatted about it. Sadly, I no longer work with Lena on that project, so I don’t get to see her everyday, but I was still THRILLED to hear that her and Dre were going to be getting married! And I was just as excited to talk about her ACTUAL wedding plans as before (I’m lying I’m even more excited)!

Lena and Dre are the perfect match. I mean it. No, seriously…Honest. They compliment each other in every way. She glows when he’s around and Dre may think he’s shy about his adoration for her…but he’s not. I can tell

Lena and Dre are planning a destination wedding for December, but first. We needed to capture them in this moment. Right now. In their stage of engagement bliss . So, we headed over to Regan National Airport and ran around snapping pictures and having the best time.

Pack your bags folks, it’s time to jet set with Lena and Dre.

Location, Location, Location…

After making all the preparations. Picking the package. Picking out outfits. There always remains that big big question, where to shoot?!

Nothing inspires me more than a really great location. Ideas for pictures and framing just start flowing around in my little noggin, you might get tired because of how much we move around…but what’s better than a little workout while smiling?

But what makes a great location?

It doesn’t have to be ornate or incredibly creative. It can be as simple as your favorite weekend getaway or whatever! But, it does have to provide options!

Some of the best locations I’ve found to shoot at have been really simple locations, but have provided opportunities for a number of different looks in a small little area! One of the best places I’ve shot so far has been at the Manassas Battlefield…and we didn’t even have to go that far into the battlefield. There was a little house on a hill, next to a field of tall grasses, next to a long rustic looking fence, next to an open field, next to trees, next to an interesting colonial house. Done and done.

When you are thinking about your location, think about areas that are important to you as a family. Places you like to go, or that represent you. Does your family love to go outdoors and hike? fish? camp? Do you like horses (ps I’m dying for one of these…shameless plug)?Let’s go out into the woods, bring some fishing poles, a picnic basket, and have a great time!

Are you more urban? like to go into the big city? Let’s go downtown, let’s play on some monuments, let’s walk along some busy streets and block out the world!

Or, are you big into travel? How about a romp around the airport, a local train station, a bus depot, you name it!

Are you big into sports? We’ll thats easy, let’s play! Grab some sporting equipment, some sweats, sneakers, and let’s really capture what it means to be YOUR family.

Most of all, pick some place where we can have a great time and capture the essence of you.

First Look ::Parisa::

That pregnancy glow.

She has it.