What’s The Difference Between A Mini Session And A Full Session | Photographer in Virginia

With fall just around the corner, things are beginning to get busy again, so if you’re thinking of hiring a photographer in Virginia, now’s the time to do it! School is in session and schedules are filling up fast. With limited time and very busy days, some people may want to look into minis versus a full photography session. But what exactly are minis and how are they different from a normal session? I'll outline the major differences between the two in this blog! 

Mini Sessions

Mini sessions usually last about fifteen minutes and are done in a marathon format. I'll select a great, central location that I love from one of the many locations I’ve found over the years being a photographer in Virginia. It should also work for different times of day, not just at Golden Hour before sunset. I book each 15 minute mini session ten minutes apart. These sessions are fast!

I schedule my mini sessions twice a year, in the spring and the fall. I always try to schedule them during the best parts of spring or early summer and during the peak times for fall colors.

Just the Basics

Each mini has three main poses and anything extra I'm able to capture is a great bonus! I focus on the full family landscape portrait, just the kids, and then each individual kid. If I have time, I'll also try to snap a few photos of mom and dad with the kids. I don't usually focus on individual shots of the parents with each of their children, but I will try if the parents only have one or two children.

For each mini my main goal is to photograph the standard photos that a family would want for things like Christmas cards! These sessions are not often full of many candid shots, or playful photos, so please consider booking a full session if you want more of those kinds of photos for your albums! A mini can be a great option for families with older kids who just want some updated family photos for their walls or to send in their Christmas cards!

Full Sessions for a photographer in Virginia

As a photographer in Virginia, I also offer Full Sessions. These usually last about forty-five minutes and I take over the task of finding a place to shoot for my clients based on their location. I always start these sessions with posed photos, the whole family, the couple, their kids and all of the normal, expected photos. I really try to crank those out to get to the fun stuff!

My full sessions give me the opportunity to capture the more casual, candid, and lovey-dovey type pictures that you may see on some of my social media posts, or on my blog! These photography sessions are the ones where I get photos of the kids playing around, or the parents lifting their kids in the air with all the smiles and laughter that come along with those things!

During a full session I have the time to photograph all of the little moments that showcase a family's dynamic. Everyones personalities have a chance to come out while they hang out, and just do what they do! Not every family is comfortable with those kinds of photos, or just want more traditional photos taken, and I am sensitive to that and will gauge that during the session and adjust based on the family.

I recommend full sessions for maternity and senior photos, as well as extended family , and for families with little kiddos.

Forming Bonds

My full length sessions are especially great for families with many kiddos and small kiddos. The extra time gives time for the littles to warm up to me and get comfortable with their new surroundings.

Creating a good rapport with each family I work with is so crucial to get those special and memorable moments.

I hope this eliminates any confusion surrounding how I do both my full and mini sessions! If you need someone to capture these special moments for you, whether in short form, or long, please contact me for more information, I'd love to chat with you!

2020 RECAP!!

Every year I am SO embarrassed to log onto my website after a crazy fall and see how far my blogging fell behind. Every year I vow to do better with it and every year I start strong and theeeeeeeen boom life and busy season hit and blogging goes out the window. I had SO many incredible sessions last year but 2020 was a year unlike any other. Words cannot even begin to describe the insanity of this past year and the emotions that shook every single person’s life. But as this year came to an end there was also much to celebrate. With extra time at home we were safe and healthy and really able to focus on our time together as a family. I am so grateful for that extra time as it benefited Finley and I think really benefited us as parents too. Sure being cooped up had its difficulty but overall 2020 gave us so much to be thankful for.

The year started off strong and I was incredibly motivated after completing my best year yet. January-March started better than most winter months and I was fully booked for April and into May. When all of the lockdowns hit I was devastated and terrified. Like most families there was no warning for one if not both family members income coming to complete standstill with so much uncertainty in sight. Panic certainly set in and I had to figure out a way to make the most of my time not working. In that time I began becoming interested in plants and by the end of the summer had a full fledged garden in the backyard and on my deck. Fin was my assistant gardener and we had a blast learning about plants and exploring garden centers. It was incredible! We were able to grow herbs, a few veggies, and sunflowers. We also made the decision to completely redo my studio space. It had been something I had needed and wanted to do for years and we finally made it happen. Now it is so much more cozy and certainly reflects my business style and brand. I am obsessed!

As Covid restrictions started to lift I was fortunate to be able to reopen for outdoor sessions and then shortly after indoor sessions. I am so thankful for the flexibility, patience, and overall understanding of my clients that allowed me to do so. This year alone I photographed 152 sessions and met 53 new families. The highlight of the year was capturing the newest additions of past clients whose other kiddos I also photographed. I even had the amazing opportunity to photograph my first home birth, and caught lightning on camera 3 times! This year gave me the time to really push myself creatively and feel like I truly honed in on my style and was able to express my artistic vision with each session. Every single on of these families holds a special place in my heart as they stood by me and supported my business through the most challenging year for small businesses. The trust you have had in me to safely photograph your families and newborns is truly a blessing and what kept me going all year. It is because of you that I crushed my goals for the year and saw my business only increase since 2019. THANK YOU. There are so many times in business you feel defeated or uncertain and having new and returning faces contact me with exciting news of pregnancies or wanting updated photos is the best part of my job. Every year I try to do a recap of some of my favorite images and this year was SOOOO tough. Once again I narrowed it down to well over 250 images and made Jeremy narrow it down for me :) Thank you everyone again for supporting me and my business!! I am so excited to tackle whatever 2021 throws my way and cannot wait to meet you!

NIKO IS ONE | MILESTONE PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD, VIRGINIA

I have been so incredibly blessed with meeting some amazing families over the last 7 years. But this family has been by my side from early on! I met Niko’s mama years ago for a headshot session and led to a friendship. I have been there from the start as I shot their engagement, wedding, a session with their fur babies, maternity, newborn, a Christmas session and now Niko’s one year!! WHEW!! THANK YOU FOR BEING AMAZING CLIENTS!! It has truly been an honor to watch their love story unfold and then be able to celebrate them building their family. Niko is the BEST little boy and I cannot wait to see him transition into a wild toddler ;) !!

MILA IS ONE | MILESTONE PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD, VIRGINIA

Oh Mila! You beauty!!! Anytime a little one completes a milestone package with me it is super emotional!! From maternity, newborn, 6 months, to a year! WOWWEEE the time sure flies! This sweet little princess absolutely nailed her cake smash and gave us some of my favorite cake smash images ever! She is such a gorgeous little lady but also so sweet and full of smiles!! She was one of the few with no tears! This girl just loved modeling and destroying that cake!! It was such a blast. I have loved being their to capture her first year! Here is her some of her session!!

NOAH IS ONE | MILESTONE PHOTOGRAPHER | WOODBRIDGE, VIRGINIA

I love love love loved this session!!! Sweet baby Noah was the most ADORABLE newborn and I had the pleasure of capturing his first year! We had an amazing one year session and I got some of my favorite photos EVER. This little dude is a rockstar and has the greatest parents who always let me be creative and trust my vision <3. I cannot wait to see them this spring and celebrate this little guy again!! here are my favorites:)

BLAINE IS ONE | MILESTONE PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD, VIRGINIA

Meet Blaine!! I met his mom and dad when they were pregnant with him and I have loved capturing some of his big milestones this year!! He is such a great little kiddo and has the most amazing blue/gray eyes!! We got to start our session outside because we had incredible weather in January! And finished up indoors with a construction themed cake smash! At first he was super curious about that cake and then instantly hated the frosting on his hands! He gave us some great shots and in true cake smash form we got some hilarious photos of him not loving that frosting! ;) This was such a fun smash to create and Blaine did amazing!! He has so much personality and is just the cutest kiddo EVER!! Here are some of my favorites.

2020 HERE I COME!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
As I kick off this new decade I wanted to thank all of my clients who have made 2019 AMAZING!  This has been an extremely challenging year for my family and for me, personally.  It has been a year full of loss, personal development, and a lot of chapters in my life coming to a close.  But the amount of growth my business has had this year is incredible and an absolute dream come true.  

The end of January marks the start of my 7th year in business and I am still in shock at how much this profession has provided me, both personally and professionally.  When I started my business, I was fresh out of graduate school and wanted no part of the art historian career path I had invested so much time and money into.  I remember sitting in lectures listening to the stories of how people found their way into their career, and not one of them was doing what they originally set out to do.  I felt so overwhelmed by that, especially since I knew in my heart that this was not the life I wanted.  When I came home from London I had a masters degree, a ton of student loan debt, and zero clue what was ahead or where to go.  I felt like a little girl who loved taking photos and loved working with people, but I had no clue what to do with that.  I applied to so many jobs, had a handful of interviews, a few leads, but no job offers.  It was daunting and very discouraging.  Here I was with a lot of education, little experience, and even less self confidence.  I thankfully had a soon-to-be husband who believed in me, but the biggest challenge professionally was convincing someone to take a chance on me by offering me a job. When that offer never came I decided I needed to create my own opportunity. When I started this business I had no idea if I could make this dream into a career.  But I had a husband who believed in me and a serious drive to make it happen.  So I went for it. I certainly could not have imagined the potential or direction that drive and passion would have taken me.

From year one until now my business has truly transformed into something I am so proud of.  Every year I have pushed myself out of my comfort zone, tackled the balance of my day job with my side hustle, and dealt with some really significant life changing moments. By being a small business owner through all of that I have learned more about myself in those 7 years than i have in my entire life.  When I started this career path my ultimate goal was to provide income for my family while staying home with my kids.   And each year I had the opportunity to be one step closer to both of those dreams.  When I finally quit my day job in 2015 I was terrified, but because of the trust of my clients and their continual support I have not once looked back. There have been SO many tears, late nights,  and a lot of self-doubt.  BUT, at the same time, there have been light bulb moments, bursts of creativity, and some of the most extraordinary moments.  I also had the blessing of enjoying every moment of pregnancy and then being home to watch my daughter take her first steps, say her first words, and literally photograph her every single day of her life. All while pursuing my dream job.  And after a year like this one I cannot be more thankful for that gift.  

This year alone I photographed 162 sessions (42 more than last year) and met 57 new families. That is HUGE!  That means 105 of those sessions were from families who came back to see me again and that is the greatest compliment a photographer and business owner could ever hope for.  We have been through so much the last few years but this year really hit me hard and it was because of my clients being so incredibly compassionate and supportive that gave me the drive to keep on trucking.  And I cannot thank you enough.  It has been with your trust, patience, and willingness to be that person to take a chance on me and my artistic vision that has brought me to this point in my career.  I cannot thank you enough or tell you how thankful I am to have been able to capture your most important, private, and pivotal moments of your lives.  It is because of that faith in me that this year has been so successful. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Some of my favorite images of all time were captured this year and it is because of every single one of you trusting my creative vision for your session.

I am SO excited to kick off a new decade and to see what 2020 will bring.  I am in the process of revamping my pricing guide and packages and really going to be streamlining my brand.  My goal this year is to push myself even further creatively to give you more gorgeous and unique images.  I am also so excited to start implementing new things I have been learning in a business course I enrolled in this fall.  And I am excited to start making your client experience even more special!

Thank you again so much for supporting my business and for continuing to allow me to photograph your family!  I cannot wait to see you in 2020!! But first here is a recap of my favorite images from 2019! Man it was hard to narrow it down!! <3
Much love,
Laura

FINLEY TURNS 2!!!

I am still in shock that I am actually writing this post. How in the world is my little tiny baby girl TWO YEARS OLD!?! When I held her in my arms in those first moments I had no idea of the intensity of love and absolute joy this little girl would bring us every day. She was and is the most incredible blessing to ever come into our lives. The last 2 years have been full of more happiness and emotion than I ever thought was possible and this little human has only made me grow as a person and as a mom. This year has flown by in a blink of an eye and I think I am still processing her first birthday let alone her second. I have decided that year one is all about survival and year two is about learning how to negotiate with a toddler version of yourself about 75x a day. Some days are tougher than others as the terrible two’s are in full swing but other days are some of my absolute favorites.

This year Finley has been learning to swim and grow more and more confident in the water. She is starting her first tumbling class tomorrow and is still SOOO active. She sleeps well at night but those day time naps are getting less and less reliable which is terrifying. She has a huge sweet tooth like her daddy and is gaining the toddler pickiness when it comes to eating. But she still loves beans and eggs. THANK GOD. She has almost all her teeth except those 2nd year molars are still working on her. She finally loves reading books with us and will FINALLY sit on our laps at night while we read. She is the chattiest kid and I love when she will say something new and Jeremy and I look at each other like where did she learn that. She is fiercely independent and being her mom is really an everyday adventure.

My favorite part of every birthday is obviously reflecting on ALL of the hundreds of photos I have taken over the year. Pictures are hit or miss these days, but I do have to say the less I expect the more amazing she does and I am able to bribe her with a little chocolate or her favorite show. ;) In total I have over 931 images (not including cell phone) from this year LOL!! I know I know its insanity. But I love them all. Here is a little recap of the last 12 months! Thanks for following along :)

ELLIE IS ONE! | MILESTONE PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD, VIRGINIA

Watching this gorgeous girl grow up has been so incredibly special to me. From being in her mama’s belly to her cake smash I have loved every session. I have loved seeing her hit every new milestones and become a gorgeous little girl. We went with a rose gold and cream color themed smash and it was PERFECT. Ellie was so polite as she enjoyed a few licks of frosting and gave us some great shots!! Ellie you are such a beauty and I cannot wait to see you again! Here are some of my favorites!!