GOODBYE 2018!!!

As we say goodbye to 2018 I cannot help but be shocked at how quickly this year flew by. 2018 has been the fastest year of all time and I cannot believe new years eve is tomorrow. But this year has been one for the record books! I have had the honor of working with SO many new and amazing clients this year and was incredibly lucky to enjoy watching my returning clients celebrate milestones and expand their families. This year has been huge for my business and I cannot thank my clients enough for allowing me to capture their memories.

I have officially tackled my first full year of being a new mom and business owner and I can confidently say that I DID IT!! I am exhausted but I DID IT!! This year has been so rewarding in a lot of ways and pushed me in a lot of ways too. I have learned that turning a gallery around in 2 weeks instead of one is ok and returning emails within 24-48 hours is alright too. I have accepted that my sneak peeks may take an extra day to share. But I also have learned that as long as I continue to trust and listen to my creative voice the more I will continue to grow and my clients will love their unique gallery. I have learned to be more patient with myself and accept that I cannot do everything all the time. And most of all I have really learned that I may never fully master balancing being a mom, wife, and business owner but I have also learned that I got this! Because this is exactly what I was meant to do! Our house is a little messier, I look a little more frazzled, my blog entries are horribly behind, but overall I am so proud of the quality time I have been able to spend with Jeremy and Fin while also working and how this year turned out. It was by far my best and I cannot wait to see what next year brings!!

In 2019 I look forward to meeting so many more new people and sharing in the joy of capturing their families. I will probably continue to overload your news feed with too many pictures of Finley and hope that you’re ok with that :) BUT I promise I will continue to work my booty off to give you gorgeous images and great customer service and to have a blast with you at your session with me :)!!

THANK YOU AGAIN for everyone who continues to follow me and support Laura Lou Photography!! It is because of you and the constant support and love you have given that I can keep this business going! And also a HUGE THANK YOU to Jeremy! For always encouraging me, there is NO way I could have done this without you! Thank you!! And see you in 2019!! (look below for 2018’s fav images :)

~Laura

THE KELLY FAMILY | MATERNITY PHOTOGRAPHER | MANASSAS, VIRGINIA

This summer I had such a great time capturing this gorgeous mama and her family! This session was a tricky one to shoot because the forecast was ALL over the map and changed every 10 minutes. But with a little luck on our side we got an incredible day with amazing light. Tobia you are one beautiful mama!! Here are some of my favorites!

AMBER IS ONE | MILESTONE PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD, VIRGINIA

This past spring I had the plasure of capturing little Miss Amber’s cake smash! I have photographed her since she was in her mama’s belly and she is a gorgeous little girl! She is spunky and so full of personality! She knew how to work the camera and gave us some epic faces and one of my favorite cake smashes to date! Check out her session below!!

VOLLBRECHT FAMILY | FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER | MANASSAS, VIRGINIA

I met this incredible family through my hubby years ago and have loved getting to know them a little more each year! This past spring they hired me to do a family session and we had a BLAST! It was a tiny bit chilly but they were troopers and we ran all over the park and laughed. Their kiddos are fantastic and i loved every minute of shooting this session! You guys are such a great group and I cannot wait to photograph your family again!! Here are some of my favs!

BABY HUGH | NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD, VIRGINIA

Meet baby Hugh!! This little peanut was my second session back from maternity leave and boy was he a cutie pie! I met him at one day old for his fresh 48 and then several days later he came to visit the studio for his newborn session. He was seriously the most handsome little baby boy. He just turned one and is even more handsome than ever! His parents are such an amazing pair and have raised the happiest little man! I was so sad when they moved out of state, but his newborn session will always be one that is close to my heart. Here are some of my favorites:

BABY LIAM | NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD, VIRGINIA

It may have been almost a full year since this handsome little dude’s newborn session but better late than never!! Meet baby Liam!! This little guy was so squishy and was all cuddles for his newborn session. I cannot believe its almost been a full year and I get to shoot his cake smash this weekend!! Where does the time go!? Here are some of my favs from his session!

BABY WAVERLY | NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER | NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER

Meet sweet little Waverly! This baby is the youngest of 3 and I had the pleasure of photographing both of her siblings as newborns! In fact her big sister was one of the first newborn sessions I have ever shot!! There is nothing more rewarding and amazing than being able to photograph a family’s newborn but when you’ve been trusted to do it 3 times it is truly a blessing. Waverly was SOOOO sleepy and did amazing. We got the most setups I have ever been able to get and in record time. Here are my favorites :

BABY CONNOR | NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD, VIRGINIA

Meet Connor!! This cutie pie was such a dream for his newborn session!! His mama and I go way back to college as freshman roommates and could not be more honored to have captured these first photos of her sweet baby boy. I had the pleasure of photographing her wedding and absolutely loved being able to capture their growing family. Her family is such a gem and I cannot wait to watch Connor grow this year! He was such a little peanut and I cannot wait to see him this fall! Here are some of my favorites from his session.

BABY HANALIE | NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD, VIRGINIA

Meet Hanalie!!  This little beauty was AMAZING during her newborn session!  Hanalie was SUUUUUPER snuggly and slept like a rock star for her session.  This is one lucky lady to have 3 big brothers to look after her.  Looking back through this session will give anyone baby fever because goodness gracious she is a cutie pie.  Her fantastic hair and big chunky cheeks melt my heart!!!  I cannot wait to see her in a few months for her 6 month session!!  Here are my favs:

MILK BATH SERIES | FIN'S FIRST YEAR

Why milk baths? Ya know, I am not exactly sure what drew me to them other than I thought they were peaceful and beautiful and I loved the way they celebrated a pregnant body.  Before I was ever pregnant I really wanted one for my own maternity photos.   We took a ton of belly photos and felt like the milk bath was very different than anything I had ever really shot and wanted to give it a try.  So I figured out what I needed and got Jeremy on board!  He shot our first part of the series when I was 36 weeks pregnant and after that I knew this was how I wanted to show Fin's growth over the next year.  It was something special that Fin and I could share and also a fun monthly family project lol ;) and at the end of the year we would have one heck of an album.  We have taken SO many amazing photos of her this year but this series has been my ultimate goal.  Each month we have racked our brains to come up with something a little different and more unique than the month before but similar enough for them to all flow.  Some worked out better than others but overall it turned out just the way I had hoped.  Each month has a different story about the fiasco of shooting it, or how Fin wanted to eat everything in the tub, or throw a fit, or even the arguments Jeremy and I had about the logistics of them.  But every single month Jeremy was right there making sure he captured exactly what I wanted. He did a phenomenal job and cannot thank him enough for the patience he gave me this year for our 700 photo shoots.  So here is one photo from each month. I kept the pose similar so you could see how much this little one has changed!  Thank you for following along with us!! <3