Baby Naomi’s Newborn Session | Newborn Photographer

This session was so special for me, as a newborn photographer! I first met the Hawkins in 2021 when they had their son. During that time, it was the start of when I was getting back in the studio and had specific covid protocols set in place. The moms/families that trusted me so much during this time with my covid protocols really meant a lot to me and made each and every one of them have a special place in my heart. And the Hawkins were one of those families! They still came in for their son’s newborn session so having them back in the studio this year was extra special. 

This time, they came in to see me when Naomi was 2 weeks old. Naomi is just the cutest kid ever! Her brother’s session a year prior was fun as well, and we got so many great photos from both sessions. When I have families come back for younger siblings, I always try to recreate some of the shots made at the older siblings newborn sessions so they can compare the two kids in similar settings at a similar age. It’s just so fun to look at both of them together like that! But, of course, I made sure the session was also a unique look specifically for Naomi! 

The session was just a lot of fun and so awesome! Baby Naomi was sleeping when they arrived, so I went immediately into prop shots and was able to get some great photos there. Then I got her smiling and she had the cutest smile! We moved onto family photos, and I was able to get some beautiful photos of Naomi with her mom and dad. Then we went onto more props and from there, we ended the session on the bean bag. 

Naomi was so squishy and chunky! She was ten pounds! It only made her more adorable! I loved the props and the family shots, and all around it was a great session! I got everything I wanted and I know I was able to capture those special pictures for the Hawkins family once again. 

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If you need a newborn photographer in Virginia, please contact me, and check out other posts on my blog! 

Beach Minis | Family Photographer | Woodbridge Virginia

Last year I began offering beach minis and it instantly became one of my favorite mini marathons to photograph. I absolutely love shooting on the river and really enjoy every family that comes to see me. This year I had 6 families all of which I have had the pleasure of knowing either personally or from past sessions. It couldn’t have been a more successful night of great photographs and amazing memories. We had a super hot day, but was pleasant in the shade. The only disadvantage of summer minis is the park is usually PACKED, but that did not stop every single one of these groups from being incredible to work with. We found our little nook along the water and just worked around all of the people haha! The best part Is when my clients receive their images and cannot believe how isolated our location looked because they remember the audience we had during their session :). I love being able to create using the energy from the chaotic beach and make it look like we are the only ones there!

Beach sessions are some of my favorites and I look forward to capturing them every year!! I love that we can use the same location and still manage to make each family’s portraits look a little bit different! Whether you are the first session or the last of the day we always manage to take advantage of the gorgeous location and light and make some magic!

Minis are also a great way to snag some special mommy and me portraits, or just photos of your kids! They are not limited to only family sessions. Minis are meant to be fun and simple and celebrate this season on your life! If you are interested in mini sessions do not hesitate to reach out!

MILK BATH MATERNITY | MATERNITY SESSION | STAFFORD, VIRGINIA

OH goodness how I love a milk bath session! They are amazing for maternity, mama and baby, sitters, milestones, etc! I find them to be one of my favorite things to photograph. And a little secret about them is you don’t actually have to soak in a tub full of only milk. ;) AND there are even options for those who have a dairy allergy/sensitivity but still maintain that milky look.

This session was so much fun because this was our second maternity session together for this pregnancy. I had the pleasure of capturing this gorgeous mama and her husband and pup at the beach but this day was to celebrate mama and that gorgeous baby bump! She was STUNNING!

I purchased flowers that I felt would best capture Kelsey’s bright, positive, and friendly personality. But also wanted to make sure we had that girly flair! Shades of pinks and whites were perfect! The session was quick, simple and yet timeless. I think we should repeat this theme again when her baby girl is a little bit older <3 Here were my favorites :)

ilk bath

Vollbrecht Family Photos | Family Photographer | Stafford VA

The Vollbrecht family have been with me since close to the beginning of my photography business. It's always a pleasure to be the family photographer for some of my favorite people, and we did the session at one of my favorite places too, Government Island in Stafford VA!

Jeremy, my husband, met Marlar Vollbrecht when they were both in diapers, and they basically grew up together! I've personally known them since I got married. She's been like another aunt to our daughter as well! The Vollbrechts have three kids, Evelyn, Brendon, and Danny.

The first time we met these three kiddos they were all pretty young. Their family's session was one of the first photography sessions I did when I started my business! I love it when my clients come back for more, and it's even more amazing when someone has stayed with me since the beginning. As I've grown as a photographer and as a photography business, they've been right here with me, and that's so special!

The session was over Easter Weekend, and they traveled up from North Carolina. We went to Government Island near me for the photoshoot. I scheduled the session an hour earlier than I normally would so that they could come over for dinner afterwards. We all wanted to hang out!

The weather was warm and it was a full, sunny day. Since we started earlier in the day the light was a little different than I normally shoot, but am really trying to push myself creatively and stylistically. And I LOVE how their photos came outl!

We started with some family shots and then did some with the parents and the kids. My favorite part of any photography session I do here are the creek photos. Not all of my clients want to get into the water, but the Vollbrecht girls were all about it! We got some mommy-daughter shots in the creek and then some of just the girls, it was awesome!

We were just about done, but Brendon, their middle son, wanted to get up on this log over the creek. I've wanted to get someone on this log since I've used this location, but getting to it is no easy feat! It was a bit of a climb and though I wouldn't let little kids try to get out onto it, Brendon was able to get there. The pictures I got were amazing! I'm shooting through the trees framing the creek and soon the girls got involved too!

I got some of the coolest photos I think I've ever shot at this location! From about 300 yards away I got a few pictures of the siblings snuggled up together on this log with the creek reflecting them below. They may not know how much this log has intrigued me, but I finally got a client out on it for some fantastic pictures!

The session went great and even though we started earlier in the day the lighting still worked amazing. We shot some great photos of these wonderful friends!

If you need a family photographer near Stafford VA (or other parts of North VA) please contact me, and check out other posts on my blog!

HARRISON 6 MONTH SITTER SESSION | MILESTONE PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD, VIRGINIA

I love sitter sessions!! 6-9 months is one of my favorite milestones from that first year, as babies start to really fill in with those chunky rolls and cheeks, and start to develop their personalities even more! They are starting to sit unassisted and really start to get so curious before they start getting mobile! I first met sweet little Harrison for his newborn session and couldn’t wait to see him again for this milestone. He is seriously the squishiest little dude ever and has brightest most gorgeous brown eyes! I also adore this kiddos parents, and man do they make a cute baby!!! Harrison was a little unsure of me at first, as my kid voice is obnoxious haha! But he gave me some incredible photos. He is truly a little model and loved getting to see him again!!

How I Choose Locations | Professional Photography | Virginia

I have been doing professional photography in and around Northern Virginia for a while now. There's a very specific and thought-out process to how I choose a location for my photoshoots. I feel that it's important for my clients to trust my judgement in choosing the perfect place to capture their memories.

Lighting

Hands down the most important thing I look for when picking a location is the sun's position. I want to see how and where the sun sets in each spot. I want a place that provides shaded areas but also areas with full sun. Having a consistent hour and a half to two hours of good usable light, regardless of cloud cover, is as good as gold to me!

Taking full advantage of the setting sun's unique light is vital to the style I want my work to convey. If there's too much shade in a location then I lose the sunlight way earlier than I'd like and I end up shooting in darker shade, losing that golden glow that I love to capture.

When scouting a spot I also look at the foliage. Will the surrounding natural backdrops work in every season and how does the time of year affect the sun set? If a certain spot has great foliage that catches the setting sunlight well in any season, then it becomes a top contender for a photoshoot location.

Space

I always try to find a location that has a versatile space, let me explain. Choosing a place that has multiple spots that have great texture, and dimension, as well as a variety of looks and feels is important. I want to make each session look a little different depending on the time of year so that each shoot feels unique! This even goes as far as each photoshoot looking different if it's the same family and location but during a different time of year.

Another question I ask myself is does a location have space to shoot long and short perspectives? I want those big "sky shots" but also to have visual interest, (details to draw the eye), close up!

Style

Sure, I can shoot some pictures on a median in a parking lot, and I do!! Often haha!! BUT ideally I look for well-rounded locations that cover all of the things I mentioned above in order to create consistent and quality work that my clients look for when hiring me.

I hope this gives a little look into my process for my clients. If you need professional photography done in North Virginia and the surrounding areas look me up!

Thanks for reading!

Jackson Is One | One Year Session | Stafford, Virginia

Sweet baby Jackson was my first newborn session in my new studio! He is also the little boy to a very dear friend of mine who I have known since college, so he really holds a special place in my heart. <3 PLUS he’s just a really cool kid! Smiley, happy, and full of personality. When we planned his one year session we opted for the creek instead of a traditional cake smash. I pulled out my little boat prop and we grabbed a few posed photos but then LOVED allowing him to splash and play in the creek. He def kept us on ur toes because he realllllly wanted to eat the rocks hahaha!! He really did such a phenomenal job for his session and gave me some of my favorite portraits of him to date! Jackson you are a doll and I love you so much!!! Cannot wait to continue capturing this adorable little boy as he thrives as a toddler. <3

Brady Extended Family Session | Government Island | Stafford VA

I love photographing a good family session, and Government Island is one of my favorite places to photograph anything!

I never used to like going to Government Island, even though it's pretty close to me. I've known about that spot since I started my business, but never really got into shooting there, I could never get it to work for me. Then one summer it just kind of clicked for me and now I love it! I love photographing by the creek because it's a great spot in any season! It's best during sunset when the creek has this wonderful golden glow.

I first met Morgan and Zach, as well as their two kids Paige and Parker, about a year ago. I got to photograph Paige's newborn session and I actually get to do her one year session soon as well. I'm super excited! This past fall I took some pictures for Morgan's extended family, which was great! The session was a lot of fun and we actually got to do it at Government Island in a different spot.

This session was purchased for Zach's family as a gift. The family was awesome! We met on a week night and although the April weather has been all over the place and that night was a little chilly, everyone was amazing!

We started with the big group and gradually narrowed it down to smaller groups. I was taking pictures as fast as I could to keep the kids from freezing! There was some ideal lighting and some insane cloud cover which was perfect; we got a lot of different looks and feels in one session! Everyone was super cooperative and I loved what we captured.

This family session was really fun and I'm glad we got to do it at Government Island. I was able to get some photos of Paige, Parker and the grandparents as well as some of Zach's brother and sister. It was cool because his sister is engaged so we got to do some fun little engagement pictures as well. Everything turned out amazing and loved getting to meet the other side of their fam!!

If you or your family need some pictures taken just look me up! 

Spivey Family | Family Photography Manassas Park | Virginia

Doing family photography can be such a special thing, and the Manassas Battlefield offers quite the backdrop for it! Nature and Family blend in a beautiful harmony and I get to be there to take the pictures!

Catie emailed me in January to book a spring session, and she was excited to work with me! The booking for the session was super quick, which is always great with new clients. Catie had seen one of her friends' photos from working with me about a year ago and decided to look me up. For me that is huge! I love it when people are excited to book their session with me!

We started in the woods in the Manassas Battlefield Park. I started the session (like I do), with the super posed shots. Whenever a family has younger kids I try to get these out of the way so that the family can get their yearly "updated photos". So we took some of the family together, and then dad and the kids, mom and the kids, and individual shots of each kid. Those are the types of photos that'll probably end up in Christmas cards and frames!

Jack, their little boy was a complete model and did so, so well! Lily, on the other hand was cracking me up because she made me work for it. We did so many ridiculous tricks to get her to smile! We took a lot of photos of Lily with her mom, and those ended up being some of my favorites for the session! And don’t worry she totally warmed up for me ;)

After we took the pictures in the woods we headed down to the creek. I always love the posed photos, but there's something special about letting the family play around and be in their element. Not stressing out about too many structured photos and being natural with each other. We got a lot of amazing photos! The light was great and Lily really enjoyed splashing in the water and taking pictures with her dad.

The session was just about over, but the sunset was phenomenal so I had to get a few more! We drove up into a field in front of one of the monuments in the Battlefield to take full advantage of it. I think I took some of what might be my favorite photos before we left!

All in all the session was very successful! The weather was beautiful and the Spivey's and their kids did so well. I'm glad that they chose me to take some pictures for them and I hope they love the pictures!

If you need someone to do some family photography in Manassas or somewhere else in the Virginia area, look me up!