Ruth & Chris: Married!

Ruth and Chris were married on an bright sunny day in November. It was a gorgeous wedding day with lots of personal touches. I'd have posted this sooner, but with all the holiday madness and an unusual amount of weddings at the end of the year, I got a little behind in the blog. So without further prose, here are some of my favorites from the day.
These are some of my favorite getting dress photos of all year--actually, probably of all time. Ruth just looks so happy!






The church has a bell tower--something you don't see all the time. As Ruth and Chris were walking down the aisle, the flower girls rang the bell together--super cute and a beautiful sound as everyone was leaving the church.


There was actually no photography allowed during the wedding! Lucky for us, the pastor got us a little slack in the rules and we were able to get some shots without flash.

The new Mr & Mrs!



This was my favorite shot that Kevin took--he was shooting through the window, which gave the image it's texture. Most people do this kind of effect in Photoshop, but this is straight out of the camera.


The first dance.

One of my faves...a quiet moment during dancing.

Father daughter dance.

During the toasts.

The candy bars have been at several weddings I did this year...Ruth and Chris did s twist on that theme and did a cookie bar. I love edible favors and think they are the way to go. The guests loved filling bags with their favorite varieties and munching on them throughout the night.



Enjoying the fruits of the cookie bar.

Congratulations Ruth and Chris! May you have many years of happiness together!

Published in the Washingtonian!

I've been meaning to write about this for awhile now, but with all the holiday craziness and shooting weddings up till last weekend, I let it slip through the cracks. Even though it has taken me awhile to get to it, I am no less excited about my photo being published in the December issue of the Washingtonian! The article is on Abbey, whose wedding I photographed in September. Abbey was diagnosed with leukemia as a child and underwent treatment that was was somewhat experimental. The treatment was a success, and she now works with kids who are often going through a similar ordeal. The article is really interesting--I had no idea she had gone through this or about the recent advances in medical treatment for kids with leukemia till she asked about the Washingtonian using a photo from the wedding. Of course, I was honored and excited to have my photo included!
Here is a shot of the my photo in the article.

Baby Michael

I had the honor of doing Baby Michael's first ever professional photo shoot recently. He was unbelievably good--so good that I ended up with nearly 300 images from our session! With Michael being so good, plus the whole family being so darn adorable, I was smiling the whole time editing these images.
Here are a few of my favorites.

Seriously, could he be any cuter?





I love mom and baby pictures :)

He's #1!






See, I told you they were an adorable family!

Add to the Food Drive: Cans for Comments!!!

As most of you know, I have been doing a food drive this year in an effort to help restock the barren food pantries in the area. I've asked clients to bring in items, and in return, I give them a credit to use on Pictage then will be donating all of it to Loudoun Interfaith Relief, the largest food pantry in the area. They provide healthy, balanced meals to those in need, as well as help the smaller organizations in the area with food donations. This is a shot of my donations so far:

Now I am upping the ante!!! Inspired by the wonderful Anne Ruthmann and the larger photography community, for every comment on this blog post by December 12, I will donate an additional can of food to the cause! I also love the idea of Kate and Mike of MKD Photography--ask a question in your comment, it can be just about anything, and I will do a follow up post answering them all. Check out the comments on their blog for inspiration.

Thanks to everyone who has already donated--I really appreciate it! Now, go leave a comment!!

Back From Thanksgiving Break!

We decided to go out of town for the holiday this year. It was supposed to be a larger family vacation, inlcuding extended family members, but plans changed at the last minute and it ended up being just us! Kind of different for Thanksgiving, but it was nice nonetheless! I had planned on doing a T-giving post before I left, but I was so crazy with getting everything done before leaving, it just didn't happen!
I have a lot to be thankful for this year...my awesome family and friends, who are always supportive of me and my business....my fabulous clients, who always surprise and delight me and have helped me get to this point in my career....my two adorable kids who make every day so much fun. I hope everyone had as nice of a holiday as I did!
Last vacation we went on, I did not bring a good camera and I was so disappointed I didn't. It just seemed like too much to haul around equipment plus the 2 kids in the sweltering heat of Florida in the Summer. This time, newly emboldened by my increased insurance and still remembering the bad photos of the summer, I decided to bring a good camera, even though it was a pain to haul around in addition to the 2 kids.
The little man was obsessed with these luggage racks.

Yes, we went to Disney AGAIN! I've actually never been a huge Disney fan--it all seemed like a big marketing scheme to me, and I always wonder about about the people who work there--do they really like it? Are they really that happy all the time? And what motivates someone to want to walk around in a Piglet or princess costume all day? But, I have a serious princess addict in my family, and nothing brings her more pure joy than going to the mouse house. And it is fun for me now, seeing it through her eyes. It is all very real to her, which is just the best. She is totally immersed in the fantasy of it all.

Entering Pixie Hollow...this was one of the highlights for Chloe. Especially when Iridessa came and took her by the hand to "fly" in. Too cute.

Her favorite, Snow White. Her parting words to SW: "Goodbye Snow White, have fun with your dwarfs!" Classic!


This was also a big highlight of the trip...Chloe is quite taken with Christmas lights and castles, and combining the two? Total ecstatic excitement for the little lady.

We actually spent most of the time at the beach, Disney was just a 2 day excursion.

The little man's first ocean experience.


This is the face I get when she is done having her picture taken.

This was the sunrise the last day we were there. Why is it always so nice when you are coming home?

I have lots more to catch up on, so stay tuned! I have Ruth and Chris's wedding post coming up, another wedding I am shooting tonight and a few portrait sessions. Also, I was published in the Washingtonian! Very exciting for me. I will be writing more about that soon too!

Gretchen & Brian: Maternity Portraits

Gretchen and Brian are expecting their first little one this December. I always love doing maternity portraits--it is such a special time--difficult sometimes, but special :) My own daughter loves seeing photos of me when I was pregnant with her and knowing that she was what was inside of my huge belly!
I thought Gretchen looked particularly radiant. Pregnancy definitely agrees with her! Here are a few of my faves.