BABY NIZAR | NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD VIRGINIA

THIS IS THE YEAR!! I have said it year after year that this one would be the best blogging year yet! And each year I have fallen short. I am not afraid to admit this blog has always taken a back seat but I do not want to fall short this year! I have had SO many incredible sessions and their teasers are only a tiny glimpse into the art we have created together. PLUS I just want to share SO much more! This years suggest goal NO more excuses!! Not every past session will be blogged because I am being realistic, but this year I will make sure that my sessions get a home on my blog :).

First up meet baby Nizar!! He was one of my last babies in 2023 and such a treat to photograph. I had the pleasure of photographing his big sis as a newborn and every year since! Seeing her step into her big sister role came so naturally to her and did such an amazing job on her sibling portraits!! She is clearly obsessed with her baby bro and I cannot wait to see her and his relationship grow in the years to come!!

Nizar was such a sleepy little dude and an absolute gem during his session and more importantly it was really great to spend a few hours with this amazing family. The best part of my job is building those lasting friendships and relationships with my clients and watching their families grow and evolve year to year is such a special gift. We captured so many amazing photos!! Here are some of my favorites <3

2023 RECAP!!!

What a year!! 2023 feels like the longest and shortest year of ALL time. It tested me in ways and opened my eyes to SO MANY THINGS and I have learned ALOT about myself over the last 12 months. With that being said it was also one of the most difficult years for me professionally and personally. Funny thing is nothing really significant happened but more a slew of little things finally pushing me to what felt like a late 30’s crisis LOL! As a mom we wear SO many hats throughout the day but with years and years of trying to balance everything eventually you start to let those hats drop one by one. And for me I think they all fell this year. I can laugh about it now because while I felt like I was falling apart there was also so many good things this year brought that kind of got lost in the shuffle. SO today I am sharing some positives of 2023 and also sharing the AMAZING clients who helped me survive this tough year!! You are what got me through!! <3

2023 kicked off with a bang and I celebrated my 10th year in business! A huge milestone that I still cannot believe is real!! A decade dedicated to serving clients and creating beautiful artwork and memories has been such a blessing. But my biggest achievement is seeing all of the returning faces of clients I have been photographing that entire time. Some clients have let me into their lives for over a decade! I have had multiple brides celebrate their 10 year anniversary, families welcome their 2nd and 3rd baby, kids I photographed in their mom’s belly start school, brides texting me they're pregnant, the list goes on. The overwhelming support from returning clients really lifted me up this year and I am forever thankful for the relationships that I have been built over the last 10+ years. I truly cannot thank you enough.

This year alone I have photographed 136 sessions plus more for my own kiddo. I have met 55 new AMAZING families who have all welcomed me into their lives with open arms and shared their excitement about their photos. This year certainly was one of the most rewarding. It was knowing that these incredible faces believed in me during a time I felt so unworthy. Their support allowed me to keep growing as an artist and photographed some of my favorite sessions of all time. THANK YOU to every single one of you for walking alongside me during a tough season. Your support will never be forgotten <3

Another huge perk of 2023 was that I offered tulip, sunflower, creek, cherry blossom, and tree farm minis in addition to my spring and fall. And I LOVED every second of these sessions. Because these are sessions I can’t shoot all year round they have become some of my favorites. I WILL be offering ALL of these again and cannot wait to see what families will join in on the fun!! This year I will be changing things up a bit with how I book to continue to give me time to be creative and recharge.

My goal for 2024 is to make this year about savoring every last moment! I did a terrible job of capturing my own family this year and I am super sad that I let my negativity and self-esteem stop me from capturing more moments with my family. I will NOT make that mistake this year!! So if you are feeling blah email me! Lets chat and make your session this year extra special! I cannot wait to meet new faces and catch up with returning faces!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! To everyone who supported my business this year! You rock!! <3 ~Laura

BABY EOWYN | NEWBORN SESSION | STAFFORD, VIRGINIA

CUTEST FAMILY EVER!! Sweet baby Eowyn’s newborn session was a DREAM come true! Not only was this little beauty a good sleeper, but her bothers and sister were equally as AMAZING! We flew through family and sibling photos in no time and it is very clear that these 4 kiddos are going to be best buddies as they grow up. The love and joy radiating from this family was such a blessing and I am so lucky they came to me to capture these first moments as a family of 6!

We kept our color scheme very neutral with earth tones and the headbands and bonnets very simple. I pulled a few earthy setups for her prop photos and pulled a little pop of color for the beanbag. I absolutely love being able to create images that will fit perfectly into my client’s home. I had so much fun this session and just adored this amazing family. Here are some of my favorites!!

Abby 6 Month Session | Milestone Photographer | Stafford, Virginia

Meet Abby!!! This adorable blue eyed girl is the baby of one of my dear friends. It was such an honor to photograph both of her little girls as newborns but even more special to follow along with their first year and beyond! For Abby’s 6 month session I pulled a few bonnets that I used for her big sisters 6 month session so mama could do side by sides of her girls. I love keeping sitter sessions simple with just a few fun props to really capture this fun stage. Six to eight months is one of my favorites because kiddos are starting to sit unassisted and their personalities really start to come out. Abby was SO smiley and fun to photograph and honestly such a sweetie pie. I cannot wait to see her again and capture her first birthday with a cake smash in just a few short months!! Here are some of my favorites.

Jacobs Family | Outdoor Newborn Session | Stafford, Virginia

I absolutely adore my friend and have had SO much fun capturing her baby journey. When sweet Maggie was born on Valentine’s day we were blessed with a heat wave for about a week and a half in Virginia. We had temps over 75 degrees which is so rare for our area in the middle of February. W made sure to take full advantage of it and brought their newborn session outside onto the creek! I have always love outdoor newborn sessions, but Virginia temps are so crazy you really need to go for it when that warm day hits! I wrapped baby Maggie in a light pink wrap and an adorable pink bonnet to coordinate with her family. I am obsessed with every single photo we captured!

Then I made sure to get a little prop shot along the creek bed and put Erika back in the gorgeous gown we used for her maternity session. With temps being so warm she eagerly tiptoed into the water for me and she was absolutely glowing!! Between the golden light and the special mommy and baby connection I was in absolute heaven!! Erika, your family is absolutely gorgeous and I am so thankful for your friendship and continual support for me and my business!!! I hope you love her session as much as I do!!

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!

JENN MATERNITY | MATERNITY PHOTOGRAPHER | WOODBRIDGE, VIRGINIA

Gosh I miss working SO much!!! But I am kicking off this week with a new plan of action and celebrating one of my favorite maternity sessions from last summer. How gorgeous is this mama!!?? Everything about this session was magical. Maternity sessions are one of my favorite things to capture and these 2 def made this session memorable. We started in the woods and the light was INCREDIBLE. Then we made our way to the beach. The water was SO loud and wild, to date I have never seen it like that again but we rolled with it and captured some of my favorite lovey dovey shots ever. The best part was as we were leaving a driftwood teepee caught my eye and we grabbed a few more shots! Everything about this session went perfectly and I know this summer when things settle down I will get to create more magical moments like this!! Here are my favorites:

PATRICK | NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD, VIRGINIA

Meet Patrick!! Believe it or not but this handsome baby boy is already over a year old!! HOW!? I saw him early March for his one year session and yes I am just now blogging his newborn session! But hey thats ok because it was a GREAT one! This adorable baby boy had the BEST hair ever and was so cuddly. I loved every second of getting to know his parents and have loved working with them over the past year. I miss you guys and am SO thankful to see you once more before the world went crazy <3 Here are some of my favorites:

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 ;) !!

AMANDA MATERNITY | MATERNITY PHOTOGRAPHER | WOODBRIDGE, VIRGINIA

I am trying to keep my chin up during these tough times and dreaming about that summer golden light and all of those expecting mamas and their new babies. My heart breaks I cannot document these moments right now. But im staying hopeful and enjoying the time I did not have before to blog and really enjoy every image from my sessions over the last year. Here is one of my favorite summer maternity sessions!