LAUREN | SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD, VIRGINIA

The class of 2025 is well into their first college semester and I could not be more excited for this gorgeous girl! Lauren was an absolute dream to photograph and has such a bright future ahead of her. Her session was in late. The weather was incredible and the creek was the perfect setting for her session. We had a blast exploring the weeds and the water and took advantage of the most perfect light.

She is headed to Ole Miss to start her college career. I loved getting to hear all about her plans and capturing this special moment in her life. Senior sessions are such a fun way to celebrate the end of chapter and a new beginning! If you are interested in a senior session shoot me a message!!

T FAMILY | FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD, VIRGINIA

This family is seriously THE CUTEST!!! When mama contacted me she really wanted a very classic feel of neutral colored outfits and more black and white images than color. I was super excited because this was something I don’t do as often but have really enjoyed it more and more over the years. It allows me to really focus on the families connection and showcase their love and playfulness. The boys were so stinking cute and got a great mix of emotions and fun faces! The best part is we didn’t have to worry about weather! And at the end because weather wasn’t tooooooooo hot we got outside for a few fun photos! Here are some of my favorites!!

If you want your own session full of timeless images that coordinate perfectly with any home decor shoot me a message!! Lets chat!!

R FAMILY | MILESTONE PHOTOGRAPHER | KING GEORGE VA

I absolutely LOVE this family!!  I have been photographing them for about 5 years and every session is such an adventure.  I love seeing their girls grow and love being able to capture their special moments.  When we started brainstorming this painting session we had ideas of denim overalls, cups of paint, big brushes, and a giant canvas.  This wasn’t going to be a traditional formal posing milestone session; it was meant to be more of a fun full body immersive experience.  It was a great activity for the girls to be silly and messy and get paint all over their parents!   What could be better!!??

When it came time for the session we were battling crazy winds and our canvas was flopping all over the place, knocking over paint cups, not staying where we hung it and was def one of those moments when you just have to breathe and be like we can figure this out haha!!  Our visions had not originally aligned which happens sometimes but we’ve been working together for so long we knew we could figure it out! And to be totally honest I am SO grateful for the challenges we had at the start.  Because we worked the wind problem, nailed the canvas and it all came together organically and turned out amazing. Paint was flying, kids were laughing and crying, then laughing again, the wind was whipping, and there was a beautiful moment of connection and play and genuine fun.  Hands down one of our favorite sessions together and I loved that it was completely different than anything we have shot together before.  Here are some of my favorites!

C EXTENDED FAMILY | FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER | WIDE WATER VIRGINIA

Capturing Generation sessions has been a new favorite for me over the last 2 years. It is SO hard to coordinate multiple families with work schedules, kiddo schedules, travel, etc and it is really easy to say “OH maybe next year!” But when families are able to pull it off it is truly the most rewarding experience. Seeing the grandkids together and the interactions of family members that don’t get to see each other all the time is really special.

This family is also SUPER special to me as I have known them the last 10+ years and have been fortunate to celebrate and capture big milestones like engagements, weddings, birth announcements, grandkid arrivals etc! It’s been really amazing. When mama contacted me about her kiddos and grand babies coming into town we made sure to make it happen. We had a perfectly overcast day which is HUGE when you need to capture a morning session. We got to spend the morning on the water and get every grouping imaginable. It was a great time of catching up and celebrating multiple generations of a beautiful family. Check out some of my favorites!!!

BABY I | NEWBORN SESSION | STAFFORD VIRGINIA

I LOVE when a client comes back to me for Baby #2!! It truly is the biggest thank you from a client to know you not only captured their family once but they continue to come back as their family grows. The funniest thing about this session was 2 years prior to the date we photographed her big sister’s newborn session!! Talk about a fun coincidence.

We started out session outdoors for a few family photos and utilized the great weather! Then headed inside for babies solo photos! She was soooo snuggly and sleepy we flew through every set up. She woke up a bit at the end and we were also able to grab a few smiles and some open eye photos! She was such a sweet little pumpkin and cannot wait to watch her grow!!

Some of my favorite photos are below! Interested in a newborn session? Email me for more info at laura@lauralouphotography.com

V FAMILY | FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD VIRGINIA

I make it no secret that Virginia weather IS BONKERS!! Summer weather is no exception and with all the wild rain we get, we also get MUD. THICK, SLIPPERY, GROSS MUD!!! So naturally we had a creek session planned following this crazy storm. When I arrived at my favorite creek spot I won’t lie I panicked!! I knew my client and I were super pumped about getting in the creek but the access points were a mess and the thought of getting down a slippery hill with 4 kids under 8 years old gave me some pause. I adventured ALL over the place and FINALLY found a spot to enter that wasn’t great but provided some foliage to eliminate a bit of the slippery situation.

When my client arrived I was really excited because they were totally up for a muddy adventure!! We shot most of the session on the mainland and made sure to capture everything we could want. Then we ventured to the creek!!

We successfully got down the muddy hill and were passing kids between the adults to safely and cleanly get everyone into the creek!!! It was AWESOME and the kids LOVED it. It was refreshing after a hot session and there is no better way to end a photoshoot with splashing in the water. And the creek looked incredible with all the texture and greenery. This session was such a blast and I am so thankful when a new client is up for my ideas and ready to get muddy for some incredible photos! We all made it back up the hill and managed to stay pretty clean!! It was fantastic! Here are some of my favorites!

If you want your own creek adventure shoot me an email: laurah@lauralouphotography.com

RAINY TULIPS | FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER | NOKESVILLE VIRGINIA

Tulip sessions are one of my absolute FAVORITE things to photograph! I love the spontaneity of booking based on the field reports and trying to play weatherman while also managing multpile sessions per evening. Sounds hectic, but I kinda love that part of it. It helps me get into a totally different creative space and brings in colors that I don’t normally get to experience in Virginia, or at least not year round! Tulip sessions at Burnside Farms in Nokesville Virginia, happen for an average of 3ish weeks in the month of April. The start of their season is all dependent on temperature/rain and when in full bloom are STUNNING. Stumbling upon Burnside Farm was the biggest treat and every year I offer mini sessions during this festival of flowers!!

One of the fun things about tulip sessions, is the weather. The weather can be ALL over the place and each session day is unique based on what that forecast gives us. For these sessions I always tell my clients to expect ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING. Rain, full sun, WIND, mud, bugs, and SO MANY PEOPLE.

This year I offered 2 days of minis, and both were complete opposites. I love it. The first day had a wash out the day before, and the rain stopped by late morning. I knew the fields would be muddy but the forecast showed no more rain and overcast clouds really do make for some incredible colors and textures. I had 2 families brave my forecast and the results were incredible. It was chilly, it was muddy, but those flowers were VIBRANT. I still dont know what I prefer for these sessions, both provide such incredible looks. Here are my favorites!!

BIRTHDAY PUP | PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD VIRGINIA

I am a BIG dog person and always LOVE when clients want to include their fur babies in sessions. I first met Casino back in 2019, during Alex and Caroline’s first session with me. Fast forward many years later and they have become great friends and also one of my 2023 bride and grooms! So getting to photograph Casino a second time was so much fun. He is such a special pup and will be turning 15 this year!! He is laid back and great with kids. He even sat on my little ones lap later that night and she was loving it. :). We celebrated his bday a little early with some fun portraits and I am OBSESSED with all of them!! We were able to capture his personality and all of the funny faces he makes! The key to getting great dog photos is treats! Lots of yummy treats!! :) We explored my back yard a bit and also got some fun studio shots. This old boy is so loved and I am so glad we were able to capture these. <3 Here are my favorites!

BEHIND THE SCENES | FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD VIRGINIA

I have had so many clients mention to me that they love it when I post behind the scenes content. BUT in sessions I often forget to grab those fun action shots because I am in the zone! Or I don’t have someone with me to capture the footage while I’m shooting! This is the year of change and this is something I am really passionate about sharing. I love the story and the fun that leads to “the shot” and will certainly be better about posting more of it here!!

I have been sitting on these photos for over a year now and knew I had to blog about it! I luckily had Jeremy with me so he was able to use my camera and capture me setting Fin in place for these magical photos! What you dont see here is just how FREEZING the water was!! While it was a warmer January day, the water was probably around 40 degrees. BRRRRR!!!! So it was super important to find a way for us to capture this without my kiddo losing feeling in her toes!

I shot Fin’s 4 year shoot at this same location and have been wanting to revisit it now that she was a little older and a little more cooperative when it came to my vision. My goal was to capture a very still shot with the sky reflecting in the water and Fin appearing to walk on top. I wanted a piece of art rather than a close up portrait so that displaying it large would be an option. I placed a plastic foot stool just below the surface of the water and of course it floated! I carried Fin to the stool and slowly got her feet in position and in a balancing act we re-submerged the stool until it was secure. She still had to do a lot of balancing and I know her poor little feet were so cold. The entire setup/shoot lasted maybe 5 minutes because that water was SO COLD!!

The photos turned out gorgeous and I still have many more to edit. But here are a few of me setting up and the final product! Enjoy <3

BABY CHLOE | NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD VIRGINIA

Meet Chloe!! This little miss was such a good sleeper and we got SO many amazing setups! Talk about a dream session! The coolest part was that I photographed it on my daughters 6th birthday, and her big sis was the last newborn I photographed while pregnant. Lets just say this session was MUCH easier to maneuver without that big ole 39 week belly in the way. <3 Ive known this family for over 6 years and love every session we have together. They are always up for adventure and let me be as creative as I want. They have been so supportive of my business over the years and being able to capture their growing family is the best compliment I could ever receive. This little beauty was so much fun to photograph and I am incredibly grateful to have photographed not one but BOTH their gorgeous girls. They truly will always hold a special place in my heart. Here are some of my favorites. :)