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!!

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

S FAMILY MATERNITY | MATERNITY PHOTOGRAPHER | WOODBRIDGE VIRGINIA

March maternity sessions can always go one of two ways in Virginia with its crazy weather. HOT or FREEZING and for some reason there never seems to be an in between! This session took place on my birthday so I knew despite the bizzare weather forecast it was going to work out and be amazing. :) All week leading up to our session temps were chilly but manageable but the weekend hit and we were forcasted in the 40’s and WIND!! SO MUCH WIND!! The temp was SO COLD and there were 30+mph wind gusts. Talk about a wild forecast! With maternity sessions, time is not always on our side when the weather is absolutley bonkers! And with weather this year being so unpredictable we trusted our gut and my incredible clients trusted me to work magic!

The entire session was freezing and windy BUT these two ROCKED IT! They embraced the elements and captured increible photos!! At the end this brave mama even braved the freezing water so we could get those gorgeous water shots!! I am so in love with what we captured. I absolutley adore this couple and couldn’t be more excited to photograph their journey into parenthood! Here are my favorites! If you are interested in a maternity or newborn session shoot me an email!!

R FAMILY | MATERNITY PHOTOGRAPHER | COLONIAL BEACH VIRGINIA

I have had the pleasure of photographing this family for many years now! We met when they had their gorgeous little girl and have been capturing their memories and milestones ever since. When I found out they were expecting baby girl #2 I was over the moon!! We took full advantage of a flash storm emptying out all of the summer traffic and we had Colonial Beach to ourselves. This session was so much fun to capture and I am obsessed with all of there photos we got!! The best part was getting in the water at the end :) Cannot wait to meet their little girl in just a few short weeks!

Here are some of my favorites:

ELIZABETH IS ONE | MILESTONE PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD VIRGINIA

Sweet Elizabeth is already one!! I cannot believe it! It feels like yesterday that I received the “she’s here” text!! This little beauty is one of my dear friends baby’s and have had the pleasure of watching her grow over the last year. She is such a smiley happy girl and those chunky cheeks are too precious. For her one year session we lucked out with a gorgeous 70ish degree day with incredible glowy light. Bugs weren’t out yet and we just had a blast capturing some stunning photos of this little lady. I cannot wait to see her continue to grow and see her personality continue to shine! Here are some of my faves!!

If you are interested in a milestone session shoot me a message!!

BABY ISABELLA | NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD VIRGINIA

Meet sweet baby Isabella! This gorgeous little lady came to see me mid January for her newborn session. She is the daughter of a special friend whose senior photos I shot many many years ago!! I couldn’t believe how fast those years have gone and getting to see her become a mommy is such an amazing gift. This little girl is so loved by her mom and dad and it is clear they are going to be phenomenal parents. And lets be honest they made one ADORABLE kiddo!

My favorite thing about working with new parents is having the ability to connect and hear all about their journey to parenthood. Everyone’s story is unique and I love being able to share in their excitement. Those sleepless nights and newborn cuddles dont last forever and being able to savor them is so important! In a matter of weeks this sweet girl will have hit new milestones and changed and I am thrilled we were able to capture these when she was 13 days new.

Check out some highlight from our session!! And if you are interested in learning more about my newborn sessions shoot me a message!

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 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