ALLISON MATERNITY | MATERNITY PHOTOGRAPHER | WOODBRIDGE, VIRGINIA

This summer I photographed another one of my favorite families for their last family/maternity session before welcoming their second baby boy. We had a gorgeous evening which is rare in Virginia, but I do not remember it being too terribly warm. And the light was PERFECT. We had lots of laughs and fun running around the park and watching Dominic steal the show. He is such a ham and full of personality. I have loved capturing this adorable family over the last two years and feel so lucky to continue to capture their family photos. Here are my favs:

CAMILA IS ONE | FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER | ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA

This is one of my favorite families to photograph!! Years ago we met Grissel and Josue at Starbucks to discuss all things wedding. They were the cutest couple and so in love and over the moon talking about their upcoming wedding. (I think its been 6 years, but don’t hold me to that because my brain is mush now and I feel like they have been in our lives as long as I can remember). I have had the absolute pleasure of working with them so many times in those years to capture not one but two of their gorgeous girls milestones. This past summer we celebrated sweet little Camila’s first birthday with an outdoor family/cake smash session in Arlington. It was a beautiful summer evening and the flowers were blooming and the light was glowing. Everything about the session was perfect! Here are my favs:

BABY ALICE | NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD, VIRGINIA

Meet Alice! This gorgeous little baby was a dream to photograph! We sped through every setup and even captured some AMAZING sibling shots!! Her big brother was also one of my newborn clients and both kiddos are always amazing for their sessions!! I am one lucky photographer!! <3 I love this family and have been so thankful for being able to capture these incredible memories for them. Here are some of my favs.

BABY ELIJAH | NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD, VIRGINIA

Meet Elijah!! I met his mommy and daddy many years ago when we worked together at Panera. Where they met fell and love! :) Here they are now married with the most ADORABLE baby boy! This sleepy head was SOOOOO good for his session and we got so many fun setups. Elijah is so loved and his parents are rocking parenting. I am so lucky to have kept in touch with these 2 and love being able to capture their growing family. Here are a few of my favorites from their session.

COLIN TURNS ONE | MILESTONE PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD, VIRGINIA

This summer i had so much fun capturing Colin’s one year photos and cake smash!!! He was so good for his newborn session and did amazing for his one year session. I love getting to see my newborn clients grow up and become fun little toddlers full of personality! Colin is the most handsome little guy and his smile melts my heart! This kiddo was such a cutie pie and really destroyed his cake and I loved every minute of it!! Here are my favs <3

BABY ROWAN | NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD, VIRGINIA

Meet Baby Rowan!! I met this adorable baby boy last spring!! I photographed his big brother for his first year and have the pleasure of photographing his first year as well. Remember the famous Harry Potter baby?? Well this is his little brother!!! And we recreated the shot again! This little dude may no longer a newborn but his session was one that I absolutely loved! He was so cuddly and already has a ton of personality. His mom and dad make some awesome kids and I cannot wait to see him this month for his 9 month session. Check out some of my favorites!

GOODBYE 2018!!!

As we say goodbye to 2018 I cannot help but be shocked at how quickly this year flew by. 2018 has been the fastest year of all time and I cannot believe new years eve is tomorrow. But this year has been one for the record books! I have had the honor of working with SO many new and amazing clients this year and was incredibly lucky to enjoy watching my returning clients celebrate milestones and expand their families. This year has been huge for my business and I cannot thank my clients enough for allowing me to capture their memories.

I have officially tackled my first full year of being a new mom and business owner and I can confidently say that I DID IT!! I am exhausted but I DID IT!! This year has been so rewarding in a lot of ways and pushed me in a lot of ways too. I have learned that turning a gallery around in 2 weeks instead of one is ok and returning emails within 24-48 hours is alright too. I have accepted that my sneak peeks may take an extra day to share. But I also have learned that as long as I continue to trust and listen to my creative voice the more I will continue to grow and my clients will love their unique gallery. I have learned to be more patient with myself and accept that I cannot do everything all the time. And most of all I have really learned that I may never fully master balancing being a mom, wife, and business owner but I have also learned that I got this! Because this is exactly what I was meant to do! Our house is a little messier, I look a little more frazzled, my blog entries are horribly behind, but overall I am so proud of the quality time I have been able to spend with Jeremy and Fin while also working and how this year turned out. It was by far my best and I cannot wait to see what next year brings!!

In 2019 I look forward to meeting so many more new people and sharing in the joy of capturing their families. I will probably continue to overload your news feed with too many pictures of Finley and hope that you’re ok with that :) BUT I promise I will continue to work my booty off to give you gorgeous images and great customer service and to have a blast with you at your session with me :)!!

THANK YOU AGAIN for everyone who continues to follow me and support Laura Lou Photography!! It is because of you and the constant support and love you have given that I can keep this business going! And also a HUGE THANK YOU to Jeremy! For always encouraging me, there is NO way I could have done this without you! Thank you!! And see you in 2019!! (look below for 2018’s fav images :)

~Laura

THE KELLY FAMILY | MATERNITY PHOTOGRAPHER | MANASSAS, VIRGINIA

This summer I had such a great time capturing this gorgeous mama and her family! This session was a tricky one to shoot because the forecast was ALL over the map and changed every 10 minutes. But with a little luck on our side we got an incredible day with amazing light. Tobia you are one beautiful mama!! Here are some of my favorites!

AMBER IS ONE | MILESTONE PHOTOGRAPHER | STAFFORD, VIRGINIA

This past spring I had the plasure of capturing little Miss Amber’s cake smash! I have photographed her since she was in her mama’s belly and she is a gorgeous little girl! She is spunky and so full of personality! She knew how to work the camera and gave us some epic faces and one of my favorite cake smashes to date! Check out her session below!!

VOLLBRECHT FAMILY | FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER | MANASSAS, VIRGINIA

I met this incredible family through my hubby years ago and have loved getting to know them a little more each year! This past spring they hired me to do a family session and we had a BLAST! It was a tiny bit chilly but they were troopers and we ran all over the park and laughed. Their kiddos are fantastic and i loved every minute of shooting this session! You guys are such a great group and I cannot wait to photograph your family again!! Here are some of my favs!