Today’s tidbit: “Today, just take time to smell the roses, enjoy those little things about your life, your family, spouse, friends, job. Forget about the thorns—the pains and problems they cause you—and enjoy life” ― Bernard Kelvin Clive

As you may have noticed by my blog posts, lately I have been photographing a lot of people. Whether it’s maternity, couples or babies I have really been enjoying capturing those genuine moments. The more shoots I do the more I’m finding out that while it normally starts out with an idea for a pose it turns into me snapping away capturing the candid shots, allowing the natural beauty and true expressions to come out. Those are my favorite photographs! I seem to always notice the little details, no matter where I am. I try to capture these details and moments in every photo shoot I do, whether it’s for a client or on my own.

With the gorgeous weather we were having in July, wandering around with a camera was the perfect way to spend an afternoon. Although I know I will be back, it was a nice way to close the chapter on living and working in Old Town, Alexandria. I will be breaking up my Old Town session into 3 posts, with this first post focusing on nature, texture and black + white.

Sneak peek image:

Be sure to click below to read more and check out more pictures. Enjoy!

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Today’s tidbit: “A new baby is like the beginning of all things — wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities.” — Eda J. Le Shan

In my last July recap blog post I was planning to do a full post on my improptu photo shoot in Old Town Alexandria next but plans changed, look for that later this week! Do you remember Ayn’s surprise maternity session that was on the blog less than 2 weeks ago? Ayn welcomed baby Amelia to the world last Tuesday, 7/30/13 and was able to go home on Friday. Yesterday I was lucky enough to go see Ayn and meet Amelia. Of course I had my camera, so what better way to start off your Monday than with some adorable newborn pictures?! She is only 5 days old in these!

Sneak peek image:

Be sure to click below to read more and check out more pictures. Enjoy!

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Today’s tidbit: “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”
— Albert Einstein

It took a while for me to sit down and put into writing everything I wanted to say in my reflection post and June recap post. There was just so much going on with all the ups and downs. If I had to sum up June in a few words it would be challenging, rough, overwhelming and unexpected. 

As I reflect now I feel more at ease. If I had to sum up July in a few words it would be transition, freeing and moving. Looking back July was another VERY busy month, but in a good way! So, what happened?

July: Ayn’s {surprise} photo shoot + Planned Allie’s bachelorette weekend + Designed Allie & Brian’s wedding invitation suite + Closing on house finalized + Offer on new house in MD accepted + Freelance design job with GMU + Booked 2 new photography jobs + Ayn had her baby, Amelia + Impromptu Old Town Alexandria photo shoot + Lease ended on my rental house, moved out 

Be sure to click below to read more and check out more pictures. Enjoy!

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Today’s tidbit: “When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.” — Helen Keller 

This was a special photo shoot! Not only was it for a friend but it was also a surprise!

A little background: Once I transferred to GMU and changed my major to graphic design {read more}, I started to get involved with a lot of groups, like AIGA–GMU student group and AIGA–DC chapter. I got to know the dedicated design students and made some wonderful friends, a handful of which I still keep in touch with on a weekly basis. Among those are Lindsey and Ayn. We grew close with mutual classes and AIGA events, and have remained in touch since graduating. A lot has certainly happened since then, from moving and jobs to babies! Lindsey had a beautiful boy, Blake who will be 2 years old this September. Ayn is pregnant with a baby girl, Amelia who should be making her appearance into the world this week or next!! For now I am sticking to Sammy, my fur baby, but I have loved being apart of these huge moments and sharing in their excitement.

Sneak peek images:

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Today’s tidbit: “Where there is love there is life.” — Mahatma Gandhi

Monday I posted part 1 of this adorable shoot. Crystal told me she couldn’t imagine part 2 being any cuter. I’ll keep it a short post and get right to the pictures so you can decide!

Sneak peek images:

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Today’s tidbit: “Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.”—Winnie the Pooh

Last week I had posts with adorable dogs… and this week it’s an adorable family!

Do you remember my first maternity shoot of the beautiful couple, Crystal and Sam? They were thrilled with how those pictures came out and I was honored when they asked me to take family and 8 month old pictures of baby Raeley the end of June. She is just adorable!

I have showed Crystal and Sam sneak peak 1 and sneak peak 2 images, but they haven’t seen anything else yet. I wanted it to be a surprise and I know they are waiting anxiously to see the pictures… so, here you go!!

Sneak peek images:

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Today’s tidbit: “Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.” — Roger Caras

Happy (rainy + dreary) Friday! And Happy Birthday to my Grandma in Albany, NY who turns 79 years old today! I wish I could be there, but I did recently visit and she will be getting a nice surprise in the mail!

It was a busy blog week. This week ended up having two canine posts, but who doesn’t like adorable dogs? And speaking of adorable, remember the family I posted sneak peak images of? Look for full blog posts on the photo shoot next week with Crystal, Sam and Raeley!

Need a laugh? It’s not the nicest day here in Northern, VA and I know a few people who could use a laugh so here you go! For todays friday fun, check out the birthday dogs… Jax turned 4 years old this Wednesday! My roommate/his owner, Holly came home from work with birthday treats. Both Sammy and Jax are rescue dogs and I strongly believe in adopting pets. They are our fur babies and are awfully spoiled :). It took a while to get the hats to stay on and for them to look at us, but we shared many laughs and I had fun capturing it!

Sneak peek images:

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Today’s tidbit: “Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.” — Marthe Troly-Curtin

My previous post captured family + flowers during my trip to Albany, NY. I decided there were too many pictures to share in one post, so here is part 2 capturing canine friends. As I mentioned before, during my stay I was helping take care of my moms dog, Cody. Cody and Sammy are friends and were so happy to see each other. My moms neighbor has a very energetic young german shepherd, Nina who has become Cody’s girlfriend. They have afternoon play dates almost every day in their yard running around and playing in the dog pool. I slowly introduced Sammy into the mix and after a few days the 3 of them were racing around the yard having a blast. Cody and Sammy always came home totally exhausted, passing out on the floor. This worked out well for me since I went to the nursing home almost every evening to see my grandparents.

If you didn’t guess by now, I turned the play dates into a photo shoot. Below are some of the pictures I took.

Sneak peek image:

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Today’s tidbit: “The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.” — Abraham Lincoln

In my Reflection post I mentioned a lot has been going on but one of the good things that came out of it is having time to travel. My mom is now living in Albany, NY where most of her family is so I don’t see her as often as I see my dad. She took 3 weeks off to travel to Seattle, Vancouver and Alaska (part for a travel agent conference and part for a divorce/new life celebration). While she was gone, I decided to drive up to NY (June 24– July 2) to help take care of her dog, Cody as well as spend time with my Aunt, who recently had knee surgery, and my grandparents who are in a nursing home.

Along with spending time with family, I was able to enjoy my Aunts pool + stop by one of my favorite gluten free places, Sherry Lynn’s (their website KILLS me though) + watch the towns firework show + capture the beauty of my grandma/mom’s gardens + visit a beautiful rose garden + Sammy had doggie dates with Cody and the neighbors dog, Nina (pictures of the dogs coming in part 2, later this week).

Sneak peek image:

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Happy Friday! I hope you had a wonderfully fun and relaxing {and safe} holiday!

Living so close to the nations capital, it is a must to go see the fireworks in Washington, DC… at least a few times.
Of course the crowds can be frustrating, but it is also amazing the people you meet. Living so close you sometimes forget what an amazing city it is and are reminded when you hear how far people travel to enjoy it, not just on the 4th of July but daily. Yesterday I met people from various states all over the country along with a family from Germany and a couple from London. Although the Washington Monument doesn’t look as beautiful right now with all of the renovating, it is still an amazing experience to be in the heart of America watching the fireworks light up the sky over the Washington Monument.

Sneak peek image:

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