Here Come the Brides!

My poor blog has been so neglected.  As a perfectionist, once I get so far behind, the tendency is to give up.  You know, if I can't do it perfectly, I just won't do it at all.  (When I say it...or type it...it makes no sense, but this is how my mind works!)  I am going to do my best, over the next few weeks to play catch up, but there are a lot of sessions to catch up on, so it will be a process.  Thankfully, the reason I've gotten behind is because I've been working at doing what I love--taking photographs!  I'm excited to share them with you here.

I had the privilege of photographing two weddings late in the summer.  Both were small, back/front yard weddings that were beautifully done.  The brides were radiant, as all brides are, and the setting was intimate and full of sweet details.  I'll start my "back to blogging" crusade by posting some of these wedding photos.

Amanda and Lonnie were married at Amanda's mother's home, under a beautiful tent in the front yard, surrounded by close family and friends.

Heather is the friend of a friend of mine.  She and Corky were married in his family's back yard.  They only
shared their day with their immediate families.  The love between the two of them just radiated, which made taking their photos incredibly fun!

I am excited about the possibility of photographing more engagements and weddings in the coming months!  Please let me know if you, or someone you know needs a wedding photographer!

Joseph and Kendy | Couples Shoot

I met her 12 years ago.  She was in 8th grade.  Sweet, smart and a daddy's girl... I liked her right from the start. Not just her, but her whole family.  It was actually her brother I was particularly interested in.  It was just a bonus that his family was so wonderful!  Now, that sweet girl is my sister in law and also my best friend.  And she married a great guy who we are so proud to call family as well.  Kendy and Joseph came to stay with us in August and I took the opportunity to take photos of them, since they just happen to be some of my favorite people and are also very photogenic!

When Kendy and Joseph come it always means football in the front street, lots of extra snuggles and playtime for our kids (who adore their aunt and uncle) and late night Spades at the kitchen table.  It always feels more like home when they are here.  We live so far from our families.  It's such a comforting feeling when they can be with us.

And we have fun...so much fun!

Okay, back to the pictures...

I remember when Kendy met Joseph, and the chat we had in front of the computer, as we looked at his student ID picture on the college website.  :)  I had a hunch, and I was right.  They are a GREAT couple.  And great really is a lame adjective for just how completely cool and fantastic they are.  (It's late, so I'm grasping for words...especially adjectives.)  Just trust me, they're amazing.  :)

We have these high hopes...dreams...that one day we'll live near one another...maybe even down the street.  And our kids will play with one another.  Well, maybe OUR kids will babysit.  :)  And we'll serve in a church together and have weekly Spades games and monthly date nights.  And every time I watch "Parenthood" I am more convinced that this needs to happen.

But for now we settle for visits a couple of times a year, phone calls, facebook messages and such.  I'm so grateful for airplanes and technology.

We are just incredibly blessed to have such wonderful families.  Kendy and Joseph, we love you! (And I miss you WAAAAY too much after writing this blog.)

Andrea and Andrew | Sky Meadows State Park Photo Shoot

Andrea contacted me about doing a shoot with her and her 6 week old son, Andrew.  She had photos taken with her daughters at this age and has them framed in their home, and wanted to do the same with her little man.  We met at Sky Meadows State Park in Delaplane, VA.  Here are some of my favorites from our time together...

I love his sweet smile in this one.  :)

Flowers, mountains, a rustic fence....only a few of the things that make Sky Meadows an awesome location for photos.

Andrea is such a beautiful mom and Andrew cooperated so nicely in the August heat!

It was great to meet Andrea and Andrew!  Looking forward to photographing their whole family in a couple of weeks!

Dave, Carlene, Cameron and Grace

How long has it been since I blogged?  Too long!  I promise not to let that happen again.  I have lots of shoots to catch you up on...beginning with this great family...

Meet Grace, Dave, Carlene and Cameron...

We did these photos back in July.  Their back yard was decorated beautifully with crepe myrtle blooms.

Dave and Carlene are great parents, who have so much love for their children.  I think you can see it in their eyes in these pictures.

And Dave and Carlene also have a deep love for one another.  Many of my favorite pictures from the day were of the two of them...this one being one of them...

I'm so thankful to know them and grateful that they let me spend some time with them, doing photos.  I'm just sorry it took me so long to share them with you!

After our backyard time, I headed down to the basement, which is full of music equipment and instruments.  This family has no shortage of talent and it was fun for me to catch them in their element.

When I headed back upstairs, I found more musical beauty!

Thanks for sharing some time with me and allowing me to capture the love and talent in your wonderful family!

Devin, Cameron and Beckett :: Northern Virginia Infant and Child Photography

Can you believe how adorable these boys are? They are serious rock stars!  I got to photograph them at their beautiful home last month.  It's taken me forever to post these, partly because I had such a difficult time narrowing down which pictures to use!

Beckett is such a sweet baby and behaved so nicely for our photo shoot.  Isn't he dreamy?

Devin and Cameron really love their baby brother.  In fact, their Mom told me that, for the birth announcement picture, she didn't want either of the boys to hold Beckett, so there wouldn't be any jealousy over who held him the most! So much love!

Devin and Cameron are naturals!  Honestly, I have never known boys their age who were so good in front of the camera.

So handsome!

When Beckett fell asleep, I went crazy taking pictures of him!  Sleeping babies are so precious.

The last is my favorite.  Pure sweetness.

Thank you Devin, Cameron and Beckett (and Mom and Dad, too). It was an absolute treat spending time with your gorgeous family!

Emily and Andrew :: Northern Virginia Family Photography

Wow, I am playing catch up big time this week!  Our wonderful impromptu beach vacation left me a week behind on everything.  (And honestly, I was already probably a week behind before that, so...you do the math!) I have 3 photo shoots to blog and would also like to do a 4th of my family's beach pictures.  So get ready for an onslaught of photo blogs.  Are you ready?

I. love. these. kids.  They are full of personality and energy and were so easy to photograph naturally.

Emily loves frogs and is a star swimmer.  She's sweet and spunky and, as you can see, VERY photogenic!

Andrew is so much fun.  He's got a full tank of personality and gobs of energy.  I also hear he's quite the soccer player!

And even better than these kids individually, is these kids together.  They bickered and teased, just like all siblings, but there was a closeness I could see as they joked with each other.  They were having a ton of fun with one another!  It's sweet when you can see the love between siblings, even in the midst of normal rivalry!

So thankful I got to do photos for this family.  Hoping to do more in the future!

In case you didn't notice, I have changed the logo up a bit.  Okay, so I've totally changed it.  I'm also almost 100% sure that I'll be changing the name of my business.  I was certain I had chosen something original, that fit me perfectly, but in the short time I've been taking photos, I'm finding my name is not unique.  It's difficult to find me when you search for Small Wonders because that is apparently a common name for a photography business!  I also don't want to convey, through my name, that I only do infant and child photography.  It looks like using my name will be the best route I can take.  (I'm still playing with the look of the logo, what form i'll use on photos, etc.  That should explain the inconsistency in the photos above!)  So, look for announcements to come about a different domain for my website and a new blog name. Feel free to share your opinion on this change.  I'd like to hear people's thoughts.

Singing off for now...

06.20.2010 :: Northern Virginia Family Photographer

My friend Carmen asked me to do pictures for her family, as a gift to her husband for Father's Day.  Carmen is in my Life Group and I just love her!  She and her husband Joe are so great with their kids...patient and loving.  It was my pleasure to do their photos!

Allie and Lucas are so sweet.  They are both little adventurers...curious spirits with bundles of energy!

Lucas stayed by his Daddy's side most of the time.  So sweet!

Allie is just a little doll.  She was really enjoying searching for rocks, but we did convince her to pick a flower just for this picture!

Mom and Dad may have little ones, but they've still got it!  :)

We just let the kids play and explore while I snapped pictures.  Lucas brought his butterfly net and was determined to catch a bug.  I'm sorry to say he didn't catch one, but he and Dad had a lot of fun searching!

We did happen to spot the most beautiful butterfly, under the bridge.

Thanks for sharing your family time with me!  It was my pleasure!

The Wilsons :: Family Photo Shoot

When I met with the Wilsons at the beginning of the month, we were doing pictures for the second time.  Unfortunately, it wasn't because they had loved the first shoot I did for them!  It was because when our computer crashed, I lost their whole shoot! They were so kind and understanding and allowed me to redo their shoot.  We had better weather and light so I think the pictures turned out even better than the first round.  (And I learned a valuable lesson about saving photos in more than one spot and backing them up..twice or three times!)

Ben graduated this year so we did some photos with his cap and gown!  (Congrats Ben!)

It's really not a teenage boy's dream to have his photo taken, not once but TWICE in the same month!  I was thankful that Ben and Chris were forgiving and that we were able to get some great individual shots of the two of them.  :)

I loved the light coming from behind these trees!  Made for a really beautiful shot!

Thank you Wilsons, for letting me do your photos AGAIN!  You are a great family and I hope you are double pleased with the pictures.  :)