03/14 2013

Great Beginnings!

I first met up with this sweet family back at the beginning of February for a maternity and family session. We had a great time – and I am so excited about getting to see them several times over the next year! Here are some of my favorites from the maternity session:

Isn’t this mama gorgeous?

Here are my buddies Emmi (who won’t be the baby of the family much longer!) and Rylan!

I think it’s easy to see why their kiddos are so cute :)

And just last week, I got to see this awesome family again – and meet baby Finn! How perfect is he?

I can tell Emmi will be a great big sister, and Rylan will be a fun big-big brother!

Ahhhh, I just love this one of this beautiful mama and her tiny little boy.

Little Finn, you are so sweet! I can’t wait to see how big you’ve gotten in a few months!

03/12 2013

Six months already?

I met up with my little buddy Thomas and his parents last weekend for his six month photos. Thomas is one of my milestone plan babies, so I get to see him every few months! I seriously can’t believe how big he is getting – and how quickly! I feel like his newborn and three-month (okay, well, four-month) sessions were just a few weeks ago!

I met Thomas and his mama and daddy at Brookside Gardens, and we had a nice stroll. I just love getting to know families over the course of their ‘milestone’ year! Thomas is just the happiest little guy – full of smiles! And his blue eyes are amazing (I guess he gets them from his beautiful mama)!

Smiliest little guy ever!

I just love this one – his expression is so sweet!

It was so good seeing you again, R family! Looking forward to seeing you again very soon!

02/13 2013

A Light- and Love-filled Home

I met this awesome family last weekend on a very, very cold day. They welcomed me into their beautiful home – it was seriously a photographer’s dream! There were floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides of their living room, everything was so clean and modern – I was in love. And then I met their sweet little kiddos and almost asked if I could move in :) Seriously – are they not the cutest family?

Big sister was so sweet – we got to hang out in her room, and she read me a book.

Is her baby brother not the smiliest guy you’ve ever seen?

Love this one of mama and her sweet little girl…

… and this one of baby boy with his Papa!

It’s families like this that make me really love this job!

02/06 2013

Something new

I have done a lot of soul-searching about this subject… and I think it’s finally time to make an announcement! I have had the privilege of meeting and photographing many newborns since I started my business in September of 2011. The photos I have taken include those squishy, sleepy, curled up baby shots like this:

and this:

…and lifestyle photos of babies and their families just hanging out at home like this:

and this:

And during the past year and a half, I have discovered something about myself: my real love lies in lifestyle photography. I love capturing the way new parents interact with their baby. I love seeing big siblings checking out their new baby brother and sister – touching their nose, kissing their cheek.

I still think that posed newborn photos are sweet and adorable and beautiful – but they are not where my heart is. And I want my heart to be in the moments and in the art I capture and create for my clients. So, after March 1, 2013, I will no longer be accepting or offering posed newborn sessions (if you have booked with me before 3/1, don’t worry – your sessions will include posed images!). I will be focusing on lifestyle newborn sessions, where I come to your home and peek in on the moments you have as a new family.

And, of course, I am always accepting maternity, child, and family sessions – nothing about those is changing!

Thanks for coming with me on this journey!

02/02 2013

Blog Circle – Close-Up Portraiture

January’s topic for my monthly Clickin’ Moms blog circle was close-up portraiture… and who better for me to focus on (omg, focus on. Total camera nerd pun.) than my two favorite little people in the whole world?

The thing is… my boys don’t like me to take their picture. Not even a little bit. They see my camera pointed at them, and they run the other way. Or bury their face in the couch cushions. Or just stick out their tongues. So I pulled out all the stops for a bribe.

I offered them a dollar. And here is what I got.

I think I got my money’s worth – do you?

Now head on over to the lovely Anna Hollister’s blog to see how she views close-ups.

01/28 2013

Lensbaby Project – January

“Oooookay Julie,” you may be wondering, “what is a Lensbaby?” Well, let me tell ya. It’s a cool kind of lens that fits right on SLR cameras that you can use to get some really cool effects, like tilt-shift (making things look miniature), blur, selective focus, etc. So I was super excited when my husband got me the Lensbaby Spark for Christmas, and even more excited to find a great group of ladies on Clickin’ Moms who all wanted to challenge themselves to take great photos with their Lensbabies. Should that be Lensbabys? I don’t know.

It’s been a challenge learning how to use the Spark, but it’s been a lot of fun. And it forced me to go out and shoot for ME – which I don’t get to do very often. I don’t really have a ‘theme’ for my photos this month other than ‘trying to figure out how to work this thing.’ But here are a few of my favorites!

Now go check out Long Beach Photographer Miss Chia‘s Lensbaby photos from this month!

01/08 2013

Love is in the Air

I met this gorgeous (and fun!) couple the week before Christmas, when it was still just a *little* bit warm out. We had a really nice time chatting and found out we have lots in common. It’s so fun to make connections with clients! Here are a few of my favorites from their session:

Thanks, E and I! I had a great time with both of you!

01/06 2013

Four Months Old

This little guy is one of the babies I have the privilege of getting to know for a whole year – and I am so lucky to have him as my little buddy! I first met Thomas and his parents back in September for his newborn session – and he was quite possibly the cutest newborn I had ever seen! He is already four months old, and I met him and his awesome parents at Meadowside Nature Center in Rockville for some photos to celebrate. And if you thought he was cute before, just look at him now!

Such a big boy!

He was all smiles for his mama and daddy!

But he still wasn’t too sure about me :)

Just look at these blue eyes! So sweet!

R family, it was great seeing you again – and I can’t wait to see you and Tommy again in a few months!

01/05 2013

One Month Old

I met big brother N and his baby brother, V, last month, just a couple of weeks before Christmas. I went to Great Falls, VA where this beautiful family had recently moved into their gorgeous new home. Baby V was about a month old and was wide awake wanting to see the world!

Big brother was just as sweet – we had a great time playing with toys and hanging out. His big brown eyes are totally swoon-worthy!

I always love to see the bonds between daddies and their sons – this moment just melted me!

Thank you so much, M family, for welcoming me into your home and for letting me spend time with you. Your family is so lovely and your boys are so precious! And your cat is a good model ;)

01/04 2013

An Annapolis Family Session

* Disclaimer: I told my husband I had writer’s block and he asked if he could help. So he started dictating a blog post for me while I typed – and he had no idea I was writing down what he was saying. It’s too good not to share.

“I find myself surrounded by the ambiance of a nice old town steeped in history, with the Naval Academy nearby and sailing lessons washing up on the breeze. I find my attention drawn to this beautiful family. What charm and what wit. Aaahhhh. Their smiles are contagious. Their laughs are mesmerizing. It’s such a joy to have the opportunity to capture moments in this family’s wonderful life. Even nature seems to change its December to a nice spring afternoon.”

So, yeah. I’m married to a poet apparently. Or something. I guess a poet wouldn’t say that sailing lessons wash up on the breeze. But it made me laugh, and I hope it made you laugh, too. That’s what I’m here for.

Oh… and pictures! I’m here to show you pictures.

Check out this beautiful family! We met at the City Dock in downtown Annapolis a few weeks ago before it turned too cold. I love this shot looking up Main Street.

I wanted to capture as much of the gorgeous sky and the cool backdrop of the dock as I could, so I brought my wide angle lens. I love that thing – and I love this shot of the kids running around on the dock!

I had such a great time shooting in the city. I do love doing sessions with more nature-y backgrounds, but this was a fantastic change of scenery for me. And I love this shot of this gorgeous mama with her little boy!

R family, I really enjoyed my day with you (as always)!

Oh, and a big thanks to my husband for helping me get over the writer’s block ;)

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