I love me some moo...

moo.com Go check them out. They are the amazing company who printed my business cards which I just ran downstairs and grabbed 30 minutes ago. What I loved is the array of images I was able to use! So colorful and fun. Just what I want for my business.

Here they are in all their colorful glory




This is how they arrived

And here is the inside

Love them! Not only are they reasonably priced, they are awesome. Go check them out. :)

A run on the turkey-DC Family Photographer

I woke up early this past Saturday and headed north on George Washington Parkway to Turkey Run, a park/trailhead along the Potomac to photograph a family I have known for a year now. You may remember John and Kate from this post and this one when their son was younger. They had originally booked one session but when it began to rain at the end I offered to finish shooting at another time.

In July when they were passing by Lexington where my family and I were living at the time we invited them for 4th of July dinner. My daughter took to them immediately and I felt that a friendship was formed.


Now here I am, back in the DC area and we've already hung out a couple times, at a park, at dinner, it's been great having friends. And that is what I had always hoped for when I started this business: to make lasting relationships with the families I shoot, to photograph their family as they grow. I'm so grateful for wonderful friends like John and Kate and for being able to get out shooting again! Despite the cold that their little boy had I'm pleased with what we were able to get. Hope you guys are too.

the perfect time...

Is there such a thing as 'the perfect time'? If you're anything like me, your down time is spent contemplating some day in the (hopefully not distant) future when you'll have more money and more time to do what you've always wanted to do, that you'll weigh less than you do right now, that your kids will be better behaved and that you'll be more organized.

I began thinking about this idea of 'the perfect time' while perusing the blog of a photographer in Australia who just had her family's portraits taken by one of my favorite photographers: Blue Lily. She posed the question: what is stopping you from having your family's portraits taken? Do you want to lose weight? Do you not have time? Is money an issue?

It is true that custom photography is a luxury but it is worth it! And I echo Alinta and promise you that the memories captured will be worth so much more than the money you pay for them. My desire has always been to offer candid, beautiful, moving, personal moments without-as my canvas company recently stated- overcharging. I hope that you won't continue to wait, to put it off any longer. Children grow up so fast, situations change and I know that there will never be 'the perfect time' for photography or anything else for that matter. Stop waiting, start doing.

A recent photo from our trip up North. I will be taking my own advice and booking a session soon. :)

Back "home" finally!

Has it really been weeks since I posted? Our trip to upstate New York was fabulous. Lots of talking, staying up late, watching Law & Order, reading, relaxing... what more could you ask for. I'm so happy to be home, in our new home now in Arlington. And I want to start taking pictures!! Can't wait to get the word around that I'm ready to shoot! I hope everyone is having a fantastic, if not, very hot week.

Short Hiatus

While we are in the middle of moving from Nashville to DC and all of the fun travels we have planned in between, the blog may get slightly neglected. I will try to post some images from my travels to upstate NY next week and for the 10 days we will be there.

And while I am away, if you know of anyone in the DC area who is pregnant and due anywhere from the middle of July until September or so and who would like to receive a complimentary newborn session let me know. I am looking for 2-3 newborn "models" to work with. Families will receive a complimentary newborn session and one 5x7 as well as the option of purchasing collections or prints at 15% off. ($200+ value)

Sites and Sounds: Ballston Farmers Market

I saw a sign last week about a farmer's market near the Ballston Metro Station. Thankfully, since that's all the info I knew of, the market has a blog and twitter page and I found out that the market is open every Thursday from 3pm-7pm. Ahh... I'm telling you, heaven is found in local farmer's markets. E and I enjoyed some fresh blueberries, picked just this morning from a farm about an hours drive from DC. Couldn't be any better than that!

#92 Purchase a set of templates or two from Design Aglow

I haven't blogged any completed goals for awhile regarding my 101 goals to complete in 1001 days. #92 was completed a couple of months ago when I decided to purchase a couple of templates from a company who designs some of the most beautiful templates for photographers, Design Aglow.

I love their templates so much because they have a sense of timelessness and simplicity which exude beauty. As a company they strive to help photographers create beautiful pieces to sell and take the hassle out of designing them ourselves.

I laughed to myself when I was reading back over my goals, seeing which ones I have accomplished and which ones I haven't yet. It seems like such a small thing, purchasing templates, and it is, but the results of using a template to create an artpiece for a client is gorgeous.

To see the templates I purchased click here and here. And I've already used them! Yay! Unfortunately I wasn't able to take any pictures of the final product as I wanted to keep them wrapped in their protective bubble wrap and plastic. But here are the designs I sent to my lab:

This was a 20x20 mounted print for my mom for Mother's Day. It turned out lovely. I collaborated with my siblings and their spouses to include pictures of all of us from the past couple of years.

The image below was inspired by the templates I purchased but I tweaked it a bit to get it to our liking. This was a 30x30 inch gallery wrapped canvas. The black border wrapped around the wooden frame and was only visible from the sides. It contains images from a clients session I did in April and was gorgeous. Can I just say that it was nice and big! Just the way I like them.