Author: alison@tinyblueorange.com

This past weekend I had the pleasure of working with the L. family.  Mom Sheri contacted me a few weeks ago looking for some updated pictures to document this time in her 2 year old Alex’s life.  We met up in the historic town of Waterford and spent the morning at the Waterford Mill exploring all it had to offer.  Alex and his family were a breeze to work with and I loved the innocent curiosity, exploration and imagination that Alex brought to the table for our session. It amazes me how at this age kids can find fascination with all the simple things nature has to offer.  Sticks, leaves, grass, and dirt were Alex’s playground on this summer morning and he had a blast.  L. family I had a blast as well and I hope you enjoy this sneak peak of our morning out and about in Waterford.  It was great getting to know the 3 of you and I can’t wait for you to see the rest of the images very soon!

August is here and so is the brand new look and feel of BeYoung Photography!  The past few months of portfolio building have been an invaluable time of growth and opportunity I am so excited to officially launch this business full force.  One of the biggest changes you’ll notice is the new logo and colors that have arrived.  Suzy Rohan of Chicago Lily Red Design is the graphic artist and designer behind this new logo and I was so excited to have had the opportunity to work with her to develop the BeYoung Photography brand going forward.  Suzy was truly able to make my simple, organic, fresh, and relaxed style come to life.   I hope you’ll take some time to head over to the new webpage and browse around.

BeYoung Photography Webpage

To celebrate the launch I’ll be announcing a new Holiday Minis special later on in the week. It’s not too early to start thinking about your annual family holiday photos.   Space for these sessions will be limited so get ready to contact me soon for booking information. This will be an offer you won’t want to miss!

Big changes are underway both in daily life and with BeYoung Photography as a whole! Exciting stuff is brewing over here and I can’t wait to share it all with you during the upcoming weeks. 

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted any personal updates but as you may already know my Calmer and I expecting one of the littlest big changes of our lives on or around September 24th.  As of now I am still shooting and have some fun sessions coming up in August. However, I will be closing up shop in September to prepare for our arrival and will be taking some much needed maternity leave through most of October. This past weekend we began work on her nursery and things are starting to feel much more real.

Even though this little one is on her way soon,  it’s still not to late to sqeeze in a last minute portfolio building session with me. I still have a few openings in August and if you book by the end of this week (July 31st), I am still offering a waived session fee and 50% off my print and collection prices with your signed model release form.

On August 1st there are big changes coming for the business starting with the end of my portfolio building and the official launch of BeYoung Photography.  A new website, new look and feel for the blog, and new fall specials (yes, right now it is a good time to start thinking about family photos for those holiday cards!) are all coming your way. I hope you’ll stay tuned and help me celebrate all the changes that are in store during the next few months.

This past weekend I got to spend a lovely time in Tampa, Florida with two of my favorite people.  Erin and I used to teach together here in Virginia but  unfortunately for me marriage took her away last summer and transplanted her in sunny Florida with her husband Minh.  Lucky for me I was able to arrange a visit to see them both recently and they asked me for  some photos to celebrate their one year wedding anniversary.

We ventured out to both the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks Greek Community and the downtown Curtis Hixon Memorial Park to capture some fun images.  Erin and Minh are two of the most genuine, friendly, and happy people I know and they are just the cutest couple.  Congratulations you two on your first year of marriage. I know there many more happy years ahead for you both!

This weekend I had the pleasure of heading out once again with the fabulous Kelly Nelson of Kelly Nelson Photography, but this time for a session with her gorgeous family.  Our morning together brought us to a lovely tucked away farmhouse and store in Purcellville, VA. The Hen House at Morning Way Farm is owned and operated by a close family friend of mine and I was thrilled when she offered it as a location to shoot.  It may have been a hot and buggy start to the day but the Nelson kiddos were content to explore the barn, open fields and buildings with mom and dad. There was much laughter, singing, and smiles during our time together and we had a lot celebrate as it was not only Father’s Day weekend but K. and D.’s 11 year anniversary as well.

Kelly, thank you for entrusting me with capturing your family images, the pressure is certainly on when you’re capturing a session for a fellow photographer! I hope you enjoy your sneak peek, I had a hard time choosing what to include here.  There were so many favorites and  I can’t wait to get your family the rest of your images soon!

This week I got the chance to relax over dinner and a photo walk with 2 amazing women and photographers. We met online via MeRa Koh’s SOAR scholarship only 6 short months ago and my life has been changed ever since. These ladies make me laugh, inspire me, motivate me, and are my photography sounding board. We are all 3 building our lifestyle photography business separately but also side-by-side growing and sharing as we go along.

First, meet Marcia Stuhler of Keller, TX based Classy Kids Photography.  What a great time I had finally getting to know this vivacious, sassy, compassionate friend in person! Up until this week our interactions had been limited to flickr, facebook, and email.  She certainly brought some Texas charm and flair during her short visit to Virginia. Check out her awesome cowgirl boots!

And, meet Kelly of the incredible Kelly Nelson Photography. Luckily she’s only a hop, skip, and a jump away from me in nearby Ashburn, VA.  I’m so grateful to have one of my “Soar Sisters” so close by. On our first coffee date back in January we just clicked (no pun intended) and it’s been a awesome friendship gained.

BeYoung Photography now offers session albums. Available either ala carte or as part of a session collection. I love the simple yet elegant design of these classic print albums.  The cover is made of warp-resistant double-thick archival board wrapped in premium, European-milled bookcloth and the pages are designed with the finest archival materials in mind. Choose from one of 13 different color options that coordinate with the unique style of your session.  These albums will certainly be a great way to share and display your session images with family and friends for years to come.

I had a blast this weekend with Harper and his family.  This family was one of my first clients as a new photographer this fall and it’s hard to believe how Harper has grown since then. Here’s the little guy at 6 months and 9 months, and now at 1 year he’s certainly got quite the personality and is one ham for the camera!

For our 1 year session we spent the morning at Manassas Battlefield with the whole family (including the two doggies!) just playing around in the grass.  This little man isn’t running around quite yet but soon enough! Mom and dad report he’s cruising the furniture and he’s taken his first steps so it’s only a matter of time before this little guy is on the move full force.

In true 1 year old birthday fashion we celebrated the momentous day with a first piece of CAKE! Harper wasn’t quite sure what to do at first and thought the cupcake was a nice squishy play toy, but as soon as mom gave him his first lick of that sweet icing it was all downhill from there.  As it should be, by the end of the experience he was a complete mess.

Lis, Chris, and Harper thanks for letting me spend the morning with you (and for letting me make your child a total sticky mess by the end of it all!). I’ve had such a great time photographing your family throughout the year and I hope you enjoy your sneak peek of photos from this session.

You know that saying, “The show must go on!”? The session I had this week with Kim, Kerry, and her adorable son Alex definitely felt like we were living that saying but the end result was so worth it! Kim contacted me with a great idea for a photo session with her sister Kerry. They are planning to create a sisterly surprise gift for their mom’s birthday this coming fall  (shhhh…hopefully mom isn’t reading this blog post right now…I don’t want to ruin the surprise…).

Kerry and Alex were visiting from out of town so rescheduling our session was not an option, and unfortunately the weather forecast for the afternoon of our shoot together indicated passing thunderstorms and rain.  We tried really hard to schedule around the weather, but unfortunately mother nature had her way with us and we had to find a way to work around her instead.

The rain gave us a great reason to hang out inside the local Barnes and Noble playing trains and reading books and gave me the perfect opportunity to get to know these guys a bit better.  Once boredom hit from being indoors, I was excited that these guys were willing to brave the storms and go out to play.  I just love Alex’s shark umbrella he proudly carried around with him.  It may have been raining, but it did not rain on our parade for this session and we had so much fun despite the weather.

Kim, Kerry, and Alex I hope you enjoy this sneak peek of images from our fun-filled rainy day. You guys were a breeze to work with and I can’t wait to show you the rest of your images soon!

Happy June! Where in the world did Spring go?  Summer is here in Virginia and with it definitely came a heat wave this past weekend (hello 90 degree weather).  The arrival of summer reminds us all that its time for flip flops, cooling off by the pool, family vacations, and late night stops for ice cream.  The arrival of summer also brought these beauties into bloom in my yard this morning!

Summer is bringing exciting things into bloom for BeYoung Photography in the coming summer months as well.  This Spring, I had the opportunity to work with some amazing clients as they helped me round out my portfolio in preparation for the official launch of my business. I’ve gotten the chance to meet and photograph some beautiful couples, energetic families, glowing mamas to be, and innocent newborns.  This summer I’ll be compiling my portfolio of images, rebranding my business (big changes coming in August!), and ending my portfolio building sale.

So what are you waiting for?  There is never as good a time as NOW to document your family memories.  I have 5 slots left for June and July sessions to finish out my portfolio building. I am looking fill these spots with maternity, newborn, children, or family shoots.  In exchange for a signed model release you will have your session fee waived and receive 50% off of any collection or product purchases.* Contact me soon if you want to be one of the lucky 5 remaining sessions to take advantage of this fabulous offer.

*Offer good for sessions scheduled to occur prior to August 1st, 2010.