Author: alison@tinyblueorange.com

For Halloween this year Brielle has already begun looking up to her furry siblings. I hope you’re Halloween weekend is filled with lots of treats and no tricks!

This weekend I had my Holiday Minis in historic Waterford, VA and they were a blast! However, this session totally rocked my socks off! Long time friend Alexis and her boyfriend Thomas eloped last weekend and wanted to commemorate this new chapter in their lives with a mini session in their wedding attire.  I’ve never done wedding or bridal photos before, so this was certainly a special treat and what a beautiful bride and beautiful family they are! Alexis, her son Alex, and new husband Thomas got plenty of attention during our mini session too, with lots of passers-by stopping to give their congratulations.

Thanks you three for having me do such a special shoot. You radiated with happiness, humor, and love and I had a great time capturing your new beginning together. I hope you enjoy your preview, I absolutely love your images and had quite a tough time choosing my favorites!

I love how Be Young Photography has allowed me to reconnect with so many old friends. I love catching up on old times and having the opportunity to create new memories. When Lisa contacted me to do Holiday Minis of her family of 4 I was elated! Lisa and I met 7 years ago when she volunteered to be the room mother for the Kindergarten class I was teaching at the time. And, this was not just any class, it was my first year of teaching out of college so I was full of ambitions, anticipation, and nerves for what the year might bring. Fortunately, I could not have asked for a better room mother that year. She was full of ideas, help and support for a wide-eyed first year teacher  Not only was it great to see Lisa again this past weekend, but seeing her younger son Chris go from the playful Kindergartner in my class to a polite 7th grader was totally surreal! Time sure does fly.

Lisa, it was so great working you and your family again and capturing your holiday images. I had such a hard time choosing my favorites that most your images appear in this post! I hope you enjoy them, the rest are on the way soon.

Today you are 12 weeks old and just the size of a plum but already you have stolen our hearts.  Your mom and dad have been through a lot this year and we have been wishing and hoping for a long time for you to be strong and healthy.  You also have lots of other family and friends wanting and praying for the same things and you’ll have quite the loving fan base once you arrive.  You’ve caused your mom to be quite tired these past 3 months but she’s just starting to get some energy (and her appetite!) back.

Today your dad, The Calmer, had to really live up to his job.  We took you to the Dr. today for your first checkup. You had your mom tied in knots of nervousness all day long. She thought about your sister alot and how this Dr. was the first to tell us how sick your sister Bella really was and that she was not going to make it into this world.  In the waiting room your dad held your mom’s hand and told her that everything was going to be ok today.

And he was right.

At 12 weeks you have a strong heartbeat of 155 bpm, you’re measuring on target, and according to the doctor you look completely healthy in your first trimester.  Your mom almost broke down in tears on the exam table and your dad was simply beaming.  We aren’t out of the woods yet, but hearing the words strong and healthy made us both breathe a huge sigh of relief. We are so overjoyed to have you enter our world at such an exciting time. You’ll get to come home to our brand new home. And your mom can’t wait to post newborn pictures of you on her photography business website. Keeping growing strong and healthy. We can’t wait to meet you in September.

This week was an exciting mail week!  My new coffee table image box sample arrived and I am so excited to start offering these to clients when they purchase one my digital collections. Each box is custom designed from your session and holds up to 100 5×7 prints.  With a digital collection purchase, BeYoung Photography clients will receive one of these lovely boxes and inside will be each edited image from your session.

I love the simple yet elegant design touches of the black canvas interior and ribbon for easy handling of your prints.  These are a fabulous and personalized way to store and share your images with family and friends for years to come.

One of the coolest thing about this job is getting to watch my client’s children grow and capture those milestones that are so important for familes.  Some of you remember this cute little guy Harper and his mom and dad, Lis and Chris.  I got to take photos of him back in December at 6 months. He was just learning to hold himself up and sit up on his own but he was full of smiles and love for his mom and dad.  My visit this time was pretty amazing. It was fun to see this little guy growing bigger and stronger, but still with a great smile and a desire cheese it up for the camera in an instant.

For our session we spent time strolling Lis and Chris’ neighborhood. It was a GORGEOUS afternoon and it really felt more like the beginnings of spring than summer! Just down the street from Lis and Chris’ house is a little playground. Harper is just starting to learn how much fun the playground really is! At first he wasn’t so sure about going down the slide with mom. But with dad’s help he was all about exploring. I love the sequence below of him attempting to crawl down the slide instead of letting gravity do its job.

For the last part of my visit we simply spent some time enjoying the warm air and letting Baby H. do his thing. He is on the move! Crawling now, but I am sure he will be walking and completely mobile in no time. Watch out mom and dad!

Thanks Lis and Chris for inviting me back to capture these milestones for your family. I hope you enjoy your preview.  I had such a fun time with you guys and can’t wait to see this guy really moving around during my 1 year visit not to long from now!

A few weeks ago I put out a Casting Call on my blog requesting models to help me round out my growing portfolio (side note: I am still searching for more models so if you’re interested please contact me). I was so excited when Jen emailed and asked if I’d take her maternity photos. This was my first maternity session and it was great fun. Expecting a little girl in late May, Jen definitely epitomized the glowing pregnant mama and it shows in her images.  We spent a gorgeous spring afternoon at the historic Civil War landmark, Manassas Battlefield. A location with rolling hills, beautiful trees, and historic buildings.  Jen was a great sport too. I felt terrible asking her to stand up, sit down, and walk all over the place at 32 weeks pregnant, but she took it all in stride and enjoyed every minute of being out in the sunshine.

Jen, it was great fun spending the afternoon with you and taking these photos. I hope you enjoy your preview! Your excitement about becoming a mother is definitely apparent and I am so looking forward to meeting your little one for newborn photos not too long from now.

Spring is in the air here in Virginia and it’s been so great to get outside and take photos.  Last week I took a little Spring Break staycation, playing tourist in my own hometown. For the past 3 years I have really been wanting to make the trek into DC for the annual Cherry Blossom festival but have never found the time to get myself there.

Finally this year I not only made it to the festival, but made the trip during peak blossoms, got to spend a lovely day with a longtime friend, and I got to play around with not one but two cameras. My trusty dslr of course made the trip, but I also dug out the Polaroid One Step for some vintage fun as well.

The Cherry Blossoms did not disappoint and really solidified the exciting fact that Spring is here!

How are you enjoying this breath of fresh air and bringing in the Spring weather? I want to hear your spring stories and see your spring images!

This little guy has been no stranger to my blog. Baby D’s mom and I go way back and have been friends since middle school. So its no surprise that I’ve had the opportunity to watch this guy grow and photograph him as a newborn and again at 3 months when he was Baptized. Mom has been wanting photos of him at 6 months and the beautiful Spring weather this past week seemed the perfect opportunity for a a mini session at Ida Lee park.  Here is a little sneak peak from our time together. This little guy is sitting up, on the move, and is one happy baby!

B’s mom, Tricia and I have known each other quite awhile.  We went to the same middle and high school together, and then our paths managed to cross again about 6 years later when we worked together as first grade teachers at the same school.  We don’t work together anymore and when she asked me this fall about a photo shoot for her little man to celebrate his 1 year birthday during the spring I was psyched. It feels like we’ve been planning this session for ages, and the unpredictable weather recently caused us to have to reschedule not once, but twice!  Finally, we found ourselves out on a gorgeous Friday evening and I had a great time with B. and his mom and dad in the Leesburg subdivision, River Creek.  B. wasn’t quite sure what to make of me and my camera at first, but after some play time with mom, dad, and me  he quickly began warm up to the idea of pictures.  Here’s a little sneak peek from our evening together, enjoy!