Author: alison@tinyblueorange.com

As this Mother’s Day comes to a close I want to wish all the mom’s, mom’s to be, and caring motherly women out there a happy day.  This mother’s day has been one filled of mixed emotion for our little family.  1 year ago today my Calmer and I found out that we would be expecting our first child, our guardian angel, Bella Rose.  There was some sadness leading up to today as we remembered her and what could have been. But, there was also excitement as we celebrated a renewed sense of hope and the anxious arrival of our little girl to be in September.

Most importantly though, we spent the weekend with my mom who has raised two daughters with grace, love, and patience.  She is amazing and I only hope I can be half the mom she has been to my sister and I. Love you mom, I hope you had a wonderful day with your two girls!

Last weekend I had the pleasure of taking photos of a pretty incredible lady.  Sara Hurwitch. my sister, celebrated her college graduation from the University of Kentucky.  Most students upon graduating from college ponder what the next steps will be and where life will take them. Job applications, interviews, the “real world”. Not Sara. She has bigger things in mind. From a young age Sara has always loved the game of golf. And now, after years of practice, hard work, and determination she is going to be able to officially declare herself as a professional golfer and hopefully make a living out of her life long passion. Not too many people can say they’re living their dream, but Sara can!

I am so excited to share that I get the distinguished honor of being her official photographer. Her golf website is currently under development and I can’t wait to see some of my images on her page. During graduation weekend we went out for a few mini shoots and got some great images for her portfolio. And, we got to showcase some amazing clothing from her first official sponsor, Donna Bonn Designs.  Designed to bring fashion to the golf course, her clothing provides a unique and exciting option to women golfers who want to wear clothing with a more contemporary look and feel.

I know Sara has heard this more than once, but we are all so proud of what she’s accomplished and the new journey she is about to embark upon. Congratulations Sara on this new adventure!

One of the best things about my job is getting to meet new friends and explore new places and this particular session offered both! Tiffany found me about a month ago through a mutual friend when she was searching for someone to take pictures of her and her husband as a one year anniversary gift.  Old Town Alexandria was the perfect fit for the two of them for our shoot and although I’ve been to Old Town many times to shop, I got to see it instead through my camera lens this time around.  The weather was absolutely perfect on our Saturday morning stroll through Alexandria and I had so much fun getting to know this couple. As it turns out, Tiffany is quite the shutterbug herself (her friends all know they can count on her for photo ops) and she insisted on snapping some of her own shots during our time together as well.

Tiffany and Mike, I hope you like your sneak peek.  I had a great time getting to know you both and I love that you chose to commemorate such a great milestone with photos that I hope you’ll enjoy for years to come. Congrats on your one year wedding anniversary!

I am always amazed to hear the stories of how clients are referred to me. The S. family came to me via a fellow photographer’s blog posting. If you’ve been following my blog for awhile you may recall the SOAR photography scholarship I applied for in December. Through the application process I have been able to network with many budding photographers from around the globe. Marcia Stuhler of Texas based Classy Kids Photography is one of the amazing women I have gotten to know this year through SOAR and she was kind enough to feature me and my experiences at the LAUNCH photography workshop on her blog back in March.  Well, Marcia also just happens to be originally from the Washington Metropolitan area and this is where the S. family comes in.  They happened to read her blog posting with my feature, clicked over to my site, and when they realized I wasn’t too far away from their Rockville, MD home they contacted me and asked if I’d be willing to come out their way for a family session.

After two reschedules in April we were finally able to connect last weekend and the wait was worth it! We got the perfect weather and I had such a great time with this family of four at the Brookside Gardens in Silver Spring, MD. This place is a photographer’s paradise with sprawling landscapes, fountains, ponds, and flowers.  I am so glad they introduced me to this location because it’s one I hope to use again in the future! We had a fun morning just strolling the gardens and enjoying the weather. One unique thing I learned about the S. family on our morning together? They like to travel and before going on vacation they’ll research on-location photographers in the area they are visiting to do a family sessions while they are there! What a great memory and a great way to get the whole family in vacation photos.

Thanks so much S. family for a wonderful morning and for introducing me to a beautiful location for photos! I hope you enjoy this sneak peek, the rest of your session will be on the way soon.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love my job? This past weekend I got to photograph not one but two beautiful newborns.  Some of you may remember the recent maternity session I did with Jen.  Daughter Charlotte was born May 14th, 2010 to first time parents Jen and Jeff, and at only 8 days old she was such a perfect little model already. Awake and alert when I arrived we took advantage of the opportunity and took some photos of her all bundled up and spending time with her mom and dad in the nursery.  I loved the details included in their Peter Rabbit themed room and was so impressed with the hand-painted walling hangings Jen made to complete the theme!  By the end of my visit Charlotte was ready for her afternoon nap and had just the most peaceful and angelic expression.

Jen and Jeff, congratulations on your new addition. You two are already fantastic parents and the love for your daughter just radiates from these images. I hope you enjoy this sneak peek from our session together, the rest will be ready soon!

I have been awaiting the arrival of this little one for quite awhile. Baby Miriam belongs to my incredibly amazing, caring, and talented coworker Elaine and I have gotten to watch this baby grow in her tummy since the beginning!  I spent a lovely (albeit rainy) Sunday with Miriam, mom, dad, and little brother AJ.  Thankfully the rain didn’t wash out our newborn session and the sun even peeked through during our afternoon together where I was able to capture some beautiful images of their newest arrival.  Miriam was such a calm and peaceful baby and her mom and dad seem to be adjusting to a 2 child household with ease.  Elaine, thank you for letting my invade your home this weekend and meet your precious new bundle of joy.  Here is a sneak peek of images I hope you’ll cherish for a lifetime.  Congratulations!

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.

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!

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.

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.