Author: alison@tinyblueorange.com

I only wish all of my clients could be as super organized, adventurous, and fun loving as the B. family. When mom Gina contacted me after winning my auction offering for the Playmates in Heaven foundation annual charity golf tournament, she had her session all figured out already.  From wardrobe, to styling, to props she knew what she wanted and she arrived with two laundry baskets full of stuff for us to play with!

We chose a sunrise shoot. We knew the light would be perfect. We knew Kate would be happy as a clam. And we knew that we’d have the opportunity for some gorgeous images. But I didn’t know I’d fall in love with so many of them.

I don’t usually post this many photos from a session, but this time I just couldn’t resist…enjoy!

 

 

 

My fellow baby loss moms, I’m going to let you all in on a little secret tonight. You all are such an inspiration to me. I shed more tears this week than I know what to do with. For your babies. For your pain. I have been deeply touched by each and every one of you who have already reached out to me through our Vision of Baby Loss contest.  Your stories. Your words. Simple. Beautiful. Strong.

Your revealed your stories of emptiness, the cries you’ll never hear, the unused belongings, the ways you remember, the siblings left without a brother or sister, the favorite outfits, the tiny toes and fingers, the wishes you keep in your heart, and the hope you still cling to dearly.

I am even more empowered to get the first Illuminate class underway and continue the process of using our cameras to process our emotions and heal.

I am also so thrilled that Kristin Cook, founder of Faces of Loss, Faces of Hope will be joining on with the first group.  If you want to be a part of the Illuminate e-course, registration is still open HERE and there are only a very few spots left for our July class.

However, one lucky mom has won a free registration.  After a random drawing using random.org the winner of the free seat to our July group is Sefanie S! Her powerful image titled “Four Hands” is featured below and she shares these words:

I’m so excited to have had the chance to work on another shoot with the UnBOWlievable store at the Dulles Town Center mall this month. This was their first ever teen and young adult shoot and man did we have fun!  This was our chance to show off that hair bows are NOT just for young girls but anyone who may be seeking a fun and funky accessory to add to their wardrobe.

We met up at downtown Leesburg coffeehouse King Street Coffee who generously let up take over their sitting room for a majority of the 3 hour shoot. Fortunately, the weather was seasonably mild so we were able to take things outside and utilize the awesome color and texture that downtown Leesburg provides.  The staff at The Pink Shop in Leesburg let us use the outside of their shop to take advantage of how well their building coordinated with our pink bows!

One last BIG thank you to UnBOWlievable store owner Kristin for bringing out some amazing models, makeup artist Christina Miller, and organizing styling them from head to toe.  Models, you made my job easy and the hardest part was narrowing down my favorites for the blog. This is only a small selection of the photos and products we captured. I may have to have a Part 2 to this post later in the week to share some more!

Houston we have a problem. Our tiny newborn has been replaced by a chunky monkey! I’ve been wanting to capture some pictures of Miss Brie in her birthday suit for a few weeks now. All of her rolls, folds, and chunk are just too cute for words. And those cheeks. Oh my! They sure do get lots of kisses from mommy and daddy. My apologies for the belated post. I wanted to get these pictures in just the right light so her shoot was postponed until this morning. I hope these were worth the wait!

Dear Bella,

This day marks the 2nd time we’ll be passing your due date. If you had arrived on this day you’d be one year today. Not a day goes by that we don’t think of you and wonder how different life would be today if you were here. Today we told your baby sister all about you and how lucky she is to have an angel watching over her. Even though she can’t talk yet we knew this made her so happy. She just smiled and giggled over and over again. Thank you for giving us a reason to smile, laugh, and celebrate how lucky we are.

Love,

Mom, Dad, and Baby Brie

Katie and Brad were an absolute blast to work with! They are the latest set of models for the photography class I am taking online with Brooke Snow. This week’s assignment? Posing. I hate to say it, but they made my assignment easy. I almost feel like I cheated. Katie and Brad are also local photographers specializing in couples, engagements, and weddings. They know how to work the camera and how to pose! I gave some direction, but a lot of the times they just took the lead and enjoyed time snuggling up together and enjoying an afternoon at The Winery at La Grange in Haymarket, VA. And, snuggling was most definitely the name of the game today. With the lowest temperatures of the season we were in definite need of a warm up by the fire early into our shoot.  We did sneak outside for a few pictures too, but my fingers were quick to freeze and were in need of a thaw. Katie and Brad, it was so nice to meet you both and work with you. I hope you enjoy the preview of our session.  More will be on the way soon!

I bet our 4 month old can beat up your 4 month old.  Not that she wants to or anything. But at 4 months, 17.5 lbs and over 25 inches tall is she 99% for weight and 92% for her height.  Yep. She looks more like a 7 month old than a 4 month old.  We got the green light from the doctor to start solids. So, yesterday was our first solid food experiment. The order of the day? Rice cereal. We’re not sure of the final digested to face art ratio, but I’d say by the end of the meal she was certainly enjoying herself!

It’s Week 3 of my online photography class with Brooke Snow and I must admit I am having a blast. Each week has been something new and completely different which is stretching me as a photographer and an artist.

This week I had the pleasure of working with the I. family whom I love and adore greatly. Mom, AJ, and I met 3 years ago (really it’s been that long?!) when I started taking classes at her boutique yoga studio AJ Yoga.  She was actually pregnant with 2 year old daughter Evelyn when I started practicing at her studio.  I was absolutely in awe of her ability to hold poses up until the very end of her pregnancy, but more than that I absolutely love how she runs her studio.  Her mere presence is calming and her practice is built upon the philosophy of being a safe, gentle environment to move and grow.  Dad, Joey, and I have a common bond working for the local public school system. But Joey is also a classically trained guitarist and I was so excited to incorporate the I. family’s love of music into our shoot today.

Their casual, calm, quiet nature made them the PERFECT family to do an in home shoot, which is something I want to do more of in the future. I love how an in home shoot makes the photos uniquely you. There is a level of comfort being at home. And there are so many options for activities that can be incorporated into photos that cater to each family or each individual. For the I. family our in home shoot involved story time, music time, jumping! (beds are great for this), and lots of love and cuddle time.

I. family, I hope you enjoy just a sampling of the fun we had today. I feel so lucky to have you all in my life and am so glad I was able to capture memories of this time for you all.

Be Sweet.

Be Inspired.

Be You.

My current tagline. A message I like to convey with each picture I take. However, during the course of my month long class with Brooke Snow I’ve been looking to enhance this message when working with teens embarking upon their senior year.  Senior photography is something I am really looking forward to exploring more in the coming year. But I’m not so sure senior guys would really love the idea of “being sweet” or “being inspired”. That just doesn’t scream teenage boy to me.  So I went asking around for tagline suggestions and after brainstorming with some good friends…

Be the star of your senior year.

BINGO!

I want to capture the essence of being a high schooler. Are you are jock? drama star? cheerleader? musician? bookworm? The awesome thing about being in high school is finding yourself. finding your identity. and making the most of it! being a star in whatever area you choose. This new seniors tagline was the inspiration behind my final creative shoot for Brooke Snow’s class.  Today you get to meet Kirsten.  She’s a member of the class of 2013, but already has a strong sense of identity. And when she told me in her interview that her loves were for piano, guitar, and songwriting I knew exactly what our shoot would entail!

The chair arrived in my office this week. the instruments are hers. and the parking garage was the perfect urban location to tie it all together and ensure the weather would not ruin our fun.

Kirsten’s friend Louisa was along for the ride too and I have more of these girls to share later this week.

For now enjoy this sneak peek our fabulously creative musical session together. Kirsten I can’t wait to see where your musical dreams take you, you have a lot of talent!