Author: alison@tinyblueorange.com

I first met Brandt’s mom during daughter Brooke’s modeling session for UnBOWlievable back in January. At that session she mentioned a “do-over” session for son Brandt’s senior portraits. They were looking for something a little different and more natural than the standard school backdrop, super posed, cap and gown type pictures.

Spring minis were the perfect opportunity to make this happen. And Brandt was a total a natural in front of the camera! A football star who is gearing up for college life at VA Tech, Brandt is excited about beginning a new adventure next year. Good luck on your college journey! I hope these photos fit the bill for a more natural senior session and you enjoy this little sneak peek.

UnBOWlievable is the leading American designer of quality hairbows, headbands, and hair accessories and Be Young Photography will be teaming up with the store yet again for a Spring model shoot to showcase their upcoming product line.   Do you have what it takes to be a model for this opportunity?

Be Young Photography & UnBOWlievable Tween Model Casting Call

Age Range: 10-12 year old girls

Date: Sunday May 1 – 4pm

Location: Fairfax, VA

Description:  Looking for some young “tween” girls ready to show off their fun, spontaneous, and creative personalities while modeling the latest and greatest fashion in hair accessories.

Models will be required to sign a model release form but will be compensated with a 10-15 high resolution images and full printing rights. If you think you fit the description and are interested in participating in this project, please email a current picture to: info@beyoungphotography.com.

18 months ago my Calmer and I visited Tampa to reflect and renew after we lost Bella. We looked out on the ocean at sunset and mourned the loss of the life we were expecting.  This week we returned to Tampa, with Brielle by our side, and looked out on the ocean with a fresh perspective.

We celebrated the life we are now living.

Bella’s memory.

Brielle’s future.

And the love we share.

Brie is one lucky lady who got to meet her amazing 91 year old great grandmother this week.

Brielle is gathering quite a crowd of adoring fans and paparazzi. It’s a good thing she doesn’t mind the attention! This week “MeMa” (my mom) flew in from Florida for a visit and there was definitely not a lack of hugs, kisses, and pictures while she was here. Even though we Skype daily, it’s just not the same as being able to love on her in person. Brielle even put up with her mommy’s hair stylings and is sporting the mohawk look for her photo shoot this week.  I don’t think this look is a keeper, but Brie doesn’t seem to mind.

It’s been awhile since I’ve had a new product to share but recently I’ve been updating my product offerings and today I want to share one of my new favorites! These mini accordion albums measure 3″x3″, come in sets of 3 of the same album, and are the perfect size for a pocket or purse. They make GREAT holiday gifts for grandparents, moms, dads, or anyone really! Each mini album is custom designed to fit the uniqueness of your photos.  I am so excited to have these as part of my product line and they will be an offering for my upcoming mini sessions in Port St. Lucie, FL this December (details about the mini sessions will be tomorrow, stay tuned…)

Today I want to share the GOOD the BAD and the UGLY when it comes to taking photos of babies (just not in that order). This week Brie and I went on a fun shopping excursion at the local mall. Brie made out like a bandit clearing the clearance rack at GAP. We also met the really helpful and friendly owner at UnBOWlievable a store dedicated to quality bows, headbands, and hats for girls. If you live locally go check out her shop in Dulles Town Center, so much fun! And if you’re not local check out her website, she takes online orders too! It’s any photographers (or mom to baby girls) dream store and we walked out with two headbands in coordinating colors to her new outfits.

I was soooo excited to capture some photos of Brie in her new fashions, so during AM naptime I got all of our photo props setup. Our setup simply included our Boppy pillow and white blanket.  I was determined to get some photos of Miss Brie on her tummy looking up at the camera.

Well, not everything goes according to plan. Especially with babies.

The BAD: Brie was NOT having anything to with tummy time. Just look at this face. She was so disgruntled with me that I decided to put her on her back a snap a few photos of her adorable Mary Jane tights instead.

The UGLY: Once she calmed down from tummy time round 1, I decided to try round two. Back on her tummy she went. OMG meltdown city.

The GOOD: I was about to call it quits so I picked her up, settled her down, and laid her on the rug on her back while I cleaned up our props.  Just then I notice she’s gone from meltdown city to smiling up a storm. So I grab the camera and snap one more quick photo and get this:

This may be my favorite photo of my little girl to date. Lesson learned: keep on snapping that camera even when you think photo time is over. You never know when that unexpected shot is waiting to be captured. ♥

Today I am excited to announce the newest addition to Be Young Photography – Momtography 101 Classes! As an elementary technology teacher by day I absolutely adore helping students and teachers better their technology skills. I wanted to be able to do the same thing for moms in the area who are looking to better their photography skills! And so, I’m thrilled to introduce…

The first Momtography 101 workshop is scheduled to take place in late February and I’ll be sharing all the details with you on the blog this FRIDAY December 3rd. I’ll be offering special introductory pricing for the first workshop as well as sponsoring a special giveaway during the month of December. Not sure if Momtography 101 is for you? Here is what you can expect from the class:

Momtography 101 is customized for moms in the Washington Metropolitan area with dslr cameras who want to take better photos of their kiddos. Designed for the busy mom on the go, this 3 hour jumpstart course will give you the basics to get that camera out of AUTO mode and working for you in any situation. You’ll leave Momtography 101 with the necessary tools to successfully document the stories of your life from lazy days at home, to sporting events and extracurriculars, to milestone moments not to be missed. Some of the topics we will cover include:

• 10 Tips for Taking Better Pictures of Your Kids
• Introduction to Exposure (why are my pictures from outside so bright and why are there so many shadows on faces?)
• ISO (why are all my pictures from inside the house so grainy?)
• Shutter Speed (Wow, my baby is on the move and all of my photos are blurry!)
• Aperture (how can I take pictures when my kitchen is such a mess?!)
• Using your Camera’s Basic Settings
• Basic Lens Overview

You will not want to miss the Friday announcement if this class is something you’re interested in. Check back Friday for the rest of the details and to enter the inaugural Momtography 101 special giveaway!

There’s nothing wrong with a Friday posting on Thursday, right? I’ve got to make way for the Momtography 101 details and giveaway tomorrow so I thought I’d go ahead and share what we’ve been up to a day early. We are a two holiday family in our household and have decided to share the magic of both Hanukkah and Christmas with Brielle. The first night of Hanukkah was last night and Brie enjoyed her first festival of lights. She may not remember any of her first holiday season, but we’re hoping to capture a bit of the magic so she can look back and see just how special this time was for all of us.

As you may have read Wednesday, I am absolutely thrilled to be adding Momtography 101 classes to Be Young Photography. And I am even MORE thrilled to announce that I’ll be giving away a free spot to the February workshop to one lucky reader! See below for the when, where, and how you can be a part of the first Momtography 101 class and then keep on reading for all the details on how you can enter to WIN and attend the class for FREE.

Are you excited yet? Space is limited to allow for plenty of time to answer individual questions and incorporate hands-on activities during the class.  We’ll be spending the afternoon at the gorgeous Trump National Golf Club Washington DC in Potomac Falls, VA.  Mark your calendars now to make sure you don’t miss out on this fabulous opportunity to learn, have fun, and meet other moms interested in photography.

And, if you’re interested in attending for FREE you’re in luck. I’ll be giving away a free spot to ONE lucky reader.  Here are 4 ways you can enter to win:

• Leave a COMMENT on this blog post by scrolling to the bottom of this post and clicking on the comment link. In your comment answer this question: What do you hope to learn by attending Momtography 101?
• JOIN the Be Young Photography fan page on Facebook by clicking here and “liking” us. Then come back here and leave a comment letting us know you are a fan.
• SIGN UP for the brand spankin’ new Be Young Photography mailing list by clicking here. You’ll kept in the loop with information about promotions, mini sessions, workshops and more! Then, come back here once again and leave one more comment letting us know you’ve signed up.
• SHARE this opportunity with others (via Facebook, Twitter, or Email) by using one of the share buttons at the bottom of this post. Then, come back here and leave one more comment letting us know who you’ve shared the love with.

You can earn up to 4 entries by doing each of the above tasks between now and December 15th. I’ll be using your blog comments to pick a winner at random on Friday December 17th and announcing it here on the Be Young Photography blog. Good Luck!