Photography

I am so excited to get the ball rolling this photography season with Spring Mini Sessions on April 2nd.  Warm temperatures, quality time with your family, beautiful memories captured.  All of the details about these mini sessions are HERE. I’d love to connect with you and get you booked for that afternoon.  And, just in case you’re looking for a little wardrobe inspiration, I thought I’d share my spring inspired favorites for mom, dad, and daughter.

“The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.” ~Mitch Albom

I said “Welcome” and a hush fell over the group of 26 women sitting in front of me. Wide eyed. Camera in hand. Full of expectations. ready to learn. Entrusting me to teach them how to beautifully archive their precious family moments.  I felt prepared, overly in fact. I’d been creating, editing, polishing, and tweaking the course materials for over a month. I should  have felt comfortable, confident, and ready to rock and roll.  But the nerves were there. Bringing me back 8 years to my first day as a Kindergarten teacher. The exact same feeling. I used to work tirelessly decorating my classroom, lesson planning and preparing materials, creating an environment that was comfortable and conducive to learning. The first day of school was always full of anticipation. Meeting amazing new people who had something to learn from you. School was in session again on February 27th, 2011. Be Young Photography School.

Those first moments were a little awkward. Trying to find the right words. Sharing myself, my story, my objectives.  But, the first day of school never quite goes according to plan and it’s always a little rocky at the start. Eventually though there there is breakthrough moment where things get comfortable.  When you’re a Kindergarten teacher, this moment usually involves someone wetting themselves, while someone else is crying hysterically, with the rest of the students run circles around the room throwing toys while they’re at it. Fortunately no cameras were thrown at Momtography class, everyone stayed in their seats, no tears were shed, and the chairs remained dry. I loved all the good questions that were asked and all the light bulb moments that were shared.

I had such a great time with these ladies! Talking about about our kiddos, talking photography, gaining the jumpstart they needed to control of the camera, get out of auto mode and start experimenting.

Towards the end of our time together we took things outside the classroom, chose a partner, put all the pieces together, found the light, tested new settings, and took some beautiful portraits.

And oh my gosh, I can’t forget some of the awesome partners that are helping to make Be Young Photography School even better! SmugMug.  Memolio. Picnik.  Martilena. VMJESS. Happy Acres Farm.  I am so excited about these guys, that they deserve their own separate blog post next week.

I think the Momtography excitement has only just begun and it’s contagious.  I am not sure who is more excited. Me, for kicking off this class with such an inquisitive, caring, supportive group. Or these fabulous women, armed with a new arsenal of photography tools ready to go take some awesome photos of their kiddos!  What are these ladies saying after attending Momtography 101?

I can’t say enough good things about having taken this class. It FINALLY got me to feel comfortable about getting off of the auto mode. The class is interesting, easy-to-follow, and hands-on. After taking this class, everything just clicked and now, instead of feeling frustrated and intimated by my DSLR camera, I am excited to try different things! My baby is going to look so cute when I get done practicing what I learned! ~Sunny

My girlfriends surprised me with a gift certificate to “Momtography 101” for my birthday and it turned out to be the perfect gift! I have a 9 month old and I love “trying” to capture her on camera, but my photography knowledge was less than average. After taking this class, I feel much more confident with my camera and now have great tips on how to take better photographs and capture moments that I will want to remember forever! I highly recommend the class to all the mommies out there wanting to photograph their favorite little munchkins! ~Trish

Great to meet you & attend your class! Your presentation & descriptions were illuminating………but with the flash off ; ) Thank You!! ~Melissa

The next Momtography 101 class is only 2 short weeks away on March 20th, 2011. And it’s almost full! Do you want in? Get all the information on how to register by going here. And stay tuned because Be Young Photography School is working on some new class offerings for spring/summer that you won’t want to miss!

The warm weather we’ve had in fits and spurts these past two weeks has gotten me super excited for the upcoming photography season! Can you believe it’s March already?  The warm weather is just around the corner and I am itching to get back out there and take YOUR pictures!

I’m excited today to announce my Spring Minis which will not only kick off the season, but also kick off my Spring fundraiser for the March of Dimes. I’ll be raising money all of April and May for the March for Babies Walk, in honor of Bella’s Believers a team dedicated to my first daughter and in support of all families suffering from premature birth and baby loss.

$25 from any spring mini session and $50 from any full session booked in April and May will be donated to this worthwhile cause.

Let’s raise some money, take some pictures, and celebrate the warm weather and good things just around the corner!

Why hello my lovely photography Valentines! Have you missed me? I’ve certainly missed you all! I know it’s been awhile since I’ve posted. For the next few weeks I’ll be taking a blog break of sorts while I rev up for the start of the spring season. What’s in the works you ask? Momtography classes. New exclusively digital collection pricing. Spring March for Babies benefit. And a few other things are up my sleeve too, but you’ll just have to stick around to hear more. It’s busy here in the Be Young Photo office so if you notice me going into blog hibernation, rest assured I’ll be back soon.

This Valentine’s Day has been #1.

I have a new special Valentine.

And one day she’ll look at this picture and say “Mom, what the heck were you thinking me putting me in this outfit?!”

Her face says it all, eh?

Because I had so much fun.

Because these girls are beautiful.

Because the weather was absolutely gorgeous.

I’d like to introduce you to Luisa and re-introduce you to Kirsten who was on the blog just this past Sunday.

Thank you girls for making my job easy!

I always make it a point to carry a camera with me at all times…I just shoot at what interests me at that moment. –Elliott Erwitt

No frills. No bells and whistles. Just me. My phone. And a moment.

My faves from January 2011.

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!

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.

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!

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!