Virginia Photographer

gorgeous family of 6

stephj — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 02:21:22 +0000

I was so happy to finally meet this family after a couple reschedules! They went through a lot to be at their session today- 2 hours in the car, 2 kids not feeling well on the way, and holiday traffic! I was very impressed with how they took it all in stride and did great for their session! We had fun exploring outside, playing, and of course begging for cooperation, but these 4 littles did so well for their ages! (with 4 littles of my own, I know how hard it can be to get them all to participate!) I was SO thrilled when I uploaded my card tonight, it was very hard to only pick a few for this sneak peek, I’m saving a few of my favs for their gallery!

It was great to meet you H family, I hope you guys had an easy ride home! I think you’ll be very happy with your gallery! Enjoy your sneak peek tonight!

Adorable 9 day old Lleyton

stephj — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 02:15:16 +0000

Oh my, this little squishable sweet guy was a perfect angel for his session, sleeping through many different setups. His mama was also so cute, had great ideas, and you would never know she just had a baby!

It was great seeing you guys again H family, congratulations!!!

Handsome 5 year old Christian

stephj — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:21:39 +0000

I realized on Sunday, as I was on an adventure with Christian and his mom, that it’s been a while since I photographed an “older” child alone. I do family sessions and lots of babies, but it was so enjoyable to have all of my focus on this ADORABLE 5 year old boy. A great little personality accompanies his sweet blond curls and gorgeous green eyes.

It was nice to meet you E family, thank you for driving from Alexandria for your session! Enjoy your sneak peek!

Cecelia at 6 weeks

stephj — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:48:38 +0000

When I did Cece’s newborn session, we decided to do an additional outdoor session soon after. As our crazy lives would have it, it took us WEEKS to do the 2nd session. Here she is at 6 weeks old, adorable and chubby, but still smaller than my kids were when they were born!

(in case anyone is wondering, Cece’s mama was within arm’s reach at all times and didn’t let even a bug touch her! Safety first!)

And big sister of course

19 day old Connor

stephj — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 19:37:40 +0000

I’ve been waiting a while to meet this little guy. He had a bit of a rough start but is home and doing great now! At almost 3 weeks old and 5 lbs 11 oz, he slept soundly for his modeling debut. (yay!) He looks like he fits just perfectly in at home with mom and dad and the two family dogs!

Congratulations F family, he’s just perfect!

Goodbye again

stephj — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 19:03:36 +0000

It’s time for me to be sappy, I’ve felt it coming on a lot lately and I’m sure this wont be the last of it with so many changes happening this Fall. Today I’m talking about my oldest child though, my first, my daughter, my sidekick. We definitely have lived up to the typical “love/hate” relationship that most mothers and daughters have, the “hate” coming from her all of the times she didn’t get her way or didn’t agree with our decisions. It’s ok though, it’s part of parenting and I’d rather be hated at times and know that we’ve been consistent and responsible and have made the right decisions for our daughter- to give her the best start/foundation in this crazy world.

2 years ago, we were preparing to take our first born to college, 4 hours from home. Today I sit here preparing to do this again, only so much has changed. After her freshman year we just felt that she wasn’t ready to be away, so she spent her sophomore year at home going to community college. I can’t even express how much I LOVED this past year. After having your daughter gone for a year, you appreciate so many small things- knowing where she is again and who she’s with, knowing she’ll be home each night, watching movies together, stalking facebook together, talking about boys, shopping, Starbucks, Tropical Smoothie, and most of all that secure feeling that she’s safe in her room each night while you sleep. Sure we still expected a lot from her, we still argued, she still pouted, I still lectured, but she learned how to manage her time, she learned from a few big mistakes in judgment, she learned that I’m always usually right because I’ve been there before. She got a 3.8 GPA while also working as a gymnastics instructor and then worked full-time this summer as a camp counselor, saving most of her money. I’m am proud.

I was thinking the other day, what’s different this time? Why am I so emotional about taking her back to school when we’ve done this before? But I realized that this past year was the last time she’ll really live here “full-time”. She’ll come on school breaks and I’m sure she’ll crash here while job-hunting after she graduates, but she wont be our “child” anymore, it wont be the same. She’s almost 20 and everything we’ve been through has prepared her for this second flight from the nest, to be an adult and not need us as much. Her siblings will miss her so very much. Felicity was 9 months old the first time she left and is almost 3 now. Losing Sissy will be like losing a parent to her, for sure. Ally will lose seeing her big sis everyday, playing cards. Kennedy and Reece adore her. The bottom level of this house will feel empty, no music playing, TV on, laptop humming, friends visiting, etc. Where did the time go?

So tomorrow we leave to drive 4 hours to her dorm, err I mean apartment. She IS a Junior now you know… A new major, new apartment, new friends (thank goodness lol), new start. I’m excited and happy for her, also scared and sad. Not to see your child everyday is HARD, very hard. It aches. I know she’ll continue to learn and grow, she’ll make mistakes but hopefully will be wiser, she’ll continue to make us proud and will do great things. I have no doubt.

Heading to Kindergarten 15 years ago

Now:

My fav: And for fun, her running from the field when I finished because bugs were on her

One week old newborn Ariela [northern virginia newborn photographer]

stephj — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:38:47 +0000

Ariela’s mama contacted me after she was born and I was able to squeeze them in since they live very close to me. She was the perfect model, settled easily and slept soundly. What a precious little girl!

It was so nice to meet you G family, congratulations and enjoy your sneak peek!

(headband from www.etsy.com/shop/paisleelane, love love love her stuff!)

7 month old Gavin [fredericksburg virginia baby photographer]

stephj — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 23:23:15 +0000

I photographed little Gavin at 5 weeks old and was so excited to see how he’s grown in the past 6 months. He’s all “boy” and busy as can be, we had fun exploring together!

Great to see you guys again Z family!! Enjoy your sneak peek!

Expecting baby sister [northern virginia maternity photographer]

stephj — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 19:49:27 +0000

I had a nice time hanging out with this family of 3 yesterday, capturing images of mama’s adorable belly and enjoying the (slightly) cooler temps. It was nice to meet you S family, looking forward to meeting your new addition in a few weeks!

15 day old newborn Alex [northern virginia newborn photographer]

stephj — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 00:05:41 +0000

Eyelashes. I could just say that and nothing else for this sneak peek lol. Sweet Alex was a dream for 15 days old (which is “old” by newborn session standards by the way hehe). I spent this rainy morning with Alex and his lovely family and captured some sweet moments that I can’t wait to share with them. For now, a few to hold them over…

Alex’s big brother & sister. I usually prefer my “siblings on the bed shot” in black & white, but loved this one in color!