As soon as I had the Shaw’s portrait session on the calendar and knew I was making a trip to Hampton Roads I threw it out there on facebook that I was planning to open up a few other sessions over those couple of days. Amanda responded almost immediate, but what I loved so much was that her first request wasn’t even for photos, but just for time to grab lunch and catch up! I can’t express how thankful I am that so many of my clients end up turning into dear friends! I was lucky enough to photograph Kayley’s entire first year, and when I made the decision to move up to northern virginia, my biggest fear leaving Hampton Roads was losing contact and relationships with families like the McGrath’s, the Brame’s, and the Shaw’s. Thankfully Amanda is a great pen pal, and we have spent the past year swapping facebook messages and keeping in touch which i’m so thankful for! Amanda is one of those mamas who loves photography and has developed such a gift for it, so she has so many gorgeous photos of her babies, but hardly any of her WITH her family! So I was thrilled when we were able to pick a morning and meet up to get her some new photos.. especially since they have added to their family since I saw them last! :) Here’s the McGrath family the last time I saw them back in April of 2011: and here they are now, complete with their newest addition Miss Layla Mae! I can always count on Amanda to put a lot of thought and energy into their session, so it didn’t surprise me at all when she texted me a photo of this old vintage couch she had found just for their session! She found the most perfect location with Windsor Castle Park, and thankfully the cotton fields were still full and gorgeous! Why can’t we have locations like this in northern virginia?! Layla was showing off her boxing skills… don’t mess with this baby! :) all of the kids are SO sweet with Layla! They were more than willing to dish out lots of hugs and kisses and make her smile :) somehow I think Bradley might be getting a little too big for the “1…2…3.. SWING!” game :) I think this was about as high as Anthony and Matthew could lift him ;) Amanda has been talking about wanting to book a session just for her and Anthony for a while now, so we made sure to take plenty of time during their session to focus on the two of them, and they are some of my favorite shots from my time with them! Every couple needs great images together :) love this next one :) like I said, Amanda always goes so far above and beyond when it comes to styling their session! this next one is my absolute favorite from the session.. its a crazy/beautiful life! :)then we sent all of the kids to the car and ended the session with a few more of just the two of them :)
So thankful for you all! Hope to see you guys again sooner rather than later! :)
I adore your pictures! I am enrolled in community college for photography and I was hoping you could answer a question for me? The picture of your family on the sofa in the field, how did you get everyone in the shot so clearly without blur? what lens did you use and how far away was the camera from you guys? I am good with close up, but distance is my trouble area. :( Can you offer advice?
Thank you <3
Beautiful family! Love the Family Rules. xoxo