The Blog

Lauren + HBD + 30

The pandemic has changed a lot of things. One of them being birthday celebrations. And if you know me or my best friend and business partner, Lauren, you know that we celebrate birthdays and we celebrate them HARD. Lauren turned 30 during the pandemic and to celebrate, I dropped a cake off at her house and we bundled up in her carport and sat six feet apart, sipping coffee. Not the best 30th birthday celebration.

To make up for it, our two friends Jaclyn and Jenny and I, planned a surprise getaway to Alexandria. We walked in downtown Alexandra, shopped, took part in a lot of self care, and got to celebrate our girl, Lauren!

Lonnie + Samie

2.3.2021. Lonnie reached out to me a week before he was going to pop the BIG question to his love, Samie. He picked the beautiful Blandy Farms State Arboretum, two days after Christmas. His whole family was going to meet me for a family photo session. My job was to suggest doing some "couples" pictures of the separate couples within the Bridge family! When it was Lonnie and Samie's turn, they smiled like naturals. I changed up their poses and had them face each other and that's when Lonnie dropped to one knee, and DID THE THING. What a sweet moment!

After the two celebrated with their family and made a few FaceTime calls, I was able to catch some adorable moments between the two of them for an engagement session. I think this is my favorite session, to date! Congratulations Lonnie + Samie! Wishing y'all the best!!

TUSING FAMILY

1.10.2021. Back in the fall, I had the pleasure of meeting the Tusing family: Matt, Haley, Sawyer, Sutton, and Sidney. We met at the Seven Bends State Park on a chilly afternoon at the end of November to capture some sweet family photos. As the session went on, we realized that our families had some fun things in common relating to football: Go Hokies and Roll Tide! Haley and Matt were super easy going and their three children matched their temperament. Sawyer and Sutton were the most caring older siblings to their younger baby brother. You could feel the family bond during this photo shoot!

TAYLOR FAMILY

1.3.2021. One of my dear friends Lauren booked a mini session during our holiday minis with her son, Hudson, and husband, Shane. The cutest family of three (and soon to be four!!!) strolled into our sessions with festive attire and smiles, ready to go. As many of you know, toddlers do WHAT they want, WHEN they want so Lauren and I pulled out our bag of tricks and gave Hudson all we got for some smiles and we succeeded! Lauren and Shane were naturals in front of the camera and the final results made it on their Christmas cards!

STEPHENS FAMILY

12.21.2020. There is nothing better than a sibling bond like the one between Calligan and Gibson. True laughter and joy filled this photo sessions as the two brothers and their awesome parents posed for a Christmas mini-session. They had a lot of creative ideas and poses, even re-creating a pose from past pictures. This family is precious, and so fun to photograph. Merry Christmas, Stephens family!

HERSHEY FAMILY

12.1.2020. During our (L+L Photography) winter mini sessions, we kicked off our day with a big family and the adorable Kensley. She was the star of the show, stealing and owning the attention of each family member. Rightfully so, she's precious! The Hershey family was decked in festive greens and reds (how can you not love the gorgeous red sweater on Sara) and ready to pose for the camera! Enjoy these sweet shots of Kensley and her adoring fam.

FOLTZ FAMILY

11.21.20. A vision of green and navy plaid walked towards our mini-session set up on Saturday, and I knew right away we were in for a treat! Two sweet parents and two even sweeter kids were decked head to toe in festive attire! Hannah and Jimmy are so tender with their kids, Audrey and Nolan (just 7 weeks old)!

Lauren and I got to witness the tender adoration between Audrey and her new sibling. She loved getting to hold him during the sibling part of our shoot! Nolan even managed to land a kiss on her sister's cheek (see below). I loved meeting this family and am super pleased with how their session turned out (and I got my baby fix)!

RICE FAMILY

11.18.2020. My family and I have had the pleasure of knowing the Rice Family since we moved to Woodstock. Tyler was a fifth grader in my classroom when I first started teaching at W.W. Robinson. Alex and I met Jared through Central High School's YoungLife club. Alex and Jared were close friends when Jared was in high school and he became a regular visitor around our house!

Melissa is such a supportive parent of her two boys and we got to witness it first hand. Her home is always open to anyone in need, especially the friends of her two sons. They hadn't had pictures taken in 3 years and I was honored they asked me! This family has a special place in my heart!

DOOLEY FAMILY

11.14.2020. What a treat to photograph this family! After Alyssa booked a family session with me, a few days later she stopped me in the hallway at our school and told me she was surprising the girls with a puppy! Draco would be joining their family the day before the shoot and would be coming to their photo session the next day! One thing you may not know about me: I will never say no to a client asking to bring their puppy to the photo session!

These three sisters were such a joy to photograph. They have bubbly personalities and had many inspired ideas for photo opportunities! Chris and Alyssa recently became engaged, so naturally I needed some ring shots and couples poses with them! And the star of the show...Draco. What a dreamboat.

Aliyah + Senior 2021

11.8.2020. High school seniors are quickly becoming some of my favorite types of photoshoots! The personality and uniqueness that each senior brings to the session gives me so much energy! Aliyah is a senior at Central High School, plays softball and runs tracks and cross country, and is trying to navigate the world of virtual learning. She is so sweet, and not to mention gorgeous. Her go-with-the-flow attitude led her into some tall grasses and fields during this shoot, she even let me take a jumping picture. Aliyah is a natural in front of the camera! Congratulations, Aliyah!!

POFF FAMILY

11.5.2020. We (Lauren + I) loved photographing this family of four. I have the great honor of working with Emily every day! She joined our office staff in August and has quickly become a fast friend. Her and Warren's two kids, Jacob and Allie, are the just the sweetest! They greet anyone and everyone with a smile every morning! They are definitely a bright spot in my workday!

We took these pictures are Fairview Park in Woodstock! The kids loved running around and exploring the different areas of this location and we found some great spots to shoot this gorgeous family! They were naturals!

Suzanna + Kallen

These two. Can you even..? Their genuine love for each other was so evident throughout this entire shoot. Although we had to battle huge gusts of wind during the session, Suzanna and Kallen smiled through it like champs. Kallen is the sweetest 4 year old and took a real liking to picking up sticks. (He was saving them to make a bird's nest.) Suzanna requested mountain views for her shoot since they're leaving the area to be closer to family. Thankfully, my partner in crime, Lauren, has mountain landscape views right in her backyard. We were able to catch the golden glow for this shoot too, (thanks daylight savings time). I was so glad to spend time with this family before they make their transition to their new home!

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

10.17.2020. Kara Jeffrey. The myth, the legend. A woman worth celebrating, over and over. We snuck away from our kids and responsibilities for a night of wine tasting and fancy dinner. CrossKeys Vineyard is nestled in Mt. Crawford, Virginia in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. The perfect place to celebrate our sweet K. We sipped wine, enjoyed the sunshine, and snuck around to the back of the winery to check out the view from the setup of a wedding ceremony that took place hours before we arrived. A perfect evening with friends...that view isn't too bad either.