The Bracewells :: Virginia Family Portraits

I'll be honest, family portrait sessions mortify me. They scare me so much I'd rather lock myself in a shoeless closet and live without rations for months on end before voluntarily placing myself in a situation where I'm asked to take one picture of twelve people smiling. Including the baby. It's because of this that I know I need to shoot more family sessions. While I technically am a wedding photographer, it is a fact of life that weddings happen to have a fairly solid portion of the afternoon devoted to capturing Uncle Bob and Aunt Kitty smiling in the same picture as little Sally and baby brother Timmy. And instead of being stressed out on the wedding day, I would much rather have the occasional family portrait session to keep my time management and baby cooing skills sharp.

When Laurie said she was in search of someone to take her family's holiday portraits, I admit that my first inclination was to hide. In the closet. Without food or water or even my pillow with the new flannel Christmas pillowcase. But after thinking it over I realized that part of being good at a trade is continually practicing my skill. I agreed to shoot the Bracewell's family session and was immediately happy with my decision. Not only were Laurie and her family an absolutely wonderful group of fun loving people to photograph, but shooting their portraits helped teach me how to be a better photographer on the wedding day.

So I guess that means I owe the Bracewell's a round of applause. For letting me into their worlds for an afternoon. For allowing me see the beauty in capturing family portraits. And for helping me become a better photographer. ...I suppose I really just owe them the world!

It can be ridiculously intimidating to photograph other photographers. And while I'd be remiss to not say that I was shakingintheknees nervous to shoot Laurie, I quickly found out that she is an amazing model and a dream to shoot. And her husband, Chris? Well, he's quite the model himself!

And I'll finish this post with one last picture of the Bracewell family as a whole. If you ask me, they are a pretty beautiful looking group of people!

Happy Friday!

Michelle

Ross + Keely :: Fredericksburg Engagement

After any given shoot I walk in the door, upload images from my cards to an external hard drive, and open the files in Lightroom. I'll spend a few solid hours sorting the session's photos into different categories before selecting the images that will be used on the blog. For a typical session I like to find anywhere from 30 to 50 images to edit and prepare for the internet while another large selection of photos are to be used for the final edits. But every once and awhile I come across one of those couples.  The type of couple where just moments into my editing routine I can tell that the afternoon will look different than most. Instead of completing the usually quick process of choosing my favorite images for the blog, I'll likely be spending a few solid hours in a heated staring contest with my computer screen. I'll beg for Lightroom to flap its decisive wings and choose the best images to be showcased. Instead she'll just stare back with the dreaded smirk she all too often gives, bat her false eyelashes a few painfully exaggerated times, and smile as if to say 'Sorry, Sweetness, but this decision is allll yawrs'.

In other news, my computer speaks with a southern accent. Clearly.

And so it was with Ross and Keely. On one hand I owe them a personal note of gratitude for being exceptionally comfortable  and at ease in front of my camera. They were the type of couple who was constantly laughing, ever smiling, and incredibly happy. Their joyful natures made them a blast to photograph and even more fun to be around. My only complaint is that they made it insanely difficult to narrow down my selection of images for the blog. It's just that they were all so good! (And before you think I'm absurdly self-saturated, their goodness had nothing to do with me).

Ross and Keely, thank you for being so flexible this week as we scheduled, re-scheduled, and re-re-scheduled your shoot due to fierce rain storms, late carpet cleaners, and unexplained acts of God. Colton and I had a blast roaming the streets of Fredericksburg with you {and Danny - my new favorite Old English Sheep Dog} and we could not have been more honored to capture this exciting and beautiful time in your lives. Loads and loads and loads of thanks {and best wishes with the move to California}.

- Michelle.

This is Danny the {best} old english sheepdog.

You two are adorable. Sickeningly so at times, but adorable nonetheless.

Keely, your smile is contagious. And beautiful.

And I'll end the post with these pictures. They're fun, and funny, and make me want to be a part of Ross and Keely's world. I can't help but think it looks like a pretty wonderful place to be.

Happy Day,

Michelle

Crystal :: Quantico Virginia Portrait Photography

Meet Crystal. She's sweet and funny and cannot be found without a smile on her face. Crystal is finishing up her time in the Marine Corps and asked me to take a few last photos of her in her uniform while she still has the chance to wear it. Crystal was even happy to brave a brisk (and early) Virginian morning to catch these shots near her home at Quantico Marine Corps Base. And me? I think it was all worth it! A beautiful girl, some gorgeous morning light, and a patriotic flare make one fabulous combination. Enjoy.

This is Dave, Crystal's hubby. Crystal and Dave have a seriously fun relationship and it shows in their interaction with one another. It was only fitting that their photos showed this fun loving nature.

This sweeter-than-honey light made the 6am wake up call completely worth it.

And the picture on the right makes me happy. It also makes me want to hang out with Crystal and Dave. ...on a bi-daily basis.

Happy Tuesday!

Michelle