Kyndal :: Maternity Session

Kyndal and I used to work together. So when she contacted me for a maternity session before she had even announced it on Facebook I was ecstatic.
Maternity sessions are kind of my pride and joy. I love them. I love everything about a bump. And I especially loved this session because we shot at Lake Gaston (a first for me) and the sunset was oh so perfect and Kyndal was oh so beautiful. It just worked. EVERYTHING about this session just worked.
We had originally planned to shoot the first weekend in October - but hurricane Joaquin ruined our plans and we ended up shooting the following Tuesday. My husband actually works (and fishes) in the Clarksville area so I spent days grilling him looking for the perfect spot for our session. Knowing that we wanted the lake in the background we had originally planned to shoot on a beach. Unfortunately - again thanks to Joaquin - most of the beaches were flooded. So I started to look for a dock. My husband was the first to throw in his two cents about a dock located behind the Sonoco where the sunset would be perfect. Seriously.
I was skeptical, until we arrived and I realized he was 100% correct.
This dock, the sunset, the reschedule, the weather - it was perfect.
I'm looking forward to meeting the little princess residing in that bump in another two months!

xo

Justyn

Otto Family Session

 

 

Meet the Otto Family.

I know - they're pretty much the most gorgeous family ever. When I first talked to Jen and she said she wanted a family session, I was like "yeah absolutely". And then I met them and I was like, "wait you want ME to take pictures of these mini models?"  What?

I'm all about Stonewall Farm this week - in honor of my fall mini sessions there this weekend - and this was the most recent family session I did there. If you can't tell from the pictures (try not to get distracted by the beautiful family) the farm itself is the most perfect place to take pictures. Especially at sunset/late afternoon - which you all know if my favorite time to take pictures.

We had the venue to ourselves, and the girls were so well behaved. One of the things about shooting bigger families (5 or more) is to make sure that you pay attention to each and every child. They're all different, they each have their own personalities, and each and everyone of them (whether they'll admit it or not) wants to be the center of attention. So I gave them each a chance to let out their inner diva once or twice. I asked them each "What do you think if we sit like this?" or "Who wants to jump on Daddy this time?" - that's the trick. And I LOVE - I mean L. O. V. E. these pictures.

Obviously I'm a little bias because it's my work.

What do you think? Am I crazy or are you loving this family session as much as I am?

 

xo

Justyn

Alexis :: Bridal Session

This session was totally a last minute opportunity before my two week hiatus. Alexis's mother actually contacted me to set up a bridal session as a surprise/graduation gift for her daughter. She was coming up from Georgia for to visit and wanted to do a vintage bridal shoot at Stonewall Farm (where Alexis had her engagement session). How could I say no? There was a lot more to this shoot than I've shown in the above images, but I felt they were personal to the family and didn't feel comfortable sharing them.
She showed up with several wedding gowns and props of all kinds and told Alexis to pick what she wanted to use. We shot in the courtyard of the farm (the same place my minis will be held this weekend) and in the afternoon light it was really a special and whimsical session. The dress shown in these pictures is not the dress Alexis will be wearing down the aisle.
This whole session just made me excited about my future in photography. With five weddings currently on my calendar (my first being next month) I can't wait to capture more brides in their beautiful gowns. And then of course there are my fall mini's this upcoming weekend, the courtyard at Stonewall is really a magical setting. I can't think of a better place to take family pictures!

xo

Justyn 

Princess Mia :: Mini Session

 

When Mia's mom contacted me asking if I would "do" a princess session, I pretty much yelled YES!! I was so excited. Of course I would do a princess session for her sweet two year old daughter Mia. And it just so happens that I have almost every princess dress imaginable so I was overly prepared for this session.

We had originally planned to shoot at a local park but a few days before as I was driving around aimlessly attempting to get Colin to take an afternoon nap before the dreaded carpool line, I passed this grove, with an old shed, and all but slammed on the breaks to look at it. It was the perfect place for an enchanted photoshoot. What's not shown is the soccer field about 100 yards behind us, and the 80+ screaming kids and parents playing their Saturday morning games. You would have no idea looking at these photos.

I'm naming it my "not so secret" spot and keeping it in my back pocket just in case.

 

xo

Justyn

Sargent Family Session

There isn't a single thing I didn't love about this family session/six month milestone shoot. I've known this mama since we were in elementary school and was so excited to catch up with her and meet her sweet boy, Grady. She came prepared with a pinterest board full of ideas and a crate (literally) full of props.
We shot at Blandy Farms in Winchester, VA in the earlier morning  hours. The light was just so soft coming through the trees and glowing over the fields... the weather was absolutely beautiful. One of my favorite things about this session was, although we had a ton of "poses" none of the images really look posed. Which of course is my favorite. Natural posing and tons of emotion. That's exactly what this family did without any direction from me.

And I love the result.

I'm looking forward to hopefully catching up with this sweet family again when it's time to celebrate Grady's first birthday. In the meantime I'll just have to swoon over those big blue eyes from his six month session.

xo

Justyn