A Look Behind the Lens


Hello there, lovelies! I'm not very good at this blogging thing yet, but I will get there eventually -- hopefully! Today I thought I'd give you a little peek "behind the scenes" of a recent family photoshoot I did.


First things first.... The photoshoot was planned for a Sunday evening (you guessed it; during "Golden Hour!") I had photographed this family a couple of times before, and in the same general location, so I wanted to change it up a little, so give them more variety in their photos. So, the day before the session, I drove around to other parts of the land we hadn't photographed before, so I could: 1.) scout out some new spots and see what those locations would look like in Golden Hour light, 2.) I could get an idea of how many people would be around, and 3.) if walking from location to location was feasible.


When I first started out in photography several years ago (long before my blonde hair started going grey), I wouldn't have been able to tell you about "the exposure triangle," or what "bokeh" or "ISO" is, or heck, even what DSLR stood for! The area I was living in was very highly saturated with armature photographers, and no one wanted to share their knowledge with a beginner like me. Most of what I learned, I learned by practicing or watching YouTube video tutorials. Now that I have pretty extensive knowledge, I wanted to "give back" a little, and mentor those who may be just starting out, or maybe someone who has been doing photography for a little while, but who still had questions or wasn't achieving consistent results. I had posted some photos in a Facebook photography group I'm in of a particular location, and someone commented that they were new to photography and "would love to take some beautiful photos there." Well, the location has a $250 photography fee associated with it. Luckily for me, I happen to work there during the week and provide them photography for marketing purposes all the time, so the fee doesn't apply to me. I invited the girl to join me on the Sunday family session, which was also going to be taking place there. She was thrilled! Here's a photo she took of me when I was photographing the family:

It was nice being able to talk with someone who loves photography as much as I do, and who has a passion to learn and improve! I always wished I had someone I could ask "my stupid questions" to when I was starting out. My grandfather was a photographer, but we weren't living in the same state, and he wasn't very familiar with digital cameras because he used to shoot on film. (PS - I am so impressed by people who shoot on film cameras!) Honestly, I don't know how much she actually learned, but hopefully she got a little more experience from watching me "run the session," and talk to the family about posing. Here's the photo I ended up taking of the family:

A Couple of Weeks Before...


A couple of weeks before this session, I photographed a surprise proposal on the Virginia Beach Oceanfront on a particularly windy day. Another girl, from that same Facebook photography group, mentioned she had never photographed a proposal before. I invited her to join me! She came with her husband, and not only did she get some beautiful shots of the proposal and the mini-engagement session we did on-the-spot for the couple immediately following the proposal, but I also took some photos of her and her husband once the session was over! Here are a few photos from the proposal and mini-engagement session:

Are you a Virginia Beach area local photographer?


If you're a photographer in the Virginia Beach area who is just starting out, I would love to invite you to come along on a photoshoot with me. You can practice getting some beautiful photos, as well as learn how to lead the session, get some posing ideas, and be in an environment where there's no such thing as a "stupid question."


If you are interested, or know someone who might be, don't be afraid to reach out to me!