Weekly Photo Project: June 2014

Time to finish catching up on my Weekly Photo Project submissions! This post gets me through June 2014. Let's not wait!
June 2 - 8: "Create a Mood"
For this one, I chose a photo that I took of one of my best friends during her wedding day shoot. I was tagging along as driver for her, her husband-to-be, and their photographer. I was able to snag a couple of shots of my own in between bridesmaid duties, and love how this one came out! Certainly a mood of "Beauty".

Weekly Photo Project: May 2014

I'm a bit behind in posting this, as June is just about ending now, but better late than never! Here's my wrap-up of my photo submissions to my Weekly Photo Project on Facebook for the month of May 2014.
April 28 - May 4: "Food"
I took this photo with my iPhone, and did small editing in Instagram. The food in question were two delicious chicken tacos I purchased from a food truck in Bethesda, MD.

Experimenting with "mattte"

Last week I took my daughter and a few of her friends to the Seven Oaks Lavender Farm in Catlett, Va. I went last year and did a photo shoot with my friends' daughters, so I knew it would be a lovely location for photos. Not only that, but I just purchased a set of matte presets for Lightroom 5, and I wanted to use some of these photos to try out the presets and see what kind of artistic looks I could get in my photos. I'm still tinkering with them, but for the first try, I am happy with the results.

Recital Performance: June 2014

About three weeks ago my daughter had her very last "Rising Stars" dance recital with the Loudoun School of Ballet. I love taking photos of the girls during their dress rehearsal; they look so great up there on the stage! Back in January, the pinks and teals her class wore popped, but I think the green stood out quite nicely as well. Our little jazzy tappers did a great job!

The I Family: Black and Whites | Leesburg, VA Family Photographer

Last month I had the pleasure to once again shoot family photos for some good friends of mine. Last year we did their shoot at Ida Lee park; this year we headed to Morven Park and the beautiful scenery there. I could not have been happier with this shoot - they are a lovely family, soon to add a fourth. I've already been asked to take their newborn photos; I cannot wait!

I've posted a sneak peek album on Facebook; while the colors they were wearing and the lovely background were stunning, here I wanted to focus on the black and whites that we got from this session. There's something about a gorgeous black and white portrait that really stands out!

Palm Beach Florida

Just before Memorial Day I had the opportunity to travel to Palm Beach, Florida for work. We were staying about 6 miles from the ocean, so we drove out to Singer Island (still a part of Palm Beach), parked, and walked on the beach for a bit. Despite being on the Atlantic Ocean, and facing away from the sunset, the light was still stunning.

Seussical Dancers

Just over a week ago was the Rising Stars recital for the Loudoun School of Ballet. For the first time this year, the teachers and interns (older students who assist the younger ones) did an opening number together. This year's theme was "Happy birthday Dr. Seuss", and the opening number was "Oh the thinks you can think" from Seussical the Musical. It was really great, and choreographed by my friend Danielle (the head of the program). The girls did such a fantastic job!

Mommy & Me Spa Day

For Mother's Day this year, my daughter and I attended a "mommy and me" spa day in Vienna, Va. While there were a few hiccups with the event, she and I had a lovely time together and the setting was truly lovely!

The S family: Kids | Leesburg, VA Family & Child Photographer

In mid-April, my neighbors asked me to do a family photo shoot for them. We had a last minute change of venue due to an event at our planned site, but I scouted out a lovely covered bridge and walking path, and I think everyone was very happy with how the photos turned out - I know I was!

 I have already posted their full sneak peak album on Facebook - it wasn't just the 4 of them, but also their extended family (brother, sister-in-law, their two kids, and Grandpa!). Doing a shoot for 9 people is a  bit different from anything I have done before, but it was a lot of fun. Here, I wanted to focus on the four adorable kids! They were so good for the shoot, and lovely to photograph.

Sweet Justice Concert: Petersburg, VA

About six weeks ago I once again had the pleasure to see the Richmond-based band Sweet Justice. Previously I posted some photos I had taken of them at my sister's boyfriend's house, which was an outdoor event. Because that was done on his backyard stage, there was not a full lighting rig set up, just what he has at his house. This time, they played at a roadhouse near Petersburg, VA, on my sister's birthday. It was a great night, but to my photographer's eye, the best part was the lighting! It led to some really fantastic shots.