Superheroes in the Making!!!

     Have you ever cruised through Facebook or Pinterest thinking, "Wow! How does that woman truly DO IT ALL?"? Well, the verse "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." {Philippians 4:13} echoes in my mind when I think of Monica Reynolds.

    A humble and inspiring woman who would NEVER toot her own horn is sure gonna get a couple of toots here. Can I get an Amen for the Reynolds hard-working family conductor seen here in all her glory? Lol!

The expanse of a heart God has ordained for great things is unimaginable but can be glimpsed in a couple who chooses to adopt. As a woman better suited to tell a story with pictures rather than words, I can best summarize the Reynolds family story in the triptych below. Use the simple math of addition plus a whole lotta love & patience to get the amazing outcome.

        Husband & Wife plus...

"THE BIGS" plus... 

 

"THE LITTLES" equals...

    I had so much fun getting to know each and every one of these seven unique personalities during our evening in the tall grass together. An open field truly couldn't contain them all. To those who aren't familiar with the Reynolds children, I'd like to give you my take. {And for those who are I hope I do them justice ;)}

***The quiet confidence of the oldest, Adoniyas, as he encourages his younger siblings and blazes his own path through adolescence here in a new country.

*** To Sidise for continuing her role of family nurturer in midst of her own middle-school self-discovery this year. My wish for her is that she can see the beautiful, handcrafted woman God is making that I see through my lens. Here's one of her favorite ones that didn't show her teeth, but I have one that I like even better that does & I'll give it to her mom ;)

    

*** David's vibrance and thirst for life is happily contagious! I'm glad he really enjoyed the flowers during our shoot?!?

***Christian with matching hawks like his older brothers, has a more reserved beauty filled with admiration & love for his siblings. Truly a complete pleasure to photograph with such ease translating naturally through the lens.

***I enjoyed Misgana's sassy take no prisoners attitude and her smiling eyes despite the tall grass itching & scratching at her bare legs. The trooper in the bunch for sure!

     At the heart of this family God is so evident. There's a loving rock-solid marriage, "The Bigs" and "The Littles" that combine and interact so beautifully that make this family function & thrive. Monica, I wish I had your gift for writing at this moment, but this post will have to be my best testament to your exceptional family; truly God's Superheroes in the Making!

                                                                                                                                               

              

Green Spring Gardens with the Kellys

 

A growing family to me is one of the most precious times of life and therefore one of my favorite & most fun for me to photograph. It is my honor & joy to make a keepsake to treasure forever that captures the love, laughter, and emotion at this moment. The warm-n-fuzzy kind of love, unlimited patience, and easy-going nature of the Kelly family last week made my "job" a complete pleasure. It's wonderful when a "client" becomes more like a friend during the process; indeed just what happened here.

Check out some of these additional photos that haven't made any appearances yet on Facebook ;)  A second sneak peek, if you will. 













Meet Georgina. This little lady can carry a conversation for hours while curiosity had her roaming all over the garden areas. The blanket, not a fave spot. The bench, she stayed a split second longer. The toddler-sized stool? Nope. The white gazebo by the brick walkway? Score. In fact, this was where she decided to stay; at home & happy in her "White Castle". {burgers & fries with that?}  Check out the "out-take" picture to the left that epitomizes most of our shoot at her white castle.

While Georgina found another lil friend to run circles around White Castle, I took this opportunity for maternity pictures of mom. The anticipation of knowing another little precious blessing is awaiting in your womb to make her big arrival soon is difficult to capture on film. However, I sincerely hope that the love and connection a mother has with her cherished baby can still be felt through some these photos.

 

 

  

 

 

                                                         



As you can see by the expressions in photos posted below, Dad is   completely beaming while Georgina takes flight and as his three leading ladies lay with him in the grass. {I love the tenderness of his hand on her belly <3} How could he not beam, with such a ray of sunshine running around him nonstop & the promise of another so arrive so soon!?!?

                                                                                             

 

I've finished your gallery Kelly family and am looking forward to meeting sweet baby  Kelly soon as the newest edition to such a remarkable family!

White Sands at the Pier

    Our last assignment we were stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, FL. We return every summer for 2-3 weeks to enjoy the beautiful beaches and our beloved family & friends. It was my honor & pleasure while visiting to take my good friend's engagement pictures for her to include in her wedding invitations.
    I met Kelly during new teacher orientation at Bay Haven Charter Academy and we immediately became good friends. Almost eight years later, we make sure to have our adult time & our kids still look forward to hanging out together every moment they can. Thanks Kelly for being such a fantastic friend and best wishes for a marriage full of much joy, love, & laughter! 

As we Walk in Fields of Gold...

     The actual historic Barrett House in Lorton, VA is certainly in dire need of some TLC but the wide open fields dotted with colossal maples that surround it are a photographer’s dream especially at golden hour.  Of course, the elusive “golden hour” this time of year creeps in around 8pm and for just a half hour which makes little Alex a rock-star for staying out late with his ‘rents.  There’s something about a toddler and a mini-me chair just their size that’s like moth to flame.  Hungry Alex camped out in his old man rocker eating Cheerios, watching bubbles, & picking flowers in the tall grass. 

   
 

     One of my favorite moments came as I watched Alex’s dad throwing him up high into the air, hearing squeals of delight as he descends quickly back into daddy’s capable waiting arms.  All the while, mom is repeating the mantra, “I’m not watching. I can’t watch. I don’t see this.” Not until I got home and began perusing the images did I truly see how absurdly high-flying Alex had been since I was tunnel-visioned through the lens. The pure joy captured on both father & son’s faces are the epitome of why I love my job.  Enjoy some of my favorites from this sweet family's session.



Father's Day Surprise!

A client told me this week that her husband practically gift-wrapped his own Father's Day gift idea by repeatedly saying, " I really need a more updated picture of my family for my desk at work considering my little boy isn't even in it." Talk about an impromptu mini-mini-session for a deserving, devoted father.

Yesterday afternoon we literally did a half of a mini-sesh at the park behind the house. What a fun 30 minutes of silly siblings performing for Daddy's Picture! God bless their wonderful Momma and my good friend, Sarah, while her daughter orchestrated the whole shoot from who sits on a stool, how to lay on the blanket, and how close together they could be?!? She even proudly came up with wonderful original posing ideas. I had such a great afternoon with this energetic family and I'm sure that Daddy will love his Father's Day surprise.

Speaking of which; for all those of you who are blessed enough to be fathers, here's to a Happy Father's Day filled with lots of love, family, BBQs, tool usage, (insert all manly cliches here) and perhaps a little smidge of quiet time. 

 

Newborn Deliciousness: Introducing Gavin!

     After unloading Gabriel from my brand new humungo LL Bean tote & filling it with freshly laundered blankets & wrap fabrics, I was on my way to my first newborn session at a clients' house. My oldest son is already nine and my little baby two & a half, so my first glimpse of 15 day old sweet Gavin was an awe-inspiring moment at the pure freshness of God's perfectly created truly little human. He made Gabriel look like a giant! Seeing the purplish hue on his long toes, almost translucent belly, and red fingers clamped in fists a testament to his newness, I knew I wanted to focus on these details rather than edit more "creamier" baby skin.
    
     And so our couple hour flexible and fun session unfolds. No matter how warm the room nor how unbelievably full wee lil man was, once he locked eyes on the contrasted black camera in a light room and the shiny reflector, he didn't want to miss a thing.  This meant no "cutesy artsy fartsy poses" (no offense i do love them). Fully awake he strongly pushed off from all of them but was a blessing as I became completely mesmerized by his changing baby blues the rest of our shoot. You can see that in the perspectives of his photos.  Beautiful & attentive Mom enjoyed tending to her little bundle interacting with him as he remained awake. As time marched on and the light rose overhead, I found myself having to willfully stop taking pictures as I could stare at that precious face all day.  A glimpse at the camera counter startled me seeing hundreds of images awaiting my latter perusal.  I'll tell you what; I certainly need to ward my mind from the jedi-mind-tricks a delectable lil newborn like Gavin pulls to keep my shutter constantly open!?! What an amazing and fun client! Here's a sneak peek variety show of the little guy...

 

 

 

 

A Photography Blog? Why not? Come join me in my new adventure!

Taking a longtime passion of mine to "the next level" is quite frankly, intimidating.  All these amazing photographers' websites, Facebook pages, and blogs I love to fill my precious freetime perusing and inadvertently yearning to be "as good as".  What I'm constantly being reminded of by my supportive husband & many of my happy newest clients, is that I am. Simply that, I am. And each photo session I improve in some area whether it's getting the best from my camera lenses, artistic frame composition, background & prop choices, poses that work/don't ever do again, lighting or Elements editing techniques.

Why start a business? The main reason is that I love to watch my children grow, capturing both the amazing & everyday moments with my camera and I want to share that with all the mothers & fathers out there.  Every shoot I give my 100% to capture each child's disarming expressions (focusing on the eyes as the very window to the soul), ease of pose that happens so effortlessly telling a story, the priceless interactions among siblings or with parents, WITHIN the camera lens always following the light.  I strive to get it all in the lens doing very little after-processing & editing resulting in a professional yet very real life moment.  

I'm also motivated to share my craft affordably so that everyone should have wonderful photographs to cherish up on their wall! As a mother of two boys, I am constantly reminded as I look back at my wealth of photos & videos just how quickly time passes and am so glad that I've always been "that" mom taking pictures. (Yes; I come out from behind the lens often and play with my kids so life is not passing me by, ya'll know me.)  I feel empathy for those parents who can not afford to freeze these precious moments in their children's lives to have to look back on fondly & often.  Being a military wife & stay-at-home mom, I'm blessed that we can currently live comfortably on a single income but the mobility factor makes it difficult for me to find suitable full or part time supplemental work. Out of my desire to give children's portraits to others while making a small contribution to my household;  my new photography business is born; LWH Portraits.  Last names change over the years as many still refer to me as "Costanzo" usually said in a raucous New York accent.  The initials are short and sweet representing my name; Leigh Walston-Hamamgian.   

I started my facebook page (www.facebook.com/lwh.portraits) last month and started booking mini-sessions.  Head over, browse my work, and if you like it help me build my business and audience by LIKING my page; SUBSCRIBE & stay tuned here on my blog. What's a photography blog post without a picture? Here's one of my most recent faves that I just keep going back to for reassurance that I'm "doing good Mommy", "thumbs up" from my youngest ray of sunshine can't help but make me smile!