It’s that time of year again! I feel as though it’s Christmas Eve and I’m wrapping up the final gifts from Santa for Finley to put under the tree. All the while SO excited for the next day and celebration! This is because it’s officially time for FALL MINI SIGN UPS!
Fall Minis are my absolute favorite time of year for photography because I LOVE seeing my returning families year after year and meeting new families! This year the dates will be November, 5th, 6th, 12th, and 13th with 22 sessions available.
Getting to see Catherine and Kyle for their family session was a real treat. Who would have thought that it would be in the 90s in Virginia at the end of April!?! Regardless of the heat, they were real troopers and were amazing to work with. They came prepared to Manassas Battlefield with their own cooler of snacks, and water to keep the girls happy and cool. They also were willing to take breaks and go slow to get the best shots. Boy did it pay off!
It’s hard to believe that it was almost four years ago that I took the Tenney family’s first newborn portraits with Will. You can see that blog post here! Because of COVID, being pregnant with Finley and living in Baltimore, I wasn’t able to take their second son’s newborn pictures. Now they are welcoming their sweet newest addition – a GIRL and I was thrilled to be asked to take these images for them!
Whew! My mini-season was FAST and furious!! Over the course of two weekends (plus two rescheduled dates for weather), I met with 25 families and spent 12.5 hours taking pictures for them! I culled through thousands of images to find the best for each family and spent roughly 50+ hours editing! All in all, I delivered 2,424 images (which is a little deceptive because it includes the black and white duplicates). Whew!
I met up with the Toomey family this past fall in the charming DC neighborhood! We walked to their neighborhood school which has the most amazing park-playground. I knew I’d mesh well with this sweet family because we got connected through a camp friend of mine who happens to be child hood friends with Ellett. Their daughter is just a little older than Finley too and their two boys are full of spunk and energy!
We had a blast! Starting off with Coleman, their oldest, turning on his jet packs to blast off! It couldn’t have been cuter seeing him run around pretending to have his jets on. Then he’d say “jets off” to stop. :). He also informed me that he never runs out of fuel for his jets (what a hoot!)! Reid, their other son, is one step behind his brother, running and playing just as fast as he can too. His sweeter side comes out though as he loves his family! He watched to make sure the were all close and ran after anyone who ventured off. So sweet! We spent the session letting the boys be boys and run and play and climb as well as letting them teach me things. Coleman was the best at describing things and I really loved when he’d own not knowing something. At one point I said “Okay! So we’re going to zig zag down this bridge, do you think you could do that!?” and he goes “Yes! But first – can you tell me what zig zag is because I don’t think I know.” My teacher heart swooned!
Since we were at the park-playground where Coleman would go to school I naturally asked how school was going. And he explained all about how school hadn’t really started yet because of the “germ days” and I have to admit that I loved this explanation.
We were lucky enough to be able to wear masks and keep a fair distance between all of us to stay safe but still have a nice time together. Ellett and Kevin were so kind and easy going, which makes a huge difference when photographing littles. I loved their ability to laugh along with the fun and the images of the five of them laughing together are some of my favorites!
As I wrap up another amazing fall season with over 30 families served I have made a goal for myself to actually blog and share the images from this season! You see, every year I get so wrapped up in the hustle of the fall season and holiday minis that I always lapse on sharing the images! The Perez family is a perfect example! The images from their second milestone session last year were some of my favorites of the season but I never got to share them! So this year I cheated a bit and combined the images from their second milestone session from 2019 and this years fall session ☺️. You can check out their first milestone session here.
Julia and Chris are friends of ours from college and we have many a late night shenanigan story shared with them. What’s fun about our sessions is that we have recently tried to schedule them so that Sterling can come at the end and we can at least spend time together. This year with COVID we haven’t gotten to see them so it was especially exciting to get to take their pictures and meet up at a park to socially distance spend time together. Finley was only 2 months old so we planned for Sterling and Finley to drive with me and hang out at the park while I took these images. It worked out great because they got to meet Finley in a socially distanced way.
What’s crazy to see in this joint post is how much of a difference a year makes! Jackson looks SO much older in the 2020 images than from the year before! He’s notably taller but has lost some of his baby face too. Each boy is so uniquely different and great in their own way. Jackson is outgoing, adventurous and a strong leader. Ryan is observant, loving, sweet and independent. I had a blast walking through Black Hill Park near Gaithersburg Maryland for our session this year and downtown Frederick last year with this sweet family. We played games, used our imagination and laughed a lot!
Enjoy this joint blog post of our sweet friends and their precious family!
I think it is entirely possible that each of these blog posts is going to start with “I can’t believe my baby is _____ months old!” or even “I blinked and my baby is _____ months old!”. The reality is that I feel like I did blink and she is so much bigger and more alert and I also can’t believe it!
Today, in so many ways, feels like Christmas because I seriously look forward to Minis all year! I love getting to see so many families that I cherish and have worked with for YEARS! Last year 88% of my Richmond Minis were families I’ve worked with before! This alone makes it so worth it! I get to see and catch up with people that I LOVE! Whether these are people that I’ve taught with, went to camp with as a kid, know from JMU or met while photographing years back, I’d consider them all friends.
Last year I added Maryland Minis to the mix and it was such a success! I had two times my expected number of sessions and got to scope out a new local location. Maryland Minis were such a treat because it was more relaxed and spaced out and I could easily go home during breaks. Plus I got to meet a bunch of new families with the cutest littles.
So for 2020 I’m going to do host both Richmond and Maryland Minis again! With all things COVID and having a new baby at home, I’m taking extra precautions for each session. For Richmond I’m asking that everyone make sure that the session date AND the rain day option work since we have to be outdoors and cannot reschedule outside of the rain plan weekend. I’m also asking that everyone take their temperatures leading up to the day of the session and the morning of the session. Additionally everyone will need to bring and wear masks while not being photographed and we’ll have to do air hugs from a distance (the worst restriction in my opinion). We will all keep a safe distance apart (at least 6 feet) and I’ll be using a longer focal length lens to make sure you still get dreamy images while staying a distance away.
I know I’ve said it a MILLION times but being able to see these kiddos grow up and get bigger and bigger each year is such a blessing! I LOVE all the bootie shaking, fart joke giggles, and silliness that happens during minis. I LOVE how excited the kids get to see me – almost as excited as I am to see them! I love catching up with families that have become friends and hearing about the new things that have happened in their lives. And I love being able to serve these friends with beautiful images of their families that they can keep and cherish.
All minis are 30 minute sessions at one location. You are guaranteed at least 15 images – the perfect way to snag a holiday card image and update your family albums. 🙂 Since this is my FIFTH year hosting minis I’m also going to offer a FLASH SALE of 10% off the session fee if you book (deposit paid) within the first 24 hours (aka today September 25th by midnight). 🙂
To reserve your spot, email me at Alex@alexandra-michelle.com for full details. For details on how we will stay safe amongst the pandemic scroll to the bottom for COVID Precautions.
RICHMOND MINIS
Minis will be hosted on Saturday and Sunday November 7th and 8th with the RAIN DATES on November 14th and 15th. Both weekends must be available in order to book in case of rain on the weekend of the 7th and 8th. Spots are more limited this year so don’t hesitate to grab yours! Can’t wait to see you in November at Byrd Park!
MARYLAND MINIS
Minis will be hosted on October 17th, 18th, 24th and 25th! YES that’s right we added another weekend! Session times are limited to evenings which to grab that beautiful golden hour light. Session times range from 3:00pm -6:00pm. Minis this year will be hosted at Oregon Ridge Park!
And of course – here is a glimpse back at some of my favorite images from last years minis 🙂
COVID INFORMATION:
In order to keep your family and my family safe, we’ll have to be extra cautious because of COVID 19. Please see the guidelines below that we’ll follow to make sure we are all safe.
All participants must take their temperature the morning of the session. If any participant has a fever or feels sick or is showing COVID-19 symptoms, they must forego their mini session. They will not have to pay the remainder of their balance and will be refunded their deposit.
Social distancing between myself (Alex) and participants will be kept at all times (6 feet at least)
Masks will be worn by adults when not being photographed.
Hand sanitizer will be available for use by participants
Unlimited air hugs will be available at any time.
25% Deposits are due upon booking and can be refunded only for cancelation due to coronavirus (aka showing symptoms, spiking a fever, exposure etc.). Final remaining payments can be made after the session has been completed and before galleries are delivered.
All payments must be paid online and cannot be paid via cash or check in order to limit germ exposure.
IF the state of Maryland or Virginia goes into a statewide shutdown due to COVID numbers increasing and businesses are not allowed to operate and/or it becomes unsafe to host minis, the mini session may be canceled and full refunds will be made with advanced notice.
My dear friend and Alpha Phi sister from JMU welcomed her second son into her family this past month and her family of four is precious. You may remember their family session from last spring which had beautiful bright pink colors from those spring blooms. Looking back at just a year ago it’s crazy to see how much their first son Lincoln has changed! He was so much smaller. Now he’s grown into such a sweet big brother to baby Theo. While I can’t speak from experience, I would imagine that many parents bringing home a second baby worry about how the first baby will feel and react. Christina and Erik are over the moon to see how caring and helpful Lincoln is as a big brother! You should have seen how sweetly excited he got when it was his turn to hold his baby brother. He was perfectly calm and stepped up to the responsibility like a champ! Read More »
This is the most delayed I’ve ever been on writing a “best of” post but it deserves its moment because 2019 was an AWESOME year for me with photography! I did a grand total of 50 total sessions with a mixture of newborn, family minis, milestone sessions, senior sessions and more! Read More »
