Summer Maternity Session in Wide Open Fields of Virginia

I just have to say I LOVE this location and the more I shoot here the more I want to shoot everything here. Wide open fields, wildflowers, and very little foot traffic make this an idyllic location for many. It was a beautiful spot to shoot Lindsey and Eli’s maternity session. We met one summer evening and just missed a downpour. Just missed though doesn’t mean we didn’t totally miss some rain. You’d (hopefully) never notice that I individually edited out raindrops from her dress in Photoshop which may have been time-consuming but so worth it for the final product.

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Teal Green Maternity and Family Mini at Libby Hill Park

Nothing gets me more jazzed than talking about my days at summer camp Camp Mont Shenandoah! Singing the songs, reminiscing about old memories and traditions, and wishing for Sunday’s lunch with the BEST fried chicken you’ll ever have.  So when Priscilla, one of my counselors from camp, told me that her son Wyatt knew the camp songs and LOVED them – you better believe we started singing them.

We were at Libby Hill Park for our mini session sing/screaming about a girl who is silly enough to trust a crocodile and float him down the Nile river.  The best part besides the fact that Wyatt knew the words was that in the part when we sang “Well the croc winked his eye as she waved them all goodbye, wearing a HAPPY SMILE!” Wyatt just BEAMED with this huge smile and CLICK, we got the picture.  🙂   Most of the time taking pictures of little ones that can wiggle and move and RUN becomes a game of how can we distract you long enough to set up the shot and then make it a game to get you to smile so that I can CLICK, get the picture.   Well, this trick worked and it gave me so much joy singing camp songs in the middle of the day!  Win – Win.  Read More »

Ida Lee Park, Leesburg Maternity Session

Chris and Julia in college were the friends that everyone just loved being around!  They were always willing to hang out and are so easy going that being around them is easy fun!   What I mean by “easy fun” is that friend that it’s easy to have fun with, no matter what.  These friends are GOLD!  You can slip right into great conversations, instant giggles and making new memories without having to rely on just the nostalgia.  Not all friends are like this you know?  Some friendships for better or worse are a little more work and require a little more effort getting back into.   But Julia and Chris?  Not so!  They are the old friends who you want in your life always!

So getting to hang out with Jackson, the combination of these two amazing, fun and genuinely kind people, was a dream!  It’s cool to see what aspects of each of them he has and also how their natural parenting style has impacted his personality as well.  Because they lived abroad for some time and traveled a lot with him he is the easiest going kid around!   He was a little shy at first but then soon after, warmed up and wanted to explore and talk and learn new things.  He is sweet and thoughtful like his parents and curious but cautious too.   As we walked around he was immediately interested in the wildlife around and wanted to explore, all while with an air of “easy does it”.

We spent our first of three milestone sessions together at Ida Lee Park in Leesburg, Virginia.  It was my first time there and I was VERY impressed!  It is a huge park with a ton of space and areas to take pictures.  I can only imagine what it’s like in the Spring and Fall when everything is in bloom or crisp with color.   The nice part about this park was that since there was so much open space we had plenty of privacy and were never bothered by others.  We spent our session together walking around the park talking and avoiding the serious gusts of wind that blew by.  As we finished up we found a small little playground and stopped to play, a great way to end an already awesome time together!  Jackson was such a ham as he played!  He’d sing “The Wheels on the Bus” as he pretended to drive a school bus, put his hands up to slide down the swirly slide and cautiously took risks like climbing up one of the wiggle walls (not the official term).  We had a blast!

Below are some of my favorites from our first session together!  The next time we meet for a session I’ll be meeting their new baby Ryan!

Alexandra Michelle Photography - Leesburg Virginia - Family - Maternity Portraits - Ida Lee Park - Spring 2019 - Perez-1Alexandra Michelle Photography - Leesburg Virginia - Family - Maternity Portraits - Ida Lee Park - Spring 2019 - Perez-12Alexandra Michelle Photography - Leesburg Virginia - Family - Maternity Portraits - Ida Lee Park - Spring 2019 - Perez-20Alexandra Michelle Photography - Leesburg Virginia - Family - Maternity Portraits - Ida Lee Park - Spring 2019 - Perez-19Alexandra Michelle Photography - Leesburg Virginia - Family - Maternity Portraits - Ida Lee Park - Spring 2019 - Perez-14Alexandra Michelle Photography - Leesburg Virginia - Family - Maternity Portraits - Ida Lee Park - Spring 2019 - Perez-34Alexandra Michelle Photography - Leesburg Virginia - Family - Maternity Portraits - Ida Lee Park - Spring 2019 - Perez-30Alexandra Michelle Photography - Leesburg Virginia - Family - Maternity Portraits - Ida Lee Park - Spring 2019 - Perez-43Alexandra Michelle Photography - Leesburg Virginia - Family - Maternity Portraits - Ida Lee Park - Spring 2019 - Perez-53Alexandra Michelle Photography - Leesburg Virginia - Family - Maternity Portraits - Ida Lee Park - Spring 2019 - Perez-57Alexandra Michelle Photography - Leesburg Virginia - Family - Maternity Portraits - Ida Lee Park - Spring 2019 - Perez BW-63Alexandra Michelle Photography - Leesburg Virginia - Family - Maternity Portraits - Ida Lee Park - Spring 2019 - Perez-58Alexandra Michelle Photography - Leesburg Virginia - Family - Maternity Portraits - Ida Lee Park - Spring 2019 - Perez-77Alexandra Michelle Photography - Leesburg Virginia - Family - Maternity Portraits - Ida Lee Park - Spring 2019 - Perez BW-82Alexandra Michelle Photography - Leesburg Virginia - Family - Maternity Portraits - Ida Lee Park - Spring 2019 - Perez-62Alexandra Michelle Photography - Leesburg Virginia - Family - Maternity Portraits - Ida Lee Park - Spring 2019 - Perez-66Alexandra Michelle Photography - Leesburg Virginia - Family - Maternity Portraits - Ida Lee Park - Spring 2019 - Perez BW-88Alexandra Michelle Photography - Leesburg Virginia - Family - Maternity Portraits - Ida Lee Park - Spring 2019 - Perez BW-89

 

Pocahontas State Park Fall Maternity Session

What I love almost as much as Christina and her sweet family is the colors from this session!  What you can’t tell is that we are literally in a parking lot of the park but the trees in this small patch between lots had the most beautiful fall colors.  Christina came to the session in this deep blue dress that looked stunning on her.  Her little girl Florence was all dolled up in a velvet pink dress but the accent of her flower headband made her curls pop off the background.  Some of my favorite images from this session are definitely those of Florence and her Dad.  Tommy knows just the way to make Florence laugh and these two giggling together is everything I’d want from a picture of my (one-day future) children and Sterling.  They are so precious!  The colors are beautiful in these but more so you can feel how much these three (now four!) love each other!Read More »

Mommy and Me Portraits – Francisco Family

We met early at Forest Hill Park for this session which was great because it got HOT that day!  I got to the park a little early and saw it, the most gorgeous tree with the most gorgeous low hanging branches!  SWOON!  We spent almost the entire time in this one spot.  Margaret wore a purple dress which popped off the background and showed off her baby bump so beautifully.

While this session was a mini and shorter in time than a typical session we were able to go a lot of images and variety!  We were even able to incorporate their dog!!  My favorite part of the session though was playing with Scarlett at the end as she picked me flowers and brought them over to me as little gifts!  Read More »

Kayleigh Maternity pt. 2

Our maternity session was perfect but as we were getting in the cars and leaving I kept feeling like I hadn’t done something.  It was as I was driving out of Crump Park that I realized what it was… we forgot to get images of just Kayleigh, by herself, in all her maternity glory.  I knew I wanted those images and I had a feeling Kayleigh did too.  We must be on the same brain wave because just as I was about to text her asking if she’d mind meeting up again, she beat me to it!  Asking if I minded if we could meet up again and get a few more of just her?  Mind!?  Of course I didn’t mind, I wanted these images for her just as much as she did.  Maternity images should be about the upcoming family and the excitement and love the parents feel for this new life but also to celebrate the woman who is building this little life step by step.   Maternity sessions should pay tribute to the strength and grace of the future mom who is in my opinion, a warrior princess.  🙂

So we met back up and just when I thought it couldn’t get better, it did.  The light was gorgeous and the park seemed to have even more great spots for images than before.  Oh and Kayleigh, she is seriously the best.  I mean it.  The. Best.  I saw a corn field off in the distance and I thought oh man, I really want to shoot there.  But… there was a fence… with a lock… and a pregnant woman in a gorgeous dress who I thought, may not want to climb a fence, in a dress, to go into a field of overgrown corn to get images…. Oh boy was I wrong.  I suggested it to her and she was like ‘yeah girl, absolutely’ in the most cool girl I climb fences, kind of way.  Like I said… The. Best.

So we did, we climbed not one, but two fences and got ourselves in a corn field to take GORGEOUS images.  I was swooning then and I am swooning now.  I love these images.

So Kayleigh – Thank you for being on my brain wave the entire time and being such a fun, easy going person to work with.  I’m so glad we did this and I can’t wait to meet your little guy soon. 🙂

Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-1Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-2Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-5Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-7Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-13Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-14Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-17Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-19Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-21Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-23Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-27Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-26Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-31Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-29Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-36Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-35Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-30Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-43Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-44Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-46Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-49Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-51Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-48Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-53Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-56Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-58Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-66Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-63Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-59Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-75Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-81Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-71Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-78Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-74Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-82Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-93Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-72Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-85Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-104Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-64Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-91Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-92Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-103Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-87Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-95Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-69Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-82Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-99Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-79Alexandra Michelle Photography - Milestone 1 -Crump Park - Maternity Deihr-100

Click here to see Kayleigh’s Maternity Session pt. 1

Kinsler Richmond Maternity Session

It’s crazy to think that it has been three years ago since I went down to Belle Isle with these two and took their engagement pictures! (Check them out here) I’ll never forget sitting in Nacho Mamas with Amanda and talking about how when Jamie proposes she wants me to take her engagement pictures.  I’m pretty sure my reaction was “Uh what!? Me!?”  She was the first person to see this as more than just a hobby and she is the one who helped snowball my love for photography into something real and I’ll always be grateful for her trust in me. Read More »