Cotton-candy skies, golden evening light, belly laughs, and a little bit of magic ... if you ask me, this Charlottesville family session is what childhood summer dreams are made of. 

When Angela reached out to me about photos, she and her family were preparing for a cross-state move. En route, they'd be stopping in Charlottesville and wanted photos with mountain views. So we made it happen!

In true Virginia summer fashion, session day brought 90-degree temperatures — but you'd never know it from these photos. The Rodgers had also been traveling all day — but you'd never know that, either.

​The stress of the day, of the pandemic, of their move, and even the heat all seemed to melt away, leaving only light, fun, dreamy memories of one summer evening in Charlottesville. 

I was so excited to design an heirloom album for the Rodgers, to tell their story for decades and generations to come. It's going to be STUNNING — so stay tuned! In the meantime, enjoy their beautiful session highlights...

There are really only two things you need for a gorgeous family session: a little light and a lot of love. A dreamy background also helps, but isn't required. 

Luckily for this special mother-son portrait session, we had all three! My sister-in-law and nephew brought the love, while Chisholm Vineyards provided the stunning backdrop.

We made our way around the property, including the wisteria-laden tasting patio. This feature is an amazing sight to behold — and the smell! I wish you could experience the sweet fragrance in these images. I can't imagine a better place in Charlottesville to sip wine. 

Hope you enjoy these highlights from their session! And for more sessions at Chisholm Vineyards, check out the Ashley Family's blog post and the recap for my Kids' Portrait Event.

I'm a sentimental sucker for the "lasts" — especially when I can turn them into something magical. 

For the past three years, I've made it a priority to spend the evening before Tucker's birthday to take some photos. For the past three years, it's just so happened to be a beautiful day drenched in golden-hour light. 

Apart from the sentimentally of these little sessions, I love that they allow the following day to be more relaxing. I don't have to worry about keeping cake smears off clothes or interrupting the flow of birthday celebrations for photos that I have (unreasonably) high expectations for. 

If you know our sweet Tuck, I hope you enjoy seeing his beautiful smile during this time of quarantine. If you don't, I hope you'll imagine your own kids having photos like these and reach out when togetherness is once again resumed. 

This session brings me so much joy.

I could stop right there, and you would totally understand by looking at the highlights below. The evening light during our Chisholm Vineyards session was magical. Their fall outfits were perfect. Their boys' sweet faces could make anyone smile.

All the ingredients for beautiful images are there.

But I'll go on to say that the joy comes because of this family. Their love and affection for each other made my job easy. They relish in their kids, and receive adoration in return. They are kind and down-to-earth, which I think just shines in their photos.

You might remember seeing their boys in my Kids' Portrait Event recap back in October. They ended up being the winners of the family session giveaway, and I'm so grateful I was able to document them again as a whole family. Kids are always cute, but to see and capture them with their parents is really something meaningful.

Hope these highlights make you smile — and keep scrolling to see how the Ashleys will display their new family photos in their home!

The Ashley’s print art: On the left, a collection of six Luxury Matted Prints, which will create a beautiful wall collage; on right, Premium Prints of more favorite images.

If you ask the Kaisers, they might say their session at the University of Virginia didn't go as planned. Their usually happy, silly twins were having a hard afternoon. There were tears and meltdowns, and I know mom and dad left wondering if we had captured anything good. 

But if you ask me, it was totally normal.

Session day isn't always the kids' day — and that's okay. Because where you see tears, I see the way you hold them close. Where you see a tantrum, I see the moment your silly songs make them smile again. (And when those don't work, I have some tricks up my own sleeve.)

Just like life, sessions are often about the in-between moments. They might only last a few seconds, but they always add up to a beautiful memory.

When I met with the Kaisers again for our Reveal Session, they were so in love with the final images. They couldn't believe these were from the same evening! 

And that's really all I want as a family photographer — to show you that there's beauty even in chaotic moments, even through tears and hard times. 

For a laundry list of reasons, I have never hosted a big back-to-back portrait event. But as a new name in a big town, I felt like it was time to meet lots of families at once!

Cue my Limited Edition Kids' Portrait Event, held at the beautiful Chisholm Vineyards (Adventure Farm), just outside of Charlottesville in Earlysville.

Over the course of two dates this month, I had the honor of photographing so many adorable kids of all different ages. It was a whirlwind, but I am IN LOVE with how each of these 5-minute sessions turned out. 

Not only did I meet several new Charlottesville families, but I had a past LRP client travel 3 HOURS to attend — and also some friends from Richmond! 

To each family who came out: A giant THANK YOU for trusting the new girl in town. I couldn't have asked for a better group of sweet, funny, polite (and stylish) kids. Hope to see you all again!

And to Andrea at Chisholm Vineyards: Thank you for letting me use your stunning slice of heaven. It was the perfect backdrop to a magical evening.

While we wait for their stunning heirloom album and matted prints to arrive, I couldn't resist sharing some highlights from the Sink family's lovely session.

I knew their images would be gorgeous (cute family + amazing style + all the love), but I didn't expect our 88-degree, early-September session to look like such an autumn dream. The leaves around us had already crisped and fallen, and the glowy sunset had cast the trees in the background the perfect shade of golden yellow. I love when Mother Nature pulls through for me!

It was such an honor to spend time with this family and witness just how much they adore their sweet, beautiful girl (who, by the way, was SO sweet during our session, even though it was past her bedtime!). 

Rose and Caley, thank you so much for trusting me to document this moment in your lives and create an album worthy to pass down to your daughter one day.

Cotton-candy skies, rippling blue water, and the most fun family of four — if I were ever to dream about photographing a session, I know this is what it would look like. 

Admittedly, it's been a while since I've photographed a family with older children. But it was such a refreshing change of pace. Families go through so many stages, and lately it feels like the newborn and baby stages are the only ones that get professionally photographed. 

I'm so happy that Brooke and Adam chose to treasure and document this stage in their lives — I mean, when else will a teenage boy spend a Saturday evening giving hugs and kisses to his momma?! (Just kidding — Kaiden was very sweet about it, and it melted my boy-mom heart.)

My favorite part about my time with the Saul family, though, was actually a few weeks after their session, when I delivered their gorgeous print art — a Glass Memory Box with prints and a Linen Folio displaying three of their favorite photos. They were just finishing up a birthday celebration, and had several guests over. Watching them open each piece and share their photos with their family was an absolute joy and 100 percent the reason why I do what I do. 

Brooke and Adam, thank you so much for trusting me to capture your beautiful family. It was an honor. Most important, though, thank you for being yourselves around me (and for sticking your feet into the water illegally with me). You guys are the best!

When I first approached Lee Robison, owner of the Golden Shoestring in Roanoke, about collaborating, I had lots of ideas running through my head.

But I was most excited about the possibility of a styled shoot. I was eager to feature some pieces from the store's curated selection of high-end consignment clothing, and show off how beautiful they can look in a relaxed photo session. 

I had so much fun shopping the store and picking out the embroidered top (TINY by Anthropologie), embroidered dress (Umgee), and sandals (Talbots). My model JoAnn looked amazing in everything! 

When I met with JoAnn before the session, I told her that in addition to featuring some great clothes, I also wanted the images to really reflect the relationship she has with her daughter. I wanted her to be able to look at the photos years from now and hear her daughter's sweet giggle and feel the warmth of her hugs and kisses.

I'm proud to say we accomplished just that! I absolutely loved getting to watch them laugh and play. JoAnn and Lee — thank you both so much for spending time with me and helping me create some magic!

There are so many things that make me smile about this at-home newborn session. 

First, the family dynamic. I love when older siblings are very involved. It really does provide a complete family picture. When I look through these photos, I see moments that will be so treasured decades and generations from now — by both brothers. 

Second, baby's facial expressions. They're incredible! He has such a deep stare, and his eyes already tell a story. He was such an active part of his session, and I absolutely love it (that may sound weird, but once you look at the highlights, you'll see what I mean!).

Third, I see a lot of personal and artistic growth. Of course, I grow with every session, but for this one, I had recently invested in a wider lens, in the hopes that it would help me better tell my clients' stories. And it has. As I made photos during this session, I finally felt like my images could breathe.