Professional photography makes a fabulous present, no matter how you package it. Amy and Anne are two young professionals who recently moved away from their parent’s home. Since their family doesn’t get to see them nearly as much as they used to, their mom decided to give their dad a fitting birthday gift – a photography session of the girls and a beautiful collection of prints.
We were pressed for time, however… typically a session is scheduled 2-3 weeks after booking, post-processing takes 1-3 weeks to complete, and finally prints arrive one week after favorites are chosen. We had less than a month to get dad’s gift to his birthday lunch so we improvised – with spectacular results! We fit in our session in a rare open Sunday, then after some speedy processing I prepared a sweet gift card for dad with a link to the ladies’ online web gallery. Not only did he get the chance to see all of the photos from the girls’ session, he got to pick out HIS favorites, a nice little bonus!
I love love love when a friend turns into a client. This time it happened unexpectedly. Amy’s dad was about to celebrate an upcoming birthday, and Amy’s mom needed a unique gift… Voila! Amy’s mom turned to me to take professional portraits of her two daughters. Since time was tight and printing couldn’t be done before dad’s birthday, we wrapped up a gift card and a link to the photos and he gets to pick which photos are his favorite from the entire gallery. Who doesn’t love getting a choice between 50 different presents?!
More to share about the gallery gift later — for now please enjoy a sampling of photos of the two adorable sisters!
I had the pleasure of photographing little angel Nolan on the first warmish spring day in March, which served us well because we ended up with a beautiful collection of outdoor family shots! After we ventured inside he lulled himself to sleep in one of my cute homemade caps, ignoring the clickclickclick of my camera. Photographers should be so lucky to have this little guy as a model!
We’re you one of the hundreds of DC fashionistas who made it out to the sold-out District Sample Sale last night? If not, you missed quite a scene – fab sales, yummy food and pumpin jams. Read all about it on the Examiner.
K Street Kate, CityShopGirl and Marisa Turner Potts make shopping look good.
The Charm jewelry display was nearly always swarmed.
Georgetown Cupcake supplied much-needed clothes-frenzy fuel.
Ladies bidding at the silent auction.
Babe attracts a crowd.
Mark your calendars for next year – it’s sure to sell out again!
It’s not everyday that a portrait client will feed you. I got lucky.
Marissa Bialecki, the Bon Appetite Foodie invited me over for a three-course meal and I got to take some pictures in between. Heaven.
Bon Appetite Foodie blogs about anything related to food that inspires her–restaurant reviews around DC, original recipes, information about food events in DC and more. She prides herself on providing original content on her blog. She also writes for We Love DC, where her main column is Capital Chefs that includes profiles and interviews with chefs in the DC area. Simply put, if it’s about food, she’s interested!
As a lover of eclectic cuisine, cooking and baking, I hit her up with some questions during our fun night together:
Q. If you could only recommend three restaurants to a visiting tourist, what would you recommend?
Tough question since there are so many restaurants I love! I think 1789 is fantastic. Yes, it’s often referred to as a DC institution and some people like to reserve it only for special occasions, but I think it’s a place where you can get a meal that is really special and delicious. Their chef, Dan Giusti, is very talented. I tried escargot there for the first time and to my surprise, I really enjoyed it. So if you’re a tourist in Georgetown, skip the stupidly long line at Georgetown Cupcake and eat something that’s worth it.
You can’t come to DC and not eat at Ben’s Chili Bowl. It’s a rite of passage to eat there and it’s another “DC institution.” Day or night, it’s always the right time for a half-smoke with mustard and chili and a huge plate of chili cheese fries. There are few things better than Michael Jackson’s PYT blasting and some good chili dogs over at Ben’s.
My last pick would be Breadline which is downtown near the White House. I used to treat myself to sandwiches and a walk through the park from there every now and then when I was at GWU. If you’re a tourist on a budget and you want to grab some sandwiches before heading over to the White House or down to the mall, I’d recommend going to Breadline and having a nice little picnic outside.
Q. What’s your favorite food to eat/make?
My favorite food to make is probably Italian. It’s a crowd pleaser when I cook for friends who have different likes and dislikes. It’s a type of cuisine that almost everyone enjoys. That being said, I like challenging myself in the kitchen, trying to make my own Chinese takeout, Indian chicken tikka masala or coq au vin. I’m trying to get more into baking lately and make use out of my KitchenAid Mixer. It’s a gadget worth having in the kitchen. The one food I always go out for and probably wouldn’t bother trying to recreate at home is sushi.
If you’re anxious about cooking, the recipes for the dinner she made are really simple! Her advice is to go for it, learn some basic skills and try your hand at cooking. Marissa hopes her blog inspires more people out there to cook, since it motivates her to try her hand at other recipes and making her own for the blog.
If anyone has any questions about cooking or restaurants they think she should check out, Marissa can be reached at bonappetitfoodie@gmail.com.
For more photos from our night, plus recipes – visit Marissa’s blog, Bon Appetite Foodie.
If only you could see all the gorgeous ladies in my photo archive… you’d likely hit me for not blogging about them as often as I should. (If only I had more free time!) This is Stephanie, a stunner who wanted portraits to share with her family after her move to DC. I had an awful time editing out photographs to use for her final web gallery, because nearly all of them were as good as the ones below!
I have been offering custom designed birth announcements to my clients for awhile now, but I never actively shared them with the public. So behold, samples from my “elegant” collection! Each design is completely unique in colors, text and graphics, depending on the style that’s right for you and your family. Fifty sweet birth announcements, custom designed and complete with envelopes are $100.
I had so much fun spending a Sunday morning with Altan and his amazingly kind family. Altan looked dapper in all of my sleepytime hats and seemed to have the best time simply lounging on his parents bed, posing for the camera. Lucky me, I get to hang out with Altan again this Spring, and also this Fall! Stay tuned for more of this sweet little boy.
Anyone looking for a one bedroom in Arlington? An immaculate, sunny condominium is for sale… and there’s nothing like being a block away from the metro! Contact Diana Rucker of McEnearny Real Estate via her website for more information.
When I met Harper for her portrait session, she was a tiny bit older than my usual newborns but no less sweet, adorable and perfectly sleepy… until it was time to model for the camera!
