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My Guy!

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 23:05:04 +0000

Sometimes the best photo opportunities come when you least expect it! This one happened by chance as we all went out for a walk around the block. Many of you know that my husband had back surgery last week to help alleviate pressure on a nerve as a result of a herniated disc… wow that was a mouthful. He takes frequent walks and sometimes we keep him company! To give you an idea of how fast his pace is– Jacob thought he could keep up with him on his self-propelled fire engine. I love that he put his Cars helmet on so he could match his older sisters, who were riding their bikes! Anyway, a few photos of my little guy!

~Recovery & Peace~

HIP Studio — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:11:26 +0000

This time of year is bittersweet for me. I imagine many moms must feel this way as they put their babies on the school bus for the first time after the summer has drawn to a close. For me, it has been a long and busy summer filled with lots of juggling and planning activities for my children who seem to be constantly bored. I think we managed to have a some fun and many laughs together, but trust me, it was 100 times more difficult to get my work done! Today I missed them dearly, but as I walked into the house after putting them on the bus and closed the door, I stood with a smile on my face as I quietly listened to the sound of… nothing (well almost, I still have a 2 year old in the house).

So for my post today… I’m going to add a few not so perfect photos… my snapshots. First a few from our camping trip in the Shenandoah Mountains. As an aside, I must say packing for the beach (and most any other trip) is easy compared to packing for camping. Our car was just as loaded for 2 days of camping as it was for an entire week at the beach. Needless to say, this was not back country camping– our car was a short hike away from our campsite and there were bathrooms closeby, as well. We were not roughin’ it, but it was a great way to break us non-campers in. We all had so much fun!

Here are all the kids trying so hard to be still! Notice my daughter is the one with the huge band-aid on her forehead.

I love this one which was taken during a hike.

And this one shows my friends becoming “one” with nature!

Finally, some really neat wildflowers we happened upon during our hike.

And finally two photos showing the beginning of peace, recovery, and a brand new school year!

Back to business tomorrow!

Gone Campin' – Have a safe and Happy Labor Day Weekend

HIP Studio — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 15:00:58 +0000

HIP Studio is out of blog commission today and Sunday as Stephanie and family travel deep into the woods for some good old fashioned camping. Wish us luck! I know I’m missing my Sunday post and I promised to post every day for 30 days… well, I guess we’ll add 1 more day to the end of this blog fest!

HIP Studio Mini Sessions Have Arrived! Plan for the Holidays!

HIP Studio — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:10:27 +0000

I am so excited to put these mini session dates on the calendar. I’ve had several requests so I’m starting out with two dates and two locations. I’m really trying to keep this simple. Your $39 session fee will cover 2 subjects and 15 minutes of shooting time. If you’d like to add additional subjects, I can certainly accommodate, I will just need more time and will therefore charge an extra $39 for 2 more subjects. Any more than 4, I would suggest a standard session with unlimited shooting time but we can always work together to figure it out. Special collections and pricing will apply to these sessions. Extra special referral gift when you introduce a friend to HIP Studio for a mini session. Please contact me for availability, full details, and pricing!

Dates and Locations:

Saturday, September 26 starting at 8:00 am – location historic Leesburg or 21 Wirt St studio loft
Saturday, October 24 – location Northern Virginia local park TBD

The flyer and some sample photos from 3 available locations:

HIP Studio is playing catch up! | Northern Virginia Photographer

HIP Studio — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 02:07:56 +0000

I am exhausted from a day of driving and a day of unpacking… tomorrow will be a day of cleaning, but I promise to post something worthwhile. I watched, no listened to the movie Bridge to Terabithia as we drove home yesterday and I picked up on a great quote in the movie. After a little research tonight, I found that it was actually from Theodore Roosevelt. Here’s how it goes:

“Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”

This is so true! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Fashion Friday extended… one for the little ladies!

HIP Studio — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:33:15 +0000

I love shopping for special outfits for my girls at mini Boden. The clothes are very stylish, colorful, and wear VERY well (which is key for me since they get handed down)! So since I posted a suggestion for the little men yesterday… here is a wonderful look for little girls… not necessarily a coordinated outfit to the one yesterday, though. I’m hoping to post a family “look” next week… so drop back by and take a peek!

Beach Fun | HIP Studio Photography on Vacation

HIP Studio — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 01:23:20 +0000

I thought that today it would be fun to share a few of my beach photos and throw in some tips for you to improve your beach snapshots! Even though I strive for a technically perfect photograph when I am working, I don’t want to miss an opportunity to capture a special moment. There are many times that I can’t control all of the variables to make the shot “technically” correct. Mid-day sun at the beach is the PERFECT example of this. Direct, overhead sunlight is harsh and produces lots of unwanted shadows. What can you do? Here’s a few things you can do to improve your beach images.

Shoot in the Golden Hours – just after sunrise or 1 hour before sunset. The light is beautiful and the harsh shadows melt away.
Take Advantage of Reflection – watch your child as they are walking or playing on the beach and try to get his/her reflection from the water.
Squeeze the Group – when taking a posed photo of a small group, put the tallest subjects in the middle and the shortest on the sides and ask them to squish or lean into each other so that there isn’t any empty space between them.
Turn on your flash - When taking photos during midday, the flash will help reduce the harsh shadowing.
Watch the horizon – Try to keep the horizon straight when shooting out to sea. It can be dizzying to see a crooked horizon in the background.
Don’t forget details – Take photos of interesting shells or sand creatures that your children find, but make sure they are holding them in their hands to show perspective. Also, take photos of their sand covered feet or their sweet little footprints in the sand. Draw their name in the sand with a stick (don’t forget the date) and take a snapshot. This is great cover for an album. Be creative!
B&W can save the day - Sometimes I really love a shot, but the midday sun has caused part of the image to be overexposed. In black and white, the overexposure is less noticeable and the photo can be salvaged!

Hopefully these tips will help you out a little on your next beach vacation! Now here’s a few of our photos from our first 2 days at the beach:

Ok Andrea and Stacy… it is ON! Blog Challenge Accepted

HIP Studio — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:45:29 +0000

So last evening my friend and fellow clickie chick, Stacy Dade and I met up with another awesome photographer, Andrea Hallett to take some photos of her beautiful and stylish family. We started out at this amazing farm and ended up in this field of Queen Anne’s Lace by the roadside. Now when I say Queen Anne’s Lace, I am not talking little flowers here and there, I am talking a field of 3 feet high weeds– I mean flowers– as far as you can see! Beautifully breathtaking, but I couldn’t help but wonder what was lurking under those flowers with every step. Andrea had no fear and quickly hopped the ditch and settled amidst god knows what for our photos. I LOVE IT!

So in the process of taking the photos, we’re talking about what we’ve been working on lately. Andrea says very casually and sweetly, “Steph, you are a bad blogger… you have done all these sessions and you haven’t blogged them!” and what can I say, I AM a bad blogger! So I am hereby publicly accepting Andrea’s blogging challenge. What does that mean? For the next 30 days, I am going to post every day! Yep whether I have something witty to say, a fabulous photo, a beautiful link, or NOTHING at all… I am going to post! I would love for anybody who follows my blogging challenge to post a comment so that I don’t feel like I’m all alone in cyberland, talking to a cyberwall!

So to kick off this Blog Challenge, I have to introduce you to Andrea and her beautiful family… and random Mr. Bumblebee that wouldn’t leave Miss E’s flowers alone!

Words can't describe a story that photos tell | HIP Studio Northern Virginia Photographer Fredericksburg

HIP Studio — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:10:35 +0000

The plans to photograph this little guy have been in the works for almost a year. Mom contacted me about a session asking if I had worked with special needs children, especially children with autism. I probably didn’t give her much comfort as I told her that I had, but the cases had been on the milder end of the spectrum. Honesty is the best policy, right? However, I promised her that I would do my very best to capture her son if she helped me along the way by telling me about him. I wanted to know things he liked, things that scared him, etc. Since she told me he loved trains, we decided to do the session near a Train Station. In hindsight, I’m so glad we did as he really did enjoy seeing the train pass by. During the session and while editing the images, I was touched by the patience and love that I saw. I feel honored to have had the opportunity to photograph this family– thank you A! I hope you love these images– they have certainly found a special place in my heart. I hope we do get to see each other every year

Just Add Water | The Hip Studio Children's Photographer Northern Virginia

HIP Studio — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:54:27 +0000

This little lady is a VIP here at the HIP Studio. I’ve had the honor of capturing her as a newborn, photographing her as a diaper model for a commercial client at 6 months, taking her 1 year photos, and now her 2 year photos. As you can certainly tell in the photos, she is a little spitfire with tons of personality. She made sure I knew that from day 1 (or 6 I think it was when I met her). And this little trooper battled bugs, the sun, clothing changes, and finally a little tumble to get these pictures. Smarties does wonders– I hope I didn’t spoil her too much Mom! Her favorite spot, of course, was the water and we had no trouble there– other than keeping her from taking a swim! Enjoy!