Beautiful | Child Photographer Harrisonburg Virginia

I happen to be someone who truly thinks all children are beautiful. There is a unique light that shines in each of them and it is so fun to catch little glimpses of the individuals they will grow to be. That being said, there are some children that are breaktakingly beautiful. Yes, I made up that word. It simply fit this little guy. My friend, Lisa, brought her son to see me this week and my first thought was how beautiful this child is...his face and especially his eyes are so expressive! While everyone likes images where little ones are smiling, I love that we captured so many different expressions from such a little fella! We definitely have a few smiling photos, but some of the others just crack me up! Lisa, thanks for visiting me and letting me take these portraits. It was so fun and I hope we can get together and let our boys play sometime soon. Enjoy your sneak peek!

Vacation was fun...

...but, I was happy to get back to work, especially if it meant taking some fun maternity pictures of a beautiful mom-to-be and her sweet husband! We started in the studio and then drove over to a nearby park to take advantage the nice afternoon. Things sure got green around here while I was gone. The session was fun and Kim had amazing stamina considering she is only 6 weeks away from delivering her little boy. Can't wait to meet him :-) I hope you all like the sneak peek...

Happy New Year

The New Year brought some big news to our house! My eldest daughter, Kelly had the wonderful experience of being proposed to by her sweet boyfriend on New Year's Eve. This clever young guy planned it out carefully and brought her back to the place where they met & fell in love...the University of Virginia. After dinner at a trendy restaurant in Charlottesville, Taylor took Kelly to see The Lawn all lit up for the holidays and proposed to her on the steps of The Rotunda. Very Romantic! Needless to say, we are all giddy and so excited for the two of them.

Before heading back to Mississippi (where Taylor is stationed for training...he is a pilot in the US Air Force), they stopped back by the house for a quick visit. Kelly really wanted to take some engagement photos as Taylor will not be back in Virginia between now and the wedding this summer. This was our one chance to get some portraits that we can use in the Reception Book. So, we all braved the incredibly cold temperatures (19 degrees and windy) and went for a walk down by the river. It was really fun despite our toes freezing! We also took some studio shots to balance out the cool snow photos. They both did a great job...especially Taylor who did a superb job ignoring the fact that it was his future mother-in-law on the other side of the lens.

Hope you all like the sneak peek! Kelly, I'll show you the rest when you get back later this month :-) We love you both!

Dream girl

Last week was little boys, this week I photographed some sweet little girls. Don't you just love the pose in the photo above? Dream was just that...a dream model! She is a beautiful little girl with an awesome smile. We had fun playing with the flowers & the pink chair. I loved all the questions she asked and that she wasn't afraid to tell me what she thought about those bright lights...we worked together to figure out a way that we could use the lights without them bothering her eyes ;-) Dream brought her mom, dad and baby sister along so we were able to get portraits of everyone!


Baby Skyler was so alert that we actually only snapped a few with her asleep. For only being three weeks old, she made great eye contact & was curious about everything going on around her. Mom & dad were awesome and it was a fun session. I hope you all enjoy the sneak peek!

"...and I gots fwends!"

Sometimes, I have to remind myself to take photos of my own children! Before I started Synergy Photography, they were always the focus of my photography as I tried to improve my skills. Now, I don't have as much time and, to be honest, I think they are somewhat relieved! I wanted to share a few images I did take a few weeks ago of two cute boys!

My youngest son, Ched (above), started preschool this fall. With that big step, he discovered the magical world of friendship. Whenever anyone asks him if he likes school, his eyes light up & he usually says, "YES...and I gots fwends!" Now that Ched has opened this special door, he tends to see potential "fwends" wherever we go. It is so fun to watch him get excited when he sees that there is another little boy to play with! He isn't quite enlightened enough yet to think little girls are good playmates...I'm sure that will come in time with coaching from his older sisters and over the objections of his older brothers ;-)

These photos are from an evening soccer practice where Ched was thrilled to play with his new friend, "Jwakey", otherwise known to his parents as Jacob. They were so funny together and had alot of fun running around while I trailed behind with my camera. I like using black & white processing when there is alot of contrast in my subjects or depth of field. I also like using it with children as it sometimes shows their features more clearly. With the obvious contrast in looks between these two "fwends", it seemed like a good fit.

Jacob's little sister wasn't too sure about those crazy boys and was content to just sit & observe. Is she cute with those little pony tails or what??!!

Three Perfect Sisters...

Many of you know that my two youngest sons are adopted from Haiti. Jay and I have had a heart for the children in that country for many years and I have been fortunate to travel there on a numerous trips. I have also served on the board of Angel Missions Haiti for the last 4 years. Angel Missions Haiti (www.angelmissionshaiti.blogspot.com) works to arrange donated medical care for the sickest children in Haiti who are unable to be treated in their home country. Many of these children come to the US to receive the care they need. We have also been fortunate to be a host family in the past. Once the children are healthy, they are reunited with their anxious Haitian families. In addition to the medical visa program, AMH is collaborating with other organizations to build a much needed pediatric surgical center in Port au Prince. This will allow us to provide the children with life-saving care without having to seperate them from their families. As with most non-profit groups, AMH is struggling to raise funds for all of these services.

I was blessed yesterday with the opportunity to travel to Roanoke to see my friend Vanessa who is the director of AMH. She is currently caring for triplet girls who were born in the mountains of Haiti to a very poor family who didn't have the resources to feed their tiny babies. The mother asked Vanessa to take the babies who were so close to dying and to help them as Angel Missions has helped other children from her village. These little sisters only weighed a few pounds each when they were found, but are growing quickly now. At four months, they range in weight between 7 - 9 lbs. Their names are Faith, Hope & Grace and they are just a few of the many children who will benefit from Angel Missions Haiti services this year.

All of the pictures on this post were taken yesterday. It was so fun to play with three tiny girls all at once. They look like newborns, but act older & have incredible smiles. They were all very patient with me & my camera. In fact, they would each watch me as I moved around taking photos of their sisters. I was amazed at how happy & content they were. I hope you enjoy seeing the portraits as much as I enjoyed taking them!

Faith:

Hope (the littlest):

Hope & Faith snuggling:

Grace (the biggest & strongest of the three):

We took a few Christmas pictures to use in our end-of-year program update & fundraising letter that will go out in the next month. Hoping that not many people can resist these sweet faces!

They were so funny when we put them all together. Hope is the happiest in the middle when she can be touching both of her other sisters. In fact, she likes to sleep while holding on to the other two girls! Grace was content to just hang out, but Faith had decided that she wanted to eat & take a nap. I freely admit that I was more than happy to put my camera down and spend some time feeding and cuddling her! I hope to take some more photos of them in the coming months as they get bigger & stronger so please check back to see their progress.

For comparison, here is the photo Vanessa took of the girls shortly before bringing them to the US in September. Notice that they are covered by wash clothes and their size compared to the baby bottle beside them!