Can’t believe I am making this post in August, but here it goes. I am now booking newborn sessions with due dates into January 2019! My fall schedule schedule is nearly fully booked (still have openings here and there for select weeks, and I also have more flexibility for “newborn only” sessions), and my December schedule is getting booked up as well. As one of a small handful of full-time boutique commercial photography studios dedicated to newborn photography in Northern Virginia, I have been asked so many times “whey should I book my newborn session?”. My answer is always the same “book as soon as you decide that you want newborn photos!”

northern virginia newborn photographer_booking 2018

It is a known fact that wedding photographers should be booked well in advance, and clients know to do their research and book ahead. Unfortunately, things are different when it comes to newborn photography. I still hear quite often that clients “did not know they had to book the newborn session so early.” Let’s just say some of my past clients email me as soon as they hit the 12 week mark 😉

If you love my work and need to and want to book a newborn session with me please email me at chasingmoments@gmail.com and we’ll get you started! Oh and check out adorable newborn photos from this little man’s photo session.

northern virginia newborn photographer_booking 2018_2

In general, my recommendation (whether you book me or somebody else) is to research and book your newborn photographer as soon as you decide you want a newborn session. I always try my best to fit clients in, but unfortunately often I just cannot when my schedule is fully packed and it is heartbreaking to have to turn clients away. While I spend a lot of time at the studio with camera in hand,

Back to Top|Contact Me|Pin it !|Share on Facebook|

I don’t know about you, but I am ready for spring! As a Northern Virginia studio newborn photographer, I do most work indoors, but I love that spring makes people think about brighter, more cheerful colors, flowers, cherry blossoms, and being outdoors.For brand new parents, spring is a wonderful time to take their newborn for a stroll and enjoy all the season has to offer. I, personally, am excited about warmer temperatures, fresh spring air and the germy winter season coming to an end! As a newborn photographer, I am always paranoid about every sneeze and cough because I want to make sure I am 110% healthy when working with newborns, so I always get extra anxious in winter (the few clients who’ve had to wait a few extra days for their newborn session to make sure I am not sick – thank you for being patient!). My own school age kids know all too well about washing hands religiously. We’ve been mostly spared this winter (except for a couple of rounds of nasty stomach bug my boys picked up at school) and haven’t had to deal with colds or the flu, knocking on wood!

I guess you already figured I am thrilled about spring! I still have a couple of newborn photo session openings left in April and May, but my summer and September are filling in like crazy so if you are expecting and thinking of looking up a newborn photographer in Northern Virginia, don’t wait too long! Most of us, full time professional newborn photographers book up for months in advance, so grab your spots sooner rather than later.

chasing moments newborns_36

If you are looking for a professional newborn photography studio that’s not at a photographer’s home – my studio is conveniently located in a small business community across from Reston Town Center, seconds from the Toll Road and easily accessible from most of Northern Virginia. It is dedicated to photographing newborns and is fully stocked with hats, wraps, blankets, headbands, props of all shapes and sizes and backdrops (especially flowering spring time ones!)

If you love my work and would like to get more information about booking a newborn session with me please email me at chasingmoments@gmail.com and I”ll write back with my pricing and availability details.

Enjoy spring, friends!!!!!

Much love!

Your newborn photographer,

Olga with Chasing Moments

northern virginia newborn photographer

Back to Top|Contact Me|Pin it !|Share on Facebook|

I was so happy when Ms. A.’s mom reached out to me to schedule her newborn session! I photographed her brother as a newborn a couple of years ago and was thrilled to see A’s parents again and to meet their sweet little girl. Now, Ms. A was a little fussy during the session and didn’t want to miss a thing, so of course I did my absolute best to get as much variety and as many different looks as poses as we could and we ended up getting many beautiful shots to fill her gallery and to create a beautiful 20×30 canvas collage to match her brother’s from his session.

mclean newborn photographer_01

If you like my newborn photography work, if you need beautiful photos of your newborn and if you are expecting in 2018 please email me at chasingmoments@gmail.com or call me (202) 251-6368 to schedule your newborn session. I am now booking clients with due dates into summer of 2018!

Back to Top|Contact Me|Pin it !|Share on Facebook|

Miss A. was a last minute booking for her newborn session in late November, and luckily I was able to fit her in to come in just days before Thanksgiving. Now, I typically book up for months in advance, but since, as we all know, babies don’t usually arrive on their due dates I occasionally get an opening to take on a last minute inquiry if one of my clients delivers a couple of weeks before or after her due date. She was a few days past the alleged “perfect newborn photography window” (I am not a fan of this concept and terminology, but that’s a subject for another post, for now I”ll just say that any time is a good time to photograph your baby!), but we got perfect pictures even though she was a bit fussy and wanted to stay cozy in the wrap.

Ashburn newborn photographer_2018_web

If you like my newborn photography work, if you need beautiful photos of your newborn and if you are expecting in 2018 please email me at chasingmoments@gmail.com or call me (202) 251-6368 to schedule your newborn session. I am now booking clients with due dates into summer of 2018!

Back to Top|Contact Me|Pin it !|Share on Facebook|

Running a successful photography business is only about 25% about photography. Clients often ask me how many sessions I do per week and why I can’t take on more than I typically do. The simple answer is – I just don’t have the time. There’s the editing, consults, studio maintenance, ordering, accounting (omg, don’t even get me started on how much I dislike accounting and all that goes with it), website upkeep, shipping and packaging, emails –  these are all “necessities” I can’t run my business smoothly without! Then, there are all these other things that are “niceties”, optional things that I can choose to do if I have time. Unfortunately, blogging is one of the “niceties” I would love to do more of, but I just don’t have much time for. Every year around New Year’s time I make a resolution to blog more, to post more sneak peeks, to share more tips, ideas, behind-the-scenes, articles and personal stories, and every year I more or less fail at it. So, I am trying again this year:)

I am going to start by sharing the last session of 2017! I was in the midst of my much-awaited Christmas break when a long-time client reached out to me with a last minute request. She just had a baby girl and decided she wanted a session! I had photographed her 1st baby, a boy, and then had him back in the studio for milestone photos, and she is one of my really favorite clients (some people you just really like, right?!) so I couldn’t say “no”. I scrambled to find a date that worked between Christmas and the New Year, and was so happy to see her and her sweet toddler and to meet their new addition for her newborn session. I think I got some really wonderful shots of this sweet little lady while her mommy and big brother got to have some quiet time – just the two of them – hanging out and playing quietly while I worked my magic.

We did some prop shots on the bed, in a bowl with flowers, and in a rustic wood crate with a teddy bear stuffie – love how they turned out, the bowl shot with flowers is my favorite!

oak hill newborn photographer_01

 

I also did some posed shots using a gray-pink color scheme, as suggested by Mommy, and couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out! With a combination some classic side-lying and tummy-lying poses, wrapped shots and portraits, the overall session really came together nicely. oak hill newborn photographer_02

Finally, some teddy bear magic! We did a teddy bear set up with her big brother, and I just had to have a teddy bear shot in the gallery for this little lady’s newborn photos!

oak hill newborn photographer_03If you like my newborn photography work, if you need beautiful photos of your newborn and if you are expecting in 2018 please email me at chasingmoments@gmail.com or call me (202) 251-6368 to schedule your newborn session. I am now booking clients with due dates into summer of 2018!

Back to Top|Contact Me|Pin it !|Share on Facebook|

Dear Friends,

Without further ado, here it is, my annual post of all my 2017 newborn clients! Thank you to all my wonderful 2017 clients who I had the privilege to work with, I hope you had a fantastic 2017 year and looking forward to new adventures in 2018!

2017 newborn collage_web2

If you want similar images of your sweet little one and if you are expecting in 2018 (I am now booking into summer of 2018!) please email me at chasingmoments@gmail.com or call me (202) 251-6368 to schedule your newborn session.

With love,

Olga/Chasing Moments Photography

Back to Top|Contact Me|Pin it !|Share on Facebook|

If you are a prospective client and you are wondering about newborn session flow and prop selection, the one thing my past newborn clients will tell you is that I ask about their favorite colors or preferred colors for the session, and if they want to incorporate a specific prop, look, pose or theme. Gender-specific color scheme are always classic and popular, blues and grays for boys, and pinks, lavenders and purples for girls. I do have a lot of blanket color choices at the studio and I always remind parents who are not sure about their likes that they can also go with a gender neutral color scheme (creams, greens, yellows, browns) and use brighter bolder colors (such as teal, tiffany blue, coral, mint, navy blue, red, or orange). In the session below, parents chose mint, cream and brown as main colors for their baby girl’s session while keeping the overall feel of the session clean, simple and not too girlie (no flowers, frilly accessories, headbands, etc). Oftentimes, the simplest set up and look works best to highlight baby’s features! My favorites are the orange/coral/blue knit hat on the teal  and the little bear in the crate! fairfax va newborn photographerIf you like my newborn photography work and if you are expecting in 2016 or 2017 (I am now booking clients with due dates into February 2017!) please email me at chasingmoments@gmail.com or call me (202) 251-6368 to schedule your newborn session.

Back to Top|Contact Me|Pin it !|Share on Facebook|

I always try to get as many different looks from every pose I do during my newborn sessions. It means adding hats, outfits, wraps and blankets as well as changing angles and zooming in and out. This way, Mom and Dad can pick their favorite from each set up, and I can compose collages with images that complement each other beautifully in terms of posing, lighting and color schemes (for example, the first collage below has grays and greens as two main colors, with teal and cream elements to complete the look).

herndon newborn photographerIf you like my newborn photography work and if you are expecting in 2016 or 2017 (I am now booking clients with due dates into February 2017!) please email me at chasingmoments@gmail.com or call me (202) 251-6368 to schedule your newborn session.

Back to Top|Contact Me|Pin it !|Share on Facebook|

As my kids returned to school this week, and the busy fall photography season is starting (September and October are my busiest newborn photography months!), I am playing catch up with my blog posts. It is a very long shot, I know, as I am two years behind on posting my favorites from clients sessions. Yet, I am an optimist! So, here is a throwback to a beautiful newborn session from 2015! This little man arrived to the studio with his own sports gear, and looks like he enjoyed his very first photo session! I wonder if he is now getting into baseball or football!

arlington va newborn photographer_chasing moments

If you like my newborn photography work and if you are expecting in 2017 or 2017 (I am now booking clients with due dates into February 2018!) please email me at chasingmoments@gmail.com or call me (202) 251-6368 to schedule your newborn session.

Back to Top|Contact Me|Pin it !|Share on Facebook|

Dear Friends,

I finally got around to putting together my annual collage of my favorite pictures of newborn babies I had the privilege to photograph in 2016. I know that a lot goes into consideration when parents choose me as their newborn photographer. As my business has grown over the years, and as I have grown as a photographer over the years, I have come to learn and realize that one of their most important considerations is trust. Yes, trust. New mommies and daddies trust me not just to photograph their tiny newborn, but, more importantly – they trust me with their baby for the 2-3 hours that I get to be his or her photographer.  Trust. I am the one they get to trust with their newborn. I get to hold, swaddle, snuggle, soothe, settle, clean up, feed, burp, and, ultimately, pose for pictures. So, from the bottom of my heart, I want to say a huge THANK YOU to all my newborn clients. Thank you for trusting me to care for your baby while he or she is in my hands for the newborn session.  Please know that your baby’s safety and comfort are always my top priority (way above pictures and poses).

Phew! So, before I start tearing up, here they are – newborns of 2016! <3

newborn photographer fairfax herndon_web

If you like my newborn photography work and if you are expecting in 2017 (I am now booking into August of 2017!) please email me at chasingmoments@gmail.com or call me (202) 251-6368 to schedule your newborn session.

With love,

Olga/Chasing Moments Photography

Back to Top|Contact Me|Pin it !|Share on Facebook|

Hi All,

I am excited to meet all the participants next Saturday morning at Claude Moore Park for the annual Scott Kelby’s World Wide Photo Walk. The official photo walk time frame is 7-9am, we will leave at 7am sharp from the Visitor Center meeting spot.

Yesterday morning I went out to the park thinking to grab a couple of test shots before next weekend and ended up staying a while. I would definitely recommend bringing whatever lenses you have, so you can grab a range of wide angle, macro and telephoto shots (plenty of opportunities for all these at Claude Moore), if you have a polarizing filter – that would definitely be a plus!  Also, this being a morning photo walk (dew and all), I would also suggest wearing water proof hiking boots. Below are some shots from yesterday (all taken with my 35mm prime, probably not the best choice of lens for walking around Claude Moore, but I literally grabbed my camera with whatever lens was on it yesterday morning so that’s what I had to work with).

We will start at 7am, walk around the two fishing ponds (the sunrise is at 7.05, and starting around the fishing ponds will give us an opportunity to catch some sunrise reflections). This is also where I wished I had my telephoto and macro lenses with me.

claude-moore_test_collage_01

Then we’ll proceed to the historic buildings behind the ponds. By about 7.30-7.40am you can try to capture sunbursts peeking through the trees and around the historic buildings. This area offers many opportunities for photographing macro, nature details, and interesting textures and scenes with light spilling over through the trees.

claude-moore_test_collage_02_web

There is also some awesome old equipment to photograph…

claude-moore_test_collage_03

And don’t forget your tripod!

tripod

If you have any follow up questions, feel free to email me at chasingmoments@gmail.com. On the morning of the walk you can reach me via cell at 202-251-6368.

See you on Saturday!

Olga

Back to Top|Contact Me|Pin it !|Share on Facebook|

You may have seen this handsome little man as part of my website slideshow – this picture of baby J. is among my favorite newborn pictures ever! I love everything about it – the pose, the sweet baby, the way the hat fits him just right, and the bright yellow, imho, exudes everything bright, sunny and happy about the world around us. Any color scientists among us? What say you?

Mommy and daddy received a newborn session as a gift, and they even brought their own “hot air balloon” setup with them (which was so awesome to photograph! I love adding custom touches and personalizing the sessions in ways that are meaningful to parents!). They ended up loving all the pictures from the session, which makes me one happy photographer! Here we go, Baby J (who is probably now an active toddler, keeping his mommy and daddy super busy)! herndon newborn photographer

If you like my newborn photography work and if you are expecting in 2016 or 2017 (I am now booking clients with due dates into February 2017!) please email me at chasingmoments@gmail.com or call me (202) 251-6368 to schedule your newborn session.

Back to Top|Contact Me|Pin it !|Share on Facebook|

Is it too early to start thinking about Valentine’s Day?! I know, I know! First, we are all looking forward toward fall foliage (awesome here in Northern Virginia), pumpkin flavored everything, hay rides, fall festivals, Halloween and possibly even a mini session or two with your favorite family photographer ;)  In any case! I came across this beautiful session from last Valentine’s Day (Yes, 2015! I am a year and a half behind on blogging!) in my storage and realized I haven’t shared it yet! I love it so! This sweet little boy’s due date was February 14, so Mom brought this awesome bow and arrow set for her little Cupid, and we also incorporated red and blue (for Superman). And don’t get me started on how much I love the family shots from this session – just perfect!

Okay, enough bragging, enjoy the pictures and, by the way, I am totally buying some very cute Valentine’s props for 2017 (and, yes, I am now officially booking into February 2017!!!!!)

newborn photographer falls church nova

Back to Top|Contact Me|Pin it !|Share on Facebook|

I do not post examples of older newborn sessions (done for for babies between about 4-5 weeks of age and 3 months old), so here is an example! Older newborn sessions are different in their dynamic, flow and the type of images I aim to get as compared to traditional newborn sessions (done for babies under about 2-3 weeks old), but they do result in beautiful photos. Just look at this sweet little lady! At around 3 months old, not only did she let me capture some awesome tummy time and held her head up perfectly, she also did beautifully for family pictures and pictures with mommy and daddy, AND she rocked a couple of outfit changes AND then she fell asleep so peacefully that I could get some sleepy shots!

older newborn photography in northern virginia

Whereas my studio mostly focuses on newborn photography, I do take a limited number of older newborn sessions! So, if for some reason you did not get around to doing sleepy, posed portraits of your newborn baby, it doesn’t mean that you can’t get beautiful pictures after the 2-3 week mark. Please send me an email at chasingmoments@gmail.com for older newborn session availability and information, I’d love to hear from you!

Back to Top|Contact Me|Pin it !|Share on Facebook|

Sweet baby Lorelei saw me for a short newborn mini session last winter, and I can’t believe I haven’t posted these beautiful images until now. She didn’t want to miss anything during her newborn session (see that wide awake smile she is giving me?) but we did get some gorgeous sleepy shots. My favorite is the one with her “lovey”! newborn photographer in fairfax va

Back to Top|Contact Me|Pin it !|Share on Facebook|

Thought I’d share my favorites from a newborn stock sessions I photographed last year.  Logistically, newborn stock sessions are identical to how I would work with private newborn clients. The only difference is that I need to make sure to not use any logos, commercial brands, or proprietary designs as part of the session because the final images would be available for commercial usage by print publications, online designers, and product developers around the world. World, meet baby N, who was a rock star model for his first commercial photo session!

reston newborn photographer_web

Back to Top|Contact Me|Pin it !|Share on Facebook|

So, I thought I’d share how to use an awesome little tool in Photoshop called “content aware”. I personally love it and use it for a wide range of touch ups for almost every session. It can save you a lot of time and is very easy to use. In a nutshell, you pick an area of the picture and content aware fills it in with missing content and/or covers up unseemly items that do not belong in the shot (such as a spotter’s hand or foot, baby’s pacifier, etc).

Here is an image from a recent newborn session. As you can see another background blanket is showing in the corner of the picture. So, I use content-aware. how to use content aware_02

1. First, I use a lasso tool and very roughly outline the pink area (I do not feather), like this:
use lasso tool

2. Then I pull up the “content aware” tool. You can go to edit->fill or press Shift+f5 (I usually remember shortcuts of all the common commands I use, so I do the latter). edit fill

3. In the “fill” menu that opens up I use the “content aware” option, turn on “color adaptation” and use “normal” blending mode at 100% opacity.

content aware menu

4. All done. Takes about 10 seconds.

how to use content aware_02a

Another example (the gray in the screenshots is just the background in photoshop; oh, and also – since these are screenshots colors are a bit off):

how to use content aware_04a how to use content aware_04b

Due to the “color adaptation” option, content aware works great as a way to extend seamless paper backgrounds that may have a bit of light/shading going on. As an added bonus, since “content aware” fills in parts of the picture using existing content, (unlike the method where you paint in the extension ) it does not create any extra banding when extending the seamless (if there is already banding in the picture, of course, it will show). Here is a before and after. I wanted to extend this picture’s width, so first I extended the “canvas” (the white areas are where I want to fill in), and then used a marquee tool to select the empty areas and fill them in using content aware.

how to use content aware_03a how to use content aware_03b

I often use it to fill in gaps in backdrops, to extend patterned backdrops or floors, fill in foliage gaps (for outdoor images). For example, here is a quick background extension to cover up the clutter in the corner: how to use content aware_05c

how to use content aware_05b

The applications of the “content aware” tool are endless! It works best with solid colors or repetitive or patterned floors or backdrops/backgrounds, but you can experiment and find that it works quite well in other situations. You will also find that in some cases it does not work at all (mostly, it is due to the fact that the software can’t tell the pattern you want to extend from other things in your picture, and then includes parts of these objects into the extended ‘filler’). Again – just experiment with it, and find out how it can best work for you!

So, to recap: (1) lasso tool, (2) Shift+F5 to pull up the content aware menu, hit OK and enjoy!

Hope you’ll find it handy, and I”d love to see some examples and hear some feedback!

 

 

Back to Top|Contact Me|Pin it !|Share on Facebook|

Dear friends, this year I had an amazing and humbling opportunity to meet over 100 newborn babies for their first photo shoot. Thank you, my wonderful newborn clients of 2015, for trusting me with your precious babies! I am so honored and happy you chose me to be your newborn photographer, and I hope you’ll find a lifetime of love and enjoyment looking at your baby’s newborn pictures.

By way of a recap, here are some of my favorites from 2015! I am hoping to see many of these little ones grow return for their sitting, rolling, crawling, 1-year cake smash and other milestone sessions!
2015 newborns_web_sizeIf you like my newborn photography work and if you are expecting in 2016 (I am now booking into June of 2016!) please email me at chasingmoments@gmail.com or call me (202) 251-6368 to schedule your newborn session.

Have a very Happy New Year!

With love,

Olga/Chasing Moments Photography

Back to Top|Contact Me|Pin it !|Share on Facebook|

Beware, a huge overshare (keep scrolling, there are four sets of images)!

Baby L is one of my last newborn sessions of 2015, so I thought it would be a great way to wrap up blogging for this year by showcasing the best and my most favorite images from his session. Sessions like his are very representative of my current style and looks I love – clean, simple, timeless, focusing on Baby and a couple of factors most meaningful and important to the family (notice the subtle winter and Christmas theme and the few images with elements of Dad’s military background).

alexandria va newborn photographer_01

And – yes – these are all images from a single newborn session, it was about 3 hours, and we got a full set of shots on the blue blanket, with three props, and with mommy and with daddy and with both parents. Baby L. was a dream sleeper and I am so happy with the end results – there is plenty of variety in terms of posing and looks, yet it all looks consistent and the pictures go well together! alexandria va newborn photographer_02 alexandria va newborn photographer_03 alexandria va newborn photographer_04

If you like my work and want a photo session for your newborn baby, please contact me at chasingmoments@gmail.com  or call me to get more information and to schedule your session! I have years of experience photographing newborns and babies and I guarantee you’ll love the photos! For more examples of my work, please see newborn galleries on my website: http://www.chasingmoments.com

Back to Top|Contact Me|Pin it !|Share on Facebook|