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Should I get my child a camera? Sure! | Northern VA Family Photographer
Should I get my child a camera? Sure! | Northern VA Family Photographer
Many photographers found their passion for photography in childhood with their first camera. As a mother-daughter team in the Aldie, VA area, that was the case for us as well. If your child has shown any interest or aptitude for taking pictures, we encourage you to foster their curiosity. It could turn out to be their profession one day.
Cameras make great gifts for kids!
As a family photographer familiar with children, we are not suggesting you purchase a $2,000 Nikon for a ten-year old! The market is full of inexpensive, good quality cameras well-suited for children. If your child is a teen, then you can probably spend a bit more if you feel they are responsible. While we don’t endorse specific products, we did some research and here are a few kid-friendly cameras:
* VTech Kidizoom Duo (ages three to nine years): Most parents will recognize the electronic toymaker’s name. Like most of their products, this camera for kids won’t disappoint a little one or their parents. There’s 256MB of built-in memory, but there’s a built-in microSD card rear with 1 to 32GB capacity. This camera even shuts itself off to preserve the battery if your little one forgets to turn it off.
* Polaroid’s PIC-300 offers instant satisfaction for those impatient little ones anxious to see their masterpieces. Polaroid won’t disappoint, but each instant film pack allows for just 10 pictures of 3.4” x 2.10”. There are four settings simplifying life for the amateur-miniature photographer.
* For the selfie-obsessed younger generation, VTech once again steps up with an attractive option: Kidizoom Selfie Cam! It’s for agest six and over, and has a .3 megapixel at 640 x 480 resolution camera. That’s not digital high end by any means, but perfect for the elementary school-aged child. Better yet, though, is that it can shoot up to five minutes for video with 128MB internal memory or on a microSD card. Needless to say, it brings its own selfie camera stick!
* For the teen in your life, Sony’s DSCW800/B 20.1-megapixel digital camera is one of Amazon’s best selling in its category. This one is a fully-stocked point-and-shoot with plenty of features to keep the teen amateur photographer intrigued. It will capture 720p of video and a fun panorama mode.
Hopefully, these ideas will get your little one started!
If you are interested in have family portrait session with professional family photographers in the Aldie, VA area, please give us a call to schedule a portrait session. We would love to hear from you!
Family Photographers
Ever After Portraits is comprised of Mindy Belcher and Joriana Belcher Anderson, a mother-daughter portrait photography team located near Aldie, VA in Northern Virginia. We specialize in timeless and emotive fine art family portraits.
Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.
Best,
Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!
Professional Photographer
Can photography boost your child’s self confidence? Yes! | Northern VA Family Photographer
Can photography boost your child’s self confidence? Yes! | Northern VA Family Photographer
Children are fascinated by photography! As an Aldie, VA & Arcola, VA photographer, we see it time and again. Children love to see themselves in pictures! You can use that interest as a parent to help boost your child’s self-confidence.
Self-Portraits:
Selfies are popular because to some degree everyone enjoys seeing themselves. Children are no different. If you have ever taken a picture of a small child, then you’ll likely understand what we mean. The moment you snap their picture, these tech-savvy little people can’t wait to see themselves on your cellphone’s screen.
It frequently happens in our portrait photography studio, too. The joy a child feels at seeing themselves is evident in their giant happy grins. (By the way, we love seeing their joy!) They’re thrilled you have taken their picture, and they feel great about themselves! It’s a small gesture with profound impact on a child’s self-esteem.
Affirmation:
Portraits demonstrate how much you love and value your children. At some level, they understand that you have invested in portraits of them. And when you display those pictures in your family home, the effect is all the more powerful.
Children are happy and proud to see their portraits displayed proudly and with love on a wall or framed on a tabletop in their home. They feel confident that they are part of something bigger than themselves – a family! They feel empowered. They know their parents are proud of them and want the visitors to see their beautiful children’s portraits. Yes, they are loved, and they feel good about themselves!
Once again, photography has played a part in boosting your child’s self-confidence, in empowering them, in showing them they are part of a loving family.
If you live near Aldie, VA & Arcola, VA and would like to work with a leading family photographer in Northern Virginia, contact us to schedule your portrait session. It would be our honor to witness your child’s joy at seeing their picture on the screen of our camera and then later displayed in your home!
Family Photographer
Ever After Portraits is comprised of Mindy Belcher and Joriana Belcher Anderson, a mother-daughter portrait photography team located near Aldie, VA and Arcola, VA in Northern Virginia. We specialize in timeless and emotive fine art family portraits.
Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.
Best,
Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!
Professional Photographer
Family Fun at 6 Fall Festivals in Virginia | Northern VA Family Photographer
Family Fun at 6 Fall Festivals in Virginia | Northern VA Family Photographer
As a photographer near Aldie, VA, we love fall for its richness of colors and diverse landscape. Cooler days bring a certain nostalgia each year as another year draws to an end. However, fall also brings a different kind of fun.
Here in Virginia, there’s an abundance of fun and family-oriented Fall Festivals. As a longstanding Northern Virginia portrait photography studio, we love taking things outdoors come fall – both professionally and personally. Maybe we’ll see you around at a local festival! We’ve put together a list of six Virginia fall festivals for you!
Six Virginia Fall Festivals
1. Graves’ Mountain Apple Harvest Festival, Syria, VA.
First three weekends of October 2017.
Less than two hours away, you’ll enjoy this traditional apple harvest festival with food, live Bluegrass music, and cloggers, arts and crafts, a hay maze and hayrides, as well as horseback rides. This annual tradition takes place at Graves Mountain Lodge. You can pick apples and visit the animals.
2. Cox Farms Fall Festival, Centreville, VA
Sept. 16-17; Sept. 22-Oct. 31; Nov. 3-Nov. 7 2017
Tickets required!
One of the largest, if not the largest, fall festival a stone’s throw from D.C. It’s more like a state fair given how large it is but with the feel of a traditional harvest festival. There are rides, food booths, and animals. It is a ticketed event with prices ranging from $6 to $20 depending on date and time you visit. This year they will debut “Foamhenge,” a full-size replica of Stonehenge made entirely of styrofoam.
3. Blue Ridge Folklife Festival, Ferrum, VA, Ferrum College campus
Oct. 28, 2017
A little further afield from Northern Virginia, families can enjoy an old-fashioned festival including Coon Dog Contest, horse pulls, mule jumping contests, Blue Ridge Roots music, Moonshiner Still and Storytelling, vintage cars, and kid’s folk games. Activities run throughout the day. Check website for more details.
4. Pumpkin Village Fall Fest, Leesburg Animal Park
Daily from Sept. 16 – Nov. 7, 2017, Tickets required
This smaller event is more about pumpkins, hayrides, and fun rides than a traditional harvest festival. Bring the kids out for this local event!
5. 35th Annual Fall Jubilee, Manassas, VA, Old Town
Oct. 07, 2017 10:00 AM-5:00 PM
This free event is open to the public in Old Town Manassas. There are more than 100 crafters and vendors! There are games and a Pumpkin Pie Eating Contest.
6. 41st Annual Fairfax Fall Festival, Fairfax, VA
Oct. 14, 2017, 10 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
More than 400 arts, crafts, children’s activities, food & gourmet vendors, and multiple music stages promise something for everyone in historic downtown Fairfax.
As a family photographer near Aldie, VA, we hope to see you for your family portraits this fall. You’ll be able to take advantage of cooler days and beautiful fall foliage!
Family Photographer
Ever After Portraits is comprised of Mindy Belcher and Joriana Belcher Anderson, a mother-daughter portrait photography team located near Aldie, VA in Northern Virginia. We specialize in timeless and emotive fine art family portraits.
Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.
Best,
Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!
Professional Photographer
What an Amazing Family! Stumvoll Family Portrait Session | Northern VA Family Photographer
What an Amazing Family! Stumvoll Family Portrait Session | Northern VA Family Photographer
Many of our clients are drawn to our charming wooden bridge and pier in our outdoor portrait park near Oakton, VA! As you can see, the Stumvolls were no different. As a family photographer, we were happy to make use of this idyllic spot for this wonderfully photogenic family.
Outdoor Family Portrait Session
When Sally reached out to us, her son Ryan was already out of college, two of her daughters (Ashley and Brittany) were getting ready to graduate college, and another daughter (Haley) was heading off to college! Like so many parents with kids this age, Sally knew it was an opportune time to contact a portrait photography studio before the four children began scattering to pursue their own lives. It meant so much to her to have a family portrait, a portrait where the whole family was together.
We’re so happy that Sally chose us as her family photographer. We loved getting to know this amazing family!
Sally and Dean are a lovely couple. Dean is more on the reserved side, but with help from the kids, he managed to have fun and give us some beautiful smiles. Sally is just so sweet and has such natural beauty. Laughter and kindness are such a part of her nature, that it shines through in everything she says. This couple truly loves their four kids and have worked hard to provide them all with a wonderful start into adult life.
When this lovely family came to us, big brother Ryan had recently graduated from Georgia Tech. Although the girls outnumber him, he managed to keep his sense of humor. Oh, and the “protective big brother” vibe is strong with this one!
Twins Ashley and Brittany, along with Haley, the youngest, were such a beautiful trio of ladies. These three are sisters in the truest fashion; they finished each other sentences and supported each other in the “Mom wants us to have portraits?!” experience with true humor. Enjoying teasing their older brother seemed to also be something they had in common! And Ryan bore it with a smile and a laugh.
This family is amazing, and seeing the family closeness they share was a privilege for us.
Choosing a Family Photographer? Experience Matters!
In family photography, experience matters. It matters technically, but it also matters because you should be comfortable with your family photographer. Also coordinating family sessions and group shots can be complicated. However, as an experienced family photographer, we know how to:
* advise the clients on coordinated outfits for a cohesive and complementary look
* how to make the most of the striking landscape as a backdrop
* how to relax a group so that they look natural and relaxed in their portraits
* and, how to watch for those candid moments so we could capture them
Portrait Style
Before we schedule an appointment, we take the time to speak to a client about their family, their lifestyle, and their ideas for a portrait. For example, in our consult with Sally, she told us that she wanted a candid-style look and she wanted portraits taken outside. She wanted to display these portraits in her home, too. We kept all this in mind when styling her family’s portrait session.
Additionally, we use proprietary design software to show clients how a portrait will look on any wall in their home. It’s simple: a client sends us an iPhone snapshot of the wall where they intend to hang the portrait. We can then show them a mockup of how a portrait collection will look on that wall. Once their portrait session is complete, we use the software to show them exactly how their very own portrait collection will look on that wall! This process helps clients select the perfect portraits in the correct size for their wall.
As a family photographer near Oakton, VA, we want to make the professional portrait experience as smooth as possible for our clients. Our reputation depends not just on our skill as a photographer, but on an excellent customer experience. We believe in building lifelong relationships with our clients.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call our studio. We would be happy to speak with you.
Family Photographer
Ever After Portraits is comprised of Mindy Belcher and Joriana Belcher Anderson, a mother-daughter portrait photography team located near Oakton, VA in Northern Virginia. We specialize in timeless and emotive fine art family portraits.
Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.
Best,
Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!
Wall Portrait Choices, What should I choose?! | Northern VA Family Photographer
Wall Portrait Choices, What should I choose?! | Northern VA Family Photographer
As part of our personalized service to our clients, we assist them in choosing how to display the portrait artwork for their homes. Would a contemporary Steel finish be best? Or perhaps a very modern glossy Ice finish would be perfect? Is a Framed collection right for this family? If you’ve ever wondered about that, here’s a chance to see what other families have chosen for their homes! Jenn and Chad’s family photography session was held at our studio in Northern Virginia, near Arcola, VA. We took advantage of nature’s bounty for this lovely family. Our outdoor private portrait park provided a stunning backdrop for their family portraits.
This beautiful family was as delightful and loving as their portraits depict. Their joy as a family was easy to capture in portraiture. The final results speak for themselves, and they were thrilled with their portraits!
Wall Art
Jenn and Chad chose a collection of wall portraits in our Contemporary Frameless Ice Finish. The Ice Finish is stunning for fine art portraiture. This finish perfectly reproduces the sharpness and depth captured through our photography. It also perfectly reflects nature’s rich colors. It’s a timeless but contemporary finish ideally suited for many interior designs. (We also offer other finishes to match any home’s interior design and client preferences whether contemporary or more traditional.)
Legacy Album
In addition, one of our archival-quality Legacy albums was filled with more favorite portraits chosen by Jenn and Chad. When you love so many of the portraits, an album is a terrific way to supplement your wall selections!
“We are beyond excited and happy to have these family photos hanging on our wall,” Jenn told us later. “Amazing! I never get tired of looking at these pictures and looking through our album!”
Jenn tells us that for their next portrait session they hope to do a multi-generational session, and we look forward to working with them again!
If you would like to have portraits of your family created and are near the Arcola, VA area or other Northern Virginia town, please contact our photography studio. We would be happy to work with you and your family in our indoor or outdoor studio or at a location of your choice.
Family Photographer
Ever After Portraits is comprised of Mindy Belcher and Joriana Belcher Anderson, a mother-daughter portrait photography team located near Arcola, VA in Northern Virginia. We specialize in timeless and emotive fine art family portraits.
Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.
Best,
Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!
Professional Photographer
Monuments of DC Engagement Session | Northern VA Engagement Photographer
Monuments of DC Engagement Session | Northern VA Engagement Photographer
Without a doubt for us as a Northern Virginia area photographer, this couple’s choice of Washington, D.C. for their engagement portraits was the perfect choice! The monuments of D.C. hold a special place in the hearts of Shannon and Will. So this historical location was a fun and memorable portrait session for everyone.
On Location Sessions:
While we offer both a private outdoor portrait park and an indoor studio, we tell our clients that location shoots might be better for them especially if a place is important to them. That was the case for Shannon and Will’s engagement portraits. The results were powerful not just aesthetically for the viewer, but emotionally for this young couple.
Engagement Portraits:
For generations, engaged couples invested solely in wedding photography. But this generation knows better! They have grown up in the era of digital photography and smart phones. The selfie is a normal and regular occurrence. Documenting every aspect of their lives isn’t unusual for them, and they value the role of photography in their lives. In fact, it’s a regular part of their daily lives. Thus, turning to a portrait photography studio for professional engagement portraits isn’t unusual for them at all. It’s also an excellent introduction to what to expect for their wedding photography!
Client Wall Art Selection:
A Contemporary Steel Finish was perfect for a wall art collection of engagement portraits. It’s a clean, frameless look that fits well into any home’s design style. With young couples, who will likely move several times in their marriage, this is an ideal choice. There are no frames to worry about matching in the future! The result is poignant and something to be enjoyed for decades!
Whether you’re from Washington, D.C. or elsewhere in Northern Virginia and across the DMV, as an experienced and trusted photographer, we would be happy to do your on-location engagement portraits. What place is unique to your relationship or you as individuals? We’ll be glad to meet you there with equipment in tow!
Family Photographer, Photography
Ever After Portraits is comprised of Mindy Belcher and Joriana Belcher Anderson, a mother-daughter portrait photography team located in Northern Virginia, and serving Washington, D.C. and Maryland. We specialize in timeless and emotive fine art family portraits.
Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.
Best,
Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!
Professional Photographer
What Our Signature Means to Us | Northern VA Family Photographer
What Our Signature Means to Us | Northern VA Family Photographer
For more than a decade, we have worked as fine art photographers developing our craft. Our clients have hailed from Aldie, VA, Arcola, VA and all across Northern Virginia, Maryland and D.C. Each one entrusts us with their family’s moments. In turn, we carefully and respectfully weave those moments into poignant portrait art.
All photographers have a signature.
When a portrait or a product is ready to deliver, the artist will sign it or adhere their name to it. This seemingly minor task is quite significant for our portrait studio.
We do not put our names on anything unworthy of a client or our reputation. If we feel a product isn’t good enough to be displayed or a lasting legacy for that client, we won’t sign it or sell it.
Our work ethic matters to us.
We spend hours in post production, after a portrait session. Before we preview portraits with a client, we always ask ourselves if we are proud of the work that we are about to share. Our inherent work ethic means we don’t offer anything but the best. To do anything less would be a discredit to our industry and, more importantly, to the client.
Our signature on any portrait or product is a mark of our best work.
Building our reputation.
We have spent almost two decades building our reputation as one of the best and most dedicated portrait photography studios in Northern Virginia. It is not done out of vanity, but for the love of our work and respect for our clients. Creating portrait art as photographers from Aldie, VA to Arcola, VA is a joy that we cherish every day! We would be honored to be chosen as the photographers for your family portrait.
Family Photographers
Ever After Portraits is comprised of Mindy Belcher and Joriana Belcher Anderson, a mother-daughter portrait photography team located near Aldie, VA and Arcola, VA in Northern Virginia. We specialize in timeless and emotive fine art family portraits.
Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.
Best,
Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!
Professional Photographer
The Kids are Home! Fall Family Portraits | Northern VA Family Photographer
The Kids are Home! Fall Family Portraits | Northern VA Family Photographer
Sometimes a little inspiration is useful! Our online portrait gallery as well as the other portraits throughout our website could be just the thing you need to see to help you decide it’s time for family portraits! Our client Wendy found inspiration and motivation from many of the family pictures taken in our outdoor portrait park in Sterling, VA near Arcola, VA and shown on our website. Like others before her, that was the catalyst she needed to schedule a session with us!
When a visit home turns into an opportunity!
Wendy wanted to take advantage of having both of her adult children home, her daughter Tori home on a break and her son Mike not yet left for college, to do a special family portrait. As a family photographer, we understood, so we worked with her to find a suitable date within her time frame. Voila! We got it done!
As you can see, her October session took full advantage of the great autumn hues of our outdoor portrait park. We also incorporated in their family pictures our wooden bridge and dock to add more interest and depth. Their beautiful family dogs, Saba and Rex, joined the fun too!
However, it wasn’t all about group shots! As an experienced family photographer, we know that when adult children are home at the same time, and a mom strategically plans portraits for those dates, we needed to take full advantage of their visit. We took the opportunity to do individual portraits of each member of the family, as well as lovely shots of Wendy and her husband Michael, and other combinations of family members.
Tori and Mike’s sibling relationship was so much fun to photograph! They laughed their way through the session, and we loved capturing that laughter in their portraits.
The love Wendy and Michael share for each other shined through brilliantly. This is a couple who love each other and their children very much.
Our online gallery of portraits:
We are proud of our work which is why we post a selection of client portraits. But we also do it as a way to thank them for their faith in us as their family photographers!
So, if you would like your family pictures taken at our outdoor portrait park or indoor studio conveniently located in the Arcola, VA area, give us a call. Fall is a popular time for family portraits because that’s often when the whole family is together – which is delightful for us as a family photographer!
Family Photographer, Family Pictures
Ever After Portraits is comprised of Mindy Belcher and Joriana Belcher Anderson, a mother-daughter portrait photography team located near Arcola, VA in Northern Virginia. We specialize in timeless and emotive fine art family portraits.
Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.
Best,
Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!
Professional Photographer
Children’s Portraits, What important milestones should you professionally capture? | Northern VA Family Photographer
Children’s Portraits, What important milestones should you professionally capture? | Northern VA Family Photographer
As a children and family photography expert with studios near Arcola, VA, clients often ask us how often they should do children’s portraits. We don’t hesitate to tell them that no one ever regrets doing professional portraits! Photography is an investment experienced today and treasured tomorrow.
Below are our recommendations for children’s milestone portraits.
First-Year Milestones
We suggest that during a baby’s first year of life, you do three portraits beginning in the first seven days after their birth. Following those pictures, we recommend portraits again at six months (or when you baby is sitting up) and twelve months (or when your child begins to walk). To make it easier for clients, we offer a Bebe Coterie plan. It includes all three portraits (newborn, six months, and twelve months) for one price. These milestone portraits create a beautiful timeline of a child’s dramatic growth and change during that first year of life. Parents will cherish these fine art portrait for a lifetime.
Capturing Changes
After your child’s first year, we recommend doing annual professional pictures of your children – at least through middle school. We suggest annual portraits because children change dramatically from one year to the next. You will poignantly capture those beautiful changes through annual fine art, professionally done portraits.
Another good reason for annual portraits is that an experienced fine art photographer will best capture your child. Good portraits should reflect their personality; they should shine in the pictures. Years later, you will look at those portraits and smile while remembering that time in your child’s life!
Aside from annual portraits, we always recommend professional pictures marking other significant milestones such as graduations. As a family photographer, we love capturing the growth and change in families!
To see a sample of photography from our Bebe Coterie Plan, check out this post!
What are the special moments for your child and your family? Photography allows you to tell your story, and we’re happy to help you tell it. We work with families throughout Northern Virginia including Arcola, VA.
Family Photographer, Family Photography
Ever After Portraits is comprised of Mindy Belcher and Joriana Belcher Anderson, a mother-daughter portrait photography team located near Arcola, VA in Northern Virginia. We specialize in timeless and emotive fine art family portraits.
Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.
Best,
Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!
Professional Photographer
Limited Edition Fairytale Session, Saturday, October 7, 2017 | Northern VA Family Photographer
Limited Edition Fairytale Session, Saturday, October 7, 2017 | Northern VA Family Photographer
We recently came across a bumper sticker on a golf cart which read: “Powered by Fairy Dust!” It reminded us of our upcoming Limited Edition Fairytale photography session taken at our studio near Arcola, VA & Middleburg, VA.
Limited Edition Fairytale Session
Fairies, pixie dust, and a sprinkle of photography magic come alive on October 7, 2017, at our next Limited Edition Fairytale session. These are perfect for the imaginative little girl in your life and the perfect opportunity to capture her in a beautiful setting.
We have created these sessions to capture your little girl’s delight and imagination in a fun portrait session in our outdoor portrait park. Her portraits will be unique and special, just as she is!
Parents and children will love the comfortable October weather and beautiful forest colors worthy of any fairytale storybook. Your fairy princess can bring her favorite fairytale outfit or borrow one of ours. Either way, time stands still for her fairy portrait!
Have you reserved her session? We schedule appointments on a first come, first served.
Our next Fairytale Limited Edition Sessions will be on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7TH, 2017 ONLY.
We have limited time slots available so that we can take the time necessary with each little fairytale princess. Book your session early!
Session Fee
There is a $99 session fee to be paid before your session date to reserve your slot. Each session is 30 minutes and includes a $99 product credit. Print packages are available. Each session is limited to one outfit provided for ages 3 through 9. You are more than welcome to schedule two back-to-back sessions if you prefer!
If you’d like to preserve your child’s fairytale dreams through fine art photography in the Arcola, VA & Middleburg, VA area, we look forward to working with your daughter and creating an imaginary and magical experience for her.
Family Photographer, Photography
Ever After Portraits is comprised of Mindy Belcher and Joriana Belcher Anderson, a mother-daughter portrait photography team located near Arcola, VA and Middleburg, VA in Northern Virginia. We specialize in timeless and emotive fine art family portraits.
Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.
Best,
Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!
Professional Photographer