Georgetown Senior Session {Alexandria, VA High School Senior Photographer}

What do you do with an unexpected wide open Sunday evening?

If you're me, you call your intern because she's now officially a high school senior and you drive to Georgetown to explore, snap some senior photos, and convince her to update your headshot.  (Check out my

About Me

page!)

After a muggy and hot spell, we had a nice breeze and some beautiful golden light.  Evening light always makes redheads just glow, and I will be editing this session all week!

Happy Senior Year, Jess!  Enjoy your final year at TC Williams.

I can't believe it's already July.  My daughter started summer school today.  I need to finalize our vacation plans, for a vacation that's sneaking up on me.  And I have been busy planning and plotting for sessions ranging from headshots for professional adults to high school seniors to new babies!  

Stay tuned... I have three sessions next weekend so lots of fun updates coming!

Family in the Meadow: Rock Creek Park Family Photographer {Washington, DC}

Gift certificates for a photo session are such a fun gift for a family.  Most families don't have high-quality pictures of everyone - there's usually one person who is always behind the camera.  This session was a Christmas gift for the H family, but a few false-starts with weather meant their session occurred in June!

It was worth the wait.

The meadow near the Rock Creek Park Nature Center was high and the predicted thunderstorms held off.  I love watching siblings interact, and this duo was super sweet.  The best smiles from little sister were directed at big brother.

A few glimpses of this session in Rock Creek Park in DC.  The full session is

here

.

This is my favorite of her.  The total focus on whatever cool bug or leaf and the light.

Such a fun age.  The confident look right at the camera!

Looking for a gift for the special dad in your life for Father's Day?  Or thinking ahead for a birthday or the holidays.  Let me know if you want to book a gift session!  

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Baby E Turns One!

Baby E's mom reached out to schedule a session a few months ago.

When scheduling problems arose, I was able to switch baby E's family shoot to a mini-session to celebrate her first birthday.  That was no biggie.

But then there was the weather.

Flurries and wind chills in the teens do not a happy baby make, so we moved indoors to celebrate baby E.  In her Woodbridge home, she showed off an extreme love for Doc McStuffins and Minnie Mouse.  She was a super easy-going baby and didn't cry one bit!

Email me at meganlandmeier@gmail.com or message me via Facebook to schedule your 2016 photo sessions.  Spring time slots will fill up quickly!

Looking Ahead: 2016.

Along with my regular family, child, and senior portrait sessions, here are a few special sessions I'll be offering on a limited basis this spring:

* SNOWY senior portrait sessions - if you are interested, contact me ASAP because this would be based on having some snowy weekends in January or February. (Or March? It could happen.)

* Maternity! I have two early 2016 maternity sessions available for February-April. If you're expecting during that time, give me a call.

* Finally, it's been too long since I've done an adoption homecoming. If you know someone in Northern VA who is bringing home their baby via adoption in early 2016, contact me.

Taken for a friend's adoption and originally posted on my personal blog.

Tree Lights and Trains: Washington, DC Long Exposure.

I love where I live, just outside of Washington, DC.  As a Southern California native, I'm not a big fan of snow or cold, but Christmas in DC is wonderful.  There are amazing displays made from plant materials at the Botanical Gardens, Mount Vernon is beautiful with the Christmas decor, and wandering though decorated Old Town Alexandria has been a highlight of my photography sessions.

This year, my family bought our first house, complete with fireplace and stockings hung by the chimney with care.  I love Christmas.

And although the presents are unwrapped and the "all-holiday" station has returned to normal music, the National Christmas Tree is still on display, surrounded by model trains and a series of smaller trees, one for each state and territory.

Plus, my intern got a tripod for Christmas, and I had a remote I hadn't taken out of the box.

So last night, Jess and I gathered up cameras, remotes, and tripods and headed into DC to photograph the tree amid lots of other visitors.  In a rare event, we didn't photograph any people!

This "ghost train" was captured at a super long exposure - I think 8 seconds.

The state trees line the "America Celebrates" portion of the display.

Sometimes, you see something online and just have to try it.  Taken at a super slow shutter speed, this effect was achieved by zooming out as the shutter released.  Unfortunately, I couldn't get rid of all the shake because the surface of the walkway was rubberized and bouncy - every person walking by bounced our tripods a bit!

I hope your holiday season is wrapping up well!  I'm taking a bit of time off to relax with my family but I'm still responding to emails and booking for 2016!  Time to start thinking spring portraits, senior pictures, and milestone events - birthdays and cake smashes!

While I'm taking my post-Christmas break, be sure to check out my Facebook page for favorites from 2015 and some personal pictures of my family.