September Faves | Northern Virginia Family Photographer

September was our first full month of school in Northern Virginia and our first year of kindergarten is off to a good start. When life is so busy, I find myself shooting less. But even with the busyness, we managed to find some new adventures. The slide photo was taken at Glencarlyn Park in Arlington. It was our first time there and was so much fun. I love sharing our local favorite places, so I’ll write a longer post about it soon. Now that the weather is cooling down, I find myself wanting to snuggle up in the house until spring comes again!

Nicole Sanchez Photography works with busy parents in Northern Virginia, Washington, DC, and Maryland to create stress-free photo sessions that take all the loving, fun, and chaotic moments of family life to make beautiful photos and films that families will love looking at year after year.  Contact me today to start planning a custom photography experience that's perfect for your family.

August Faves | Northern Virginia Family Photographer

I noticed the first leaves beginning to change color in our yard over the weekend and I can't believe that (official) fall is just around the corner. School has started here in Northern Virginia and this year we have a kindergartner. I was sad to leave the lazy (but not really lazy) days of summer behind, but I'm loving the structure school provides to our days. 

Before school started, we enjoyed lots of time with family on a trip to New Mexico. Traveling with two kids is no joke and there's not a lot of down time. I love documenting these visits with family and these adventures for my sons. I have at least one family film planned from this trip and I'm looking forward to pulling it together. Just as soon as I have time. ;-)

Here are a few favorites from the month. 

Nicole Sanchez Photography works with busy parents in Northern Virginia, Washington, DC, and Maryland to create stress-free photo sessions that take all the loving, fun, and chaotic moments of family life to make beautiful photos and films that families will love looking at year after year.  Contact me today to start planning a custom photography experience that's perfect for your family.

July Photo Favorites | Northern Virginia Family Photographer

I can't get over how fast summer flew by.  We ventured out of Northern Virginia to meet up with family at the beach and were also lucky to have two visits with grandparents in July. Nothing brings out my camera more than seeing my kids with their grandparents and other family members.  Because we live so far away, I want to relish all the moments of us together and create something for us all to look back on when we're apart.

Lately, I've been taking a few less photos and a lot more video and working on more personal films for my family.  I'm so far behind on printing photobooks and I like to think this makes up for it a bit.  I have plans to email (I'm far too disorganized for paper letters or journals at this point!) each of the films to my sons with a little note about their adventures.  Assuming email is still a thing in the years to come, I like to imagine they'll have a whole library of fun films to look back on as they leave home and start their own families. 

I'll be sharing films from our summer as I get them finished as well as some sweet client films as the busyness of summer winds down and the routines of fall pick up.

Nicole Sanchez Photography works with busy parents in Northern Virginia, Washington, DC, and Maryland to create stress-free photo sessions that take all the loving, fun, and chaotic moments of family life to make beautiful photos and films that families will love looking at year after year. Contact me today to start planning a custom photography experience that's perfect for your family.

November Favorites | Northern Virginia Family Photographer

I unintentionally took December off social media. It started as an experiment in deleting Facebook and Instagram from my phone for a day and then turned into a week and another and another. I checked in from time to time but haven't added the apps back to my phone and I'm not sure I will, at least Facebook anyway. Now that I'm back from a holiday break, I'm excited to share a backlog of photos from November and December, including some amazing client sessions.

Since my break also included a lapse in editing personal photos, these are from November and include those that made our holiday card this year.  November is the best month for fall color in Northern Virginia and we often have warm days, so it's a perfect time for capturing seasonal color (and not freezing your fingers).

I think I'll be making a December hiatus an annual event. I've been surprised to learn how many other things I could be doing (including nothing at all) when I'm not scrolling social feeds. It's been a refreshing break to relax a bit, regroup, and set goals for the new year.

Happy New Year!

Want to learn how to better document your own family's day-to-day?  Sign up for my mailing list to receive 4 Steps to Stop Time and Savor the Moment with Your Family.  It's a simple and fun guide to documenting your family's life with beautiful photographs.

August Faves | Northern Virginia Family Photographer

Summer is my favorite. Even when it's at its hottest and most humid here in Northern Virginia. I think I must like the heat because it reminds me of my childhood summers in the Mississippi. Anyway, every August, as school starts back up and people start getting excited about fall, I have a personal mantra. “It's okay,” I tell myself, “it'll stay warm until at least November.”

But something happened this year. Around the end of August, the summer heat broke. I let our dog outside one morning around 6am and it was…chilly. The moist warmth of summer dawns was gone.  The days have been pleasant and mild. But gone is the sticky humidity and heat of summer. I thought for a couple of weeks that it was just a spell, but it's gone. I was not ready for summer to end. I love the colors and crispness of fall, but it's always tinged with sadness at the cold to come and days spent inside, trying to ward off the chill.

I'm still hopeful for a few more warm days in the weeks to come, even if the cool mornings are here to stay.  As a farewell to summer, here's a few of my favorites from last month.

Want to learn how to document your own family's day-to-day?  Check out 4 Steps to Stop Time and Savor the Moment with Your Family.  It's a simple and fun guide to documenting your family's life with beautiful photographs.