Month: September 2026

23 Sep

Another Chapter, Another YES! | Virginia Beach Proposal

admin / Couples, Engagement / September 23, 2026 / 0 Comments

Some clients become friends, and some become FAMILY! These two? I feel like their second mom at this point! So getting to capture their Virginia Beach proposal was another HUGE blessing!

I’ve had the absolute blessing of photographing so many of their biggest milestones. From couple portraits to their gender reveal, the birth of their sweet baby, and now… A PROPOSAL!!!

It has been such a blessing introducing these two to First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach, where we’ve now photographed THREE different milestones in their lives! So, of course, when it came time for the proposal, we HAD to go back!

From the blindfold to the beautiful sunrise to the BIG surprise… everything was so special! And can we PLEASE talk about him holding that ring box behind her back while giving me the SHHHH sign?! I LOVE being part of moments like this!

Watching their love story unfold, and celebrating alongside their friends for lunch and capturing another beautiful chapter of their lives is exactly why I love what I do!!!

One day, they’ll look back at all these portraits and see their entire story unfolding. And THAT is why photographs matter so much. To these two, thank you for letting me be part of your lives. What a blessing it is to be your photographer and an even bigger blessing to call you friends. I can’t wait to watch your life unfold and grow through all the upcoming seasons!

Congratulations, you two! Here’s to FOREVER!

11 Sep

71 Years Beautiful: Virginia Beach Birthday Photographer

admin / Birthday Photography / September 11, 2026 / 0 Comments

Who decided birthday portraits were just for kids?! As a Virginia Beach birthday photographer, I absolutely LOVE when someone decides another trip around the sun is reason enough to get in front of the camera and CELEBRATE!

At 71 years young, this beautiful woman walked into my Virginia Beach photography studio ready to celebrate LIFE… and I am SO glad she did.

Because birthdays aren’t just about cake and candles. They’re another year of stories. Another year of loving people and being loved. Another year of laughter, lessons, hard things you made it through, beautiful things you never expected and memories that have made you who you are.

And THAT is worth celebrating.

For her 71st birthday portrait session, we created so many different looks—from classic and beautiful to colorful, fun and full of personality. And can we PLEASE talk about that sunflower?! And can we PLEASE talk about that sunflower?! That portrait may be one of my favorites because it captures Ms. D perfectly—bright, beautiful and absolutely FULL of joy!

Get in the Pictures for the People You Love

As a Virginia Beach portrait photographer, I hear people say all the time, “I don’t really need pictures of myself. But maybe they aren’t only for you… Think about the portraits you treasure most of your parents or grandparents. Chances are, you don’t care whether they had gained a few pounds, had wrinkles, didn’t love their hair that day or thought they weren’t “photogenic.”

You just see them. The smile you know. The eyes you remember. Their personality. The person you love.

One day, that is exactly what the people who love YOU will see when they look at your portraits. So please… exist in photographs. Those photographs will bring back memories, stories, smiles and moments that may otherwise fade with time. They become something your loved ones can hold onto forever.

Celebrate the Season You’re In RIGHT NOW

You don’t need to wait until you lose weight. You don’t need to be turning 30, 40 or 50. And you definitely don’t need to know how to pose—that’s MY job!

Whether you’re celebrating 21, 50, 71 or 91, a birthday portrait session is an opportunity to stop for a moment and say, “This is me, right now, and this chapter matters.”

Because getting older isn’t something we should hide from. Growing older is a gift.

And if you’re lucky enough to celebrate another trip around the sun, I think that’s a pretty wonderful reason to get dressed up, step in front of the camera and CELEBRATE!

If you’ve been looking for a Virginia Beach birthday photographer or a Hampton Roads portrait photographer to help you celebrate a milestone, I’d LOVE to create something that feels completely like YOU.

03 Sep

Nine Years of Awesome | Virginia Beach Photographer

admin / Uncategorized / September 3, 2026 / 0 Comments

This sweet girl is a longtime Devon Shanor Photography client, and I LOVED getting to celebrate her 9th birthday with her! She was also one of the first kids I photographed in my BRAND NEW photography studio — which made this session even more fun. (Don’t worry we are still in Virginia Beach, just moved to 527 N Great Neck Rd, Virginia Beach!)

And NINE deserves to be celebrated! It’s the last year of single digits, and this session was all about capturing exactly who she is right now.No stiff poses. No trying to make her look older than she is. No forcing her into some picture-perfect version of childhood.

The goal was simple: come into the studio, have fun, and just be HER. And that is exactly what we did.

A Birthday Photoshoot Full of Personality

One of my favorite things about birthday photoshoots for kids is that there really are no rules. They don’t have to follow a theme or fit into a certain mold. A birthday portrait session can be colorful, simple, silly, classic, funky — or a little bit of everything.For her ninth birthday session, she brought three different looks, and I love how every one of them showed off another little piece of her personality.

We played with everything from a simple white studio setup to colorful backgrounds, brick walls, flowers and more relaxed portraits. She gave me beautiful smiles, BIG laughs, little smirks and plenty of that wonderfully goofy personality that makes her HER.

And THAT is exactly what I want from a children’s portrait session.

I want the scrunched-up-nose laugh.

The little smirk.

The confidence.

The silliness.

The expressions you recognize immediately because you’ve seen them a thousand times at home. Those are the portraits that become priceless — and probably the ones you’ll cherish even MORE when those angsty teenage years arrive!