Sweet Sofia Stokes|Virginia Beach Newborn Photographer

• October 5th, 2017 •

I’ve been privileged to take newborn portraits for a second time with Stokes family! Shana and Donnie recently welcomed sweet Sofia to the family and she is adorable! Sweet Sofia was such a good baby who slept most of the time which made my job super easy! We captured some amazing portraits and she looks bee-utiful!

I was blessed to photography their first daughter, Adalynn, and I got to watch this sweet girl grow with the Baby’s First Year plan! I’m so excited to get to do the same with Sofia!

Adalynn is a big girl now and a big sister. It’s tough being three and patient while waiting for newborn portraits but she rocked it and we got some adorable portraits of these precious girls!

I’m so thankful that Shana and Donnie continue to trust me to capture these moments. I am so excited to watch their little munchkins grow into not so little munchkins!

The Other Side of the Camera

• September 27th, 2017 •

It’s not often when a photographer is on the other side of the camera! This was the first time Amanda has received headshots from me, but I’ve been grateful to photograph her sweet family on many occasions! It’s always such a joy to work with other photographers because we get to play with light. Amanda is a real estate photographer, something I don’t touch, so if you need a great real estate photographer go check out her page here: https://www.amandaporterphotos.com

I love working with you Amanda, so grateful for your friendship and business.

Happy Bradley Turns One | Baby’s First Year Portraits

• September 27th, 2017 •

Baby Bradley is no longer a baby, toddler hood here we come! Bradley may not be able to talk quite yet, but his smile is infectious… this little guy loves to laugh!!!! We had such such a great shoot with mommy and daddy. It was awesome to get some family portraits because daddy was about to leave on deployment. We thank you for your service Aaron!

Bradley absolutely loved his cake smash. Unlike most of my one year olds, he didn’t want to put his cake away, he would have eaten all of it if we had allowed it!

We absolutely love how the portraits turned out and I am so grateful to photograph this adorable family once again!

My beautiful Livi: Military Ball 2017 | Personal

• March 20th, 2017 •

My Olivia is her own unique girl. She’d rather wear jeans than dresses, brush her hair with her fingers rather than a brush and doesn’t have any social media accounts because it is “all fake hiding behind a computer.” She loves volunteering and helping children. She’s a tomboy with a HUGE heart who knows who she is and what she believes in.

This year was her first big school dance. She picked out a beautiful blue lace dress but, of course, wore converse tennis shoes instead of heels. She even agreed to get her makeup done! (Carly with MakeupbyVega is amazing!) She got her hair re-shaved and was ecstatic to get a mohawk that completed her look.

She HATES having pictures taken (I’m sure that has nothing to do with a mom who has had a camera in her face since she was born!!) but she had no choice in getting portraits taken before the dance. She kept running away though, saying “Enough MOM!!!” (I do get some validation though as when she sat down to view her portraits she said “Are there anymore?” When I told her no because she wouldn’t let me shot for more than 5 minutes, she begrudgingly agreed that she should have let me take more!!)

My sweet girl looked stunning. She is such a beautiful soul inside and out. To see her in a beautiful dress, all dolled up, wearing makeup… momma wasn’t ready. She no longer looked like a little girl, but a woman. I’m not ready. She is beautiful and amazing but I’m not ready for womanhood yet. That said, she is handling it with grace and beauty. I am so proud of my girl.

Her date, Shanyn, is a very nice young man. He was respectful and a perfect first date to her first dance. They had a great time dancing and laughing together. When I picked them up they told me stories about the evening, which took forever to tell between the bouts of laughter. 🙂 I am so glad they had fun together… I remember awkward moments of silence and uncomfortable conversation during my dances back in the day!

My favorite part of the whole night was when she got home and curled up in her daddy’s lap to tell him about her night. Always has been and will always be a daddy’s girl. <3 <3

A Year in Review | Hampton Roads Photographer

• December 31st, 2016 •

Another amazing year has passed. Last year at this exact time, I was just so thankful 2015 was almost OVER. It was a year filled with so much sadness and loss. I prayed for 2016 to be a BORING year at least! I just wanted to get past all the pain of 2015. God answers prayers and more. Like he states “There is a time and a season for everything.” The BORING year I was praying for didn’t happen, instead He gave me so much more.

Personal highlights of 2016… I started the year off on a cruise with my family. The first cruise we have done together and it was a beautiful welcome to the new year! In the spring, I visited NYC with my son and godson and got to see my childhood crush, Will Smith (aaaaahhhhhhh) film the movie Collateral Beauty. (Seriously, I was like a giddy child- and the coolest thing was it was an unexpected surprise to see him on set!! Thanks to an amazing friend who set it up!) In the summer, I visited Ethiopia again, with Habesha Momma, and got to start the process of opening a home for homeless and trafficked children. I also FINALLY got to take my husband to NYC. I love NYC and Brett has said for years “NEVER” when I ask if he’d like to go with me. However, he finally agreed and we had a fabulous time together enjoying the big city!

One of the biggest personal and business highlights was I moved my business out of my house and into a true commercial space!! It was a HUGE leap of faith but I am so very thankful I took the risk. I LOVE having my own space. I’ve been a successful photographer for years BUT having my own name on the outside of a building makes me feel “I’ve made it!” It has been an amazing whirlwind of a year! I had a phenomenal Open House in my new space and felt so much love poured out. I have been blessed by the opportunity to photograph so many amazing people, families and projects. I truly love my job and don’t take for granted the fact that I am given the gift of creating moments in time for each of you.

This blog every year is one of my hardest… to go through the year and pick my favorite images to share. Each one of you are so special to me, all of our shoots hold special moments and laughs. In every single session- I am creating memories that I pray will be cherished for generations to come. Narrowing that down to 15-20 images to show my year in review… it is SO HARD! But here are some of the highlights I was able to narrow it down too… and once again thank you. Thank you for trusting me, thank you for supporting me, thank you for allowing me into your family.

I pray blessings, love and lots of laughter in 2017!

photography_014 photography_015 photography_008

We ALL can make a difference. Endale’s Story | Personal

• July 29th, 2016 •

Most of you all know that a huge part of my heart is connected to Ethiopia. This country gave me my son Messay and I will forever be grateful.

It is a country filled with beauty, joy, culture and love. It is also filled with poverty and need. I am on the board of directors for an amazing non-for-profit, Habesha Momma, that works to help better lives of women and children in Ethiopia. I have been going back to Ethiopia for the past two years with Habesha Momma and am so proud of the work we do there.

I began to sponsor this young man, Endale, after our first trip. I want to share his story.

He lives on Entoto Mountain, where there live a very large population of homeless and sick people. My friend Mesfin, runs a feeding program and has worked for years to help the people of Entoto. After participating in his feeding program last year, I met little Endale and his mother. This was a picture of his family from that first year (2015), Endale is in his mothers arms.

There is a sponsorship program that provides basic needs for families that are living on the mountain, run by Ordinary Hero. Endale and his mother had been waiting on a sponsor for a very long time, possibly because Endale has severe mental and physical disabilities. For some reason, I was drawn to Endale and I asked his mother to hold him… I will never forget those first moments. He screamed and laughed, pulled my hair and hit me in excitement! As I have a degree in special education, I was well aware he wasn’t upset but just happy and showing his excitement any way he could! He gave me lots of kisses and love and we laughed and laughed. By the time I handed him back I was covered in spit, had red marks on my face and my heart had been stolen!

As soon as I returned home from Ethiopia, I contacted Ordinary Hero and asked them to allow me to sponsor Endale and his family. My sponsoring them allowed them food, a place to live and medical care. His mother could finally breathe easier as Endale’s disability wouldn’t allow her to work outside the home. Finally, she could rest at night knowing his basic needs were provided for.

This year, I returned to Ethiopia with Habesha Momma and we were able to visit Entoto Mountain on the last day of our trip. I was so excited to see my Endale again. It is a day I will never forget.

This is me as I finally get to see Endale with his mother. I am sure I was saying something nice but I think I look a little crazy as I am taking him from his momma! I was just so excited to hold him again!

From the moment Endale was in my arms he was laughing. He laughed and laughed! He gave me kisses. He squeezed my cheeks with his little chubby fingers (I think I had red marks again from his fingernails lol!) Did I mention his laugh? It was infectious! He brought our team so much joy… just watching him laugh, smile and squeal in excitement.

This morning I received a message from my friend Mesfin. Endale passed away yesterday. I don’t know how, all I know is he got sick two days ago and passed away in the hospital. My heart is breaking for this family. My heart is breaking that I will never hear that precious laugh again. My heart is breaking knowing the pain his mother must be feeling.

I think back on the life of Endale… the two short visits I had with him. I will never forget his laugh. He might not have been able to talk to me or run around with the other kids, but he showed me love. He shared happiness. He radiated joy. No matter how you were feeling, how sad, upset or angry you were, just being around little Endale would fix that, even if just for a moment! I share these pictures with you to show you his love… his contribution to this world. He might not have been able to tell you his name but he should share the simple joy of being alive with you.

I am not sure if his mom will know how much he meant to me… how much I cherished the moments I was able to spend with him. I hope you take this time to enjoy Endale’s joy. I hope you allow it to lift your spirits. It was what I believe he was put on earth to do… to share pure joy. So please take a moment and allow his joy to fill your heart. Look at that beautiful smile, the glee in his eyes! When you think you don’t have anything to offer the world, think of Endale. He couldn’t do so much… but he could do the very best thing of all… love. He could brighten your day and bring a smile to those around him. He did his job and he did it well. God called him home and now he is running around and that beautiful laugh is filling the heavens!

I am so very very thankful to have met Endale. I thank God he allowed me to hold him just two weeks ago and share his joy. I am thankful he had a mother, a brother and a community who loved him. I am thankful God introduced me to my friend Andrea (president of Habesha Momma), who introduced me to Mesfin, who introduced me to Ordinary hero. I am thankful that for the last year of his life, he wasn’t hungry or unsheltered. I am thankful God allowed me to provide for them.

Not all of the kids in Ethiopia are so lucky. Our project in Debre Markos is working to help children living on the streets, without family, shelter or food. (Watch Video Here.) Please consider going to Habesha Momma and donating. Would you donate a $1, $5, or even $50 in memory of Endale? Help us share his joy by bringing joy and love to more children so desperately in need of it.

Stretching Myself as a Photographer | Personal

• May 18th, 2016 •

I just returned from The Mid-Atlantic Regional School of Professional Photography (MARS) in New Jersey. It is a school I have been attending for the last seven years to stretch and grow myself as a family and portrait photographer. I love spending time with other professional photographers. Often, we will talk about WHY we became photographers and I have found that my story into becoming a professional photographer is often different than others. Most of my peers fell in love with the ART of photography. They began taking pictures at a young age and learned to develop film in a darkroom, excited by the process of photography. They often began by taking pictures of flowers, sunsets, landscapes, etc. Often that love of photography transferred into taking pictures of people. They seem to all have a deep appreciation and love for art of all kinds. They love visiting museums and often are skilled as artists with a pen, paper or paintbrush as well as behind a camera. They are passionate about art.

My story is different. I didn’t have a camera in my hand growing up and I’ve never developed film in a darkroom. I don’t often visit museums and I never did very well in art class. If you ask me to draw a dog, it might end up looking more like a horse… or a bunny. I fell in love with photography as a TOOL to capture love. I LOVE people. I am passionate about people and the connections between them. I began photography because I wanted to capture the love of family, the strength and passion in a marriage, the love of parents for their children, the connections between siblings, the transition of a young man or woman as they graduate high school and the beauty of new life in a newborn. THAT for me is the art I am passionate about. Photography for me is so exciting because it allows to to take those moments and preserve them forever.

That being said, I don’t shoot landscapes, flowers, trees, inanimate objects very often. I often will see a beautiful landscape and think “That is beautiful, I wish I had a family or couple here so I could create a beautiful portrait.” I notice the beauty, but to me, it would be made more beautiful if I could incorporate the love and connection of people into the scene.

Recently, I reconnected with an old friend who is an amazing artist in multiple different mediums. We had some long discussions about art and the definition of an “artist.” He inspired me to stretch myself and try to expand my view of art through my own photography. Don’t get me wrong, I see so much beauty and talent in landscape photographers, I have some friends who are incredibly talented in that field! I am in awe of what they capture! I just have a hard time myself bringing that same beauty to life behind my own camera.

Like I said, my friend encouraged me to try and stretch myself, and see beauty, vision and perspective in way that DON’T include people. Since I was going to be at MARS in Cape May NJ, a gorgeous place to photograph landscapes, old Victorian homes, animals, boats, etc, I decided to take him up on the challenge.

IT WAS HARD! I am so used to having a vision of what I want to photograph before I start, a vision that ALWAYS includes people. To just walk around and try to find inspiration in the objects around me… that was hard! I only really had one day to work on this personal project, and that day, it was raining and foggy. So my go-to sunrise or sunset pictures were out.

I’m definitely not ready to start selling postcards, but thought I’d share a little piece of myself with you. I feel like a brand new photographer again, as I definitely have a lot of room to grow here, but it’s important to stretch yourself and grow. Here’s me growing…

My New Office | Hampton Roads Photographer

• May 13th, 2016 •

What a year this has been. Last year was a pretty terrible year for me personally and I was so ready for 2016. I was expecting a much better year, but I didn’t expect this!!!

Less than two weeks ago, I signed a lease on my new office space. It has been dream of mine, to get out of my home office, for such a long time but I have been so afraid to take the leap. With a HUGE nudge from my husband, I finally took jumped off the ledge and did it!

My space is located at 1642 Pleasure House Rd. Suite 108, Virginia Beach. The downstairs space is Synergy Space, an amazing multi-use space that can be rented for multiple different uses (parties, classes, networking, meetings, etc) and the upstairs space is ALL MINE!

It’s not a huge space, I’ll shoot newborns and professional portraits/headshots here, but I’ll still rent my other studio space for larger studio work. It is an AMAZING space though to work, edit, meet with clients and have my viewing sessions!

It’s been a long two weeks getting it ready and I am SO THANKFUL to everyone who helped me. Jeris at Smartgiraffe (www.smartgiraffecs.com) was amazing at helping me get my computer up and running and a new screen projector installed and working. My friends were amazing and stepped up helping me paint, decorate, rewrite and organize. My husband Brett did a majority of the work while I was out of town and did all the heavy lifting! I may run this business alone, but I am SO VERY thankful to those who lift me up and surround me with support.

Here is a progression of our before and after images!!

My Olivia helping put up my curtains and touch up all the paint!

My handsome bandyman. I wouldn’t be here without his support and encouragement!

ALL DONE!!! A few little tweaks here and there BUT I’m officially open for business!!!

Soon, I’ll be announcing my open house date and I can’t wait to celebrate with you as I embark on this new adventure… but don’t feel you need to wait. I’d love it if you’d stop by and say hello. I love visitors!

My business evolution… Big NEWS!!! | Hampton Roads Photographer

• April 29th, 2016 •

Six years! I have been in business over six years. I started with an office in my bedroom and then moved into my garage. Then, four years ago we moved across town and I finally had my own office space in my home where clients could come do their viewings. It wasn’t ideal having everyone come to my house, but I was still a new business and it worked! For the past year I have been praying about moving my business outside my home. I have had a lot of reservations, mostly rooted in fear, but decided to put it out there and see what God would do. I was pretty specific about what I wanted though. A space where I could meet with clients and do their viewing sessions, a small studio space for my newborn sessions, within a specific price range AND needed to be near my home. I have been looking around and NOTHING met those criteria. I wasn’t discouraged, I had faith the right place would show up when the time was right.

Unexpectedly, two days ago, that time was upon me! I am now the owner of my own business space less than a mile from my home! “Cue fireworks and confetti”

WOW! Yes, I’ve been praying on it, but seeing places that were 2-4 times by budget just made me think that finding a space meeting my requirements just wasn’t going to happen. Should have known not to doubt God!

Wednesday morning I posted this on Facebook…

I posted this in the morning and then, just happened to check craigslist on a whim for office space. By 6:00, I had the keys to a new space in my hand!!!!!! WHAT??!!?!?!?

All I can say is that I am in awe. I am scared, nervous, excited and overwhelmed! But I have great friends and a supportive family and we’re busy painting and buying furniture and working hard to get it ready.

Can’t wait to show it off!!!! I am heading out of town Sunday for a photography school in New Jersey. (www.marsschool.com) I’ll be home next weekend and plan to be in the office and working by that Monday!!!

I am so thankful for the past six years. I am honored to have been blessed by so many of you who have trusted me to capture your precious family portraits. I am so excited to see what the future holds for Devon Shanor Photography and thank all of you, from the bottom of my heart, for standing by and supporting me!

Board of Directors for a non profit? WHAT?!?! | Personal

• February 23rd, 2015 •

Those that have known me a long time know that I love helping others. I was always the teenager taking care of the kids at big events. I earned a degree in special education because I love helping those who sometimes aren’t understood or accepted. I was always the friend who was there in your time of need, and looked for ways to bless people. I have known I would be an adoptive parent since I saw Annie when I was just a kid and saw how many kids are in need of homes, parents and love. I have always wanted to go on every mission trip available and have, when the timing was right (marrying young and having babies right away means the timing was NOT right for a number of years!)

In the past few years, I have been through a lot personally and with my family and have had to work hard to simply keep our family together and whole. There wasn’t a lot of time for helping others on top of dealing with some pretty serious marriage issues, raising my kids and running my business. And while I am thankful for our journey, I have so missed helping others. I have never forgotten the promise that God gave me that I would be a world changer, I just wasn’t sure how, or when, he was going to use me! I thought “Well, now is the time I need to focus on my family, God will use me when it’s time.” “Or maybe my kids will be world changers and my job is to simply raise them to believe they can!”

So, I told myself to be patient. God has (and continues to) restored my marriage and life’s pressures have eased a bit. As the new year rolled around, I wasn’t LOOKING for anything big to happen… I mean being a wife, mom of three and running a business is pretty time consuming anyway, but God is good and He keeps his promises.

Last month, I was unexpectedly asked to be on the Board of Directors for a non-for-profit, Habesha Momma. I know the founder and president well, as well as another board member, Dori, but we had never discussed me getting involved other than possibly joining them on a mission trip. So when, the opportunity was put in front of me to be on the board of directors, I was floored! Am I ready for this? CAN I do this? Do I have enough skills to make a difference? Do I have enough experience… do I have ANY experience? Am I a good enough leader? Am I good enough, period? Whoa baby, lots of scary questions to ask!

In the end, I am sitting back on the promise. God said I would change lives. My heart is to help people. If I don’t have the skills or experience, God will give it to me. He says “Go” so I’ll go. I hope I am able to help make this organization grow and help change lives. I hope people are blessed and my children will grow up learning that yes, one person can make a difference, but sometimes it takes MANY to join together to make that difference.

I’d love for you to join me during this next year. Please go take a look at the many projects we are doing at Habesha Momma. We’re building a school, we’re providing life saving water filters to families, we’re teaching women to care for themselves and their children and we’re partnering with many other awesome organizations doing other amazing work in Ethiopia. We want to Empower Ethiopians. We want to provide opportunities for education, health and prosperity. You can join us in prayer. You can join us in donating to some of our projects. You can join us on missions trips. If you are great with fundraising, let me know, we’ll be needing to do a lot soon!

I can’t wait to share with you all the pictures I will be capturing on my missions trip there in the fall. I have long dreamed of taking my camera with me and photographing a missions trip. Photographing the hard work the volunteers put in, but also photographing the amazing people and culture of another country. I can’t wait to capture the innocence, love, strength, sadness, joy, sacrifice, empathy, trust and endurance we will see while on this trip.

I am just thankful for this opportunity. I am scared, nervous and I feel unworthy but I know that through Him, I am enough. I can’t wait to see where this adventure takes me!

If you would like to help me get to Ethiopia next fall, I am raising funds here and would love any support! http://www.gofundme.com/getdevontoethiopia

« Newer Older »