Santa Clause made an appearance at the beach this year! The weather was chilly but I’m sure that made Santa feel at home! We had so many great families!
We love when Santa on the beach mini sessions because we get to capture so many beautiful portraits for families and help a family in need. Instead of a session fee we ask that those participating donate a toy for a family who may not get a Christmas this year. We actually over filled a big box of toys for the munchkins we are helping out, how awesome is that!?!?!
We had so much fun with this shoot as you can see below! Each family was super awesome and we were able to capture such great portraits that we love so much and hope you do too!
There are so many people in Virginia Beach who consider themselves Beach Bums… and years ago Santa got jealous! The cold in the North Pole got to be too much so he has made it a point to visit our beach every fall!!!
We are so excited to bring back a session everyone has requested… Santa on the beach! We know all our clients love this session, and so do we! You’ll have a chance to get some amazing family portraits with santa and without. We ask that you make a $25 deposit to hold your slot, which will go towards print credit. In place of a session fee, we do ask that you bring an unwrapped gift so that we are able to help children in need during this time of year.
Unfortunately this will most likely be the last year we get to do this at the Lynnhaven Fishing Pier. If you haven’t heard, the up-keep with the bridge and all the finances that go along with it were just too much to keep up with. They are closing the bridge in a few weeks for good and have sold it to Westminster-Cantebury, who haven’t disclosed their plans for the pier yet. So who knows what our santa on the beach looks like next year?!?! If you are a frequent “Santa on the Beach” client, don’t miss out this year to get what could possibly be the last year with our amazing pier in the background. (Don’t worry, we will still have Santa back next year no matter what happens to our beloved pier!)
Even with all the sad news, we are super excited to create awesome portraits with everyone! Remember if you haven’t put your deposit in, you should do that quick! Please make your payment to Devon@DevonShanorPhotography.com. Slots are going quick… Saturday is nearly full!! We wouldn’t want you to miss this awesome activity!
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!
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.
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!
So excited to welcome little Daxel to the DSP family!! Baby D was not only SUPER cute, but he was my first baby in the new office!! He was not so sure at first but when we finally got him settled he was a superstar! This shoot was extra great because my new assistant Kennedi got to assist on her first newborn shoot. We had so much fun and we got to try a few new poses… I may be biased but I think they turned out amazing with our little munchkin!
Alex, Daxel’s big brother was also a superstar. It isn’t easy being five sitting in a hot office all day but he did great and we captured some adorable portraits of the two brothers. Beautiful momma Melissa has served our country for 20 years, and we are super thankful for her military service. I’m so grateful to help her welcome her second little munchkin. Take a look at this adorable little family! Enjoy 🙂
The Navel submarine Helena has returned home!! I was so blessed to be able to photograph three different families as they welcomed home their amazing men! It was supposed to rain and ended up being an amazing, sunny, beautiful day to say “Welcome Home!”
Thank you guys for serving and sacrificing so much for us. Thank you so much to your families for supporting them as they served and protected our country. It was a honor to be there as you said “WELCOME HOME!”
Also, a thank you to my amazing assistant and second shooter Eve Hannah. Always such a joy to work together. 🙂
Enjoy!
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.
Years ago, I visited Colombia in South America on a mission trip. Jamie, one of my fellow travelers, and I lost touch over the years, although we stayed FB friends. (Jamie is now living the adventure life in ALASKA! So jealous… until I realize I’d have to be cold all the time! Then I realize why I like Virginia Beach!)
Anyway- back on track, Janie’s mom Margaret has recently gone into real estate and needed professional portraits and Jamie refereed her to me! What a blessing. I LOVE referrals.
Margaret wanted beautiful, relatable, friendly images and the Founders Inn provided a perfect environment. She wanted to incorporate the beautiful gardens and architecture that they are so well known for at the Inn. She knows her architecture too and told me all the names of the arches, windows, treatments, stones, etc that we saw. I’m NOT educated in these things, and I had little to add as she discussed the beauty in the hotel! I can tell she’s going to do amazing in real estate. She knows her stuff, she’s relatable, she’s kind and she’s a joy to be around. If you are in need of a realtor, I think you’d find a perfect fit with her!
Check out her website here: http://www.margaretboundspresents.com/home.html and see her beautiful images enhance her website!
Lauren is great friend of mine who is SUCH an inspiration. She is a wonderful mom and wife and loves all things natural and is a phenomenal business owner! In fact, she has so much talent, ideas, inspiration and passion, she has multiple businesses!
She has her own natural skincare line and I have been purchasing her homemade organic soaps and skincare for over a year now.
Then recently, she completed school and is now a Professional Esthetician! (I have gotten a facial from her and it’s heaven!!) You NEED to check out her spa services!
She contacted me recently to help her with pictures for her website and we had such a great time together! She truly does lead an inspiring life and you can find lots of great tips and ideas on living a budget friendly, natural life plus you can order products, schedule appointments and just find some daily inspiration!
Please take a moment to check out her website! http://www.thenaturallyinspiredlife.com/