Welcome to the Team – Becca

• May 25th, 2018 •

Devon Shanor Photography is evolving once again with the addition of my new Office Manager and Marketing Coordinator, Becca Kajouras. She is a wonderful asset to the team, adding creative and new ways to organize my business space and market my portrait sessions.

Becca recently worked for the local SPCA where she helped find animals their forever homes helping to make families feel complete with their four-legged friend. It was there that she became interested in Marketing after helping to photograph some of the animals for the SPCA’s website. She’s currently finishing up a Bachelors degree in Psychology at Norfolk State University with a plan to pursue a Masters program in the future. In addition to working for Devon Shanor Photography and finishing up her degree, Becca is a single mom to her son, Wesley. Together, they have three dogs (Dakota, Lucy, and Winter) and a large tank full of fish! In her spare time, Becca enjoys painting, reading with her son, spending time with her dogs, and cooking.

I’ve asked her to answer a few questions so everyone can get to know her. I know you’re going to love her as much as I do!

What is your favorite color ? I love the color Green.

What is your favorite food? Give me Tacos or Home-made Greek food any day.

What is something silly you’d like to share?

I love to laugh and I love to make the people around me laugh. At home it is never a dull moment, I am always trying to be silly to make my son laugh, smile, or just hang his head in embarrassment. I love to sing and to create made up songs. Recently, I created a breakfast song that we have gotten stuck in our heads. I also enjoy playing Just Dance with my son and I always end up laughing when I mess up on a dance move. I am a Nickname Creator Queen at my house, and everyone has a ton of silly nicknames that we use. The dogs have the most nicknames at this point.

Tell us about yourself:

I love helping others. Ever since I can remember I was that kid that gave away her toys to cheer someone up or did what I could to help another person. I love talking to new people and getting to know someone – it is the highlight of my day. I love spending time with my 8 year old son learning about what he’s into at the moment, right now it’s Dinosaurs, Minecraft, and Cooking. I have 3 crazy dogs; Dakota (my old lady) – she’s going to be 10 this year and has been with me through everything, Lucy (my little bug) – is a rescue I adopted in 2017 after I took her home to help her recover after an orthopedic surgery and fell in love, and Winter (the baby) – is also a rescue adopted in 2017, she’s very smart and sweet and loves to bring me shoes as her way of telling me she needs to go out. I recently got back into painting and feel so much happier that I’m being creative once again.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Northern Virginia and I honestly miss getting on the Metro and going down to visiting the museums – my friends and I used to do that often. We (my son and I) moved to Virginia Beach 5 years ago to be closer to the beach.

Why did you want to work for Devon Shanor Photography?

A few years ago, I asked Devon to do a portrait session of my family (Dakota, Wesley, and I) after I got my Associates Degree. If you know me, you know I am not a fan of being photographed but I loved how Devon made me feel throughout the whole process. Ever since then I’ve stayed in contact with Devon and when she had a position open for Marketing, I knew it was my chance to work for someone I admired and to work toward something I had fallen in love with. I feel that Marketing helps me bridge my love of communication with my creativity.

What will you be doing at Devon Shanor Photography?

I’ve only been with Devon for about a month now and I have done a variety of things including organizing her space, creating marketing material, and coming up with new ideas for the business. Everyday I get up excited because I know I’m going to learn something new and that I’m going to get a new idea. I know I will be doing a variety of things with Devon that goes way beyond Marketing and I am excited to meet all of her new clients and the clients she has had for years.

Devin 2.0 is Here! | Hampton Roads Newborn Photographer

• December 13th, 2017 •

Welcome to the world sweet baby Devin! Not only did I get to capture portraits of momma’s new munchkin, but I got to capture BEAUTIFUL maternity photos!

Mom and Dad Urie are both in the military, so I would like to take this time and say thank you so much for your service! This couple was an absolute blast to work with. They are so in love and so silly together! There was a lot of laughter and sweet moments while capturing portraits for this lovely family!

I was so excited when I got the call that baby Devin had made his appearance! The little munchkin marches to the beat of his own drum and wasn’t sure how he felt about being the star of the shoot. No matter how he felt he was cooperative and I was able to capture some very sweet portraits for Mom and Dad to keep forever!

Andrea and Jamison thank you so much for allowing me to capture these sweet memories for your little family!

If you’d like to book a newborn or maternity shoot, please feel free to contact me!

Santa Clause Came Early! | Hampton Roads Photographer

• December 8th, 2017 •

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!

Santa Is Coming Early! |Hampton Roads Photographer

• October 17th, 2017 •

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!

Mermaids with Mommy | Hampton Roads Mermaid Portraits

• August 21st, 2017 •

Heidie and Nala were my first and perfect mommy and daughter duo! Heidie decided to make a special surprise for her husband and surprisingly it wasn’t Nala who spilled the beans to dad after the shoot, it was Heidie! She loved her video so much she showed him the video as soon as I produced it!

The session was AMAZING. We shot at Chicks Beach and it was a beautiful day despite the water being just a tad chilly. Nala, our little mermaid was upset when she got her tail wet, but momma stuck it out!

These sessions are still available but not for long as the chilly weather is approaching! Contact me today if you are interested in making your mermaid fantasy a reality!

Mermaids wash ashore in Virginia Beach | Mermaid Portrait Photographer

• July 3rd, 2017 •

Gabby came to me with the idea of doing mermaid portraits. She had been thinking of doing them for years but hadn’t found a photographer she felt could capture her vision of what she wanted. So we discussed what ideas she had in mind and searched for tails, accessories and props. We decided to go for it and create her dream portraits.

This session was AMAZING. Even the sunset seemed to work with us in creating perfect portraits and gave us amazing colors and beauty. Gabby was a magical mermaid!! We even has a little girl come up wanting to see the “real life mermaid” on the beach.

These sessions are available to book now! We have openings in late July, August and September. I can turn your children into beautiful little mermaids or even make your own mermaid dreams come true. Book a mommy/ daughter session or a session with your best friend.

Contact me today if you are interested in making your mermaid fantasy come true!

Actress Headshots: Megan | Hampton Roads Headshot Photographer

• August 24th, 2016 •

Megan is an up and coming actress in Hampton Roads- already doing amazing things in the area… and she’s still in high school!!! Next year she’ll be heading off to college and has some very big dreams. So very proud of her and can’t wait to say “I photographed her when she was just a teen!”

Megan- you were a joy to photograph and can’t wait to see all your dreams come true. Make sure I get an invite to your upcoming shows this year!

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!

Beca: Class of 2016 | Senior Portrait Photographer Hampton Roads

• January 27th, 2016 •

Stunning. Energetic. Happy. Athletic. Fun. Beautiful. All words to describe the lovely Beca.
We had such a great time on both of our sessions! Why more than one session? Well sometimes Mother Nature doesn’t check with me and she does her own thing! Halfway though our beach session, the wind went CRAZY and Beca’s beautiful hair was everywhere, sand was flying into my camera and we were being blown over!! We just weren’t going to get the beautiful sunset pictures we wanted, so we scheduled a second shoot that thankfully provided a beautiful, windless, sunset.

Beca, I can’t wait to see how your last year in high school goes and what next year holds for you. I haven’t know you long but I do know you are a dedicated, beautiful, hard working soul and I know you will achieve whatever goals you set your mind too! Work hard this year, but enjoy every last minute of high school while you can, you deserve it!

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