A Fitting Tribute on Veteren's Day | Virginia Beach Family Photographer

We didn't plan it this way, but I thought it was fitting that this family had their portrait session on this Veteran's Day. Daddy is across the world serving and protecting us here at home. I hold a special place in my heart for military wives. I feel understood around them... like we aren't completely crazy for following our husbands around the country, becoming mother, father, housekeeper, nanny, renovator, landscaper, plumber, and keeper of smiles and tears while they are gone. A huge special thank you to the S Family for sacrificing so much for us. I hope you will join me in praying for Daddy's safety abroad and I pray he is home with his boys and wife soon!

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails | Norfolk Family Photographer

B was such a trooper today as we braved the "arctic wind" in Norfolk. :) My hubby would laugh at that. He always says I have a 2 degree temperature range where I'm never cold or hot. This little guy is starting to come into his own boyish personality. Of course sticks were the coolest thing in his world and sitting still for pictures was torture in his mind. But he is so genuinely loved by his parents and his momma still beats out sticks any day. :)

Thank you to the C Family for letting me spend some time in your "backyard"! I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!







To book your family session, please contact me at christene@csphotopro.com or visit www.csphotopro.com for more information.

A Classic | Virginia Beach Couple's Photographer

We've had this shoot planned for a while now but could never quite get our schedules to match up. Tiffany is a fantastic and talented Independent Writer. She has a new eBook out on How to Write a Christmas Letter. She cracks me up though because while most couples start off with a dog, or cat before jumping on the baby bandwagon, Tiffany and her husband started with this classic. I'm pretty sure she's named it, and I even caught her apologizing to "her" for getting her undercarriage (is that the right word? :) dirty.



And this is the picture that I had envisioned for the shoot. I always wonder what goes through my client's heads when I attempt the more artistic shots. I'm pretty sure Tiffany's husband thought I was completely crazy. :)

Thank you both for putting up with my creative vision and braving the field with your baby. I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!



Who needs an engagement to get couple's photo's done? To book your session, email me at christene@csphotopro.com or visit www.csphotopro.com for more information.

Importance of White Balance | Virginia Beach Photographer

We all have that problem...or at least I'd like to think the rest of you are also juggling photo shoots, editing, marketing, sales, phone calls, and travel with LIFE! I am blessed with a wonderful husband who will be home for the next 3 years! (Hello shore tour!) And after two back to back deployments the last thing I want to do is busy myself with so much work that I can't enjoy creating those early memories for ourselves and OUR kids. I've come to find out that there is this "thing" called the "start-up suck". As in... suck you in to this computer abyss so life passes you by. Whether it's social media, editing, blogging, etc, I think a lot of photographers, me included get sucked into this vortex when trying to make it in this industry. So, one of my goals this past year has been to get it right in camera so I'm not spending hours and hours in front of the computer after a photo shoot. One tool that has helped me is the custom white balance. This is one of those things that once you start, you'll wonder why the heck you weren't doing it before. I use this handy tool called the ExpoDisc. Yes, it's expensive. You could go the old gray card route too or I'm sure there are other useful methods or tools out there that work just as well.

To set my custom white balance, I use my ExpoDisc as a filter to take a picture from where my subject is. This just involves me coming right beside them and taking a picture of something, anything with the ExpoDisc over the lens. A gray picture will come up on my LCD screen. Then I go to the menu on my camera. (I shoot with a Canon 50D). Under White balance, make sure Custom is selected. Then go to Custom WB and that gray picture I just took will come up and my camera will ask if I want to use it as my custom white balance setting. I hit yes, and voila! The whole process probably takes me about 20 seconds and I've saved myself the headache of color correction in Lightroom or Photoshop. If the lighting changes, I'll have to do a new white balance reading. I've found the custom white balance makes the biggest difference indoors where color casts are prominent. And there are times when I don't use the ExpoDisc, such as sunset when you want that golden sunset glow.

Here's an example for you to see what a lifesaver it has become for me! The picture on the left is what my camera originally gave me on Auto. I was taking some pictures of my beautiful niece in our hotel room and there was this lovely cast thrown on her to make you step back and say "Yuck!". The picture on the right is my results after I did a custom white balance reading. These were taken with natural window light. Nothing else changed and both images are straight out of the camera without any processing done to them except resizing. Her daddy is Guatemalan so she has this gorgeous creamy skin that wasn't being portrayed in the first picture. Did this help anyone? Or am I blogging to the internet abyss again? :)

{Last Flight} | Virginia Beach & Oceana Photographer

Some things in life, I just can't fathom. Flying a jet is one of them. Sometimes I feel so detached from the life of a pilot. A conversation that a good friend had with her husband pretty much summed up the difference in the lives we lead. It went something like this... Husband: "I'm flying out to Ohio today to have lunch with Dad." Wife: "Oh, that sounds nice, when will you be back then?" Husband: "Probably no later than usually. Should be home around 5 o'clock." And so leads the life of a pilot. Pilot wives will probably recognize the story behind this picture. A ritual for every last flight. For this pilot it could be THE last flight. Always guided by the needs of the Navy, only a specific career path will lead him back into the air. Another thing I just can't fathom. Never knowing if you'll take up your passion again...Always at the mercy of someone else. This pilot and his wife have meant so much to me these past few years...through two deployments and the birth of two babies. I wish them all the best in their new Navy endeavor and hope to see him in the skies again!

{Rockstars} | Sandbridge and Virginia Beach Family Photographer

I can't even put into words how much fun I had with this family. Well I guess I should preface this by saying this session was gifted to them by a good friend, so that should tell you what an awesome gang they are! "C" was reserved but so incredibly kind and such a gentle spirit. I'm sure he gets tired of hearing this, but he has the most gorgeous hair! Seriously rockstar quality! "A" was a bit more sassy and always willing to be the star of the show as long as I wasn't photographing her :), and little "P" reminded me so much of my littlest sister-in-law. Sometimes swallowed up with the whole group but you get her alone and out comes her amazing spunk and sparkle! And since I had the hardest time deciding what picture to sneak peek for this family, I decided to do a mini collage of the kids. And the last picture has a story behind it and perhaps a tip for you as well. I always try to engage my families in some sort of activity. Especially if they have elementary aged kids who get bored all too easily. So, we made seashell garland by the waters edge. I could take mom and dad for some shots of just the two of them and big brother helped the girls string their shells together. But what touched me the most was at the end of the shoot, while we were gathering ourselves together, "A" decided to make her garland into a necklace and draped it over her momma.

Life is composed of moments that truly take your breath away and make your heart smile.






To schedule your family session or to give the gift of a session, please visit my website at www.csphotopro.com for more information or email me at christene@csphotopro.com

{The Morning Light} | Sandbridge & Virginia Beach Family Photographer

How I talked this family into hitting the beach at first light this morning with TWO small kids in tow, I'll have no idea. :) But so worth it! The morning light reflecting off the ocean was gorgeous and dreamy. What a great way to start the weekend off and you'd never know we started out in 45-degree weather. :) Thank you to the W family for fulfilling my dream of a morning beach shoot! Hope you enjoy your sneak peek!



One of my fav's from this session. Daddy didn't even know I was snapping away while chatting it up with his wife. :)



To schedule your family session, visit www.csphotopro.com for more information or email christene@csphotopro.com