I realize Christmas is officially behind us, but due to the demands of the holiday season & one other significant factor (which you will find out at the end of this blog post!), I had to wait until today to share this amazing session I had last week with Julie & Steven in downtown Middleburg. Not only did I capture some of my favorite images to date, but this session came together so perfectly & it did so with very little preparation time. Let me share with you a little back story about how this couple’s session came to mind & what we did to make it happen.

First of all, I LOVE Christmas time. I love the traditions of the season, the Christmas lights, the classic decor, & I love the magical feel of the season. Although my photography leans more towards a bright, clean & airy style I have always loved night time photography. Whenever I capture a wedding I always try to end it with a classic night shot. With that being said it has been a desire of mine to capture a couple’s session at night in a quaint little downtown area. This time I was aiming for a classic Christmas theme/ vibe, with my couple being surrounded by snow & Christmas lights. I had the perfect picture in my mind of what I was aiming to create, but I just needed some important factors to come together… 1) Find the perfect downtown location, 2) Find a couple who would be willing to model, 3) Make sure we had the appropriate attire for our models, 4) Incorporate fake snow, 5) Find an assistant available who could help me with lighting, 6) Find a date that would work for everyone- being just 2 weeks out from Christmas. It seems like a long shot, right?

Amazingly enough one of my former wedding couples, Julie & Steven, offered to model for us. After much research (thanks google & google maps!) we decided on downtown Middleburg because I had the perfect storefront location in mind when it came to the style I was looking for. Oscar (my 2nd shooter whom I used for Julie & Steven’s wedding) was available to help me with lighting, so the only items I had to get my hands on was a red peacoat for Julie, a little mistletoe, & some fake biodegradable snow (and thank you Amazon prime!). Ironically enough we got dumped on with a foot of snow just days before this session took place (coincidence? I think not), so incorporating the fake snow onto my couple’s hair & attire made it that much more realistic. I could not believe how flawlessly everything came together. To top everything off what made this session even better was the fact that the location we wanted to use in downtown Middleburg, The Christmas Sleigh, was closing just as we started Julie & Steven’s session. This meant we did not have to worry about blocking the entrance to the gift shop, nor did we have to worry about crowds of people passing by. This entire session was a win!

Julie & Steven’s styled Christmas shoot in Middleburg turned out exactly how I pictured it. For the first time this year I really felt that I was able to bring my unique & creative side to life. I could not have been more pleased with how these images turned out. My only regret? I wish we would have done more posing out front The Christmas Sleigh, but I didn’t want my poor models to freeze to death! Either way I managed to capture the classic & romantic Christmas vibe that I was aiming for. Like I told my assistant, Oscar, we only need ONE epic shot! Luckily we walked away with more.

Thank you Julie & Steven for making all of my Christmas Hallmark dreams come true 😉

To add to the excitement & joy of this styled shoot…

Oh, BABY! Julie & Steven will be expecting a little one in June of 2021! I am always delighted when I hear this exciting news from my former wedding couples- Congratulations, Julie & Steven!

If you are engaged & would like to learn more information regarding my services, you can contact me here!