Kellen & Ashley Maternity | #sincerelylizphoto

You may remember this sweet couple from their engagement session and wedding. I met up with them the morning of New Years Day, despite the rain (seriously, it always rains on their session days!) and we had a lot of fun just walking around and capturing this time in their life. I posted my favorite picture from their session at the top (totally out of order which messes with my perfectionism!!) because I want to talk about how stinking beautiful I think they are.

These two are truly best friends and such good people. Like - really good, quality, lovable people. They always find the good in others, they let go of the past, and don't do "drama." Together, they make a fantastic team. They go out of their way to make each other happy and they laugh together, a lot. I love being around them and I am so excited that they are procreating and on their way to making more little Kellen and Ashley's! This world needs more people like them. I say that genuinely. We need more people like them!

I'm honored and grateful that they continue to hire me to capture such special times in their lives. Okay, enough of my chatter. Here they are…!

Equipment used for this session:  canon 5d mark ii // canon 50mm f/1.2 lens // canon 70-200 f/2.8 lens

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Liz Cook is the owner and photographer of sincerely, liz: photography. She is a virginia wedding photographer and virginia portrait photographer who loves virginia weddings, family portrait sessions and couple photography.

To see more of Liz’s work, check out her latest work as well as some of her favorite weddings. To hire Liz, simply fill out this form.

Lines | Fredericksburg Maternity Photographer

The lines and shape of a woman with child are so very beautiful to me. Christina has been following my work for years so I was so happy to finally get her in front of my camera. And to celebrate such an incredible milestone, too! Is she not just strikingly beautiful? The contrast, her flawless skin, and all of the lines in these images have made these some of my favorite maternity portraits I've ever shot.

Equipment used for this session:  canon 5d mark ii // canon 50mm f/1.2 lens // canon 70-200 f/2.8 lens

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Liz Cook is the owner and photographer of sincerely, liz: photography. She is a virginia wedding photographer and virginia portrait photographer who loves virginia weddings, family portrait sessions and couple photography.

To see more of Liz’s work, check out her latest work as well as some of her favorite weddings. To hire Liz, simply fill out this form.

Gratituesday: The anticipation is behind me

This week, I am grateful that the anticipation of my sister and her family moving halfway across the country is finally behind me. They have made the move. The ugly grey cloud that hovered over me has now moved on and things aren't so bad. I'm going to be honest. Their impending move felt like preparing for a deployment. Only it was worse because they won't be moving back in a year. Nor will it be the highlight of their days to Skype with me. Instead they will start a new life in a new area with new important people. They are happy and excited. And in true Liz (middle child) fashion, I was totally pouting.

When I think of life here without them I feel anxious and depressed. Those kids... their whole family... they are a light in my world. A big one. My sister's home... with acres of land surrounding it, no internet access and the living room view of solitude... It was a vacation home for me. Peace lives with them. And it goes where they go.

I guess it's time I work on creating my own peace to carry with me, eh?

In trying to think about the positives of the whole situation, I am reminded that there's always skype. And how amazing will it be to visit Colorado?! Plus, my sister will still be home to shoot every wedding with me. And since she will be living so far away, I expect our time together to be of higher quality since we will make the most of our time together versus our quick chit chat now between the busyness of our lives.

I used to love change. But the older I get and the more settled I become, change is proving to be challenging. Maybe it's the mama in me. Sunday needs routine and familiarity and maybe her needs are growing on me. I'm afraid of how things will be different with my sister's family, but maybe, somehow, this will be better for us, too.

In any case - I am so glad the anticipation and anxiety is behind me and we have stepped into this new chapter. The grey cloud is gone and so far, everything is just fine.

On January 1st, our last day together as a family before they moved, we all stuck out the frigid temperatures and took some family portraits. I will cherish these pictures for years to come. I love all the pink noses that depict how chilly it was…!

Equipment used for this session:  canon 5d mark ii // canon 50mm f/1.2 lens // vivitar universal wireless remote // vista explorer lightweight tripod

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Liz Cook is the owner and photographer of sincerely, liz: photography. She is a virginia wedding photographer and virginia portrait photographer who loves virginia weddings, family portrait sessions and couple photography.

To see more of Liz’s work, check out her latest work as well as some of her favorite weddings. To hire Liz, simply fill out this form.

Portraits of Crystal | Lynchburg Professional Headshots

You guys remember Crystal?! We had been trying to get together for another round of head shots for months (years?!) and we FINALLY made it happen back in the midst of our crazy fall season. I find that ironic. :) Of course we tried and tried to wait for a sunny day - but we finally caved and did the session without a ray of sunshine to be found. That's okay, Crystal is a ray of sunshine in my world (you like how I did that just there?) and made my job so super easy!

Here is she in all her cuteness (though she works the sass pretty well, wouldn't you agree?). I really love this session and I am looking forward to the next time we get together to update our headshots! :) (If you missed it, check out the results of the last time we got together!)

Equipment used for this session:  canon 5d mark ii // canon 50mm f/1.2 lens // canon 70-200 f/2.8 lens // canon 35mm f/1.4 lens

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Liz Cook is the owner and photographer of sincerely, liz: photography. She is a virginia wedding photographer and virginia portrait photographer who loves virginia weddings, family portrait sessions and couple photography.

To see more of Liz’s work, check out her latest work as well as some of her favorite weddings. To hire Liz, simply fill out this form.

Chris & Hannah | Lynchburg Christmas Pictures

A few weeks ago I was aimlessly browsing the web in the middle of a work project and I came across a picture of a family at a Christmas Tree farm. I was super inspired and decided I wanted to shoot a session at a Christmas tree farm at that VERY MOMENT. So I did something I have never done before. I offered a free mini session to my Facebook fans. (If you're not a Facebook fan you are missing out!) Usually when I work with clients we discuss locations and styles that works for them, and looks that are most reflective of their personality or their family. But this time I wanted to have all the say. Of course, I would never insist on that with a paying client, so I offered this as a free session instead. A style shoot, if you will! Meet Hannah and Chris. Hannah's sister, Kelly, was actually the one who entered and won the giveaway. She gave it to her sister because Hannah was having a stressful semester in college and Kelly wanted to do something nice for her. How sweet is that?!

Chris and Hannah met up with me and brought their sweet pup along for a few shots as well. This session turned out exactly how I was hoping... the colors, the chill in the air, the love between the two of them and the sparkle of the setting sun all created a perfectly magical session. The only thing we were missing was some steaming hot chocolate! (Next time!)

If you love these images, it's not too late to have a session of your own at a local Christmas tree farm! Contact me in the next few weeks and we can hash out all the details! I would LOVE to shoot in the midst of the beauty of winter again!

Equipment used for this session:  canon 5d mark ii // canon 50mm f/1.2 lens // canon 70-200 f/2.8 lens

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Liz Cook is the owner and photographer of sincerely, liz: photography. She is a virginia wedding photographer and virginia portrait photographer who loves virginia weddings, family portrait sessions and couple photography.

To see more of Liz’s work, check out her latest work as well as some of her favorite weddings. To hire Liz, simply fill out this form.