Fall portrait session re-cap and other things that are happening around here.

My fall season was packed with such fun and lovable clients! In the next few weeks I'll be sharing full sessions here on the blog, but for now I wanted to share a quick recap of what I've been doing these past few months. First things, first....! Ahhh there are a LOT of things going on behind the scenes with Sincerely, Liz! It'll be a couple of months before the big announcements are made, but there are some major business structural changes happening (anyone notice the subtle name change of the Facebook Page?? ;)). We're super busy working on a new office space (!!), a new website (!!), and lots of other improvements here and there. Oh and there have been a few additions to the team...! I'll be sharing a ton more after the new year (it's SO hard to wait), so definitely stay tuned.

For now... here's a glimpse of some of the pretty faces I'll be blogging in the next few weeks!

The talented and always cute, Crystal George:

One of my 2013 interns (!!), Chelsea:

Sunday's sweet nanny and her family, the Earl's:

Ed & Kat, one of my 2013 couples:

My incredible doula and her family:

Some of my most cherished clients, the Hill family:

The family who lives one of my dream lives (yes I have lots of dreams!), the Kramer's:

And the beautiful Williams family, always making my job SO easy:

Get excited to see more of these awesome people!

Okay I've got another busy day ahead...! It involves lots of snuggles with Sunday, finally getting my camera back from it's weekend getaway, and a commercial shoot in a few hours. Have a good one, friends!

Chris & Katie, Part II | Warsaw Virginia Wedding Photographer

As my regular blog readers know, I don't typically narrate a wedding day. But the second half of Chris & Katie's wedding requires a few bits of explaination. So without further ado...

These are their awesome siblings that were keeping a HUGE secret from Katie at this point during the day...

Funny thing... when we were taking pictures in the field I suggested we make our next location "by the tractor equipment." Katie pointed to the machine I was talking about and said "Oh, that? That's not a tractor it's a _____!" (She's gonna kill me for forgetting what it even is called!) But the fun part is that Katie is soooo stinking passionate about the work that she does, she wants everyone to know about it! When I went to the farm for her bridal portrait session, she gave me a tour of the place and explained to me the step-by-step process they go through to farm corn and soybeans! Seriously love this girl's zest for life!

They asked for some pictures that included the name of the farm....

And pictures in "the soybean fields," too! Well break my arm why don't cha!! :) (These are seriously some of my FAVORITE pictures I've ever taken!)

So... right here. After the best man and maid of honor toasts, Katie's brothers each came up to say a few words. They wrapped up the toasts by handing her a card and saying "We know you have to be at work bright and early on Monday so we thought we'd give you something to do with your time..."

Inside was an all-expenses paid HONEYMOON!!! Put together by family members who LOVE them SO MUCH! These are the sweet, sweet reactions... (Oh and Chris totally knew it was coming!!)

After the toasts were done and the cake had been cut, Katie kicked off the dancing portion of the evening by starting The Wobble all on her own. That girl has got MOVES!

Each bridesmaid jumped in on a new set and eventually the dance floor was full! The rest of the night was a BLAST...!

SO much love.... SO much fun!! Weddings like this are so surreal to me... I can't believe it is my JOB to have fun and capture such happy emotions and activities! :) Love love love....!

If you missed it, be sure to check out the first part of this wedding! Chris & Katie, Part I | Warsaw Wedding Photographer

Ceremony: Laurel Springs Farm Reception: Laurel Springs Farm Florist: Bridget’s Bouquets DJ: Len Archer Photography: Sincerely, Liz: Photography Catering: A family friend Dress: Kleinfeld NYC 

Equipment used for this wedding:  canon 5d mark ii // canon 7d // canon 50mm f/1.2 lens // canon 70-200 f/2.8 lens // canon 35mm f/1.4 lens // canon 85mm f/1.8 lens // canon 100mm f/2.8 macro 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: A playful husband

A confession: It's really hard for me to "play" with kids. It always has been. It's not something I desire to do (to be frank: it bores me). So when Sunday comes up to me and wants me to sit down and play with her, I have to force myself to do it. There are times when I do, and times when I don't.

That said, this week I want to express my gratefulness that Tommy loves to interact with kids. Some people are "children" people. Some people are not. Tommy has always been great with children. While in college, he worked one-on-one with autistic children, and he learned a lot about intentional play. I am pretty sure that's the wrong way to say it... but he is a lot more creative when it comes to interacting with, teaching, and disciplining Sunday. (Plus he enjoys it!) I see things in black and white... he sees lots and lots of color. And the ideas (!!) that he comes up with to teach her! I have so much to learn... and I am learning a lot from him.

What I am trying to say... is that I am really, really glad I married someone who enjoys playtime with his daughter. Because it's something that doesn't come easy to me. (Some day I will write about playgroups and how hard it is for me to make them a priority for us!) Having a partner who balances me in the parenting arena is soooo helpful in lifting the burden of mommy guilt.

Don't get me wrong - I DO play with Sunday. We DO have intentional "teaching" times. It just doesn't come easy to me. But we hang out and spend time together all the time! (Shopping, walking, eating meals together, etc.) I'm just really, really glad that "play time" comes easy to Tommy. It's hard to think of something that brings me more joy than seeing him laying on the ground making Sunday laugh out loud.

He is such an awesome father. And I'm really, really thankful for that.

Chris & Katie, Part I | Warsaw Wedding Photographer

Where to start with these two! Yet again I couldn't narrow my favorites down to one blog post - so this is part 1. Part 2 is coming at'cha on Wednesday so be sure to come back for more!

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Oh... Chris and Katie. On their wedding day, they were surrounded by more love and support than almost any other couple I have worked with. That's kind of a bold statement - but I was truly blown away by all of the people that were simply joyous about this wedding. Katie and Chris both have great relationships with all of their siblings (7 of them altogether!) and their parents. But the friends!! And extended family! Everyone that we spoke with on their wedding day was just so happy for these two. The day was all about celebrating their love and everyone in attendance was thrilled to be a part of it. The enthusiam was endless.

When Katie and I met at her bridal portrait session, I knew she was going to make my job so easy and comfortable. She was such a laid back, FUN bride (and stunning to boot!). Everything was about enjoyment.: just sit back, relax, and have a good time. Which you will easily see in the pictures! And her groom, Chris, was so attentive to the needs of everyone around him - he also made our job so easy. He put the boutonnieres on all of his groomsmen himself (I've never seen that before! We are usually the ones that do this!) and continued thanking the wedding vendors (including us) for their hard work throughout the night. But his biggest concern? Observing the joy on his bride's face! Chris lit up the moment he saw Katie coming down the aisle and he did not stop smiling or kissing her all night long. It was the sweetest. thing. ever.

Their wedding was beautiful, fun, and so THEM. As always, we were honored to be a part of their day and it was absolutely the best way to wrap up our 2012 wedding season!

Part II coming on Wednesday!

Ceremony: Laurel Springs Farm Reception: Laurel Springs Farm Florist: Bridget's Bouquets Officiant: Rev. Catherine Swann Dress: Kleinfeld NYC

Equipment used for this wedding:  canon 5d mark ii // canon 7d // canon 50mm f/1.2 lens // canon 70-200 f/2.8 lens // canon 35mm f/1.4 lens // canon 85mm f/1.8 lens // canon 100mm f/2.8 macro lens

—————–

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.

#Instagratitude Re-cap

I cannot believe we are already at the end of November! What a fun month this has been! I thought at the beginning of the month that I was wrapping up all sessions and seeing the end of the portrait season nearing. Well... turns out I still have some sessions on the calendar and I don't think I'm taking a holiday this year! Hah! It's awesome though. I am still making up from taking all that maternity leave, so I'm totally loving every minute of work right now. I hope that doesn't change anytime soon!

Anyway - So I participated in #instagratitude this month. You know, I didn't really think everyone in the world was going to be posting thankfulness posts in the month of November. I'm not really sure what I was thinking! But it was a fun little challenge and truth be told - not difficult at all. I almost wish instead of winging it daily, that I had really planned ahead what I was most thankful for in my life and spent 30 days expressing those things with intention. It was an uplifting time, yet a total breeze to be sitting on the couch and pause to take in my surroundings... to think "what am I thankful for in this moment?" And you know, then I'd snap a picture of my living room or my daughter's silly toys. Which created a bright moment in my day. Of course, it's awesome to stop and think about all the small things to be grateful for, but a few times I had the thought of wishing I were approaching the project a little differently... with more intention. Perhaps I'll revisit this whole idea next November!

Anyway - here are some of my favorite posts. These are actually the ones I posted to Facebook. It's near impossible to quickly grab Instagram images for web publishing without sharing them on facebook! But you can always browse my entire instagram feed to see what Facebook is missing! (I try not to spam my facebook friends TOO much... :))

What a happy November! Holidays, vacations, portrait sessions galore! All the things I love. I am feeling so blessed. #instagratitude