Jennifer and Lonie Engaged! l Roanoke VA Wedding Photographer Schaffer Photography

Jennifer and Lonie are eloping in May to Hawaii to get married, but wanted to have their engagement photos taken during the fall when the leaves were changing colors.  After patiently and carefully observing the leaves start to change colors, we scheduled the engagement session for this past weekend at Natural Bridge when we thought the leaf colors would be at their best.  Natural Bridge was Jennifer's suggestion and she couldn't have picked a better place.  I could see that Jennifer and Lonie were a perfect match for each other- she is outgoing, he is much more quiet but both of them were equally kind.  It was a real pleasure to spend the afternoon at the beautiful Natural Bridge with them.  Have a great wedding and honeymoon in sunny Hawaii!!  Eat some Lau-Lau, Loco Moco and, if you are feeling adventurous, Pipi Kaula for me :)

Jackson Baby Portraits l Roanoke VA Photographer, Schaffer Photography

I took Jackson's newborn photos so I was so excited to see how much he had grown since I had seen him 8 months ago.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw just how big he had gotten!  Jackson had the prettiest blue eyes- mom and dad better watch out when he gets older!!

Miranda Senior Portraits l Schaffer Photography

I met Miranda and her family one afternoon for a little fun while taking photos at the Duck Pond in Salem, VA.  Miranda was so much fun to work with and I got to know a little about her and her future plans for college.  Good luck Miranda! 

Aheuro Family Portraits, Schaffer Photography

The Aheuros were a great family to work with!  They were the epitome of modern family in every great way possible.  Mom picking on dad, dad picking on daughter, daughter picking at dad back, brother and sister picking on each other.  Everyone was making everyone laugh.  It was hard to stop laughing myself!

One of my favorite moments was when the dad was making faces and just generally being goofy when I was taking the family photos where he was not included.  He was making everyone roll with laughter.  I kept trying to turn around to see what he was doing that was so funny and never was successful.  Every time I would turn around he would stop and look at me like "What? I wasn't doing a thing!" Until... I realized I could see what he was doing in the reflection of the viewing window on my camera! Ha!  So, fyi... I could see you too!!

Brittany Senior Portraits, Hotel Roanoke (Schaffer Photography)

Brittany was an absolute joy to work with!  After family portraits at Hotel Roanoke, we headed downtown to have some fun taking senior photos!  Brittany was so fun and bubbly, it made for such a relaxed portrait session.  Her senior portraits turned out beautifully.  I don't think I could have taken a bad picture of her if I tried :) 

Brittany, it was great meeting you!  I hope you have a fantastic graduation and good luck in college!  And now we know where the infamous grafitti wall is... even if it was just around the corner! 

As always, a few of my favorites-

Bolling Family and Baby Portraits, Schaffer Photography

I had such a great time photographing the Bolling family last weekend.  I have known Stacy for about 7 years now.  We go waaaaaay back when I met her starting my long career of 8 years working as a veterinary assistant at a local vet hospitals.  We only got to work together for a few weeks before she left for the job she has now.  And then 5 years later, we were back to working together just now we are working at a research laboratory.  Roanoke really can be a small world sometimes!  It was great to see her again with her beautiful curly hair.  I hope I'm not the only girl with straight hair that envies funky, pretty and cool curly hair :)

The Bollings became parents about 7 months ago and so far they seem to be fitting right in.  They asked me to come take a few family photos and lots of their little girl and I was ecstatic to!  As you can see, baby L is absolutely adorable! Here are a few of my favorites from last weekend-

How beautiful are her eyes!!

I think she loves her crib :)

Happy family and baby!!

I am way too cool for you...

Going Yoga-ling

One of my coworkers and friends wanted to enter a contest from a local yoga studio, Uttara Yoga Studios, to win some free yoga lessons and workout gear.  One photo could be entered per person into the contest and it had to be Roanoke themed.  My friend asked me to take her photos in exchange for a girl's night out at Wonju Korean (which has amazing food if you haven't tried it!), so I agreed because I am a sucker for free food.  Especially really good free food!

 
My friend was such a good sport- we took these photos last weekend after a hard days work shoveling gravel and dirt as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.  I think saying that both of us were tired and muddy would be a bit of an understatement.  And it was quite chilly outside last weekend.  My friend was super tough and a great model because you would never know in any of her photos that it was cold and windy outside.

I loaned her my winter jacket which she would wear while I set up and got my photo framed and camera ready.  When we were ready to shoot she would throw the jacket off and pose like a pro!  After I got the photos I needed, I threw my jacket back to her and she would quickly zip it closed.  These photos turned out beautifully-  I couldn't have asked for any better!  Now the only question left is which photo should she enter into the contest!?  

Cheyenne baby portraits

Cheyenne was my very first all baby shoot!  I was so excited to try something new that I had never done before.  I wasn't sure how it was going to go and I was very nervous, although I don't think anyone noticed (hopefully!).  I definately did lots of research on the internet before for some pointers when working with little ones.  I found some amazing suggestions along with some really bad ones too!  Some of the best ones were: Get down on the baby's level.  Don't use a flash.  A warm baby is a happy baby!  and Let mom help you out.   Luckily mom was is a good friend of mine who I have known since middle school! 

I have to say as nervous as I was before the shoot, the photos of little baby Cheyenne turned out beautifully!  I learned a lot along the way too... From baby Cheyenne's photos, I have gained some experience and a lot of confidence for my next baby shoot!