Jazmine & Nate | Just Because I Love You Session | Hampton Roads Portrait Photographer

Hi!

 

Jazmine and Nate are one of the many military couples I have had the pleasure of working with; however, their story is a little bit different.

 

Nate is actually living out of the country at the moment and has been for almost TWO YEARS now. Yep, you read that right: TWO YEARS. He does get to come home once per year and fortunately she has been able to go visit him twice, as well. But seriously: 4 visits in TWO YEARS?! Oh goodness I am just in awe of their strength and love and determination and awesome relationship.

 

So, of course, when Jazmine contacted me to do an "I love you" session for one of his trips home I JUMPED at the chance! AND she wanted to shoot in the oh-so-gorgeous Williamsburg, too: I was in heaven!

 

Even more awesome? I got a pretty neat friend out of it, too (Jazmine's sense of humor is just as witty and mildly inappropriate as mine is)!

 

 



 

I am so happy to have met you both and am really excited for you that Nate will be home in the coming days! I wish you both ALL the best at your next location and hope to cross paths again one day!

 

XO,

Sarah

C. Family | Maternity | Hampton Roads Maternity Photography

Hi!

When Courtney contacted me about a session the very first thing she did was name drop (can you believe that?!). It's like she KNEW I would be begging to work with her if she sprinkled a little sugar and awesome networking in with her inquiry. ;)

 

KIDDING, of course! But really, in her very first note she mentioned that she was referred by an old High School classmate, Kristen; turns out this same Kristen is one of my sorority sisters from college! Is that not the NEATEST connection?!

 

(6 degrees of Kevin Bacon anyone?)

In the beginning of the session I worked really fast out of fear that little Emilia would get cranky and sick of me in her face- so family picture after family picture after family picture we snapped away.

 

Little did I know that working with Courtney's family would turn in to one of the best family sessions I've ever had.

 

Now, I have worked with some REALLY well behaved, polite, sweet kids before but to get through an hour and a half session with a 20 minute drive to first get to the location and have a NOT EVEN two year's old little girl not get upset ONCE?! Well, ladies and gentleman, that right there makes it my best family session ever!
 

Enjoy these images of Courtney's gorgeous family as they celebrate the nearing arrival of their FIRST BROTHER, Connor :)

 

Thank you so much again to you and your family, Courtney, and a HUGE early congratulations! Connor is one lucky little boy :)

Best,
Sarah

Dear Abby.... I Need Advice | Hampton Roads Personal Blog

Hi!

A couple of weeks ago I made an announcement over on the facebook page that my Summer schedule is going to be a bit compressed this year as my husband is going to deploy {hopefully you saw it!}. I didn't plan on making that announcement quite so early but since I have received a number of bookings for May and into June I thought it was best to give as much of a heads up as possible.

Sooooo in case you didn't see the announcement: heads up! ;)

Since I have a number of followers who are military members and spouses I thought I'd bare a bit of my soul in hopes of maybe getting some feedback.

You see, this is going to be our very FIRST deployment as a couple and well... I'm not sure how I feel!

I'm definitely a mixture of "we have a REALLY long time before he's gone, this ain't no thang" and "oh my gosh I am SUPER not looking forward to this" mashed together with "......{tight knot in my stomach}..... {blank face}." And all of those are really dependent upon what day it is. There's no telling how I'll feel each day of the week or even each time someone asks me about it!

Like I said: I'm not really sure how I feel right now.


When we first got married my husband ended up having to leave for some training just THREE WEEKS after our wedding and we ended up 900 miles apart for the first eight months of our marriage. {Lucky ducks we were that we had chosen the wedding date we did, right?! haha Little did we know the Air Force would be yanking him away so soon after!} So thus far we've pretty much been resting on the mentality that "hey we've been apart for long periods of time before- easy peasy lemon squeezy, right?!"

But it's totally not the same thing.
I know that.
And he knows that.

So if I've learned ANYTHING from my military spouse friends it's the following:

1. I'll be fine. I won't die. My life won't crumble.

2. Things. WILL. Break.
Or stop working. Or fall out of my ceiling. Or move into my attic. or or or. But in short everything decides to stop working almost as soon as your active duty spouse has boots on the ground. (amiright?!)

3. I should stay busy. 

Busyness helps the time pass and keeps me feeling productive and positive.

4. I will have lonely and sad days {and that's ok!}.

 5. Keep communication open and don't be surprised when some days I have nothing to talk about with my husband.

6. Surround myself with goodness and positive people

{that's YOU guys!! No pressure ;) }

7. Don't watch the news.
I will- without fail- think every story is really about my husband and where he is located. So just don't watch the news.

OK soooo that's all I've got.

Any other advice or suggestions any of my seasoned Sarah Elle Photography family members have for me??? And on top of that I'd LOVE to hear advice from the active duty member on what you need from your spouse while you're gone! I could totally use any and all suggestions- so lay 'em on me!

With love and thanks,

Sarah

This is us last year at the Zac Brown Band show for our anniversary. Heeeey!

Nichole + Mike {Hilton Vilage} | Hampton Roads Couples Photographer

Hi!

Early in 2013 I had the pleasure of working with Nichole and Mike and their three boys for a family session before Mike left on a deployment. When I held my business birthday celebration while he was gone, Nichole messaged me to snag one of the birthday gifts; but this time around she wanted get some personal session time for just her and Mike. The thing she didn't know was that Mike had ALREADY contacted me long before the birthday celebration to set something up for when he returned! Does he win the best-deployed-husband-of-the-year award or what?!

So, the cat had to come out of the bag, or the beans had to be spilled or whatever the expression that fits the best here is... basically, the point is we had to tell Nichole! haha

Needless to say she was excited! :)

I can't tell you how much I ADORE these two. I even said to them during their shoot that when they are together I forget they're parents to three boys. To which they both laughed and said "we forget too!" haha HOW CUTE ARE THEY?!

***You'll notice in some of the shots that they're holding Starbucks cups--Since the day was pretty frigid they brought along some hot cocoa to keep warm (and they brought me one too! Doubly sweet bonus points for them!). They made for pretty cute props, too, if you ask me :)

 

As always, Nichole and Mike, it was wonderful getting to work with you! I couldn't have asked for a better session to start off the 2014 year!

Looking forward to working with you one day at your new duty station (England, baby!!)! Safe safe travels and lots of warm wishes on your new adventure :)

Best,
Sarah

Victoria and Jaron | Hampton Roads Couples Photographer

Hi!

This post comes at almost the perfect time as tomorrow happens to be Veteran's Day- a day that has increasingly taken on more and more significance in my life as each year passes. My grandfather was a veteran. My step-father is a veteran. My cousin is a veteran. My husband is a veteran. And many many many many many of my friends, friends spouses, and Sarah Elle Photography family members are veterans.

So to be able to honor and highlight a veteran in tonight's post is extra special.

Jaron and Victoria were one of my very first clients in Virginia; so being able to work with them again was a personal treat for me! They are young, fun, super in love, and willing to let me try pretty much anything when it comes to locations, poses, theme ideas, etc.- anyone with that much trust in me is definitely high up on my list of people I love to work with! Plus they love cowboy boots and she's big on fun accessories- both things I love (be sure to check out her pink cowboy boots! Yeehaw!!)

Gah! Aren't they just so pretty?!!

On top of Jaron being a veteran this post comes at a doubly perfect time because he is about to deploy. He is about to go off to continue to fight for all of us here in the United States. And I can confidently say after having worked with these two twice now that Jaron couldn't confidently go forward in his duty without the strong support and unconditional love Victoria provides him here at home.

Jaron and Victoria it is ALWAYS my pleasure to work with you guys and I look forward to doing it again when Jaron returns!
Thank you both.

Best,
Sarah

C. Family: Red, White, & Blue, Patriotic Inspired Picnic | Hampton Roads Family Photographer

Hi!

Military family + 3 super cute kids + red, white, and blue outfits = one really sweet patriotic themed session!

The C. family is one of my oldest VA friends and I couldn't have been more flattered when they contacted me to do their family photos. I had made a comment MONTHS before about wanting to do a patriotic themed picnic so when mom contacted me about their session she already knew exactly what she wanted to do- the patriotic picnic! So of course I was TOTALLY down for it!

When they showed up in their red white and blue coordinated outfits I absolutely fell in love. We had hit the jackpot of cuteness and they seriously nailed the look. Don't you think?!

A special shout out to little guy as he was celebrating his first birthday that month!

And of course I can't not take pictures of these two together ;)

C. family, thank you for being so wonderful. Thank you for your service and sacrifices as a military family. Thank you for being my friend. It was truly a pleasure to get to work with you all and I can't wait to do it again!

Best,
Sarah

AFRC Hearts Apart Shoot | Hampton Roads Portrait Photographer- Military style

Hi!

Did you see on facebook that I got to participate as one of 5 photographers for the local Airman and Family Readiness Center (AFRC) Hearts Apart deployed families photo session day?! These sessions are for the local Air Force families whose loved one is or will very soon be deployed. It's meant to give them a chance to have a little fun during the deployment while getting some super awesome photos done to send off to mom or dad as a surprise while they're away. 

I can't tell you how much of an honor it was to get to work with these families. FIRST off it was an honor to be asked to participate! I was so humbled when Dawn contacted me to see if I was interested. Was I interested? Heck yes! Being a military spouse myself I love love LOVE working with other military families. Throw in the fact they're going through something only a military family understands (the "d word") then double heck yes count me in!!

Here are just a few previews for the families before their galleries go up live on the AFRC Hearts Apart website in a couple of weeks! 

This is Dawn. Oh! Did I mention she's pregnant and expecting a little baby girl- her first girl! I am just a BIG fan of Dawn's so I am beyond excited for her and her family. Isn't she beautiful?!

 

And one of the other photogs, my super bubbly and sweet friend, Tianna, of T.Y. Photography is pregnant too!! Couldn't help but snag a shot of their double bump ;)

I can't even decide which one makes a cuter pregnant lady!

If you're an Air Force family in Hampton Roads you should totally check out the AFRC! They have a ton of events and activities for the Air Force families- especially during deployments- and will help with anything in any way that they can. If they don't have the answer I know they know how to find it! Plus you'd get to hang out with Dawn and some other pretty wonderful people!

You can check out the AFRC facebook page here!

Best,

Sarah

C. Family Preview | Hampton Roads Portrait Photographer

Hi.

Did you see the post on Facebook that said that I'm headed on a completely UNPLUGGED vacation starting this weekend? That's right, completely unplugged: no computer *gasp!* and no phone either until September 8th! I'm pretty excited about it but also a little bit anxious- NO facebook?! NO e-mail?! Seriously?! Yep, seriously! But to be honest I'm more excited than nervous for this chance to truly relax and focus on life in the moment- so bring it on vacay!

Before I go I thought it was only fair to leave my recent family session with a few extra previews to tide them over until I get back. 

 
Aren't their red, white, and blue outfits just the BEST?! I loved their patriotic themed session- it was too cute!
More of this creative and oh-so-sweet family when I get back!

PLUS when I get back maybe we'll start the second edition of "Where in the World is Sarah Elle Photography!" What do you think?!

Best,
Sarah