We had yet another perfect January day on Sunday for photos at their home in Rockville, MD. I was thrilled that they chose to do this session at their home.  Last time I was there, they had at least a foot of snow on the ground, so I can’t say I realized quite how beautiful it was, but this time, we had the perfect setting for some great photos!  Some of my favorite photo sessions lately have been those that took place at my clients’ homes.  While it definitely didn’t hurt to have a spacious back yard, it really wasn’t necessary.  I love that we were able to capture some moments of intimacy and true joy by photographing the family in their own space doing the things that they love best.

While Mr. D tolerated us long enough to give me a few posed photos, he really wanted to get down to action!  So we shot some hoops – complete with a cheering section to give hugs after good shots!

After the hoops, we got chilly, so we headed back inside to read some stories.  Caillou is his favorite – apparently Mom even made a Caillou cake for the big birthday party!

We even got in a little coloring with Lightning and Mater.

Then we headed back outside to run around and play some more once we were all warm again!

This might be my favorite photo of the morning.  Of course he didn’t want to be in the photos, so I decided to take a few of Mom and Dad together.  When he realized that we were carrying on without him, he came racing back to be in the photo again!

Mr. D worked hard at keeping his smiles for himself the whole time I was there, but at the last minute we played for a bit on his swing-set, and I finally managed to catch a few!

B family – it was wonderful to see you again, and to see how much D has grown.  Thank you for choosing me to document this special occasion!  Enjoy 2!  XOXO ~ K

Mr. Will and Miss Stella are sitting up now, and I can’t believe what big kids they are becoming!   This is a fun age to photograph because they aren’t escaping yet, but are old enough to engage with the camera a bit.   I think these photos really capture their personalities.

I think the expressions below are ones that Mom and Dad are going to see quite a bit in the years to come.  They both have the guiltiest “Who Me?” looks on their faces.  I can totally imagine them each trying to blame the other for the mischief that’s occurred!

The best thing about this age, is that you can finally elicit genuine smiles and giggles.  I’m pretty sure that at this point, Mom was singing and dancing, and Dad was wearing a necklace and hiding behind a blanket.  I’m sure we were getting some strange looks on the street in downtown Leesburg, but whatever they did it was perfect, because Mr. Will thought it was a riot and gave a huge grin.

Miss Stella likes to fly!  :)  Look at those beautiful eyes!

A quiet moment with Mom.

A silly moment with Dad.

These last two are some of my favorites.  To date, Mr. Will has never complained at a photo session.  He always goes with the flow while his sister is usually the more fussy one for me. Today however, he had enough, and he let us know it!  I can’t blame him.  It was getting chilly, and he’d taken his socks off.  Once he got angry and cold, the end came quickly and there was no going back.

S family, you make it look so easy.  I can’t believe how fast these two are growing, and that we’re already talking about scheduling their one year session.  Enjoy the chaos of the next few months and I can’t wait to see you again when they are on the move!  XOXO – K

I loved going through these sessions and seeing all of the fun families I got to work with last year. There were newborns, grandparents, pets, siblings, and best friends.  We had sessions at home, sessions at the beach, downtown sessions, and sessions in my very own neighborhood park.  We suffered through biting cold and stifling heat. Along the way we made great memories, created family heirlooms, and decorated a lot of blank walls!

Click to see the entire 2011 Year in Review Slideshow.  I’d love to know which photos struck a chord with you!

If you’d like information about scheduling a session for your own family this year, please email me!  I’d love to create memories with meaning for you and your family in 2012!  I’m now booking for Spring sessions, and will have limited weekend availability.

When my client contacted me to schedule this session last fall, she wanted to schedule something the week between Christmas and New Years, when her brother and nephew would be home for the holidays.  We discussed several options but settled on shooting the session at her childhood home with her parents on what unfortunately was the only rainy day of the entire week.  While it was gray and dreary outside, the whole family was bright and cheery inside.  Photographing inside a smaller home filled with mementos and memories certainly presented it’s share of challenges, but I love that we were able to incorporate so many aspects of life and family togetherness into our session.

Let me start with this photo.  The family didn’t want to make the holidays the focus of the session, but they had a beautiful tree, (and the best part is that it can be seen from two different rooms!) I couldn’t resist taking at least a few in front of it.  I loved this photo the minute I snapped it, because of the joy on both of their faces.  I hope that when my children are grown and have kids of their own, my husband can still make me laugh like this.

Three generations of beautiful women.

For the three cousins, these stairs were the focal point of the house, every time I turned around someone was hanging upside down and asking me to take a photo.

This photo was a recreation of a treasured one that their grandmother has held onto since they were toddlers.  I think they take up a bit more of the stairs than they did last time!

Love this one of the men playing chess.  During the session someone would occasionally scurry out of the room and make a move.  Here there is a bit of instruction going on.  What a great family bond to have.

The rains broke for about 5 minutes and I dragged everyone outside.  You can’t tell from this photo, but it was drizzling a bit.  They were all annoyed at me because I was standing under the overhang of the garage staying dry while they were getting wet.  :)

Apparently there is a long-standing family photo tradition of these two jumping off the front steps.  I hear there is even one of Missy in her wedding gown.  When they asked for one I was happy to oblige!

One of the beautiful things about this home was the abundance of unique furnishings and decor items.  These chairs were fantastic and I can imagine spending many hours curled up with a blanket and a book in them.  I love this moment between the ladies.

One of the best things about photographing a family in their natural environment is the ability to capture snippets of the things that mean the most to them.  Whether it’s a particular piece of furniture, or a hobby that they love the most.  While many clients worry that their homes are too cluttered or too messy for photographs, the most meaningful moments can be preserved when we shoot in a home, and it’s easy to rearrange things!

I’m going to end with this final photo.  When I was packing up to leave Mrs C. presented me with a gorgeous book of photographs called Wise Women by Joyce Tenneson. At that moment I realized I hadn’t taken a photo of her alone, so we scurried to find her favorite spot in the house and give her a few moments alone in front of the camera.  Of all of the photos we took I think this image is my favorite.

M and C families, I hope you enjoy these photos.  There are still many more to come, but I wanted to get your preview to you today.  You were a joy to work with even on a dreary day.  Happy New Year!  

Merry Christmas friends.  Thank you to each and every one of you who take the time to stop by and visit each day – those who leave comments, and those who simply read.  I’ve been so blessed to be able to stay at home with my boys and to build this little business to keep myself busy doing what I love.  Stay tuned next week for a few of my favorites from this year. Until then, enjoy this week with your loved ones, and celebrate the magic of the season.

I’m super excited to announce that Kelly Nelson Photography now has gift certificates available!  Your 5×7 certificate will come in a beautiful gift box perfect for wrapping and hiding under the tree.  Guys – I promise that the gift of a session plus the promise that you’ll smile and cooperate surely beats a Snuggie.  To make this deal even sweeter for everyone involved, if you contact me to purchase a gift certificate valued at $150 or more, by Wednesday 11/30 at midnight, I’ll throw in a $25 Amazon gift card so you can do a little shopping for yourselves!  It’s a win-win for everyone! (Updated 12/1 – this offer has expired.)

Certificates are available in any denomination.  Contact me today to purchase your certificate – either via email at  kelly{at}kellynphotography{dot}com or by phone at 703.638.9570.  If you’re reading this and thinking “Yes, this would be the perfect thing for me!  I just wish I could tell my husband, grandma, office mate….” go ahead and use the email a friend link at the end of the post.

Happy shopping and enjoy the rest of this gorgeous weekend!

On Sunday I had the pleasure of hanging out with the H family and their adorable new puppy.  You might recognize this family from their backyard fire-pit session with me when I roped them into volunteering for my class last winter.  They still hold the record for coldest session ever!  Fortunately, this time around we lucked into some warmer weather and were able to play around a bit more before the rain started to fall!

Their new puppy is apparently a huge fan of the leaves, so we took a bunch of shots of her and the kids in action!

This adorable family certainly has their hands full with 18 month old twin boys!   It was fun to see the different personalities coming out in each of them, and especially fun to meet Big Sister S.  I’m going to keep this short and sweet, because I think the photos tell you everything you need to know about this family and our time together.

 S Family – I hope you like the photos.  It was great to meet you all!  G – thank you for setting this up.  It was truly my pleasure.

I was very excited to meet this family after reading their pre-session get-to-know-you questionnaire.  Each of them has such different interests, and I was thrilled to be able to incorporate some of their hobbies into our session to showcase their unique personalities.

As you can see they were quite a fun bunch to work with!

L family, it was great to meet all of you!  Huge thanks to Dar for getting us together!

This session was gifted to the L family by Dad’s sister who happens to be a high school classmate of mine.  I’m currently working on creating gift certificates in time for the holidays. If you’d like to gift a session of your own, or if you’re someone who would like to receive a session and need to send a hint, Like my Photography Page on Facebook where I’ll be posting the announcement first when the gift certificates are available for purchase.

Did it snow where you live this weekend?  We had quite an interesting weekend of weather as Saturday was a snowy slushy mess.  Fortunately the sun broke through on Sunday morning just in time for my family photo session with the P family in Leesburg.  We had a few adventures dodging the snow sliding off of roofs, and I had to think more creatively to find dry locations for seated photos, but it was a beautiful day and this family was a blast to photograph. Each of them had me laughing at various times throughout the morning, and each had such fun personalities.  I don’t think I’ve ever talked so much about myself at a photo session, but they were all so warm and engaging despite the cold temperatures. I know I’m going to love my photos when I drive home thinking to myself “I’d love to be friends with those people – they seem like such a fun family!”.

P Family – I’m so glad that the weather cooperated and we got to spend a sunny Sunday morning together.  I’ll see you on the ball-field! ~K