Black and white portrait of a smiling young girl being held by a woman in a striped dress outdoors.
A joyful Black father lifts his smiling little girl in a white dress outdoors near a brick house.
A joyful family of five poses outdoors on green grass in front of a brick home, dressed in coordinating light blue outfits.

Some family portrait sessions don't always come with perfect blue skies — they come with churning clouds, a little drizzle, and generally unpredictable weather. No matter that I checked my weather app numerous times during the week. The closer it got to 5:00 pm, the rain chances started increasing.


I’d met C and her family since our children go to the same school. I was excited to take their photos and memorialize the last summer evening before they all headed back to their classrooms.  When we met each other at the parking lot, the dark clouds started rolling in. We looked at each other, and I promised them we’d have a good time and snap tons of photos. I may have also crossed my fingers that the rain wouldn’t come sloshing down in the next forty-five minutes.

MY FAVORITE MOMENTS


It's one of the things I love most about being a Northern Virginia family photographer: this community is full of familiar faces, and every session is a chance to turn a friendly nod at pickup into a real connection.


The family — mom, dad, and their three girls, ages 8, 5, and 2 — brought so much natural energy to Cabell's Mill's rustic stone walls and wooded backdrop. Rather than fighting for perfectly posed smiles the whole time, we let the girls be girls. We let them run around a bit, get thrown into the air, get into tickle fights on the grass. Those unscripted, candid bursts of joy? They're often the images families treasure most — far more than a stiff, everyone-looking-at-the-camera shot.


A happy Black family poses together on a green lawn in front of a historic stone house on a sunny day.
Three young girls sitting together on a blanket in a green yard, smiling and hugging in front of a brick house.
A joyful Black family with two parents and three young daughters in matching blue outfits sitting together on grass outdoors.

Of course, we still captured the classic posed portraits too — a beautifully composed shot of mom and dad with all three girls, and a few sweet individual portraits of each daughter. Balancing candid and posed shots is something I always aim for in every session, because it gives families a complete story: the composed, gallery-worthy portrait and the real, in-the-moment memory.


Cabell's Mill continues to be one of my favorite hidden gems for D.C. area family portraits. Its historic stone architecture, wooded trails, and creek views offer a variety of backdrops within just a few minutes of walking — ideal for families who want variety without a lot of location-hopping.


If you're looking for a family photographer in Chantilly, Centreville, Fairfax, or anywhere in the greater D.C. area, I'd love to help you create portraits that feel like you — clouds, chaos, and all. Rain or shine, some of the best family memories happen when we stop trying to control the moment and just let it unfold.



Ready to book your own family session? Send me a message and we’ll start planning yours!


A smiling woman in a blue striped dress holds hands with children on a green lawn outside a brick house.
A joyful father lifts his smiling young daughter in a white dress outdoors on green grass near a stone house.
A mother and two daughters walk hand-in-hand across a green lawn toward a historic brick house.
A joyful Black family poses outdoors with three young daughters, dad carrying one on shoulders, in front of a brick home.
A smiling couple poses outdoors in coordinating blue outfits in front of a brick house surrounded by green trees.
Black and white photo of a couple sharing a tender moment outdoors, woman touching mans face near a historic brick building.