Britt & Kirsten at JM Randall's

My husband and I enjoyed a wonderful night of Blues at JM Randall's! Britt and Kirsten did an amazing job singing and the band did and awesome job playing....the songs were soulful, the atmosphere was fantastic and I just couldn't stop taking pictures! I'm going to post a couple...to get the whole album, check em out on my facebook page: Jennifer Vanderwoodsen.

Check out Britt Neal & Kirsten Thien's music online....don't have the link but if you google them you'll find them! Hot stuff! They are both singer songwriters, and even though they are separate entities, they still get together and tour. If you missed them here in Williamsburg, they are headed to the Outer Banks next!

Enjoy, I sure did :)

Carr Family Portrait Shoot~ Williamsburg, Virginia

So! The Carr Family took me up on my Portrait package fundraising offer for my mission trip this summer! This past Monday we were going to meet up at Matthew Whaley Elementary School...I was a little early and noticed a bunch of people walking toward the Palace Green with lounge chairs. Hmmmm. My mind remembered that it was Memorial Day and they MUST be having something planned in Colonial Williamsburg for the holiday. I called Lynn to give her a heads up...she had forgotten too! We decided to stick with our planned appointment and see how it went.

The Carr's arrived and looked so beautiful! After being re-routed from our original short cut to the Palace (they were about to fire muskets) we got to the green and there were A LOT of people surrounding the fife & drums. We then decided to go behind one of the historical buildings lining the green to get some less people littered shots. Thank goodness for the fife & drum's because after we were done with those shots, they marched toward the Magazine and therefor everyone followed them so the green was then eventually crowd-free. Now...I have to say...I'm not sure if Natalie gets it from her dad or her mom, but she is an amazing little model! She was wearing a beautiful light blue dress with a fabric flowered bodice...she really was reminding me of Alice in Wonderland...with her cream colored skin, long silky blond hair, blue eyes and blue dress! It might just be me, but I love the shot of her on the wooden steps and also with her sitting in front of the Palace on the grass. B-e-a-u-tiful! We then got Natalie changed in a more play friendly outfit, we got some shot's of her playing with the hoop and stick on the green. Natalie even got creative with it and decided to do a little hula-hoop with it! So cute :)
Oh...one of the crazy things that happened during this shoot (crazy stuff on shoots happens more often than one would think...maybe it's me?) but while we were on the palace green, after the crowd had moved to the Magazine...a small deer comes rocketing down the side street in front of the Palace and down the middle of the green! I did get some shots of this...we were all hushed as we watched because I think we were all extremely worried this deer was going to run into a person. We are pretty sure it didn't hit anyone! Eeeshk!
The last shot's I got of Natalie, she was doing one of her favorite things...climbing trees. If you are a local of Williamsburg, you'll come to find that there are a LOT of climbing friendly trees around Colonial Williamsburg. We found Natalie's favorite one and let her climb away. I love the shot's we got of her in this tree....she seems very at home in it! Almost like a young Jane! (Tarzan and Jane...you know :)
All in all...I had a wonderful time with the Carr's taking their pictures. It was wonderful to shoot them and to hang out with them as well. Thank you guys for your donation, your time and your friendship!

Portrait shoot with Steve & Lydia Jenner n' family ~

  

Last month my family and I got to welcome our new little addition to the family, Aubrey Lynn Jenner, Daughter of Steve and Lydia Jenner. This post is a collage of Maternity portraits of Lydia and also portraits after the birth. This was so special for all of us because this is the second girl (niece/ grandaughter) for our family....added to 5 nephews/grandsons. The maternity shoot was my first as a photographer, and Lydia was such a wonderful model. She has such a natural beauty. The after birth portraits were fun too. Usually the lights keep the studio super warm, but for some reason the AC was pumping in that room! Poor little Aubrey was not happy being cold! It took a while to get it warmed up for Aubrey and getting her fed helped....and then the magic happened :) While we were shooting the family portraits Jacob wasn't wanting to give up his gorgeous smile...so Lydia had to use her reversed psychology! She kept telling him..."don't smile...really, don't smile.."  That really brought it out of Jacob! And man, when he turns it on, it's ON! I never knew a little child Ralph Lauren model was underneath Jacob's comedy act exterior! It goes to show how many layers there are to a person...even a child. It was one of those precious moments I'll hold in my memory forever....and I'm so glad I have a portrait or two to remind me of the moment! That is what I love about photography....you have these amazing moments and memories in life and to have a picture to go along with it?!... what an amazing thing. What a beautiful family! You guys are some of my favorite people to shoot!
Enjoy the pictures everyone........

Photo shoot with the Trumbo Family :)

This was a blast! Lydia Potter Trumbo is from Alabama but is from Williamsburg. Her husband is in the service and is deployed right now and she got in touch with me to find out if I could do their portraits...as a surprise for her husband, Joel. So....we planned on a time when she would be visiting family here in Williamsburg. Lydia and her sister, Dabney, came over with the kids in tow. I got to watch the precious kids, Owan, Gunner & Evie while Dabney fixed Lydia's hair and makeup upstairs. We started the shoot off with Evie and Owan and then got Gunner in the mix. You'll see that we needed something Gunner could play with so he would crawl off the set! I actually think the cell phone adds panache to the pictures! Even though I love shooting kids, my favorite part was shooting Lydia. She was so kind and patient as I tried to experiment with some new lighting tricks I've learned. I think the outcome was fantastic. Backlighting a model is hard when your using a boom that's counter-weighted! It was interesting but fun.  I'm so glad Lydia seemed to know her good side and how to work her face as a model! She's a natural! I think it helps when you grow up with sisters and you model for each other while growing up. It helps you learn yourself...I'm guessing :) I'm an only girl with three brothers. So...here is the outcome of our Monday morning shoot! Enjoy!

~Jennifer VDW