FRIENDSHIP | Goodhart Photography, Northern Virginia Loudoun County Family and Child Portrait Photographer

"Friendship"

I love having a permanent studio in my basement! Beautiful light + lots of backdrops + great subjects = gorgeous portraits! Especially when friends come to visit.

HAPPILY EVER AFTER | Goodhart Photography, Loudoun County Portrait and Wedding Photographer

These photographs are some of my favorites from a gorgeous wedding in October 2011 at the Evergreen County Club in Haymarket, Virginia.







I have been shooting weddings for Shelley Miller Photography (and other local photographers) for almost a year now. I'm ready to book some of own, and to that end, I am developing some of the images I took and working on sample albums.   For more information about booking Goodhart Photography for your wedding, email goodhart photography @ gmail.com or visit my website, Goodhart Photography.

KATIE'S SENIOR SESSION | Goodhart Photography, Northern Virginia Loudoun County High School Senior Portrait Photographer

It is rediculous how beautiful this girl is. We've had the pleasure of knowing her for years, since she was thirteen, and now she is a senior in high school! Time flies.

I enlisted the services of Meredith Ehler, a personal stylist serving Loudoun County and Northern Virginia, to do Katie's hair and make-up. She has years of experience in the fashion and beauty industry, and currently moonlights as a MAC make-up artist.













I was dying to try out my new backdrop, and Katie's pale skin and stunning eyes were just perfect.







Then we had a little bit of touch up from our stylist extraordinaire. It was really wonderful having a stylist on hand, post-processing is practically non-existent when a client has flawless make-up and hair.



And here she is, fresh and gorgeous...



And then we had another clothing/accessory change, and took some of these more dramatic portraits...







I think these photographs speak for themselves -- Meredith and I make a great team! If you want amazing senior portraits, give Goodhart Photography a call!

BE MY VALENTINE | Goodhart Photography, Northern Virginia and Loudoun County Family and Child Portrait Photographer

I recently photographed these playful boys with Valentines and flowers for a Vintage Valentine photography session.



I had a little trouble getting ties tied properly -- my husband leaves well before I wake to get the kids to school and I haven't tied a tie in years.  I've added tying ties to my to do list!  But how sweet does this boy look with Mr. Bear?



Your proofs should be ready within two weeks!

American Ballet Theater Intensive Summer Camp | Goodhart Photography, Loudoun County Northern Virginia Family Photographer

This lovely ballerina needed a headshot and full length body shot for her audition for the ABT Intensive Summer Camp. She's been dancing for almost 10 years, and has been on my blog before as a dancer in the woods. Let me see if I can find some of those older photographs....

Here we go, Dancer in the Woods. This was taken 18 months ago when I was just starting my business.



And here is her headshot. She has such beautiful, intelligent eyes.



Best of luck to you!

BABY'S FIRST YEAR | Goodhart Photography, Northern Virginia Newborn and Baby Photography

How fast they grow! I photographed the mothers of these babies when they were pregnant,and now their sweet little babies are 1 year old. How much they've grown and changed in this year! From fragile and new, to strudy and energetic, these little babies are ready to take on the world.

If you know someone who is pregnant, a "Baby's First Year" certificate would be the perfect gift. It gives the mother-to-be three photography sessions, a 5x7 print from each session, and a beautiful storyboard like these to commemorate the year. See my website or contact me on Facebook for more details.

TRAVELS TO THAILAND | Goodhart Photography, Northern Virginia Family and Child Portrait Photographer

In early January, my husband and I left our three children in the care of Grampy and took off for a short getaway to Thailand to visit my mother! It is a beautiful country, and I really enjoyed photographing it.

My mom has ten pet turtles, one parrot, one dog, and one cat. Here is one of her turtles:

The food in Thailand is so delicious! These are some of my favorite dishes, laab (a minced pork with spices) and crispy pork).

So when I came back from Thailand, I basically slept for 5 days -- no jet lag in Thailand as I guess adrenaline kept me going, but it hit with a vengeance once I returned. Now I am refreshed and energized and ready to create some beautiful portraits for my clients!

Parting shot -- windows on a Buddhist temple grounds.

VINTAGE VALENTINES | Goodhart Photography, Northern Virginia Child and Family Portrait Photographer

Isn't she precious? I took these portraits in my Loudoun County studio, which is still a work in progress but at least my backdrops and lights and myriad props have a more permanent home.

Here's another little beauty.



Right now I haven't done any Vintage Valentines with boys, but I think they'll look adorable in Daddy's jacket and a tie, holding out a bouquet of roses.

Anyway, if you are interested in the promotion, please "like" my FB page so you'll get all of the details when they come out.




Planning to run a Vintage Valentine promotion in the next few weeks.

1 YEAR OLD! | Goodhart Photography, Loudoun County newborn and baby photographer

It is so hard to believe I have been photographing this baby sweetheart since he was in his mother's belly! You can sneak a peak back to those days by clicking here.

This was my first shoot of the year, and my first shoot in my under-construction basement studio. Baby J was totally on the go, and very interested in what was in the basement (toys and more toys) as well as my children who popped down a few times to say hello.

Here is a more pensive look:



We also took Baby J outside for a few natural light photographs in the snow. While Loudoun County didn't get very much snow this week, there was enough left to create the environmental portraits we wanted.



I hope you enjoyed your sneak preview!

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS | Goodhart Photography, Northern Virginia Portrait and Family Photographer

So for Christmas my husband bought me Business Plan Pro software. I had so many plans to get that baby installed on my laptop and to have an epic plan in place to launch 2011.

But then I realized that in between a kitchen remodel, the holidays, and my recent trip to Thailand:




that my epic plan was just going to have to wait. I spent the last week in a jet-lag coma (12 hours time differential for Thailand) and only yesterday felt fully refreshed. That's when I realized that I can't actually find my business plan software, as I tossed it into a box with Lightroom 3 when the hardwood floors were being installed -- or maybe cleaning up for dinner Christmas Eve. But regardless, I still want to take this time to map out some broad, general business goals for 2011.

1. I resolve to pay my monthly sales tax on time. This goal actually encompasses a larger goal of business organization, because in order to pay my sales tax on time, I will have to have systems in place to track clients and payments.


2. I resolve to launch my wedding photography business.





I've spent almost a year second shooting weddings, and I just love it. Wedding photography encompasses all types of photography -- portrait, photojournalism, landscape/environmental, detail/macro -- and I get to do all this in beautiful settings surrounded by happy people.

3. I resolve to establish a permanent studio in my basement, rather than a make-shift one in my living room.



This will allow me to take clients in the winter, and offer my clients another option besides on-location portraiture.

4. I resolve to market my senior portrait photography business.





I love to photography high school seniors, as they are so creative and energetic and they want to look good.

5. I resolve to get a business plan written by February 4th. That gives me a few days to track down the software!

6. I resolve to blog at least 3 times a week. This also encompasses a goal of updating my blog and revising my website, combining the two into a blogsite.

So that's all for now. Hope all of your own dreams and resolutions come true in 2011!