Pages - Menu

Friday, October 21, 2011

Gonzales Family {Yorktown, VA Family Photographer}

This sweet family really touched my heart.  I'd met the mom & daughter when I first moved to Virginia, but the dad has been deployed the whole time I've lived here.  They're a family of such love, it was great to see them altogether, even if it was only for a few days.  I'm glad we had time to capture these memories!





King Wedding {Hampton Roads Wedding Photographer}

In my quest to update my blog with the sessions I missed from this year, I must tackle the daunting task of blogging about a wedding.  Weddings are really, really hard to blog about because they can easily include a kajillion pictures & stories to match!

I have to say, this was the most fun wedding I've ever done.  I've known Kristen and her family for years, and I've gotten to know Dustin & he's a pretty great guy.  The wedding was very well planned & organized, but Kristen was very calm the day of the wedding!  My favorite comment from the day was when her mom was taking pictures of the girls getting ready & said, "Oh wait, Susan's here... I don't need to take pictures!"

That's what it's all about-- I'm there to take pictures so that others don't have to.  I loved that they felt relaxed & comfortable & trusted me to capture their day in its entirety.  Also?  They were able to truly be present at the wedding & soak up every wonderful moment of it, rather than seeing it through a camera lens!


 









 
Ahem... I love a good ring shot... and I had a little time to play around with theirs, so brace yourself for several!




Ready for a pullback shot?  Here's what I looked like while taking the picture above:


Normally I'd lay flat on my stomach, but I was pregnant during this wedding, so laying on my stomach wasn't comfortable anymore!





 

Congratulations Kristen & Dustin!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

I'm back + Catching up + Dillon's Senior Pictures

Erm... shuffles feet.  So I've been slacking in the blog department.

Truthfully, I was planning an entire blog redesign.  Then I switched everything over to Wordpress.  My plan to was unveil this awesome new blog... but truthfully, I hated Wordpress.  So I'm back here at Blogger & I'll play a long game of catch-up!

I *only* have 26 sessions to catch up... no biggie, right?  So some of them may be just pictures, and I'll probably combine a few as well... just stay tuned!

Here's a start... a senior session I did earlier this summer!








Saturday, June 4, 2011

Melissa's Trash the Dress {Hampton Roads Photographer}

People have varying opinions about Trash the Dress sessions.  Some think, "Oh but it's such a pretty dress!" while others say, "I'll never wear it again & it's already dirty from the reception."

Melissa had another perspective entirely.  Her marriage is over, and she is now healing.  It's not what she dreamed of when she was a little kid, but sometimes you have to roll with what life gives you and come out a better & stronger person on the other side.  And that's exactly what she has done.

I think anyone that knows her would agree she is a strong person & trashing her dress is just another step in moving on.

From a photographer's perspective it was a dream come true!  I mean, how many people actually want to ruin their dress during one of these sessions?  How many dare to bring up the word fire?  She did!  The only problem?  She's lost weight & no longer fits in her wedding dress (did I mention she also has 2 kids?).  But that was okay, because we couldn't really burn it with her wearing it anyway, right?  Here is a sneak peek at the results!






FYI: Wedding dresses burn quick.



Interested in your own creative session?  Contact us through our website!

Memorial Day Winner! {Hampton, Virginia Photographer}

I did a contest on Memorial Day where my fans could nominate a deserving military family (themselves included!) to win a free session + a $50 print credit.  Things like this are why I love living in a military area-- I can easily give back to a group of incredibly deserving people!

Here is a sneak peek of our winner.  She is so beautiful, and her son is so well mannered with a great personality!  They made a perfect team!




More to come!

To book your own session, contact us through our website!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Phillips Family {Hampton Photographer}

If there had to be one phrase to describe this family, it would be fun-loving.  They are full of laughter and giggles and overall enjoy living life together, which made photographing them super easy & fun!









Interested in booking your own session?  Contact us here or check out our website!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Fowler Photo is teaming up with March for Babies!

Why I decided to do photography as a business isn't a story I've shared with many because quite honestly, it's not a short conversation.  I usually stick with "I've always loved photography" and leave it at that.  But for those who really want to know, there's a much bigger, more personal story to it.

Truth is, I have always loved photography... always had a camera, and smashed many a point & shoot in the bottom of my book bag through my school years.  It was rare for me to ever be without a camera and when things went digital it rocked my world.

But on July 10, 2009, my life changed, and it spurred me to be more than just a girl with a camera.  I got the call around 5pm that my twin nieces had been born.

"Oh wow!  I thought they weren't due until the end of September?!"

They weren't-- they were 11 weeks early.  My mom then went on to tell me that one of my nieces had not lived for more than 30 minutes.  The other one was in the NICU.

We were slightly prepared for that-- we had been told that something may be wrong-- but it was all up in the air until they were born so early.  My husband and I were on a business trip with work and were just about to leave for NC to pick up our dogs.  I was so thankful that we had to go up there anyway because like any other family member, I felt the need to be there.

That weekend I watched my brother and the mother of those twins go through extremely difficult circumstances.  Suddenly they were faced with picking out names for both babies, signing birth certificates, a death certificate, and then the hospital asking what their plans were for Kyah, who had passed.

Thankfully, I had a friend whose family owned a funeral home.  I called and asked her what one does in this type of circumstance.  She pointed us in the right direction and to the right resources to get through the time.

Things were handled as best they could have been, but in the weeks and months afterwards, we realized we only had 2 pictures of Kyah, both snapped with a cell phone and neither one particularly fabulous.  Yet this was all we had to remember her by.  

I later learned about an organization called Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep that sends professional photographers in to take pictures of the family and baby during times like these.  It's completely free to the family, and they have these pictures to remember forever.

If only... if only... we'd had pictures like that.  It helps the healing process.  It's something to show siblings later in life.  It's the only memories, and although it's a terribly difficult time, to see sweet memories in photos makes all the difference.

And somewhere along then, I decided that I needed to do more than just take some fun pictures whenever I'm around.  I need to do something bigger... to help people in my own way.

So I did.  I started learning all about the technical side of everything related to a camera.  A year later I put a name to it: Fowler Photo.  And now, almost another year later, I'm almost to the point where I'm close to submitting to become one of those photographers for Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep.  I'm already a part of a group that takes pictures for babies in the NICU.

I'm also proud to announce that I'll be doing pictures for the March for Babies Peninsula/Newport News walk!  I can't think of a better organization to partner with-- they're really making a difference by giving hope to babies born too soon.

My husband told me the other day that he'd never seen me so passionate while pursuing something that I loved.  It's true.  I love this, and I if I'm able to make a living while helping families in these situations, then all the better.