Scarlett Family | Washington, DC Family Photographer

July 7, 2017

Rounding out today's #FamilyFriday feature, we have the Scarlett Family!

I first met Rasheid back in May 2014 when we did a spring mini session with his then 6-year old twins, Elijah & Olivia!

Fast-forward a couple seasons, and in December 2014 we got together once more for family photos with his oldest son Nijah!

The following year in August 2015, we linked back up for a one-on-one mentoring session!

And this year, we got back together for family photos with his now 9-year old twins! The day of their session was a hot one, but we had so much fun :)

I can't tell you how happy I am to grow with my clients 💚. When I do posts like these it makes me soo thankful that I get to do this for a living!

If you’re interested in a session with your family, I would love to capture it! Email me to schedule yours today! Currently booking: August, September, and October dates.

Cole Family | Washington, DC Family Photographer

July 7, 2017

Next up for #FamilyFriday, the Cole Family!

I was honored to capture their very first family photos! And I couldn't be happier with how they turned out 💙

Willie & Nicole's 7 month old son, Jonah, was absolutely the sweetest! He was full of laughter and smiles, and gave me all kinds of eye contact lol. It was a joy to photograph these moments for the Coles, and I look forward to seeing their beautiful family blossom in years to come!

If you’re interested in a session with your family, I would love to capture it! Email me to schedule yours today! Currently booking: August, September, and October dates.

Mommy & Me: Sharonda + Serena | Washington, DC Family Photographer

July 7, 2017

Happy Friday to you!

I have 3 sweet family sessions to share with you on this beautiful #FamilyFriday :) First up is a fun mommy & me mini session with Sharonda & Serena!

Sharonda was one of my eeaarly early clients! She & I first worked together back in 2011 for engagement photos with her fiance, Sherman!

Fast-forward a couple years to 2013, and we did a summer family mini session!

Fast-forward even further to 2017, and Sharonda now has a beautiful 3 year old daughter, Serena!

Let me tell you... Serena is quite the little model! I normally don't direct when I photograph children, but we discovered that she takes direction so well! She is so sweet and polite, and was a joy to photograph 💜

She did so well for her 3-year old birthday shoot, I can only imagine how lovely and animated she will be in years to come :)

If you’re interested in a mommy & me session with your little one, I would love to capture it! Email me to schedule yours today! Currently booking: August, September, and October dates.

I'm Tired | Truthy Tuesday

July 4, 2017

I am tired.

For the past few weeks, simply getting out of bed has been a larger accomplishment than I would have liked for it to be.

Let alone keeping up with friends and family, blogging, social media, household chores, my spiritual routine, and other necessary responsibilities. Somehow I've been managing to keep up with my client work, so I'm thankful for that, it just takes a bit longer to get things done these days.

Yesterday I saw a quote by Bassey on Twitter:

"I want to get better, not get by."

And I couldn't have worded it better.

I don't know if I'm still "buffering" and in recovery mode from a hectic Spring season, or if this is just a regularly scheduled dip. Given the nature of my bipolar depression, I know the fog will eventually lift, but for me, those brief highs and moments of "okayness" (or even faux wellness), tend to make the lows feel that much lower. Because I know I CAN get out of bed, be productive, and make healthy decisions... so when I can't, it's that much more frustrating.

I know, I haven't yet learned the art of balance and patience with myself... I'm tired of just making it. Tired of not knowing what mood and energy levels will greet me from day to day. Tired of my response being "I'm tired" when someone asks how I'm doing because I'm too tired to even explain how I feel... Tired of having to push through, tired of looking for a "pause" button I can't seem to find.

In the midst of this daily discomfort, I am thankful for the love and support of my God, friends, and family. I haven't been doing a good job of being mindful of my blessings, and I know that will help. I actually know a LOT of things that will help, but finding the energy to do them is the problem. 😕

I haven't given up though, and I guess that's what I have to learn to be okay with for now.

-Danni

Spring 2017 | Washington, DC Lifestyle Photographer

June 20, 2017

*waves* Heyyy guys!

I have been majorly MIA on the blog these past couple of months! But for good reason, I'm trying to get my life together lol. And also (mostly) because this spring has been the busiest one EVER, and that is no exaggeration- this season has been full of travel, mentoring, family, maternity, and business/branding sessions!

I've been posting here and there on Instagram and Facebook when I have both the time and energy, but some of these photos haven't been shared yet. So, since I have no idea when I will be able to catch up on blogging all of these sessions, I figured a recap would be more efficient :)

March

Spring officially began on March 20, and almost immediately my schedule kicked into high gear! Unfortunately the weather wasn't quite ready to BE Spring-like, but we made the best of it despite the rain and cool temps. The start of Spring was filled with maternity, business/branding, and mentoring sessions!

April

April began and ended with mentoring sessions! The pop-up headshot special at The Spice Suite was held this month as well, and it turned out beautifully! I also headed to Dallas mid month for the first group mentoring session of the year.

May

If April seemed busy, nope. May felt like the longest month ever! The month started with a quick trip back to Dallas for my gallery opening, and from then on... nonstop. Branding sessions, Spring minis... families, maternity, engagements... Then, more travel. This time to Atlanta for mentoring and mini sessions. Came back home, and I was honored to photograph my good friend's proposal! Then rounded out the month with a couple more business sessions and a maternity session.

June

Ya'll. When I tell you I was tired? I was tired. Thanks to Jehovah, I was able to power through and knock out the next stop- Brooklyn! I had a wonderful one-on-one business session and did a few mini sessions. Back home, the following weekend was another business mentoring session, and finally the end of my busy spring season came with two mini family sessions.

Whew! Just doing this recap was even exhausting lol. I learned several things from this season. The main takeaway being that I need to do a better job at being reasonable with myself. Managing my bipolar depression is tricky because I can feel okay one day (or even great sometimes!) and I'm able to be massively productive, yet on another, find it very hard to even get out of bed. I was very ambitious with my scheduling thinking that I would be able to handle everything, and in the end I did because I had to, but I would like to not feel like I've run myself ragged in the process.

Either way, I'm super thankful for my beautiful clients and very happy that I'm still able to do what I love even while trying to manage my mental illness. I can't say enough how much I appreciate you all 💛

This blog turned out to be wayyy longer than intended :/ So if you've made it to the end, thank you for catching up with me! I hope not to have such a long break in between the next one :)

-Danni