NEW BLOG!!

Hi all! I have updated my blog - please use this link now: http://www.christinemeulemans.com/blog. Thanks!

I'm an Aunt!

Okay, so I'm two months late with this post (what else is new?), but here it is! My brother and his wife welcomed a beautiful 5-lb, 8-oz baby girl into their family on November 19, 2009. Jude was three weeks early, but conveniently arrived on a Thursday night, so all of our side of (immediate) family was able to go up to meet little Miss Jude that weekend in the hospital. We didn't have time for a real newborn session, but I snapped a few shots of Jude at just two and a half days old! I saw my sweet niece on Saturday - she is quickly growing and is an incredibly happy baby who loves being held...I miss her already! To see more images from our mini-session, click here to becoming a fan of my business on Facebook - I'll be posting an album there shortly.

Sleeping Beauty

To all those who check back on my blog for updates: Thank you! I am so sorry for being so inconsistent with my photo updates on here! To further highlight how behind I am on my posts, I am attaching below some images from my recent *3-month* photo shoot with gorgeous Avni, whose first entire year I have the pleasure of photographing!! I will have to upload images from her newborn shoot on here soon as well, but I wanted to include some of my favorites from our session last month. This little beauty was actually a little OVER three months old at the time we got around to the session. The first scheduled date did not end up working out, then on the second scheduled date, we got some unexpected snow/sleet, so I played it safe and re-scheduled for another time. The third time was a charm and we fit Avni in for my last session of 2009 and before her grandparents headed back to India on New Year's Day.

I *so* enjoyed this session. In the first couple of images, Avni is playing with her favorite toy. In the next image, Avni's mom and grandmother are crowning her with traditional Indian apparel, and in the final image, we get to see the little cutie wiped out after all the excitement of the photo shoot! Please become a fan of my business on Facebook to see a complete album of my favorite images from Avni's 3-month photo session and to see my most recent work! Thanks for visiting my blog. :)

Thanksgiving

I wanted to take a moment to thank all of my clients, colleagues, friends, and family (especially my husband!) for making my first year in business a GREAT one so far!!! I appreciate your support SO much and I look forward to all that has yet to come with my business. Thank you!!

Meg & Matt

Oh my goodness! It has been a while since I've blogged...it isn't for lack of work to show you, though! I will have to take some time to get some of my favorites over the past couple of months up here.

I was thrilled when Meg asked me to shoot her engagement photos down in Winston-Salem, NC two weekends ago. We walked around the outskirts of the Wake Forest University campus, which is just breathtaking. She and Matt met at Wake Forest, and I met Meg there when we became sorority sisters. I always love going back, especially in the fall, and it's even better when I get to spend a few hours with great friends like these. I hope they enjoy the last few months of planning for the big day - March will be here before we know it!

Below is a "teaser" image...to see more, become a fan of my business on Facebook!

Double the Fun!

I had so much fun photographing Emily, Rick, and their three-year-old twins, Andrew and Isabelle last week! Emily's parents live on a *gorgeous* farm in Great Falls and it was an ideal location for the photo shoot, especially with the colors starting to change on the trees. The kids warmed up to me and the camera after just a few minutes and thanks to their parents treating them to some pre-photo shoot candy, they were ready to get down and dirty and have some fun.

Maybe not a traditional family picture below, but I just love the shots that show the "real life" of families! So cute!

How can anyone resist that grin?

Couldn't leave without a portrait of Maya, the family dog. She's beautiful!

William Arrived Right On Time!

You may remember Sarah, Josh, and Julia from Sarah's maternity photo shoot back in August. The family welcomed William into their family on September 1st, as expected. I had the pleasure of meeting William for the first time when he was almost three weeks old and was able to capture some memories for the family of this special time. Below are some of my favorites...enjoy!

Healthy, Happy Boy!

Remember April, Brett, and Connor from a few weeks ago? Well, meet Owen, the newest addition to their beautiful family! We had a great photo shoot this afternoon featuring Owen, who will be three weeks old tomorrow. He was so sweet and well-behaved!! I just love newborns...

Saving my favorite of the favorites for last - doesn't he look so peaceful?

Tammy and Braden are Engaged!!

When Tammy asked me to shoot engagement photos for her and Braden, I was thrilled! I met Tammy and Braden a couple years ago, just after my husband and I got engaged - Tammy is a friend of my husband's from high school. She and Braden were just visiting D.C. at the time, but they really liked the area and were hoping to move here eventually. Both of them landed temporary positions in D.C. with their company about a year ago and have recently become official Washingtonians with permanent positions!

We spent Friday morning walking around the Mall and ended the session in Dupont Circle, where they now live. We were even able to get a few shots with Ufee, their sweet little dog. I had such a fun time with them - they are naturals in front of the camera! We were worried about the weather cooperating for us, but I am a lucky girl, because this is the second shoot I've had in the past month where it has only started to rain just after we finished up!

I haven't had a chance to further troubleshoot the color issues that I'm seeing in my images on here, but I wanted to share these now anyway. Enjoy!

Tammy just happened to be wearing the *perfect* dress for this shot below!

Thanks, guys, for the opportunity to capture this special time in your lives!!

Welcoming Another Boy Into the Family!

I noticed tonight that there are significant color issues with my images on this website, but I did want to post my favorites from my maternity shoot this week so the family could get a little preview as April recovers in the hospital from her recent delivery! As soon as I get to the bottom of the issue, I will have to update the images.

Earlier this week, I had a maternity session with April, her husband Brett, and their three-year-old son, Connor. Their childcare helper, Suzanne, was even able to be in a few shots! April was really excited to be able to get some maternity images from this pregnancy. Connor (who, by the way, is an adorably, genuinely sweet child) was a preemie, born at only 23 weeks. Because Connor was born so early, April had to take extra precautions with this pregnancy, and her doctors had her on bedrest for several months. We were able to get the photo shoot done just a day before April went in to deliver Owen this week! I still can't get over how upbeat and positive April was throughout the session (knowing she must have been fairly uncomfortable the entire time!) and the whole family, including Suzanne, was very helpful throughout the photo shoot.

Enjoy!

Look at those gorgeous eyes!