5 Must Have Apps for Parents | Northern VA Baby Photographer

5 Must Have Apps for Parents | Northern VA Baby Photographer

5 Must Have Apps for Parents | Northern VA Baby Photographer

Finding parenting advice and snapping baby pictures are two of the joys of being a parent! When it comes to professional portraits, you can rely on Ever After Baby Portraits near McLean, VA to do beautiful fine art portraits of your children. (You can also browse our blog for our helpful hints baby-advice posts!) But, why not also turn to technology as well? There are some terrific apps available for parents today. You can find valuable parenting advice, information, and even help with photography at your fingertips.

Here are several must-have apps for you to try:

Today’s Parents My Family: A free app from Today’s Parent, a Canadian company offering daily tips, recipes, developmental and health advice.

White Noise Baby: Fussy baby not falling asleep easily? No worries with this app to help relax your baby with looped ambient sounds. The .99-cent app also allows you to download new sounds as they become available. It also includes a shutoff timer and an event log to track baby’s sleep cycle.

Cloud Baby Monitor: Use this $3.99 app as a baby monitor with both unlimited range video and audio, including noise and motion alerts. It’s ideal for home and travel and works off of Wi-Fi, 3G, LTE, and Bluetooth.

Sprout Baby: This free comprehensive app allows you to keep up with information on baby and child development. You can also track your child’s milestones and keep a health record with pictures and journal entries.

Mosaic Photo Books: Combine your baby photography into an easy-to-make print photo album with Mosaic’s free app. Use your snapshots on your phone, iPad, social media, Dropbox, or other online photo storage sites. (Of course, for an archival-quality professional album of any of our fine art portraits, contact us!)

If you would like us to capture your children’s baby pictures in the McLean, VA area, we’d be honored to have the pleasure. Please contact us to discuss our work and schedule an appointment.
 

 

Baby Photography, Baby Photographer, Baby Pictures

Ever After Baby Portraits is comprised of Mindy Belcher and Joriana Belcher Anderson, a mother-daughter baby photography team located near the McLean, VA area in Northern Virginia. We specialize in timeless and emotive fine art family portraits, including newborn and baby portraits. Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.

Best,
Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Ever After Baby Portraits

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7 Tips to Fitness for New Mom and Baby | Northern VA Baby Photographer

7 Tips to Fitness for New Mom and Baby | Northern VA Baby Photographer

7 Tips to Fitness for New Mom and Baby | Northern VA Baby Photographer

We specialize in professional baby pictures at our studios not far from Tysons Corner, VA. However, we know how challenging it can be, especially for a new mom, to find the time to exercise! Transitioning to your new role will likely mean some juggling of schedules, but it doesn’t have to mean giving up on fitness.

1. Exercise Apps & Streaming Services: Throw away those old Jane Fonda videos. Today’s mom can enjoy the ease and convenience of exercise apps and streaming services. There are fitness trackers, apps, and now streaming services to help you remain accountable, encourage you, and track everything from your calories to your weight.

2. Classes: Let’s face it. Sometimes it’s a lot more fun to exercise in a group. Plus, it gets you out of the house. Finding a mommy and baby class can make it much easier to exercise! A Washington Post article discusses fitness classes and ideas for moms looking to exercise with a baby in tow. Check out FIT4MOM, too.

3. Walking: It’s cheap (free, really) and it works with any schedule (meaning any time). It’s walking. Put baby in a stroller or jogging stroller, strap on your sneakers, and head out the door. If it’s too cold, you can head to your indoor mall. Tysons Galleria allows exercise walkers during regular business hours, but some malls open their doors earlier for walkers, although stores remain closed until regular opening hours.

4. Hit the Trails: We’re fortunate in Virginia to have lots of beautiful parks and trails. Grab a walking buddy and head to a stroller-friendly trail. And, as proponents of baby photography, grab your camera or smartphone and take some pictures while out on the trail!

5. Phone a Friend: Connect with other mothers and agree on a set day and time of the week to walk or exercise together. In good weather, head to a walking trail

6. Water Exercises: Do you have a pool or access to one? Here are some exercises you can do even with your baby or children around.

7. Home Exercises: You don’t have to head anywhere to get fit at home using your own body weight. There are plenty of ideas on the Internet offering easy to do exercises including baby. You can also check out the many YouTube videos and take advantage of baby’s naptime or evening hours to get fit. Oh, and don’t forget that cleaning your house can burn a lot of calories. Do a few squats and sit-ups as you go along!

Given the natural beauty of the Tysons Corner, VA area, don’t forget to grab your camera and take some memorable mom and baby pictures! You can even create an album that you’ll treasure together as your child grows!
 

 

Baby Photography, Baby Photographer, Baby Pictures

Ever After Baby Portraits is comprised of Mindy Belcher and Joriana Belcher Anderson, a mother-daughter baby photography team located in the Tysons Corner, VA area in Northern Virginia. We specialize in timeless and emotive fine art family portraits, including newborn and baby portraits. Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.

Best,
Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Ever After Baby Portraits

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Creative Ways to Share Children’s Photos with Grandparents | Northern VA Baby Photographer

Creative Ways to Share Children’s Photos with Grandparents | Northern VA Baby Photographer

Creative Ways to Share Children’s Photos with Grandparents | Northern VA Baby Photographer

How do you share baby pictures with family, especially grandparents? As McLean, VA area family photographers, we know that wanting to share photos and actually sharing them are two different things – with the former being easier than the latter! Social media aside, it’s easier and more creative than ever to share baby pictures of your children.

We, of course, encourage all families to have a professional family portrait done, one from which beautiful wall art and albums can be created. All of our wall art finishes are of museum quality and guaranteed for at least 150 years, and our albums are of the highest quality. However, if you have snapshots of your kids from years past, then you can use them to create memorable gifts online, especially for the grandparents.

Photo Calendar:
Spread the love throughout the year with a printed and customized photo calendar of your child. You can give one any time or as a gift. A photo calendar lets you assign one picture per month or create picture collages. You can create a photo calendar relatively easily online. Shutterfly and iPhoto offer two good options. In Shutterfly, you need to make an account, select a product (they offer many), and then upload pictures. To make an iPhoto calendar, you just open the program on your computer, click on File, and scroll down to Calendar, and select the photos you would like to use.

Photo Album:
You can create any imaginable style of album using your children’s or baby photography. You will need to account for both designing, production, and shipping time. Artifact Uprising offers some beautifully-crafted albums. Both Shutterfly and iPhoto also have customizable photo albums. For the creatively challenged among us, you can select from templates or auto-placement of your pictures. Shutterfly even lets you pay them to design your album. Our tip: Save your work as you go along rather than waiting until the end. You don’t want to lose any of it!

Ornaments:
You can give a pre-printed photo ornament or photo-insert ornament (usually less expensive). Pre-printed ornaments come in glass, aluminum, and other materials. Snapfish offers photos printed on glass, aluminum, and maple wood. Walmart offers pre-printed photo ornaments as well as ornament frames. If you prefer to make your ornament, here’s a tutorial.

Frames:
If you don’t have time to print and frame (or custom frame) a picture of your child, let someone else do all the work. Framebridge makes it possible with a few easy clicks. You just need to upload the image (or mail it in), select a size and frame, and voila!

Online Photo Sharing:
If rather than creating a product, you would prefer to share photos online with grandparents, there are plenty of options. Most start out for free with limited storage with the opportunity to upgrade for a fee. Dropbox, Flickr.com, and SmugMug are all well-known, reputable sites.

*Please note that we do not endorse any of these or other companies nor do we earn any royalties from other companies.

Again, we encourage you to schedule a family portrait session with us so we can create something truly wonderful for you, a portrait your family will cherish for generations.

If you found a wonderful way to share your children’s photos, please let us know! We’d love to learn about them. After almost two decades of shooting baby pictures in the McLean, VA area, we know how important these photos are to grandparents. The joy they bring is immeasurable!
 

 

Baby Photography, Baby Photographer, Baby Pictures

Ever After Baby Portraits is comprised of Mindy Belcher and Joriana Belcher Anderson, a mother-daughter baby photography team located near McLean, VA in Northern Virginia. We specialize in timeless and emotive fine art family portraits, including newborn and baby portraits. Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.

Best,
Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Ever After Baby Portraits

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Tips for Traveling With a New Baby | Northern VA Baby Photographer

Tips for Traveling With a New Baby | Northern VA Baby Photographer

Tips for Traveling With a New Baby | Northern VA Baby Photographer

Our treasured baby photography in the McLean, VA area means we have the opportunity to talk about babies! How delightful is that?! Today’s blog post focuses on tips for how to travel with a baby. Traveling with a child is never easy, but it’s not so daunting that you should stay home!

If you’re the parent of a newborn, you will probably want to avoid unnecessary travel the first several months of the baby’s life. Besides the heaps of items needed for traveling with a baby, there’s also the idea of exposure to icky germs. Most pediatricians recommend waiting about three months before you head out on your first big journey with your baby. When you do head out, here are some tips to make things go a little smoother. (The key is to anticipate, plan, and then pack accordingly!)

* Health summary: Put together a health summary of your child including names and phone numbers of health care providers, vaccinations, and medicines. (Whether you travel or not, it’s always a good idea to have this sort of information handy.)

* Medicines: Bring all medicines, as well as a list of the medications including dosages. Keep that list separate from the medicines, just in case. Be certain you have enough medicine to get through your vacation or be prepared to refill while on your trip. Always keep any medicine with you rather than in checked luggage.

* First aid kits: To avoid any middle-of-the-night trips to a 24-hour pharmacy in a strange city, bring a first aid kit filled with over-the-counter medicines and equipment a child might need such as pediatric cough syrup, nasal syringe, thermometer, pediatric Tylenol or Aleve, band aids, and such.

* Pack well: If you’re heading to the beach or plan on being outdoors in the sun quite a bit, pack accordingly and include hats and sunscreen for the entire family. Discuss with your pediatrician at what age you can safely apply sunscreen to children. Don’t forget snacks, formula, and any food favorites that are non-perishable. (We suggest bringing enough to get you through the first two days, after which you can shop locally.) Don’t forget to carry more snacks and diapers than you think you’ll need for a flight. A two-hour flight can turn into a five-hour journey with delays!

* Toys: It is important to keep the baby and young children entertained throughout the voyage, both for their sake and yours! We suggest packing several new toys to capture the baby’s or child’s interest. You can bring a few favorites, but be careful not to leave a favorite teddy bear behind! You might not get him back.

* Camera: Of course, as a children’s and newborn photographer, we’d tell you not to forget your camera or smartphone with a built-in camera and video!

With almost two decades of family, children’s and baby photography in the McLean, VA area, we look forward to hearing about your family vacation! We also look forward to capturing beautiful memories through our fine art baby photography.
 

 

Baby Photography, Baby Photographer

Ever After Baby Portraits is comprised of Mindy Belcher and Joriana Belcher Anderson, a mother-daughter baby photography team located near McLean, VA in Northern Virginia. We specialize in timeless and emotive fine art family portraits, including newborn and baby portraits. Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.

Best,
Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Ever After Baby Portraits

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6 Tips for New Moms Going Back to Work | Northern VA Baby Photographer

6 Tips for New Moms Going Back to Work | Northern VA Baby Photographer

6 Tips for New Moms Going Back to Work | Northern VA Baby Photographer

As an expert in baby photography in the McLean, VA area, Mindy understands the challenges of being a working mom. If you are planning on working outside the home, here are a few tips from her experience as well as a terrific article in Cloudmom.com:

1. Efficiency will be your best friend both at work, where you will want to get things done as efficiently as possible so you can get home, and at home where you want to spend time enjoying your baby when you return home at the end of your day. Prioritizing your work in either location will make life easier and smoother. Do what you can, when you can. Don’t sweat the small stuff and be realistic with your expectations. There isn’t such a thing as a Supermom!

2. You will probably be missing your child far more than she or he is missing you. Babies don’t have the same sense of time that we do. So, while you’re at work watching the clock (while trying to be efficient), they’re elsewhere being a baby and enjoying their day.

3. Practice patience. Be patient with everything, but especially yourself. It will take time to adjust to your new life back at work as a mother. You have to expect a few mistakes and lessons along the way. That’s okay. All moms have “been there, done that” at some point! Remember, again, there’s no such thing as a Supermom!

4. Practice acceptance. Not everything will work out as you planned (or hoped) – such as an unexpected work trip for you or your spouse. Just go with it. Learn to say no, and ask for help when needed. There’s a reason there’s the adage, “It takes a village to raise a child.”

5. Guilt: Feeling guilty for being at work doesn’t help you or your baby, especially if you need that paycheck or want to continue your pre-baby career. Put the guilt aside!

6. Lastly, the most important piece of advice we can offer you as newborn photography experts, and Mindy as a mother, is this: At the end of the day, nothing else matters but your baby and your family. Spend time with your baby when you arrive home. Everything else can wait. They’ll be leaving for college before you realize it!

If you’d like us to do your baby photography, including newborn photography, we would be happy to discuss our work. Our studio is located near the McLean, VA area, and we serve clients throughout the Northern Virginia area.
 

 

Baby Photography, Baby Photographer

Ever After Baby Portraits is comprised of Mindy Belcher and Joriana Belcher Anderson, a mother-daughter baby photography team located near McLean, VA in Northern Virginia. We specialize in timeless and emotive fine art family portraits, including newborn and baby portraits. Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.

Best,
Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Ever After Baby Portraits

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Photography Tips:  How to Capture Great Party Pictures of Your Children! | Northern VA Baby Photographer

Photography Tips: How to Capture Great Party Pictures of Your Children! | Northern VA Baby Photographer

Photography Tips: How to Capture Great Party Pictures of Your Children! | Northern VA Baby Photographer

Are you ready to take spectacular pictures at your child’s next party? As a long-time baby photographer in the Waterford, VA and South Riding, VA areas, we can offer you some tips to help. It’s not easy to photograph children – let alone ones in constant motion at a party!

For the best pictures, make sure you have a designated photographer. Their sole job at the party is to take pictures. Here are five tips to help you (or them) out:

Shoot on Auto:
Unless you’re an experienced photographer, set your digital camera to “auto” and shoot away. If you have photography experience, you can set your camera to “manual” and adjust as needed. We usually recommend “auto” unless you’ve had plenty of experience doing action shots among busy little bees (otherwise known as children on sugar)!

Event Photography Plan:
Think ahead of the type of shots you’ll want out of the party. Do you plan on framing any pictures? Creating an album? Knowing what you hope to accomplish with the pictures can help guide your shots. (If you’re concerned about taking pictures of young children without parental permission, you might want to give them an advance head’s up and make sure they’re comfortable with it.)

Angles and Perspectives:
A common mistake amateur photographers make is their angle of the shot. With pictures of kids, be sure to take some of your shots down at their height, at their eye level. As a newborn photographer, we have found that it’s important to think out of the box when it comes to the angle of your shots. You’ll want to shoot some pictures from low to high (lay down on the floor if you must and aim up toward the subject or subjects) and shoot others from high to low (stand safely on a chair or step ladder). Get creative in your angles!

Details Make the Shot:
The interest lies in the party’s details! Before your first guests arrive, take some shots of the cake, invitation (if it’s printed), decorations, presents, and even the guests arriving at the party. Don’t forget the special boy or girl!

Once the party is up and running, remember to zoom in and shoot some candid close-ups of the children having fun, eating, and interacting. Keep in mind that taking great candids means some level of anticipation as to what’s about to happen. You’ll need to be fast and nimble when shooting at a child’s party! However, if a child ever seems uncomfortable with being photographed, back off. There’s no need to insist on taking a picture of a child if they’re clearly not comfortable.

With a little practice, you’ll find yourself getting better and better when it comes to taking children’s pictures. As a baby photographer, we’ve improved greatly from our earliest days working here in the Waterford, VA and South Riding, VA area. We only have our determination, a lot of practice, and our clients to thank for our success!
 

 

Baby Photography, Baby Photographer

Ever After Baby Portraits is comprised of Mindy Belcher and Joriana Belcher Anderson, a mother-daughter baby photography team located near the Waterford, VA and South Riding, VA areas in Northern Virginia. We specialize in timeless and emotive fine art family portraits, including newborn and baby portraits. Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.

Best,
Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Ever After Baby Portraits

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