Lifestyle Cake Smash in Washington, DC

Today I’m sharing all about this lifestyle cake smash session in Washington DC!

I get inquiries sometimes for cake smash sessions and I love when the family chooses to do the session at their home. I photographed this little guy when he was a brand new little newborn and I was so excited to see the family again and to see how big he got!

Related:

Cupcake Smash Cake Session

1 Year Photos at Home

We started out with some portraits and I couldn’t resist those little diaper shots before getting him dressed! I wanted to highlight the busyness of being a curious toddler that likes to climb and explore. He played with some toys and then we got some images with mom and dad.

This session was so fun because not only did his parents have the idea for the cake smash, they also cooked him an amazing steak!

He is such a good eater and I loved documenting such a cute little breakfast and celebration!

Did you know that cake smash sessions don’t have to be super elaborate and you don’t need a million decorations!

This was perfect. We had the family at home, we focused on the child turning 1 and the family and we also got his cake smash and some cute high chair decorations!

Does your baby have a one year birthday coming up? Please send me a message to chat about how to document such a big milestone!

Brookside Gardens - Family Session

Today on the blog I’m sharing photos of this beautiful session at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton Maryland.

Brookside Gardens is such a great place to bring your family, go for a walk, and check out the beautiful scenery. Brookside is part of the bigger Wheaton Regional Park, and if you’ve been you know it’s a huge place!

I’ve met up with friends here, gone on walks, and even checked out the Dahlia Show! I’ve been to the gardens several times and each time I find a new thing to love about the gardens. It also serves as a beautiful venue for weddings and other celebrations.

Related:
Family Session at Brookside Gardens

We had this photo session during the fall season. Fall is such a wonderful time to schedule a family session at Brookside. Look at the beautiful foliage!

There are several areas that are a little “hidden” away from the more popular areas and that’s one of the reasons I love having sessions here.

Can we talk about how cute this family is? Young toddlers are so much fun to photograph! You can tell this little one has so much fun with her mom & dad and loves to explore!

I think one of my favorite things about this session was photographing the sweet family connection and documenting her curiousity.

There is so much to appreciate with lifestyle photography and having unique photos with your family.

Learn more about scheduling a family session here.

Old Town Alexandria Session | Northern Virginia Family Photographers

Hello hello! Sharing a few images from this family session from this past fall!

The fall season in the DC area is so beautiful. I love having options for choosing the best outdoor location for family sessions - this can include not only Washington DC, but also Maryland and Northern Virginia!

Related Blog Posts:
Family Session at Green Spring Gardens
Old Town Alexandria Family Session

One area I love offering outdoor family sessions during the fall is Old Town Alexandria! Old Town is in Northern Virginia, really just over the bridge from DC. I’ve had quite a few family sessions in Alexandria, Virginia including this family and this family.

Old Town Alexandria is such a great location for family sessions. There are beautiful homes, greenery, landscaping, a cobblestone path, and even the water! There is also a beautiful colorful mural that I’ve used a few times!

There is enough variety in Old Town Alexandria to include for walking family photos, capturing family connection, and beautiful colors.

Have you ever thought about scheduling family photos in the Northern Virginia area? Send me a message to learn more about how to get your family session scheduled!

4 Ways to Get Natural Expressions from Kids

Hello hello! Thank you for being here! If you’re new here - welcome!

I’m Tabitha and I am a lifestyle family and newborn photographer in the Washington DC area. I offer sessions in DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia!

Sessions with Tabitha Maegan Photography are laid back, child led, and full of movement and emotion. I want you to have a gallery of special images that represents your family! We can play some games, cuddle, and document your family.

We don’t want to spend the session forcing unnatural expressions from kids and adults - because we know no one likes that! I’ve found that it’s better to anticipate that kids want to move a little bit, and they will likely have better and more natural expressions when engaging with family members.

Here are a few ways to get natural expressions from kids at your Washington DC family session:

1. Let them follow prompts with their ideas.

   Here, I wanted to capture the siblings and I talked a little bit with the kids through my camera and then asked them to hug each other. I love their expressions, especially the one of brother and sister hugging!

2. Parents you all can step away for a few minutes!

   I have a little one and know it can be work to earn trust from a kid! I like to sing songs, ask questions, and make silly sounds to get the children to relax. I’ve found that when the kids are comfortable with me, it’s easier to get natural expressions.

   When the kids need a break for a couple of minutes, I continue taking photos. I love the image below of the little girl and her curly hair! I don’t think we would have gotten that collection of images if we had been forcing the little one to look at the camera and smile!

3. Engage with your kids and try to pretend I’m not there

   Typically once we get portraits of the kids they tend to relax and it’s easier to get images of family connection. Some ideas that will keep your child engaged with you can include - telling them a story, singing a song, and tickles!

4. go with the flow and let go of expectations

   Being a lifestyle family photographer to me means not forcing stiff poses and not making kids pretend they are happy when they are not! I like documenting this stage of life, meaning your child’s interests, silly faces, games, and bringing out your child’s personality. Portraits are important, photos matter. Even if your daughter is running around and her curly hair is covering her face. Or when your little one has a tiny bit if dirt on their pants but it means they had fun running around their session! There are so many ways during your lifestyle family session to get the photos that you will ultimately love. I’m looking forward to photographing your next family session!

   Are there any other tips you would include that would help get natural expressions from kids? Let me know!

Send me a message for my availability for scheduling a lifestyle family session!

1st Birthday at Home Photos

One of the best things about being a lifestyle Newborn and family photographer is being able to document milestones. All. of. the. milestones.

Let’s start with maternity sessions which helps to show off that glow as you are getting ready to welcome your baby. Then there’s fresh 48 sessions which take place at your baby’s place of birth so that you have photos from those first few hours with your fresh new baby because let’s be real, do we really remember anything within those first hours? We also have lifestyle newborn photography within the first few weeks to months of your baby being born so that you have photos of your sweet nursery you spent time, on, those adorable outfits that you had to have, and all of the sleeps, cuddle, and feeding sessions. After those newborn photos there are also those milestones such as your baby’s 6 months when they start sitting on their own. Or how about the crawling as they explore the world? And then there’s the big ONE!!

I photographed this little guy shortly after he was born and did lifestyle newborn photos. Fast forward to a year later the family reached out to me to document his first birthday! The family had a big celebration in their backyard with several friends and family. I felt so lucky to document a small window of such an exciting event!

The family decided to do a cupcake smash away from the party to keep it a little more intimate. While the guests were enjoying the party inside, we stepped outside of the family’s home and had these sweet moments.

It was such a fun way to wrap up the first birthday celebration and I am excited to do more of these!

I don’t do much event photography but since this was around an hour or so of documentary style, it was right up my alley. And of course the cake smash!

Are you interested in documenting an upcoming birthday for your little one? Send me a message!

1 Year Birthday Celebration at Home

Believe me when I say one of the best compliments is when I get an email from a family I’ve worked with before saying they want to schedule family photos again!

I worked with this family when their little girl was a fresh little newborn. We did the lifestyle Newborn photos at their home and included the family’s dog too! I was so excited when the family reached out about family photos to celebrate her first birthday!

We did this one year birthday photo session at the family’s lakehouse which was a very special place for this family.

We were able to include several areas that are special to the family such as the backyard, the lake, the pool, and even playing with the grandparents and the family dog again!

Do you have any places that are special to your family? Please send me a message to schedule a family session and let’s talk about the best place to do your lifestyle family session!

Related blog posts:

• One Year Milestone Session at home

Schedule your in home family session!

In Home Holiday Family Photos

I am so excited to share photos from this sweet lifestyle holiday family photo shoot! Have you ever thought about doing in home holiday family photos? Keep reading all about this session!

This was my second time working with this family. For this particulate session the family wanted to do something a little different than last year’s session. This year the family decided to do Christmas jammies in addition to the formal outfits they picked out for the first part of the session! Don’t get me wrong the family looked BEAUTIFUL all dressed up but I’m really here to share the photos from this part of the session!

When I was younger we did some holiday celebrations but I don’t have photos of matching jammies (was that even a thing back in the 80’s?) or sitting on Santa’s lap, or any of those things so it’s really important that I take a LOT of pictures of my family & daughter along with being able to do this for families I work with each year. It’s so nice to document special holiday activities during in home sessions!

Little guy showed off some of his favorite toys, guessed what was inside the presents, and topped the session with drinking hot chocolate! I think the whipped cream was actually his favorite part!

Some other ideas that come to mind for an in home holiday photo session include activities such as, playing games, baking cookies, playing outside, and making holiday art.

Have you thought about scheduling an in home holiday photo session? Please send me a message!

Northern Virginia Family Photography | Green Spring Gardens

I want to start off this blog post showing gratitude for all of you that trust me to photograph your family! It’s such a honor to give families the gift of family photography because photos really do matter. A LOT!

This was my first time photographing this beautiful family of three. We had the session at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, Virginia.

Neither the family nor I had actually been to Green Spring Gardens before this session! The family was looking for something within the Alexandria area and this location came to mind!

They do require a permit but it is very reasonable and means I can do even more sessions at Green Spring Gardens! Most of my sessions are within the Maryland and DC areas and I am always up for the adventure working with families in Northern Virginia.

Related blog posts:

Family of Three - National Cathedral in Washington, DC

Family Session - Old Town, Alexandria

I am so happy with how the gallery came out for this lifestyle family session. One thing you’ll notice about my lifestyle family photography is that I move around a lot to get interesting and unique perspectives when photographing families. The session usually lasts around 45 minutes which often is enough time to get a full gallery of lifestyle family photos. I’ll prompt and guide some interaction to get genuine expressions from family members.

Keep scrolling to see a snapshot of some of the images you’ll receive in your family gallery when you book a session with Tabitha Maegan Photography!

Family of Three | National Cathedral in Washington DC

Does anyone else think this age is so fun?? This family reached out to me about scheduling family photos with their daughter. Upon getting to know the family I learned she is around the same age as my daughter and I was so excited about that!

One of the things the family shared about their daughter was her excitement and joy and exploring new things.

We picked this location at the National Cathedral in Washington DC because mom & dad spent a lot of time here and wanted to have some photos of this special place!

If I had to use a word to summarize this session I would say curious and loving (I know that’s two words ha!).

I’m so grateful for families that trust me to photograph their family and document parenthood.

Related Blog Posts:

Playful Family Session at the National Cathedral

Send me a message to schedule your own family photos!

3 reasons to schedule family photos at home

Outdoor Family Session at Home | Maryland Family Photography

Have you ever been interested in an at home session? I absolutely love them! I get to do in home sessions most often during Lifestyle Newborn sessions, however, it’s not as often that I do in home sessions for family sessions with older children.

This blog post will give you a few reasons to convince you that your home is perfect for a family session!

Here are reasons why you should schedule a session at your home:

1. you don’t have to pack up the kids, snacks, etc!

   If you have small kids you totally know how long it can take to lay out all the clothes, make sure the kids have recently eaten and had potty breaks. Amiright? Save your self some time and schedule a family photo session at your home, outside!

   When you have a session at home all you have to do is walk outside and find the beauty of your front yard, backyard, side of your house, foliage, sidewalks, the list goes on and on!

2. kids tend to be more comfortable in a familiar setting

   When working with young children, we know they can often be a little bit unpredictable. Children are likely to be more comfortable in an area that is familiar to them.

   You probably already have a lot of memories playing outside of your home or in the yard and that will make it easier to get your kids to relax during the session!

3. you will see your home with a new perspective!

   I’m just as guilty of not thinking there is “anything special” about different corners or small areas in our front yard or backyard until I actually have my camera and lens in hand.

   When I am photographing your family, there is intention behind the image and the story and keeping certain elements in or excluding them. One of the things I love about outdoor family sessions at home is showing you a new perspective!

Click the link below to schedule your family session!

Family Activities for In Home Sessions

I absolutely love in home sessions. There are several benefits to in home sessions and I’ll save the reasons why for another blog post - but - they’re amazing and sometimes you can’t do all of these goodies during outdoor sessions!

Keep reading if you want to learn about different activities you can do during your in home family session!

Dance

You read that right - dance! Put on a little music, or sing if you have to - it’s a fun way to bring the sillies out of both the parents and the kids!

*Party Freeze Dance song is currently stuck in my head. Ha!

read

A lot of the time young children have preferred books and this is such a fun way to document this young stage of life by reading one, or two, or three of your kids favorite (short) books!

complete a puzzle

This is another activity that will help tell your family’s story by freezing this moment of time with the little one!

snuggle on the bed

At some point of your family session it is highly likely I will ask most if not all family members to snuggle on the bed! It always connects the family and there are so many unique perspectives to show connection!

movement

This will of course depend on your child’s age but I do know many toddlers enjoy movement.

This can mean airplane, tickles, chase, gonna get you, or really anything to get the little one to squeal, laugh, and move!

favorite toys

I don’t know what we would have done if we decided that the little guy couldn’t play with cars during the family’s newborn session. Afterall this is an in home session and we want to include home elements! I loved all of the photos with the different activities little guy and his dad with the cars!

include a pet

I will admit that we have two cats and it’s very rare that they participate when we have family photos at home. I love when families ask if the cat/dog/other family pet can participate. Of course!

caregiving

Here’s another activity you might not think of when you think of family activities. Caregiving is one of those things that tells a story - diaper changing, changing stained clothes, handwashing, toothbrushing. They are more documentary-ish but I love those types of activities none the less.

play outside

Most in home sessions are scheduled for late morning but if the weather cooperates, going outside is a nice way to wrap up the session. Whether you want to play a sport, run around, or play with the equipment & toys, it’s a nice way to get some energy out!

Is there another activity you’d like to include during your in home family session? Let me know and I can’t wait to photograph you!

Fall Family Session at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton Maryland

One of the best compliments of being a Washington DC family photographer is having families come back to me each year! I met this mama in a local mom’s group and we’ve stayed in contact through the infant, baby and toddler years! I was lucky to photograph baby girl for her newborn session, 1 year photos, and these beautiful fall photos.

Related Blog Posts:
Maternity Session at Brookside Gardens
Frequently Asked Questions about Newborn Sessions

The fall in Washington DC is so beautiful. I’m from Atlanta and moved here in 2019 and I learned quickly how beautiful it is here! I don’t know if it’s just where I lived in Atlanta, but I don’t think we get the range of these fall colors as we do here.

This relaxed and playful family photo session was at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton Maryland.

I’ve had a few sessions at Brookside and it’s an amazing place. They have the fall foliage as you can see here, a rose garden, and they even have cherry blossoms in the spring! Brookside also has a really great trail that is part of Wheaton Regional Park and it’s great for walking.

All this talk about Brookside makes me want to put on my walking (or running if I’m feeling up for it) shoes and enjoy nature!

Are you in the process of looking for a family photographer to capture natural images of your family?

Family Photos in Old Town Alexandria

Do you want to know one of the most fun parts of my job as a Washington DC Newborn & Family Photographer? Getting to see how big the family has grown since the last session! I photographed this family for the first time for an in home newborn session and they came back to celebrate 6 months with this little one!

We changed up the location and had the family session in Old Town Alexandria. Old Town Alexandria is filled with several amazing locations, cobblestone, texture, trees, beautiful homes, and water. We found some fun areas that made the perfect backdrop for these family photos.

Related Blog Posts:

Family Session of 3 - Old Town Alexandria

In Home DC Newborn Photography

Scroll to the bottom to get a peek at some photos from the family’s newborn session!

Are you expecting or have you just had a baby? Send me a message to learn more about scheduling a lifestyle newborn session.

Colorful Family Photos in Blagden Alley DC

I was contacted by this family because they were traveling into DC from out of state and they wanted to book a family session. I’m so happy they reached out to me and had a vision for this family session at Blagden Alley in DC!

There are so many spots for family photos at Blagden Alley. I love the brick walls, the murals and the urban feel to the photos. The kids didn’t take long at all to warm up. It’s so fun getting to know families and engaging with them to make families more comfortable in front of the camera. I will admit I too need a little bit of prompting and guidance to be comfortable in front of the camera.

When you book a lifestyle family session, the goal is to capture your family in a natural way. The session will NOT be spent getting everyone to look at the camera for all of the photos because that can get a little boring and it’s not unique to your family.

As your DC family photographer, I will help pose and guide your family to play and have fun. If you’re comfortable and happy with your family, you will love the photos in your gallery because you will look relaxed and happy in the photos. That’s the great thing about lifestyle family photography!

Do you have any questions about booking your lifestyle family session?

Send me a message to learn more!

Playful Family Session in Washington DC

Here I am sharing another blog post from a session I absolutely LOVED!

This playful family’s session was at the Bishop’s Garden at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC.

We started off with family portraits (9 times out of 10 I will ask you to pick up your children for these), moved around to get moments of connection, portraits of the children, mom and dad, and parents with the kids.

I’m a lifestyle family photographer and what I know time and time again, children want to play!

I want you to absolutely love your photos from your session and I know you will when we let high expectations go and let children play.

What I love about lifestyle family sessions is that they are relaxed and I tend to follow your child’s lead as much as possible.

At the beginning of the family session I focus on getting the “safe” shots of everyone looking at the camera and portraits of the children. Those two poses to be the hardest to get towards the end of the session if the kids lose interest so I try to get those within the first few minutes. These two girls were so much fun and they had a lot of energy and seemed to want to just play with each other and with mom and dad. The best part is that they didn’t seem to get bored of getting their photos taken!

Related Blog Posts:

• Spring family session Bethesda Maryland

• Maternity family session National Cathedral Washington DC

Have you already scheduled family photos this year? If not, send me an email or fill out my contact form and let’s chat if we will be a good fit to work together!

In Home Newborn Session | Bethesda Newborn Photographers

This family contacted me to photograph their now family of four. Mom shared that she hadn’t gotten newborn photos taken of this little guy and I was so excited to spotlight both him and big sister! Just because you book a newborn session doesn’t mean the photos will only be taken of your newborn - newborn sessions include all family members.

I’m a lifestyle photographer and I strive at capturing moments of connection instead of perfection.

When you think of your newborn session what comes to mind?

I want you to feel an emotion when you see photos of your family. I want you to see a picture of you holding your newborn and know what it feels like to have their weight on you.

I want you to see a photo holding your child into the air playing airplane and feel the emotion of that face to face interaction with your child. I want you to see a photo of your family and feel an emotion of happiness and closeness.

Your family might be playful or maybe your family is instead calm and intimate. Your photos might be super colorful or they might be neutral tones.

Whatever you choose, I want that to be captured in your family photos.

Have you thought about scheduling a newborn session? Please send me a message!

Old Town Alexandria Family Session | Colorful Family Portraits

On the blog today I am talking all about this family of three photo session I had in Old Town Alexandria!

We played, snuggled, walked around, and explored a few different areas in Old Town Alexandria. Old Town is full of beautiful row houses, cobblestone roads, alleyways, spring flowers, and beautiful murals! This was a beautiful morning and I’m so happy to have met this family. They picked the perfect spot!

What do you think about Old Town? It’s super cute right???

Send me a message if you’d like to schedule your own family photos! I offer on location sessions in Bethesda, Silver Spring, DC, Arlington, and Alexandria to name a few.

Family of Four Spring Photos in Bethesda Maryland

Do you want to know one thing that will excite a small business owner? Referrals!!! This was my first time photographing this family and they were sent to me from another small business owner and I am so so appreciative of both.

I was kept busy by the boys at this family session and I think because of their energy we got some really amazing images that really show the family’s connection and dynamics and that’s always what I want to capture when I am photographing a family. I know when families come to me, they want genuine connection and laid back sessions. And look what kinds of images we create together!

When was the last time your family was photographed? I think at the very least your family deserves family photos once a year. Send me a message if you have any questions about booking your next family session!

Family Maternity Session at the National Cathedral

I am a little behind on the blog but I wanted to take some time today to share with you some images from this sweet family maternity session at the National Cathedral in DC. I love shooting at the National Cathedral because it’s beautiful and there’s several areas that are perfect for your family photo session.

We started off in the backyard and then moved our way to the Bishop’s Garden. The Bishop’s Garden includes beautiful blooms, architecture, and a Koi pond.

You couldn’t really tell it was a little bit of chilly day in the DC area. I think this family’s gallery is beautiful!

Check out other blog posts from the National Cathedral:

Choosing a Family Photographer

One Year Milestone Session at the National Cathedral

It was so nice to document this family before baby brother arrives. Did you know that all of your family members can be included at your maternity session? Of course they can!

Send me a message to schedule your maternity and newborn sessions!

One Year Milestone Session at Home | DC Family Photography

Babies grow so fast and it’s really important to have a way to slow down time!

This family reached out to me because they had family in town to celebrate their daughter’s first birthday and wanted to get updated family photos.

This one year milestone session combined my love for in home family photos and including all family members, even grandparents!

The little girl had just woken up from nap and I captured some really sweet moments with her mama, then with dada, and then moved onto the family’s bedroom to get a variety of images and locations. We ended in the living room when we had the entire family together and both sets of grandparents.

Lifestyle family sessions will always be laid back, capturing connection, snuggles, and emotion.

Not only do I focus on family members I like to take individual portraits of each child.

In home sessions are really special because the session takes place in the family’s natural environment and children in particular seem to be really comfortable at home. I love to include items that are special to a family as well.

Have you considered taking family photos at home? Send me a message! I’d love to photograph special moments of your family.