The Capture Sweet Moments Blog

Melissa’s birthday is November 7th and she thought that family photos at her home in Annapolis, Maryland, would be the perfect way to wrap up her birthday weekend and to celebrate herself and her family. And she felt overdue for family photos, not having had them done since sweet Holly (who is 20 months old) was born!

Megan and John have such a beautiful home on the water in Severna Park, that it’s no wonder they wanted to capture some memories there. This time in their lives was especially important to them to document, as they are looking at a potential relocation and they’ve raised their two sweet little girls in this home.

Heather and Marcus are living in a house with 10 animals. At least that’s what their daughter, Jessica said, since, in her words, humans are animals. Recently engaged, they are combining their families, each bringing three children into the home, a beautiful new home that they JUST moved into in Gambrills, Maryland. Lucky for me, that home backs up to woods that make the perfect backdrop for a fall family photo session.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year since sweet little James made his way into the world (about a month early, just like his older siblings had). It’s been such a privilege to watch this little guy grow. He is the youngest of five siblings in the Largen family, and from the time I did his newborn photos, after he arrived home from the NICU last year, I could tell he was adored.

This family holds an extra special place in my heart. I met Kandace at a mom’s night for moms of children who went to Budding Voices for speech therapy and other therapies. I felt an instant connection with Kandace and have been incredibly grateful that our friendship has continued to grow. Last year, I had the honor and privilege to both witness and document the birth of her second sweet little boy, Amos Lee. I was so happy when she asked to have her family photos documented again this October.

Bella and Natalie have grown so much, it was almost like looking at two completely different girls! But they clearly remembered me, as they shouted “Miss Brittany! Miss Brittany!” multiple times throughout our time together. In fact, Lizz told me that the first thing one of the girls said that morning, as they were rolling around in the bed, was “Do we get to see Miss Brittany today?”

That cool fall weather set in quickly here in Maryland, but no one was complaining on a sunny Sunday with a cool breeze as James William Largen was baptized by the Reverend Dr. Peter M. Antoci, at St. Thomas’ Episcopal Parish in Prince George’s County.

When Jennifer told me she wanted to do family photos on the beach during their stay in Bethany Beach, Delaware this June, I was ecstatic. She’s family, so I was already looking forward to spending some time at the beach with her and watching my boys play with their cousins, but being asked to capture her family photos on the beach was the icing on the cake. Beach photos at sunset, of this fun family of seven plus some grandparents, uncles and their cousins (my boys) thrown into a few was a fun adventure that we spread out over two evenings . . .

It’s been a minute . . . or a lot of minutes, maybe a few months even. 2020 has been a whirlwind, and COVID-19 delayed a few sessions and planned events for me. I’ve really missed being behind the camera to document other families. I don’t even know if I realized how much I missed it until I was documenting a sweet family again. (In case you missed it, Cole’s cake smash was my first session back!)

Father’s Day 2020 is just around the corner. This year has certainly put a strain on small and local businesses, and there are lots of ways to celebrate Dad and keep your dollars local. While people are starting to wander out into the world (hopefully cautiously), many businesses and entrepreneurs will be feeling the effects of the COVID19 pandemic for a long time. Who we buy from now will decide who’s standing later. When we are considering our gifts for those special dads in our lives, let’s think about the small businesses from Annapolis to Baltimore (and the surrounding cities) that we want to see stick around for years to come.