photography by danie » babies

Cousins! {Bethesda, MD family photographer)

Danie — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 00:15:47 +0000

First it was pink-eye. Then last minute changes in her husband’s schedule. One thing and another, it took us a year and a half to finally get together — and it turned out to be a “cousins” shoot! Her sister and her three kids were in town, so we wrangled 6 kids, from 9 to 3 mos., and came away with a terrific mix of posed (yes, all 6 kids looking at the camera!) and more my style lifestyle images. Plus a few that were just plain fun!

One of my favorites — trying to get Mommy and her two boys and baby — when who should appear but the adorable 4 year old cousin!

The expression on Baby’s face in this next picture makes me smile every time I see it!

We finished our session with some good ol’ dancing fun (for the kids who are old enough to dance, anyway). This was some version of ring-around-the-rosie. Or inspired by…or something….

Terrific way to spend a morning — so glad to meet you, K family!

All the best,
- Danie Smallwood

When photographers babysit {Bethesda, MD child photography}

Danie — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 18:54:59 +0000

Forget about a nanny cam. Hire a photographer to babysit and read their blog a few weeks later, and you’ll get to see it all.

This is my best friend’s little girl. We were playing a very rousing game called “No, silly little one, don’t crawl off the couch!” It went something like this.

Me: “Okay, baby girl, you sit right here on the couch…”
I grab my camera and back a couple steps away from the couch, madly trying to focus in rather low light.
Baby girl: laughing hysterically, diving for the edge of the couch
Me: throwing camera to the side, grabbing baby girl. “No, silly little one, that’s not that game! You don’t crawl off the couch while I’m trying to take your picture. Okay, let’s try again. You sit right here on the couch….”

It was a little exhausting, actually (and don’t worry, she was never close to falling off!!!!), but so worth it. These are actually the pictures from round two, where I discovered that she’d hold more still with a bottle. It’s all about trying to be more clever than the almost-one-year-old!

More to come, but I just love this storyboard soooooo much! (It’s meant to be printed pretty large, so the pictures aren’t really less than an inch in size!

- Danie

Bath time! {Silver Spring, MD Family and Lifestyle Photography}

Danie — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 23:38:41 +0000

Over the winter and early Spring, I was doing a lot more in-home, day-in-the-life lifestyle sessions; and I’ve ended up with several series’ of bath shots! Little babies and toddlers in the bath tub are just about the epitome of cuteness and childhood innocence, and these were no exception.

Day in the life sessions are the perfect combination of the beauty of portraits, but the personality of a lifestyle session.

Nothing like a cool bath to stave off the heat in this weather!

- Danie Smallwood, Silver Spring, MD child and lifestyle photographer

One year old twins! {Silver Spring, MD baby photographer}

Danie — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 22:22:05 +0000

Although the “K” family has already seen their gallery, I’ve been so remiss in blogging recently that I wanted to share just a couple pictures from our time together. This was my first time photographing twins, and we were not operating under the best possible circumstances — BUT I am absolutely crazy about this first picture of baby M (who is nearly toddler M — working so hard to learn to walk!). M was so easy-going, and makes great eye contact with the camera, making my job so easy!

His big sister (a few minutes older ) C was a bit trickier. She’s on the move and very, very busy, just as a 1 year should be! Still, it took a little longer, and a lot of patience, to get a nice series of shots of her.

(Her foot isn’t really cut off in that middle picture; just didn’t quite fit in the space of the collage properly!)

Most importantly, feedback from the parents was that I captured the personality and expressions that they associate with their children. Whew! That is, after all, precisely what I set out to do!

Thank you “K” family for being patient — I can’t wait to catch these guys again as they are growing up!

Wall Displays | Silver Spring, MD baby photography

Danie — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 21:10:07 +0000

When I’m shooting for a client, I’m looking to create images that you will still want to showcase years from now — whether they are engagement photos you still love after 10 years of marriage, or photos of your baby learning to crawl that you still love as that “baby” drives away in his or her first car. If you’ve never worked with a custom photographer, however, you may still believe that an 8×10 is a huge print.

8x10s are a beautiful size print for a gift or to display on your desk, but if you’re looking to make an impact, you may be shocked to see just how small it really is up on a wall by itself. Prepare yourself — here it is!

In contrast, this next view shows the greater impact a large print can have. Still nothing wild, featuring a 20×24 image in the center, with a 3″ mat and 1.5″ frame; with a framed 8×10 and a 5×7 on either side.

Of course, smaller prints may feel more versatile (and more comfortable, since that’s what we’re used to), and together as a collection, they can still make a crazy impact. But that’s for a later post — stay tuned!

- Danie Smallwood, Bethesda, MD family photography

The “B” Family {Silver Spring, MD Baby Photography}

Danie — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 03:03:33 +0000

Meet baby boy “L”, who was so excited he woke up extra early the day of our shoot, and was ready for a nap by the time I arrived. Still, this little guy rallied, and both indoors and out, was game for trying fun new things, like crawling around with no diaper, and braving the chilly high-40s temperatures in a tee-shirt! We didn’t dawdle, but I just LOVE what we got! Here are a few of my favorites.

Little “L” had given me almost 45 minutes at this point (why are all my favorite images from the end of the session recently?), and he was pretty tired.

So, we stripped him down and turned a reluctant baby boy subject into an enthusiastic baby model!

Still, when you’re THAT tired, naptime is just around the corner. While “L” attempted to appropriate Mommy’s favorite necklace, we wrapped things up.

It was wonderful meeting you guys this weekend, B family! And a special surprise — your gallery will be up later this week! Raising a glass to running way ahead of schedule; to caffeine; and to hyper-efficiency.

- Danie, Bethesda, MD photographer

C-Fam Sneak Peek | Bethesda, MD Family Photographer

Danie — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 04:46:07 +0000

One of my husband’s good high school friends sent us a message on Facebook the other day — they were going to be here over the holidays with their 9 month old baby, and did we have time to see them? (Of course!) And while they were here, we even found time to do some family photos. So while I wasn’t going to work over the holiday, sometimes we all have to admit our obsessions, and apparently I just cannot let an opportunity pass. Here’s your “sneak peek”, C-fam! Hope to see you again soon!

– Danie Smallwood, Bethesda, MD Family photography!

Day 8: Outtakes | Bethesda, MD Family and Engagement Photographer

Danie — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 20:42:38 +0000

One of the reasons to choose custom photography is that you know there’s no rush! There is plenty of time for the kids to be kids — or adults to be adults, for that matter (yep, there’s time for Blackberry checks, too ).

So to start off the second week of my 9-day year-in-review, here’s a little peek at some of the outtakes from the past year. I wish there were more — unfortunately, about a month ago, I was running out of harddrive space, so I deleted all the files that “didn’t make it”. Or most of them, anyway. Rather than fish them out of backup disks, I decided to go with what I had, with a note to self to save a few from each session in the future!

First we have this adorable little girl, demonstrating over in Glen Echo Park that balance should not be taken for granted (over on the left, she’d just missed the curb!). Food breaks can, shall we say, make or break a shoot. So can sibling rivalries, lol. Here are a couple outtakes that I’m fairly certain even the parents haven’t seen!

These kids were total troopers during a pretty long morning. Left, my little helper (she wanted to carry the diaper bag, but we thought the Nikon lens case looked a little sleeker…and was a bit smaller!). Right, taking a little time out!I actually have PLENTY of outtakes of pictures with my own kids, but these were some of my favorites — the outtakes that remind me of my real kids. Left, my little Goofy, who had accompanied me on a photo shoot (for the last time); right, my daughter, about 7 months, checking out her socks rather than looking at the camera (the sock obsession has, in fact, turned into a shoe obsession); bottom right, same daughter refuses to let her brother have any privacy in the bathroom at school. You’ve seen these two here before, but here are two of my favorite pictures from our Engagement Session in Washington, DC — left, I’m getting the “Okay, I’m about to propose, you’re ready, right?” look; right, the “Yes! She said yes!” look. This couple has so much personality!Around a year, it gets a little tricky to get kids to sit still. I think the picture bottom-right, on attempt number 10 at least to get a mommy-son portrait, says it all. Bottom left was perhaps the true outtake of the session — definitely not what you want to see as you arrive at the Jefferson Memorial (well, the Tidal Basin in general)! Luckily I found a few locations where the construction wasn’t visible at all! Happy Christmas week! (If you’re just tuning in to the blog, you might not yet have picked up that I love the Christmas season!)

- Danie Smallwood, Washington DC Engagement and Family photographer

Day 6: Siblings | Cabin John, MD Photographer

Danie — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 08:00:52 +0000

I know how precious sibling photos can be — precious not only for their sentimentality, but also in scarcity! I can only say that, where sibling photos are concerned, the old adage “The cobbler’s sons have no shoes” rules. Oh sure, I have candid shots, mostly taken with my phone, but wall-quality portraits? Naw. A good sibling photo (where young children are concerned!) is hard fought for, and usually requires a tremendous amount of patience (or possibly luck) on the part of the photographer. When said photographer is doubling as mother, patience can be in short supply! Luckily, I have managed that elusive shot for many clients this year — here are a few favorites!

Crazy how close Christmas is! With the nice coating of snow on the ground here in the Washington DC metro, it’s certainly feeling a lot like Christmas. We even have our very own, approxiamtely 1 foot high, “Frosty the Snowman” [attempt] in our backyard! Stay tuned for winter snow pictures (probably coming in January ), and more immediately, tomorrow’s Day 7 post, where I post pictures that don’t include people!

- Danie Smallwood, Bethesda, MD Family Photography

Day 5: Fathers and their little ones | Bethesda, MD Family Photographer

Danie — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 08:46:55 +0000

As a stay-at-home mom, I am almost never away from my kids (thank God for my photography work!). Now that winter has come and my kids, who used to happily stay up until 10pm, now insist on going to bed around 7pm, I’m especially sensitive about how important their limited time with Daddy really is. Of course, in some families, it’s Mom time that is especially hard-won, but for most of my friends (and clients — not mutually exclusive categories!), the Daddy-child pictures are the ones I can’t tear my eyes from.

I had a really hard time narrowing down the pictures for this blog entry (I had about 30 pictures picked out originally), but these five just really cried out to me. I mean, look at the expressions on the faces of the Dads in the two bottom pictures! And yep, over there on the right, in the middle, is my own little Goosie, with her Daddy, who went through all kinds of trouble (and traffic) to get to the park that afternoon on her 1st birthday!

What’s also fun looking back at these (and other) pictures is remembering each of the fathers — from the “we took the picture, so now we’re done, right?” to the “Did you get one of us doing [this]?”, I think the fathers are the most unpredictable element in my little “family photography” world! (And I shoot a lot of toddlers!)

- Danie Smallwood, Bethesda, Cabin John, Glen Echo, Potomac, Chevy Chase MD photographer