Family – Debbie Dean Photography

Graves Family + Maternity Session: Ft. Monroe Beach

WOOOOHOOOO, baby #2 is comin so soon for these wonderful friends!!!! We recently met at Ft. Monroe Beach in Hampton to snag some photos as they prepare to welcome their second son this summer. It truly feels like yesterday I was taking maternity photos featuring little Matthias himself!!! How quickly life goes. That is one of the many reasons I LOVE being a wedding and portrait photographer… the images you capture for families help them look back and remember life as the days speed on. I love providing ways for friends like Brandon & Krystal to recall when Matthias was their only baby, trying to grab Momma’s earrings and loving Daddy’s shoulders!

Enjoy these snapshots and soak up your loved ones today, friends!!!

My favorite shot from the whole session. Momma and her babies!

Smith Family: Ft. Story Beach, Family Session

The beach, these beauties, and braving boisterously cold temps… These are who shower the blog today! I loved my time on Ft. Story military base with the Smiths, and they were such troopers in the 40 degree wind chill! Their images leave me smiling and thankful for the beautiful people I get to capture!

Hoping to snag some family photos like theirs? I still have spots left for my May Minis on Saturday, May 1st at Ft. Monroe in Hampton VA! Twenty minutes, $89 ($50 to reserve your spot). Sign up here!

Day Family: Hampton Homestead

As we hit the one year anniversary this week of covid descending on our nation and changing all our lives in various ways, I have been thankful as I reflect on the people God knit around me in my life as a single lady, so that even in the changes and ebb and flow of covid isolation, I have not felt alone! The Days fill me up and hold a special place in my heart as wonderful, dear friends from my church who have the most crazily wonderful growing herd. Their family has been built through foster and adoption, with eight kids and counting, ranging from 1.5 to 22 years old. Katie & Steve are people I want to be like, embracing dreams and pressing into the hard by God’s strength, going after good works that display His beauty and love to others. I have loved watching how covid has brought GOOD on their homestead, as they’ve done immense work to their property and their familial relationships, and also brought others of us in, throughout covid, in safe ways, to be blessed by their land and animals and food. Enjoy some of my favorite images of their wonderful crew, including some extended family as well!

Baby Nae had just turned one at the time of our session last November… isn’t she the cutest???

The Day crew: Steve & Katie with 7 of their 8 kiddos!

Missick Family: City Center, Newport News VA

Last night, I got to meet and hold the little newborn man who is one of the stars in today’s photoshoot… how fast time goes!! (Though for preggo Mamas, I know things can often seen slooowwww… that was Sen during this session, just eager and waiting for baby Judah to get outta her belly!) This family is one that makes me thankful for life, laughter, rawness, and being real a humans and Christians. They teach me so much about the power of prayer and the power of a good meal (preferably Puerto Rican cuisine!!). I loved capturing their growing crew last month and am so thankful that I don’t only call them clients but dear friends. 🙂 Enjoy a few of my favorite images from our holiday-y shoot in Newport News, VA!

Milstead Family: Hermitage Garden & Museum

Have you ever gotten to a location near where you live and wondered how in the world you had never ventured there before??? That’s how I felt pulling into Hermitage Museum & Garden last weekend. I could have shot there for HOURS!!!!! Next year, I will definitely be scheduling a day of mini-sessions around the gardens!!!

The Milstead posse was a fun bunch to capture. Our time together held the normal 5-year-old boy rebellion and one-year-old escaping shoes, but that’s real life, is it not??? And we still got some wonderful photos of Heather, Ryan, and their three beauties. See some of my favorites below!!! And let me know if you want to schedule a session at Hermitage — my time with the Milsteads couldn’t even capture all the venue had to offer!!

Will & Beth: Norfolk,VA, Family Session

Oh. My. Lanta. How I love these photos and these THREE people!!! Beth is a sister from my church who I have walked through life with more closely these last two years. She is one of the kindest people I know, so full of compassion and sincere care for others. Her husband Will is also a man of character, hardworking and genuine, so eager to serve others. Walking with Beth through her pregnancy has only amplified how much I see this couple’s trust in God, awareness of His grace, and declaration of how much we all need Him. I am so eager to see how God will continue revealing Himself to them and through them as little baby boy Palmer enters the world in February 2021!! We had a great time waltzing around downtown Norfolk a few Saturdays ago… enjoy a few highlight shots of our time together!!

Braga Family: Sandbridge VA Beach Session

Virginia continues to give us a run for our money with a mixture of fall and summer weather, and I ain’t complainin’!!! Families are still enjoying the beaches of Hampton Roads to get in some long-weekend vacations, and when Jasmine hit me up saying she and her little crew would be near me this October, I was so excited to capture them along the shores of Sandbridge Beach in Virginia Beach! To top it off… the day we chose was Jasmine and Lucas’s wedding anniversary!!! I loved grabbing a few of just the two of them as well during our shoot.

As beach goers wind-down, my pumpkin patch / autumn colors city attire / fall leaf galore sessions are coming in hot!! Stay tuned for upcoming posts. And enjoy the Braga beach beauties below!!

Cummings Family: Ft. Monroe Beach Session

Don’t leave us yet, summer!!!! I love sessions like this one with Marcell, Hillary, and Max at Ft Monroe in Hampton. You might recognize this crew from last November. We had such a fun time keeping Max out of the fields of Cullipher Farm in Chesapeake, we wanted the other challenge of keeping him from plunging in the water and slipping on the rocks around Ft. Monroe! 😉 I was so pleased with the images we captured, and I hope you enjoy them too!!

Fox Family: Sandbridge, VA, Beach Family Session

Fall is almost here but I’m holding on to beach time as long as Virginia weather allows!!! One family that keeps me enjoying the sand every August is a crew I grew up with in Northern Virginia, the Foxes! They have been coming to vacation in the Sandbridge area of Virginia Beach the last few years, and I have gotten to capture their growing clan one evening during their weeklong stay. This year’s shoot was its normal mixture of chaotic fun… I hope you enjoy a few of my favorite shots and get yourself out for some Vitamin D before autumn temps come our way!! Happy Friday!

Eric & Sharon: Gloucester Wedding

Anyone else miss the pre-covid wedding days? Celebrating with friends and family, sans face coverings and social distancing? While I know our current circumstances and the various regulations upon us are limits we all just have to accept as reality for right now, I still peruse weddings I shot in 2019 with such awe and glee, seeing mask-less faces and guests cozied up next to one another! I pray we get to be there again soon. Until then, enjoy some highlights from a wedding I shot back in May of 2019 for a dear couple from my church, Hampton Roads Fellowship! Watching their little blended family (Sharon & MJ, Eric & Cameron) become one surrounded by our HRF family was such a relaxed, joyful celebration!

(Note: I’m still shooting weddings in this season, maneuvering covid restrictions and seeking to bless couples as they deal with these crazy times! Message debbiedeanphotography@gmail.com to get wedding packages and booking details!)