Hello all!

For the past few years, I've been participating in the Shoot & Share contest and I have loved every minute of it! Every year hundreds of thousands of images are submitted and ANYONE is allowed to vote. If you want to see my 2017 results, you can see them here. 

This past year I placed even higher than I did the year before and I'm so excited to show you which ones placed the highest. Here are the highest placing images that I submitted: 

TOP 30%

11. This little girls mom has always loved strawberries, so I wanted to make sure that they were prominently featured in her newborn session. Out of 29,560 images in this category, this portrait placed at 7,177th:

10. This is my youngest girl. We went over to a photographer friends studio to play. Flower bonnets were apparently not her favorite thing, but I loved how this portrait of her turned out! Out of 28,425 images in this category, this portrait placed at 7,737th:

9. I have had the honor of photographing this family a few times and every time is always an adventure. This little man wanted nothing to with portraits until I told him about my magical chair that I use for kids. As soon as he sat on it, he was perfectly happy to pose for me...and never wanted to get out of the chair! Out of 28,425 images in this category, this portrait placed at 7,618th:

TOP 20%

8. Photographing this cutie was as easy as I could ever hope for. She was so smiley and gave me great eye contact! Unfortunately, I only get to see her once or twice a year, because this was taken in Minnesota, but these portraits of her never fail to put a smile on my face. Out of 28,425 images in this category, this portrait placed at 5,585th:

7. If you follow me at all, you know this cutie. She is one of my very favorite clients, not only because she's so good in front of the camera but also because she is also one of the strongest little girls I know. She is a pediatric stroke survivor, but it doesn't slow her down! Out of 29,560 images in this category, this portrait placed at 4,713th:

6. When I saw the eyelashes on this sweet boy (along with his sisters lashes), I knew that I wanted to capture portraits of them. Keeping the image black and white highlighted how beautiful and long those lashes really are. Out of 28,425 images in this category, this portrait placed at 3,181st:

5. Here is another of the little warriors that I've worked with over the years. Born at just 24 weeks, he was a micro-preemie and spent 242 days in the NICU. He's now a big healthy 2 year old with a smile that would brighten up anyone's day! Out of 28,425 images in this category, this portrait placed at 4,402nd:

4. This was from one of my absolute favorite family sessions from 2017 at Morven Park in Leesburg. Photographing another photographers family is always intimidating, but they were such a blast and did SO well in front of the camera! Their mama has given them plenty of practice over the years and this was one of my favorite portraits! Out of 26,963 images in this category, this portrait placed at 2,756th:

TOP 10%

3. Ever since the moment that I saw this cutie's gorgeous red curls, I knew that I had to get her in front of my camera. The combination of that beautiful light and her amazing hair at Claude Moore Park was absolute perfection! Out of 35,570 images in this category, this portrait placed at 1,927th:

2. Going to Great Country Farms is always a treat for my family. I had just gotten a new lens and wanted to play with it, so I brought along my camera. I sat outside of the chicken coop and this little guy just walked right up to me and stared. I don't know if he wanted food or was just curious about me, but this image gives me a little chuckle every time that I see it. Out of 14,436 images in this category, this portrait placed at 1,114th:

FINALIST!!!

1. This is my own little preemie graduate. If you're interested in reading about our NICU journey, you can start here. We went over to a fellow photographer friends house to photograph her and play. She was already 7 weeks old in this picture, but since she was 6 weeks early, she should have been only 1 week old. After being born at 4lbs 12oz, I was overjoyed to be able to capture those beautiful backrolls. Out of 29,560 images in this category, this portrait placed at 507th!!

I'm so excited that I am ALL IN for the contest this year (which means that I have submitted the maximum number of photos allowed, which is 50). I have picked my favorite 50 images from recent sessions and I cannot wait to see how they do! I'll let you know when voting opens so that you can go look at some amazing portraits!