Baseball Boys
May 17, 2013
My utterly adorable nephews came for a short visit this afternoon and I got them in the studio for a photoshoot. Maybe I’m a little biased, but aren’t they the cutest little guys?
Thanks for taking a moment to visit Veralana Photography’s blog. I am a portrait and commercial photographer located in Northern Virginia. Here on the blog I share sneak peeks from my portrait sessions, modeling work, and nature photography. Check out my website for more samples of my portfolio. To receive new posts by email, subscribe to this blog. If you want to share one of my posts with your friends on Facebook, click on the little Facebook icon below each post.
Mission: Get Mom Back in the Picture… Success!
It has been a month since I started my personal challenge to make better choices about getting in shape. I spent the month of attending bootcamp 3x per week, taking more opportunities to run, bike and walk, and tracking my eating and activity on myfitnesspal.com, runkeeper.com, and my handy Fitbit pedometer. The change was prompted by the good fortune of winning a contest from CFC Fitness for a free month of their bootcamp and a subscription to diet4rewards food.
While I wasn’t able to keep 100% to the diet4rewards food plan, I did learn a lot from the plan, and was able to incorporate it into my monthly diet. I learned that it is possible to have real food meals in reasonable portions, and real, easy, healthy snacks not be hungry while losing weight. The plan basically cuts out excess carbs from the diet and keeps you eating real, unprocessed foods. I ate the D4R meals when I was eating at home, and then when I went out to eat with my family I tried to make good menu choices, like keeping to reasonable portions, cutting out unnecessary sauces and extras that add calories, and cutting down on my white grains.
Between adding exercise and changes in eating, I was able to eat three meals a day plus snacks (I didn’t even give up my occasional Oreos, and made it through an entire box of fudgecicles) and I lost 8 pounds. And not only did I lose some weight, I also am feeling much more fit, and happier in my clothes. I opted to sign up for another month of the bootcamp and have recruited some friends to join me. It’s hard work, but the group is great, and it is so worth it! The photo above was a quick self-portrait I took yesterday. I joined the local “Moms Run the Town” chapter at the encouragement of some of the girls in bootcamp.
I’m happy I was able to keep with my plan this month despite some challenges and obstacles, and meet my personal weight loss goal. Beyond that, I have made an impression on my girls about how mom can make time to take care of herself as well. The photo on the right shows part of my Mother’s Day gift from my daughter–a poem where she says mom is “outstanding at running.”
I have an exciting celebration planned in honor of meeting my goals–I have signed up to run in the Color Run this weekend at National Harbor. It looks like a blast, and I’m looking forward to showing my girls how much fun we all can have in the name of fitness.
Back Outside
May 10, 2013
It was so nice to be back outside for the first of my outdoor spring sessions. This was the third year I have worked with this sweet little girl, and now she is a busy 2-year-old. We couldn’t have asked for more gorgeous spring weather for the session, and she enjoyed exploring and playing as we worked hard to get some portraits.
And Big Sister-to-Be
May 7, 2013
It’s been a busy week for maternity sessions, which is exciting because is means that I have a lot of newborns to look forward to in the next couple of months! This adorable little girl is looking forward to meeting her little brother, and enjoying using mom’s belly as her canvas this morning.
Big Brother-to-be
May 6, 2013
It wasn’t too long ago that I was doing maternity shots for this little guy in his mom’s belly, and now he’s back at big brother to get ready for his new baby brother. He enjoyed helping me set up the studio this morning and loved exploring the props. I can’t wait to see him and his growing family again in a few weeks for their newborn session!
Pink Polka Dots and Pettiskirts
April 27, 2013
I just had to include this silly version of their family photo, since I think it exemplifies big sister’s personality. The sweet and energetic 2-year-old was the typical adorable toddler. Busy, busy, and no time to stop for photos. But with much patience, singing and silliness we did manage to get her to play along with the photoshoot. Aren’t she and her baby sister just gorgeous with that dark hair?