Meet the Clients – The Larosa Family

How did you hear about me: I was presented a gift certificate for a newborn/family photo session with R.David Photography from my best friend Jennifer at my baby shower.  I thought it was such a neat gift and after my session last Friday, I now know why…the photos turned out stunning.

What is your job and/or favorite hobby:  I work with the TV Show “America’s Most Wanted” and hear the worst of the worst stories.  But once in a while positive things happen too…so it makes it a very rewarding job.  I’ve assisted the host, John Walsh for over 11 years…he is one great man and thankfully giving me some time off to raise my new son, Dean.

Do you have a favorite charity or public service organization you would like me to link to? And tell me why you support it?  My favorite non-profit is the non-profit that my boss John Walsh and his wife, Reve co-founded after the abduction and murder of their 6-year old son Adam…The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (www.ncmec.org).  NCMEC is a 501C3 charity with an A+ rating…they do amazing work for children and their families.

Describe an average day in your life:  Hmmmm….an average day in my life….that has changed dramatically since the birth of my son on February 6.  It use to be get up and go to work and see what the day brought my way….sometimes normal office work, other days in the studio getting a show done, and finally the best days walking the halls of Congress with my boss to get some legislation passed for victim’s, children and their families…no one does it like John Walsh…he is the man when it comes to making things happen.

BUT for the past month….my days and nights have merged together and all that is important is feeding, changing and loving my new little man, Dean.  Oh and let’s not forget feeding, walking and playing with my puppy, COLE (an 18 month old black lab).   I am surrounded by all boys in my house and wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Tell me what you hope your portraits will mean to you in 20 years: In 20 plus years from now I will look back on my portraits of Dean, Cole, Derrick (my husband) and myself and probably cry.   I know…no matter how great we treat Cole (my puppy) he won’t be around in 20 years and I already am freaking out about that.  He was my first love and after watching “Marley and Me” I am not looking forward to the end.  As for my Dean…I will show all his friends how cute he was and remember his cute sounds, baby breath and how many times he has pee peed on me and Derrick (and guests).  As for my husband and I….I will think…time for botox and ohhhhhh I remember those days! In all honesty I look forward to the future and hope and pray it brings health and happiness for my family and friends.

This little guy… what can I say?! Isn’t he gorgeous!? Just like his mom. I photographed him as a newborn, and the best part of this job is getting to photograph kids as they grow up. Mom wanted to document the special relationship that they have with her parents, so we took a stroll through the Battlefield for some special portraits for her birthday treat!
Here is a preview of our session – SO great to see you guys!!

So, most of you probably already know that I have been working for about a year on the planning stages for Flashes of Hope at DC National Children’s Medical Center. We are finally looking at getting started. Sponsors are in place, the hospital meeting took place last week, and we are finalizing the details to do our first in-hospital shoot within the next month or so. In the meantime, the email inquiries from the website have started coming in. This family needed photos done soon, and so rather than waiting for the first FoH hospital date, Frankie and I went to their home and did a session in the living room. It was a reminder that behind all the prep, and the fundraising, and planning, and meetings, it’s really just about the children and their families. This is what we can do as photographers to give back. If you are a photographer considering this kind of work – please do it. Is it hard? Yes. Is it too hard? No… it’s not nearly as hard as what these families are going through, and its such a real and relevant way to use our work to give back. And there is a lot of joy and happiness in it, too! We still get smiles and laughs and talk about favorite sports and bands and actors and singers. If you know of a family who would benefit from the gift of pro bono photography, please email me. It’s a gift to be able to do this.

I love this! I loved that this family was up for the snow, I loved that they were up for climbing the building-sized snow-plowed drifts that were blocking our access to the location, I loved that they didn’t mind traipsing knee-deep through snow for an hour to get the shots we wanted. This session was proof-positive that winter sessions in hats and coats can be just as great as summer sessions in sundresses and bare feet.
Here is a quick preview – the gallery will be done soon!






Last frame – just for fun!!

What a great newborn session! This little guy was almost 5 weeks old – but born early, so his due date was only this week. This made for photos of a very small baby with VERY wide eyes and real eye contact. I love that! Throw in a couple of  wonderfully laid back parents and their happy little grinning pug dog, and they were just a joy to work with. Of course, I had to take a moment to get over my jealousy of the fact that they live RIGHT by Eastern Market!!! Just kidding, of course – but I could live vicariously in that neighborhood and be very very happy.  At any rate, here is a preview of our session – thanks for a great day!
RD

What a great newborn session! This little one was so peaceful – no crying, no fussing. OK, maybe once when we undressed her – but she was an angel. Also loved that they brought their Mastiff in for a photo op! What a great juxtaposition – that great big dog and teeny little baby girl. Loved it! Thanks for a great session, Mom and Dad! Gallery is coming soon.

RD

So I have had to split my fall minis into multiple sessions – but actually, I am liking doing them two at a time. And yesterday I had the first two of the fall promo minisessions. Both repeat/awesome clients. Zero stress, awesome kids, awesome parents. The best!
If you are interested in booking a holiday minisession, email me at rdavid@rdavidphotography.com. $300 includes 30 minutes of shooting, all post-processing, and one full-res file with reproduction release. This is the perfect way to get a session and full res file for your holiday cards at a deeply discounted price.

Enjoy the preview!

One of the benefits (okay, likely the ONLY benefit) to the days getting shorter is that I find myself being able to shoot at an earlier hour. Not having to wait until 7pm for nice light does open up the schedule a bit, I must admit.

This session went like clockwork, and the girls were just amazingly well-behaved. Mom and Dad, here is your preview!
Full gallery is in the works.

This would be the first session this season where I would say I actually felt like it was fall.  A little nip in the air, an absolutely ADORABLE baby girl in tights and a sweater dress… I actually started feeling a bit of excitement about the changing seasons (and I have a hard time saying goodbye to summer!) So, as I prepare to switch modes into “full-on fall 09″, I have a little preview of the session that kicked off the season – enjoy!!

This session was fun for me, because it was a location that I have not previously used for a portrait session. Beautiful DC military base and patriotic clothing, on the client’s wedding reception site! A location that they wanted to revisit with their adorable triplets. Here is a preview of the session… the kids were so good! I hope they had a great time at the playground when we were done!!
Thanks for a fun morning, friends.