Expecting – 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!

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!

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!!

Lydia: Newport News Newborn Session

One of the weirdest things about this covid-19 season is the number of maternity photo sessions I had booked that had to be cancelled… and then became newborn sessions!! It is so odd to go from seeing preggo women at church who are busting as the bellies, and then time passes and the next thing you know, you’re cuddling their two month old in between photo poses!!

Lara & Alberto were one such couple, who’s little girl Lydia entered the world at the beginning of June, and it was such a joy to get to capture their little family before they moved to the west coast with the Air Force. She’s so squishy and wonderful… I hope you all enjoy these images of her cuteness!!!

A Swing Through 2019

Hello, friends! Happy 2020! Having time this month to slow down, regroup, and pray & plan for 2020 has been so refreshing. (Aside from the week I spent nursing my sick younger sister (a freshman at CNU) back to health from a virus, only to catch some kind of the bug myself and be out of commission for a week. Ah well, tis the season.)

As I look back over 2019, I am so humbled by the faces that fill folder after folder on my harddrive, from engagements, families, expecting parents, and more. As I posted on Instagram recently, 2019 was a year where love for the camera and really truly learning people, serving people, and enjoying people with photography came back to life for me. Selecting a slew of photos to share in this post was so hard because I wanted to use them all!!!! My smile kept growing as I put this selection together. Y’all have been such a joy to work with. I am beyond thankful!!!! I want this business to be a vehicle where people feel the love of God and know the value they hold as His creatures. While I have dreams and goals for Debbie Dean Photography in 2020, I pray that stays primary in all the work I do. Y’all are beautiful, unique, and emulate joy in your own ways. I love the gift it is to capture y’all. Instead of planning today, I’ll just continue scrolling through highlights of 2019, thankful to God for you all and humbled that I get to work with so many different image bearers of our great God!!!

Cloud Family: The Historic Cavalier Hotel

For years I have driven past the Cavalier in Virginia Beach and marveled at its beauty. When Beth (a CNU alumni friend) suggested it as their location for our family session last month, I was thrilled to get to see the grounds and enjoy some of the historic hotel’s grandeur! We gallivanted around (Baby Shark stuffed animal in hand to keep their little Jack’s attention!!) and I loved the images we captured! Enjoy some of my favorites!!!

Norfolk Maternity Shoot: Brandon & Krystal

This summer and fall have been busy seasons for pregnancies and baby arrivals within my church, Hampton Roads Fellowship! (Though to be honest, there’s somethin in the water at HRF and the children just keep multiplying!) But between babysitting gigs and photoshoots, my heart overflows from all these bundles of joy!!

A way our church encourages personal care and accountability is through small discipleship groups, where we intentionally, purposefully walk through life with a few brothers (for guys) or a few sisters (for girls) during a designated period of time (usually 3-4 months). Krystal and I formed a discipleship group last fall with another sister from HRF, and I loved our early Sunday mornings together in Panera Bread (my favorite restaurant ever!!!). We walked through highs and lows of life during that season, going through Scripture and praying, crying, and laughing much each week.

I still remember the morning Krystal told us she was expecting! So much anticipation and prayers had lead up to her sharing the news, and it was a surreal, sweet gift to watch her belly grow in the months that followed, even after our formal discipleship group time ended. She has continued to be a dear friend who blesses my life richly — she and her husband Brandon are faithful, encouraging church members to do life alongside. They were such a relaxing pair to do maternity photos for last month. Their baby boy, Matthias, has since arrived and he is one of the most healthy, handsome little gentlemen residing in Norfolk these days!!! Hopefully he will be gracing this blog in the coming months. 😉 Enjoy some of my favorites from our time around the Pagoda & Oriental Garden in Norfolk, VA!

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Alan & Ginny – Spring Pregnancy Shoot

I am so so SO excited about this post. You have NO idea! Haha, I am so in love with this couple. Ohh my oh my. Ginny & Alan Tung are on Cru staff in the Tidewater region of VA, and serve as our head staff at CNU. Ever since I started Cru my freshman year (2009), this darling duo has been there for the students and has helped lead the ministry to what it is today. Ginny has been my discipler (mentor) these past three years, and WHAT a gift from God she has been to me! She is a consistent speaker of Truth in my life and is one of the most patient, gentle, adorable, compassionate women I know! Alan is my buddy in photography, is incredibly intelligent, and faithfully loves the Lord and Ginny.

I still remember the day that Ginny told me they were expecting. It was during the fall last year, and our Cru weekly meeting had just wrapped up. She pulled me aside and with a big smile on her face said she had something to tell me. The minute the words were out of her mouth, I KNEW it had to be baby-news. I squealed and started to cry. Yeeeeppp, tears of joy, my friends! Ginny told me they were expecting a baby in June, and I kept laughing and crying and smiling and hugging her. She just laughed at me and beamed. I had been praying that Ginny and Alan would have a baby before I graduated in 2013, and by golly my dream was gonna come true!

Last Friday I sat through two hours of traffic on I-64E coming from Newport News but when I finally reached Ginny and Alan in Norfolk, it was all worth it! We had a great evening shooting around Norfolk, and then enjoyed a late dinner at a delicious Greek restaurant. It was a wonderful night!

Ginny and Alan, I can’t wait to meet little Ella Mae this summer!!! She’s going to be beautiful. Can’t wait for her newborn shoot!!! Love you all. Enjoy my favorites from our fun time!