Love – 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!

Noah & Amber: Sandy Bottom Nature Park Wedding, Hampton VA

Covid weddings might make gatherings smaller in size but definitely not in joy, sweetness, fun, and the multitude of memories made! Noah & Amber were a last-minute addition to my 2020 wedding year (as in, they contacted me the day before their wedding!!!), and I adored their intimate gathering at Sandy Bottom Nature Park, last November. Their parents, siblings, and a few friends surrounded them for a sweet celebration at the park, with colorful leaves still blessing us with much bright scenery. Then we headed over to Vanguard Brewpub & Distillery for a fun reception dinner.

Noah & Amber were so kind, flexible, and just excited to be married! They made wandering the park fun, and they were one of my most laid-back couples… just happy to be together!!! I adored getting to capture their wedding day. Enjoy some of my favorites!!!!

The Father-Daughter and Mother-Son dances had us all tearing up!

Then we headed to the Vanguard (brewpub and distillery) in downtown Hampton for an intimate reception!!

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!

Favorite Wedding Moments of 2020

“God creates the beauty. My camera and I are witness.” (Mark Denman)

That is how I feel when I am doing wedding photography. I have yet to get over the immense joy and privilege it is to be so intimately involved in individuals’ wedding celebrations, just seeing how beautifully created they are and the joy that exudes from their togetherness. SO MANY times throughout wedding days, I find myself smiling from ear to ear, watching the perfect light illuminate such stunning people. As I rapid-fire shoot images, I am amazed at what I get to capture. What a privilege to do what I do!

While covid brought many changes and postponed dates to the wedding world last year, I was still able to have the privilege of working with Dani White Photography throughout 2020, and second shooting a handful of weddings for her! Spending those days alongside her was such a joy and help to me as a person and a photographer. I grew in confidence and excitement to be in the industry, and renewed thankfulness of what it means to use our gifts to serve clients with excellence!

Below are a few of my favorite photos I captured on wedding days throughout 2020. I hope the beauty within them makes you smile as it has me!

David & Gwen: Pemberton Park Engagement Session

WOOOOHOOOOO, these two are such a delight to me! Gwen found me through the Instagram grapevine, and I was so thrilled to learn she was a Salisbury University connection!! (For those who don’t know my story and the time I spent with SU students, see this post!) Gwen & David are getting married next October and our engagement session last month at Pemberton Park in Salisbury, Maryland, sealed the deal for me in how fun that wedding is going to be.

These two met back in High School when Gwen was semi-tricked into going to a Youth Group event, where she had been promised she would be able to blend with the crowd… Only to show up to a “crowd” of four: Gwen, her friend, David, and his friend! Their journey began there, and friendship changed to dating, and now they eagerly await their wedding in the fall of 2021!! The comfortability and ease they have with one another made our photo session SUPER easy. I love how quick they are to make one another laugh, how gently they care for each other, and how you can tell they have great depth with one another AND fun, around the clock. I can’t wait for October and how sweet it will be to be with them as they celebrate becoming husband and wife!

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!!