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Elizabeth City NC Family Photographer | Dail Family

sheenamariebean — Sun, 18 May 2014 16:48:01 +0000

Location, location, location!! It’s true about real estate, and it’s true about photography. You can have all the right pieces to make a great photo session, but without a good location, things will just fall short. In the past, I have relied on props (chairs, benches, whatevas….) to help style photo shoots, but in the last year or so, I have really been trying to get away from prop-heavy and stylized sessions and focus more on classic and timeless family photography. I have found that without the crutch of props, it takes a lot more intentional planning on where to shoot sessions. Not to say that a simple grassy field isn’t nice, but spots like this, with the river and trees, with beautiful white fences and crisp magenta roses…..well, it just really made my photographer heart soar when I met this family at their location of choice and was greeted by an embarrassingly abundance of natural beauty. Add to that, a really awesome family with suburb personalities; well, it was a wonderful evening!

Spring 2014 Mini Session {DeHart}

sheenamariebean — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 17:14:33 +0000

Mini Session #3, the DeHart family. If I had to describe these guys in 3 words, they’d be genuine, joyful, and lovey. Made my heart happy to see

so much love in one family. Good stuff, that’s all there is to say about that. Enjoy!

Spring 2014 Mini Sessions {Royce Family}

sheenamariebean — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 17:56:24 +0000

Mini Sessions Take Two: The Royce Family

Gideon Spence {A Newborn Lifestyle Session}

sheenamariebean — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 15:36:13 +0000

In the past, when I have shot newborn sessions, I usually arrive with an array of items. Blankets, wooden boxes, headbands, random sized and shaped containers perfectly suited to hold a teeny little human; these are the items that make up most newborn sessions, and, honestly, I’ve gotten kinda sick of carrying the stuff around. It makes for cute pictures, of course, but lately I have really been wanting to approach my newborn sessions with a more organic documentary feel.

This amazing family has shown up on the blog before, and I am sure you will be seeing them again. I have watched this great crew grow from one son, then to two, and now to three, and Im so excited to see how this precious family continues to laugh, love, and go a little bit looney as these three brothers get older. I have so much love and admiration for this family and am so thankful that they are in our lives. I have known Daddy Dave since we were in high school and I am so blessed by knowing this family. I hope that this intimate in-home session gives a glimpse into what makes this family as wonderful as they are and that it captures the quickly fleeting wonder of life with a newborn.

Elizabeth City Family Photographer {The Janz Family}

sheenamariebean — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 18:38:53 +0000

I love meeting new clients, and this awesome family was so easy to enjoy! Their adorable blonde girlies were as easy to shoot as can be, especially their amazing posable two year old! I’ve shot A LOT of two year olds over the years, but Miss A takes the cake by a long shot. She was incredible. If I ever need a two year old model, I know just who to call! I’m so excited for the Janz family to be welcoming their third daughter this summer <3

Eastern North Carolina Photographer {Families: Feeney}

sheenamariebean — Tue, 05 Nov 2013 01:20:07 +0000

I’ll never forget the first time I had a “stranger session.” I was living in Hawaii and a girl who lived in my neighborhood had seen me shooting pictures for another family and asked me to do a session for her. I was so nervous. Like, hyperventilation, rapid pulse, sweaty palm nervous. All I could think about was “will they like me,” and “what will be talk about,” and “what if they hate the pictures.” That was about 6 years ago. I’ve come a long way since then, but I still feel an added pressure when doing a session for a new client to be on my game.

When Roxanne called me and told me about her 4 children, two of which, you will see, are 6 month old twins, I started getting excited. I have this thing for shooting large families and I knew that the age dynamic in this crew would make things challenging, but I love a challenge. Mister T and Miss M were absolutely perfect to work with. At 7 and 5 years old, they are in that golden age window where they are super childlike and spontaneous, but still able to follow directions, do specific poses, ect.

Baby A and her sister E, with their big blue eyes, stole my heart from the second I met them! These amazing miracle babies were born at 29 weeks gestation and have come a long way in the last 6 months. While they haven’t quite caught up to the normal 6 month old milestones, but did a great job smiling for the camera, looking into the lens and being perfectly happy smiley girls. I loved seeing how big bro and big sis were so attentive and helpful to the little ladies. I bet that Roxanne and David enjoy having that extra help!

I’m sure it will be a treat to you as much as it was to me to meet this awesome family. The kids were so wonderfully well behaved and their classic styling is as good as it gets. A BIG HUGE thank you to the Feeney family for allowing me to spend the evening with you guys!

Eastern North Carolina Photographer {Children: Banyan}

sheenamariebean — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 17:15:48 +0000

I wanted to share this pictures with you guys because it’s a great example of what a mini session is like. I shot this little collection in a 7 minute window this morning after dropping Noa off at school. Granted, sometimes it’s hard to get this many keepers in that short of a time, but in this case, it worked great. If a full on photo session isn’t in the budget, don’t be afraid to ask about booking a mini session. Mini’s run at $100.00 and last for about 30 minutes or until I get 15+ keepers, whichever comes first. If you just want updated pictures of the kids or a photo for your annual Christmas card, a mini session is a great way to get pictures without the time or financial constraint.

Twice per year, in the spring and fall, I do my “official” styled/thematic Mini Sessions. This fall, they are on November 9th and I am so excited about the “back-to-school” set and the retro Christmas set that I’m going to be using. Mini sessions usually book up super fast and this fall was no different. Spring session will be here before you know it, though, and I am working on something super special.

Anyhow, here are some pictures from this mornings little mini shoot with Mr. Banyan. Being 3 years old, his attention span for pictures is pretty short anyways, so a mini session works perfectly to get shots of him. I took Banyan for a haircut yesterday evening, because his mullet style was getting a little out of control. Banyan used to HATE HATE HATE haircuts, but my sweet friend Alyson took him last time he needed one and ever since, he has been a total peach….go figure. Noa, after seeing his little bro’s transformation had this comment to make, “Mommy! Banyan is so stylin’ now! He is, like, REALLY handsome.”

Are you sick of seeing this alley way yet?

He looks so much like his daddy here. When we found out we were having a boy we decided that his middle name should be Arvin,after his paternal great-grandpa. As things would go, our middle child got his daddys and great-grandaddys blues eyes <3

Eastern North Carolina Photographer {Children: Ben, Isabel, and Charlotte}

sheenamariebean — Fri, 27 Sep 2013 19:15:28 +0000

It’s funny how things tend to go in cycles when it comes to photography locations. I feel like I was shooting in fields all summer, but now it’s fall and so many people have been asking me to do their sessions downtown. Although there are many things that I wish Elizabeth City had more of, as far as photography locations are concerned, I am thankful that we have a cute historical downtown area that is very photogenic. For this session, we went for a little walk around a few blocks and found no shortage of great little spots to take advantage of. Ben and Isabel, the older children, are cousins and are only three days apart in age! They are definitely cut from the same cloth, because they were both giggly, excited, silly little gooses who kept me on my toes the whole time. Baby Charlotte, on the other hand was a complete angel the whole time and and happily stayed close to mamma to watch her older compadres act like monkeys. This is the 4th time I have had the blessing to shoot this gorgeous family and I am so thankful and appreciative of return clients who trust me to capture their precious moments again and again.

Miss Charlotte was in baby dream land when they arrived for our session. I had to get a few shots of her sweet sleepy self <3

Eastern North Carolina Photographer {Families: The Whipples a.k.a. coolwhipfam}

sheenamariebean — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 23:58:27 +0000

I love shooting on-location. While there are many benefits to having a studio (lighting control, no weather dependency, easy access to props), I love the challenge of showing up to a new location, figuring out the best place to shoot, and working with the lighting. It may be a bit more difficult, but the payoff is so worth it. Every time I get to test out a new location, I start envisioning all the things I could do with the situation at hand. New environments mean new inspiration and it keeps things from getting repetitive. I have shot well over 100 family session in last 4 years, but just the simple fact that I get to use new locations makes each session seem like a new experience.

For this session, the incredible Whipple family brought me to their family plot of land that has been theirs for generations. A gorgeous tract of riverfront acreage with sweeping river views and stately pine trees make this location another favorite I will have to add to my file.

Our family met this awesome group in a total “God” way, and they have fast become some of our nearest and dearest. In short, my mom called us one evening and said, “You guys have to meet this family I just met at church! They are missionaries with dreams of sharing Christ’s love on a sailboat. Here’s their number!” It was one of those times where Austin and I just looked at each other and laughed at the absurdity of the whole thing. After getting over the awkward fact that we were just going to be calling up total strangers and asking them to dinner, we dialed their number, and the rest is history.

Over the last 9 months we have gotten to know this crazy awesome family, we have been so blessed by their encouragement, friendship, and heart for God. As we spend time dreaming, praying, and planning together, I feel so confident that their dreams and our own will someday and somehow collide and I can’t wait to see how God orchestrates our futures!

I try to avoid being on this side of the camera, but i’d be amiss if i didn’t take the chance to get a shot with this amazing mamma.

In case you couldn’t tell, they really love each other. Like, a lot.

“Happy Day Hands!!”

This is what happens when you tell a toddler that Dora lives in the camera lens.

Eastern North Carolina Photographer {Teens: Moriah}

sheenamariebean — Sun, 08 Sep 2013 15:28:08 +0000

Since I already took the time to talk about my sweet subject in the previous post, I wanted to use this one to, of course, show you more pictures of Moriah, but also to talk about my approach to teen/senior sessions. The majority of photo sessions I shoot are family sessions. Probably because I have young children, and because most of my friends are in the same stage of family life as I am, most of my clients are young families. Every so often, though, I get a chance to do an adult/teen/senior session and I really do enjoy them so much. Part of it, for sure, is just being able to have a subject who can follow directions, sit still, ect, but I also really love the relationship and conversations I get to have when shooting older clients.

We did this session in the downtown section of Elizabeth City. Living in a small town definitely has it’s perks, but one of the downfalls is that it can be hard to find new locations that haven’t been overused by every other photographer in town. While going for a walk with the kids last week I happened upon a little alley that, upon further exploration, turned out to be a little hidden gem. The setting sun just pours into it and I will definitely be using this spot again. Besides all the poison ivy that we had to watch out for, it was a great place to shoot. I also noticed last week that some builders had torn down a building and exposed this fun mint colored brick wall. I filed it away in my “locations” folder and was glad that we were able to get some shots by it before it gets repainted or covered up.

I shot this session, as I do most of my outdoor sessions, in the hour or so before sunset. Photographers (and maybe other people too) call this the “Golden Hour.” It really is the best time to shoot pictures and I try to emphasize that to my clients when planning for a photo shoot. While it’s definitely not impossible to shoot at other times, the evening light just has a way of bringing out colors and textures that you can’t get at other times of the day; if you are thinking about scheduling a photo session soon, keep this in mind, because it can be the difference between “ho-hum” and “incredible.”

The many faces of Moriah <3

As a general rule, I don’t hand my camera to clients at the end of a session and let them snap away. Hey, rules are meant to be broken. Thanks for this special shot, Moriah! You rock!

Eastern North Carolina Photographer {Just Because Session: Moriah} !!Sneak Peek!!

sheenamariebean — Sat, 07 Sep 2013 01:14:00 +0000

How do I even begin to explain how much I love and admire this incredible teenager. Anyone who comes into contact with her will first be smitten by her illuminating smile. After being bowled over by her infectious personality and her energizing laugh, you would probably be captured by her caring and genuine spirit. As if that wasn’t enough, this girl loves Jesus with all her heart. She is smart, funny, spontaneous, and doesn’t take herself too seriously at all. If you can’t tell by now, I absolutely and completely adore this gorgeous young woman.

The first time I met Moriah, she was this teeny little skinny kid running around our church’s elementary wing and giving these amazing hugs to all the little toddlers who followed her around. She just has this way with people….babies, toddlers, kids, her peers, adults….it doesn’t matter. Everyone. Loves. Her. That includes me. And my kids. Yep.

So, about 2+ years ago, Moriah asked me to do a photo session with her. Maybe I asked her. I don’t remember. The point is, we have been meaning to do this for a really long time. For whatever reason, it just never worked out. I have to say, though, I’m glad it didn’t work out sooner, because tonight was just meant to be. The weather was amazing. The little downtown was buzzing with activity. She looked adorable. It really was photographic perfection.

This is just a sneak peek, because there were way too many pictures to choose from. I’m going to work on editing through them tomorrow, because the rest of them are just as fantastic as these ones. This girl doesn’t take a bad shot. Nope.

Moriah, I love you, girl!

I don’t usually process my images very heavily. At least I don’t think I do. This one, though, I had some fun with. It just felt good.

The Bean Family Chronicles {A Morning Walk, or Keeping It Real}

sheenamariebean — Fri, 23 Aug 2013 15:44:07 +0000

Phew! This morning was rough. I subtitled this post, “Keeping It Real” because I was going to post about how much I enjoy our morning walks (and i’ll get to that), but instead of starting there, I’m just going to say that we went on a walk this morning because we all needed to get out of the house asap. Between the thrown bowl of cereal, the fighting over yesterdays birthday presents, the dog pee on the floor, and the baby pulling all the trash out of the bathroom, some fresh air was all but a necessity.

I did a post a couple weeks ago about how much our family enjoys sailing together, and someone commented that it looks like i’m a “perfect” mom. I cringed reading that, and it even grieved me a bit, because it’s so far from the truth and I have tried to be intentional when it comes to internet stuff to not paint a overly rosy picture of our family and our lives. The truth is, life with 3 young kids is anything but perfect, but I don’t think it was ever meant to be. Most of our days are messy, noisy, and full of the mundane things that never make it onto the instagram feed or the facebook wall. The kids argue, the baby cries, the hubby and I have our differences, but at the end of the day when the kids are sleeping and Mr. Bean and I are sitting on the couch enjoying the hour of quiet, it’s all worth it.

So, the walk this morning, while beautiful and refreshing was not taken because I live some fairy tale family existence where i buckle up the three kids for nature walks every morning. Far from it. We went for a walk because it means Biggest Brother could ride his bike and get some energy out, and because Big Brother and Little Sister were buckled into a stroller meaning no arguing and crying about her taking his new toys. Sigh! By the end of the walk, everyone was in a better mood, she was ready for a nap, and the brothers were ready to be amicable again.

About our walk, now. Let’s see……well, when I was in high school I used to come for walks in the neighborhood we now live in many evenings. My best girlfriend lived not far from here and I would drive to her house and we’d walk and talk for a couple hours. When we were living in Hawaii and found out we were going to be getting transferred back to Elizabeth City, I knew that I wanted to find a home in this part of town. It’s far from the nicest area, and it’s not like we have sidewalks or anything like that that makes it super walkable, but it’s right by the river and it’s one of the older parts of town, which, in my opinion, makes it the perfect place for the Bean Family to dwell. Most mornings, after breakfast and getting dressed, I like to wrangle up the Tres Frijoles and get a little 30 minute walk in before naps.

I feel compelled to take a picture of them together any time they are all clean and all happy.

This beautiful home is just around the corner from ours. It’s actually a B&B, “The Pond House Inn.” My in-laws have stayed there when they visit us and it’s so beautiful. When the little pond isn’t full of algae, it’s even more lovely.

Mr. Precious and his favorite snack. So glad that Big Brother taught him to eat it like this. Much easier than cutting it up every time.

Loves her stroller, this one

“Mommy, we never take pictures of you and me together.”

My kids love these colorful flowers. I think they’re called Lantana.

The Pasquotank River. The water may look blue, but don’t be fooled. It’s brown. Dark brown. Can’t see your knees when you’re waist deep brown.

Noa’s favorite part of the walk is when I let him ride ahead to his little beach. It’s just a 10 foot stretch of sandy shore behind these weeds, but’s to him it’s an adventure waiting to happen.

So many pretty homes around here. We are so thankful that we get to live in this part of town. God blessed us with a great neighborhood, amazing neighbors, and His gorgeous artistry.

Cracks up our kids every time.

Cicada shells. We used to cover our clothes with these things as kids. I love that the boys do it now. It’s the little things.

The biggest mushroom i’ve seen around here. He couldn’t wait to squash it.

His favorite fishing spot.

Home, sweet Home <3

Eastern North Carolina Photographer – Couples – The Stevens

sheenamariebean — Tue, 20 Aug 2013 18:17:27 +0000

I love when I shoot a couples session and you can just tell right away that they are the “real deal.” You know what I mean, there are those couples that just “get” each other and it’s obvious to everyone around them. These two were like that. They had that sweet way of exchanging a look, a smile, a secret and they would both just look at each other with that look. I did this session a couple years ago, and since then, Clay and Casie have moved out of town and started new ventures in life. Clay has (sadly) sold the motorcycle, so I think it’s a good thing that he brought it along for these pictures so Casie could always remember her studly man on his studly bike.

Eastern North Carolina Photographer – Families – The Driver’s

sheenamariebean — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 18:13:39 +0000

Here, for your viewing pleasure, is one of my mini session from Spring 2013. I do mini sessions twice per year, in the spring and fall. A mini sessions is like a little condensed version of a normal session. I book them in back to back 3o minute sessions, usually 4 or 5 at a time. For an investment of $100.00 you will receive the 30 minute session (of course), professional editing and retouching of all images, and at least 15 images on a hi-res non-copywrighted disc. You can print these pictures at the location of yours choice (I can’t recommend mpix.com high enough). Most of the time, there will be well over 15 images on your disc (sometimes as many as 25 or 30) and some images will include B&W conversions as well. A mini session is a great way to get updated pictures of your family throughout the year or to check things out if you are a new client and aren’t ready to commit to a full session right away.

Fall Mini Sessions will be November 9th. There are still 4 openings left, so if you are interested, please let me know as soon as possible to secure your spot. I am offering sessions in the morning and evening to try to accommodate as many people as possible.

So, now that you have information about mini sessions, let me introduce you to this gorgeous family. Nicole is a fellow coastie wife and her husband was doing his duty serving our country, so, unfortunately, he didn’t make it to this session. The Driver’s have the three cutest kids in the world (other than my own, says this unbiased photographer). Seriously, though, their eyes are just to die for. The first time I met Nicole was at a baby shower and I commented to our mutual friend about how stinkin’ gorgeous she was, to which my friend replied, “wait till you see her kids!” Well, she was right, and as soon as I met her little crew of rascals, I couldn’t wait to have a chance to do a shoot for her family.

I have a special connection to this mamma and her little trio. We were pregnant with our 3rds at the same time. I remember when she found out she was having a girl, I was so excited for her and hoped that we would be getting the same exciting news. Sure enough, we both had girlies. Avenlea and her little princess are so blessed to have their older superhero brothers to protect them!

“Show me your silliest faces!”

“OK. Now show me how much you love your brother!”

In color and B&W, because I can never choose. Which one do you like best??

This one is my favorite from the session. I just love how she looks so content and secure at mammas side. Baby girl <3

I’m not the only one who has a little peanut of a baby. Miss I is about 6 weeks older than Avenlea and they’re both little teeny mammas.

Boy Party!!! The little ones always love when the truck comes along for a session.

“It’s a wrap!!”

Eastern North Carolina Photographer- Maternity – Kim Wilson

sheenamariebean — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 14:47:37 +0000

In the instagram world, today is “Throwback Thursday,” so in that vein, I present this session to you. You guys, this one is old. Like, way old. Like, this chick is on her 4th kid now and the one who was in her belly in this shot is 5. But, hey, I lived in Hawaii and a lot of my favorite sessions are from that time in my life. Photography was still new to me, I was surrounded by scenery so beautiful it could have been fake, and I had one kid i.e. lots of free time (not that I knew it then). So, when my tall, blonde, gorgeous friend found out she was pregnant with her first little one, I begged her (not really) to let me take pictures of her on the beach once she was in her 3rd trimester. This was the second ever maternity session i’d ever shot; I cringe now, but I shot this whole session on auto.

The beach where we did this session is this little secluded spot in an area called Ko Olina, on the west side of the island. For some reason, a lot of people who are transplanted to Oahu are a bit hesitant to visit the west side. It does have a reputation, and admittedly, Ko Olina is about as gentrified as it gets, but we found the west side of the island to have some of our favorite beaches around.

We shot this session right before sunset, and Kim was a natural in front of the camera. The silhouetted shots of her are my all time #1 favorite maternity pictures i’ve ever taken, and they are probably in the top 5 favorites of any session ever. Since this session, Kim has moved to Colorado, increased her kid quiver by almost 3 more, and has become this amazing creative Godly mamma who inspires me with her commitment to God, her family, and her friends. I love this girl like a sister and I so excited to show you guys this session.