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SIT BACK and stay a while

Hello! I'm Chantal, a part-time photographer / full-time creative with a passion for telling stories through sweet, timeless imagery. When I'm not chasing light / dreams, I'm chasing my (adorable) little boys, whose photos you'll see sprinkled throughout these pages. I'm so flattered you're here, exploring my little space on the web for musings on this and that. Enjoy!

Parents, don’t stress!

I know you want the portrait of everyone smiling at the camera—you know, the one grandma wants for her mantle—but I promise you what you’ll cherish most are the images like these that really show your family’s personality. The in-between moments. The giggles and snuggles, even the pouts. They’re what make you YOU.

When you look back through your memories months and years later, it’ll be the emotion-filled frames that get you every time. So, yes, we’ll be sure to snap a few cheeses for the camera, the requisite holiday card. But the rest of the time, just breathe in your babies, relax, and let the magic unfold around you. Because don’t worry…it will ✨.

I FINALLY GOT OVER MY FEAR OF SELF PORTRAITS.

I own a tripod. Maybe two? I even have a remote trigger. But I have this little problem.

I am both a creative AND a perfectionist.

It causes paralysis. A yearning to document my sweet little family, and also a heavy set of expectations that everything turn out just so.

BUT THEN I REALIZED. I’m letting so much sweetness slip away that someday I’ll wish I had preserved. My littles are not so little anymore. They wear tees with weird characters and wild print on them and laugh in my face when I suggest pants without a drawstring waist.

But they’re my heart. And their beautiful faces are all I want and need to fill every frame I create. It doesn’t matter if we’ve planned the perfect outfits or found the best location or even if I’ve hired someone else to photograph us.

So, I pulled out the tripod today. I didn’t always nail focus. In some frames my kid made a super silly face. In some frames I don’t love how I look.

And yet my heart couldn’t feel more full.

Get in front of the camera, mamas. Don't wait for the perfect circumstances. Your kids will treasure the photographs in which you show up with them, in all your imperfection.

And you know what? You will, too.

a precious / precocious tangle
of limbs + curls + dimples
to melt your heart
(you’re welcome)

I did, in fact, promise you more tutus in my feed,

I did, in fact, promise you more tutus in my feed, and I never go back on my word where sparkle is concerned 😉. You’re welcome. And happy Friday! xo

Copyright © 2022 Chantal Lavine Photography
Portrait Photographer Serving Maryland, Washington DC, and Virginia

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