Please follow me HERE at my new website for any further updates. I will no longer be posting on this blog! You can also reach me at dhmphotography@aol.com. 

Friends of my brother in law and sister had a sweet little baby girl and asked me to take some pics of her at 3 weeks. She was not into the whole “falling asleep thing” but she turned out to be quite the model- even winking at me a couple times ;) Here are some of my favs…

These are long overdue but I couldn’t help but share some pretty portraits of Miss Maryellen while she was pregnant with her cute little man. Some of my favs…

So when I say I am way behind on everything I mean WAY behind. Back in *cough* May, I tagged along with a fellow Kempsville cheerleader-turned-photographer, Christina Watkins, to a shoot she was going to do. She told me this little girl had gorgeous blonde hair and we were going to put her in some Matilda Jane dresses (cutest things EVER if you haven’t seen them before- especially for photos!) I was also wanting to play with my new 70-200 AND do some sunset backlit stuff that I hadn’t really done before- so we were set to go! Tina was right- gorgeous little girl with insanely beautiful blonde hair and electric eyes! Her little brother was there too and he was just as handsome! (I mean, after meeting mom it wasn’t exactly a shock) Little Miss was having a fantastic time making me and Tina get our workout in for the afternoon, so as I took breaks from laps around the field, I took a couple shots of the little guy too! Had to share these and maybe convince mom to continue to create more little cuties!

And my favorite-ist shot……

Photographers normally blog….. A lot! In fact, they blog so much that following my favorites sometimes feels like a part-time job! I haven’t jumped into blogging about anything other than my session favorites because A) I am not a writer- not in the least. Even when I know something is not punctuated correctly, I leave it because it LOOKS more like how I am thinking. B) How much could I possibly write about and more importantly- who cares? But the biggest reason I have been so cautious is C) I have chosen the path of POSITIVITY! I have been through a lot and because this is the 2010 version of the tiny purple and pink diary I hid under my bed when I was 8, it usually comes with some verbal venting of sorts and I was afraid if left to my own devices/keyboard, it would turn into a scene from one of my favorite movies.

The last year of my life has specifically been a whirlwind! Once I decided what I wanted I refused to even make a backup plan. I was going to make big things happen! With the big 3-0 right around the corner I started something you could call a watered down “bucket list.” I decided I would make my own chapstick. I would not be leaning on other people for happiness. I was going focus on the millions of big and little things that make my life so wonderful. I decided to (attempt to) get organized. I want to learn how to play the acoustic guitar….. But the biggest change and reason this blog even exists- I decided to go back to school. The fact that I was not exactly the most studious person you’ve ever known would be the understatement of the century! But everything fell into place a little over a year ago and I, Danielle Musick, finally knew what I wanted to be when I grew up!

I knew I wanted to be a Photographer. I have always loved it, always been talented with it, but now I was going to dive head first in to what I have now learned, is bigger than a GINORMOUS ocean! I have never sacrificed for, cared about, focused on, and done well in school- EVER. But guess what? I wanted this- BAD. I was finally going to do something I felt good about, comfortable doing, and well.. to be honest- I can wear my pj pants for part of the job! YEE HAW! I know a lot of people do not even go to school for Photography. They self teach. They go to workshops. They read forums. I just really wanted to do it both ways. I want to do and learn it myself, but I also want my teacher and my peers to keep me in check and tell me my stuff sucks when it does. Not to mention,  I have kind of always been the “black sheep” of the family. I never finished college which only made my parents shrug and say “That’s just Danielle!” I used to embrace my warm and fuzzy black coat, but this time I thought it wouldn’t be too bad to do it the “normal” way. So here I am- a year into it and I am on my way to a degree, I am starting my business and building my portfolio, assisting the most amazing wedding photographer ever, and oh yeah… working a day job too! It may not be the field my mother or father might have chose for me, but I’m doing it- 110%! So that, my friends, is where “DHM photography” started and I cannot explain in words how excited I am to watch where it goes!!! 

Whew! HOT summer day but we knocked out some killer shots in a little park near the beach. Mom and I actually went to high school together and I was honored she asked me to take pics of her beautiful family. She called last minute and Dad was able to come along too! Looking through the pics I noticed I grabbed so many adorable “big sister” moments that made me think of my own sister. So cute! The youngest wasn’t loving a ton of the family shots but I sat back and waited and snapped away when she wanted to take part. Older sister was a natural model. Check out those eyes :)

Well my little niece has finally arrived! She is a little firecracker and I feel like I already “get her” :) I have been worried sick she won’t like her Aunt Cha Cha like her brother does (so far hehe) or that she won’t want anything to do with me when she gets older. I want so many things for her as a woman, as my family, as my niece and as a person. I know I can’t protect her from the world (and I know I shouldn’t!) but I can’t help but want to. I know that she doesn’t know what I’m saying but I hope she can feel what I’m saying when I rock her to sleep and we have our little chats. I love you MJ! xoxo

How cute are these cheeks? This little man is the first born to one of my dearest friends starting from 9th grade. My mom’s first words to Keri once he arrived were something along the lines of… “Now you’ll know how your mother and I felt when you girls got on that boat and disappeared for hours!” (true story! Her and I put our parents through just a LITTLE bit of worrying through high school ;)) As many nights we spent laying awake sleeping at each other’s house, listening to sappy songs, telling each other about every like and dislike, talking all about our hopes and dreams, we never actually discussed mommyhood. Definitely surreal to see “KEWI” as a mommy but it makes my heart happy to see what a natural she is! I cannot wait to see this little man grow up. Dear God, please let him not be as sneaky as her and I were! :)

So my sister is about to give me ANOTHER little monkey. Only this time, it’s a girl! If its true what they say, and your heart just grows to love another little person just as much as the first, then I’m expecting to break the scale- Grinch style! Not always being the most “maternal” person in the world, Melissa amazes me regularly with how phenomenal she is as a mommy. I can’t wait to meet the little princess and I hope she loves her aunt cha-cha half as much as I already love her!

As you can see, Daddy and Davis tagged along to this shoot. Here are some of my favs!

So, I may be a tad partial to this little guy, but dangit is he cute! I’ve known his momma since I was 13 and I know she probably hates it when I tell this story, but she actually taught me how to put mascara on! :) Her older son happens to be my nephew’s best friend and I can already see the paybacks coming around for the days we snuck out at our cheering sleepovers. Mom has taken this “parent of two” thing like a pro! I got some serious grinning and smiles from him which made me giggle! Here are a few of my favs. Thanks for letting me take these….