The story of our creation

Hello! I am Carly, the owner, founder and photographer behind Imprinted Photography and a Newborn Photographer in Northern Virginia. I thought that dong a a little background post would be a great way to celebrate the GRAND OPENING of my new site and blog.

Don’t worry, I wont bore you with cliche details about being a photographer, why I am the best of the best (although those things are important) but that is all on my website. I want to tell you a little about who I am, how I got to where I am, and what keeps me going.

My childhood

I grew up in Northern Virginia specifically in Mclean, VA. I have always been a very artistic person who enjoyed creating as a way to relax and express myself. From a young age my parents always encouraged my artistic side, taking art classes and exploring my creativity. My grandmother was a very talented artist, who over her lifetime has created many beautiful oil paintings, ink drawings, and various sketches. I have inherited these family heirlooms which I coveted as a child and now am so grateful to have. As a child I found that expressing myself through various mediums of art made me feel whole and I knew that this creativity ran in my blood.

I have always been a very loving and maternal person, a bleeding heart some would say. I was a babysitter as a young child and as a teen. Then as a young adult I became a nanny for a handful of families. I always gravitated towards babies and children and I loved the time I spent with those families. More importantly the kids and babies that I took care of became part of my heart.

Meeting my husband

Fast forward to when I met the love of my life Kyle in 2007. He also was a very artistic person and (if I am being honest) was much more artistically talented and polished then I was. He was an art major in college and was always bravely finding new ways to express himself artistically in his free time. Kyle and I eventually moved to his home town in Northern New Jersey to be close to his family.

Kyle started to expand his previously gained knowledge of photography that he learned in college and started to soak in every bit of education he possibly could about many different genres. He was just indulging in recreational photography but after he started printing and publishing his photos others started showing an interest and noticing his talent. Very quickly friends and family asked him to take photos for various events, including sweet 16 parties, weddings, and regular portrait sessions. As the interest grew in his photography side-hustle, he started branching out into small weddings and realized he needed a little help with some of the bigger events.

The Beginning of Imprinted Photography

This is where I come in!

Because we loved spending as much time as possible together he taught me how to shoot and I went from helping him with events and parties to helping him style shoots and edit photos.

One day we sat down and I asked him ” Kyle I know you love this but do you love it enough to make this a real legitimate business?”. What occurred after that question became the beginning of Imprinted Photography, LLC. We decided to come together to create the business, we started to learn all we could about owning and operating a business and I learned everything I could about editing and shooting so I could contribute. For the first many yeas I was the customer service person, business manager, and photo editor and he would take the photos or our first sessions.

Becoming a Newborn Photographer

I can remember the first time I learned about to Newborn Photography, I had found my niche and I was so excited. From then on I did everything I could to soak up every bit of education I could to learn how to safely pose and photograph newborn babies and I fell in love. Kyle was on board because I found my spark and he was so happy I was now invested in the business. It was our compromise and it happened to be something we both loved and were good at.

When we started soaking up every bit that we could about Newborn photography we quickly found out that it was so much more involved than any other type of photography we had mastered so far. We had learned so much about lighting and posing and photo styles for other types of portrait photography but newborn photography was a lot more involved than we could have ever imagined. Kyle and I first realized that just knowing how to handle babies and newborns wasn’t enough. We took newborn safety classes and became certified in infant CPR and First Aid. Then we started investing in education- mentorships and classes with some of the worlds most respected newborn photographers.

After 7 years of practicing and perfecting our craft we finally got to a point where other photographers started to ask us to teach them. Despite this, we always made it a priority to take at least one mentorship a year so that we continued to push ourselves to be better and I continue that to this day.

We worked as a team, and any of our client’s would testify to the fact that we worked hand in hand. We built our business from the ground up, lots of sweat, tears and late nights. Feelings of wanting to give up and days where we were on top of the world but we always kept going, kept educating ourselves and pushing ourselves to be better.

Our mountain to climb

Unfortunately Kyle found out he was sick 4 years ago and we had to relocate to Northern Virginia to be close to the hospital that could best treat him. That in conjunction with the all to familiar effects of COVID-19, we had to scale down the photography business to protect his health and to keep our youngest client’s safe. We opened the business on a smaller scale at our beautiful new home studio in Sterling, Virginia. We were very excited and I was even more eager to now be back at home in Northern Virginia and being a newborn photographer here.

Kyle and I spent most of the first couple months after moving building and setting up our new studio and we were so excited to start booking clients. Unfortunately, Kyle had not been able to work in the same way as he had in the past, so I took over all of the responsibilities of the business. Although I missed working side by side with him I still loved every minute of my job and I was eager and excited to meet and serve all of our new clients in Virginia.

After a long battle Kyle passed away in 2022. I miss him very day and I he process of creating my new life without him is an every day battle. I took some time to grieve but now I am so excited to announce that we are finally open for business full time again. Kyle will always be a part of the story of Imprinted Photography and will be with me during every shoot. He was the reason that it was created and his creativity and drive to learn are some of the principles that I keep with me every day.

Now- Top Newborn Photographer in Northern Virginia

Fast forward to today, I have built a wonderful group of clients here in Potomac Falls/ Serling, VA and families come from all over the Washington DC, Southern Maryland and Northern Virginia area to have their newborn, maternity and family portraits taken at my Northern VA Photography Studio. I am have now been voted one of Northern Virginia top Newborn Photographer’s and am so proud to be recognized by my clients in that way Expertise- Best Newborn Photographers Northern VA-https://www.expertise.com/va/alexandria/newborn-photography

Through-ought the past couple of years I was forced to re-evaluate the things that are most important in my own life and have learned so much about how important family is to me. Time can change in the blink of an eye and it goes by so quickly. In the end all will have are these precious memories and these are the things that we will hold onto forever. Celebrating these special moments in time by investing in a portrait photography session is the best way to make sue you have them to cherish forever.

I have made it a huge focus in my life and my business to make those memories last by not only creating art in the form of beautiful photos but also turning those photos into physical heirlooms that they can pass on for generations. As a Newborn Photographer in Northern Virginia, I offer framed prints, fine at canvases, albums or portrait display boxes, no matter the product I provide my clients with many ways to enjoy and display their memories in their own home, on a daily basis, and for many generations to come .

I am so lucky that my clients trust me with the most important moments in their lives and I dont take that honor lightly. Having a baby, creating a family and documenting the most important stages in your lives are some of the most life changing times you will create, experiences you will want to remember forever.

I have the best job I could imagine. Creating and designing, laughing and playing with children, cuddling newborn babies. I show expecting mother’s how beautiful they are and watch the way a new father looks at his infant while they are sleeping. I give a sleep deprived mothers a break by pampering them with hair and make-up done by my glam team. Meeting wonderful parents who are going through the most wonderful transition in their lives and share that experience with me. I watch little kids grow from helpless babies to chatty toddlers. I give families the special gift of seeing their love translated in to art.

Newborn Photographer Northern Virginia- my message

Every client I meet becomes part of the story of Imprinted Photography and I wouldn’t have it any other way. As a Northern Virginia Newborn Photographer, my company is built around love, family, art and never forgetting whats important; the special moments that dont want to ever forget.

“let me help you cherish them forever and celebrate them every day”

XOXO-

Carly