I was so excited when my friend Dayna recently flew in from Chicago to join me for a few days of summer fun in The Commonwealth! We had a packed itinerary which included setting aside an afternoon to frolic in RVA and capture a few portraits for this beauty. But as is usually the case when friends get together, time flies and before we knew it she was packing for her flight back to the midwest without a single image to take along with her. So, we had to improvise...sunflower fields here we come!
With a lunch reservation, a non-negotiable stop at Gelati Celesti and a 40 minute drive to the airport ahead, we decided to squeeze in an on-the-spot portrait session once we hit the road!
I decided the perfect place snap a few images would be among the beautiful sunflowers at Mt. Olympus Berry farm in Caroline County. This stunning little spot is easily accessible right off of Historic Route 1 and is just minutes away from I-95 so it seemed like the perfect fit!
Dayna is gorgeous and pretty effortless to photograph, especially when you consider the reality of what this portrait session truly entailed!
Here's the rundown...it was pushing 100 degrees outside with the humidity being at about one billion percent. For real. That's a meteorological fact. Ok maybe not one billion, but we found ourselves smack dab in the middle of one of the hottest weeks Virginia has seen in years!
I was also shooting in FULL (and blazing) sun and once among the blooms we were immediately joined by hundreds, yes hundreds, of plump and frisky bumblebees.
But Miss Dayna was a trooper and I think our short time in this challenging setting helped to create some natural and simple summer portraits!
Having a couple of easy to wear accessories like this adorable black hat and some cool shades allowed us create a few unique looks that helped diversify the images.
Thanks for battling the sun and bumblebees and for letting me share all of your stunning sunflower princess vibes Dayna! Next photo shoot stop...Nashville? ;)