Masthead header
    • Meet Allison
    • The Investment
    • Follow On Instagram
    • Connect on Facebook
    • Subscribe on YouTube
    • Schedule

Category: Mini-SessionNo comments

Happy Sunday FUNday! It’s LAUNCH DAY! At NOON today, my booking site goes LIVE for Fall Family Minis! These sessions are designed to give you a quick glimpse into your life. With back-to-school season here, let’s refresh the prints/canvases in your home sweet home, check annual Holiday Cards off the list, gift prints to friends/family… and of course, post all over social media (LOL!). One of the greatest compliments in what I do is having happy clients return to spend more time together in capturing new memories. I’m honored that you value my craft. I am truly blessed to do what I love and I appreciate your trust in me to be your storyteller.

The Details:

  • 20-minutes of photography coverage
  • 15+ high-resolution images
  • Parents & children only
  • Digitally enhanced editing to images
  • Online gallery & print release

*** Please note: Due to the timing constraints of a mini-session, group family sessions (6+ people) are encouraged to book TWO back-to-back sessions (i.e., bring your grandparents and/or cousins along!).

Category: Mini-Session
Back to Top 69,109,97,105,108,32,65,108,108,105,115,111,110nosillA liamE Share on Facebook Tweet this Post Email to a Friend Follow me on Pinterest Follow me on Instagram

Category: Business • Family • Mini-SessionNo comments

Hi, friends! It’s LAUNCH DAY! My booking site is LIVE for my annual Fall Family Mini-Sessions! I look forward to these mini-sessions every year! These minis are the perfect way to capture this season for your growing family, snap those holiday card favorites, and PRINT images for your home and for photo gifts. Oh, and of course, post all over social media (LOL!).

We’ll be at a NEW location this year complete with a pond, weeping willows, and lots of fall foliage! Outdoor Short Pump location will be announced via email two-weeks prior to client’s session (keeping the location intentionally private for only booked clients).

Booking is OPEN with limited timeslots available… first come, first served. I’m grateful that these timeslots sell out quickly every year! Regarding the rain dates, you must also be available for the selected time on the rain date. Cannot wait to see what families will be part of the 2021 Fall Family Mini-Collection.

The Details:

  • 20-minutes of photography coverage
  • 20+ high-resolution images
  • Parents & children only
  • Digitally enhanced editing to images
  • Online gallery & print release

*** Please note: Due to the timing constraints of a mini-session, group family sessions (6+ people) are encouraged to book TWO back-to-back sessions (i.e., bring your grandparents and/or cousins along!).

My loyal ASP Family Clients received exclusive 1-hour early access to book their session before details went LIVE to the public today at 9:00AM EST.

Email me with any comments/questions! 🙂

Category: Business • Family • Mini-Session
Back to Top 69,109,97,105,108,32,65,108,108,105,115,111,110nosillA liamE Share on Facebook Tweet this Post Email to a Friend Follow me on Pinterest Follow me on Instagram

Category: Business • MotherhoodNo comments

As you may already know, we MOVED! You can read more about that here. It was quite a whirlwind getting our family packed up and moved into my child hood home (just 2-miles down the road). This summer we’ve had our hands full with unpacking, renovations, DIY projects, and more!

Now that the dust has settled since we moved in on May 1st. I’m finally ready to share a sneak peek inside my NEW in-home Studio! Cozy up barefoot in this simple, soft, serene space filled with natural light (fresh paint and carpet too!). Petite portraiture sessions for Mommy & Me, siblings, holiday pajama minis, maternity, boudoir, breastfeeding, and baby’s monthly milestones.

In addition to my studio space, my master bath offers a beautiful space for Milk Bath portraiture. For expectant and breastfeeding mothers. Inquire for a calm, organic session to savor this season of motherhood. Complimentary florals and lace gown provided. Inquire for details.

By appointment only. Studio hours vary in Summer. Fall bookings available Wednesday/Thursday/Friday mornings between 9:00-11:00 AM. Click here to inquire.

Pst! Fun fact! This studio was my bedroom when I was little so this space is extra special to me to share with you.

Category: Business • Motherhood
Back to Top 69,109,97,105,108,32,65,108,108,105,115,111,110nosillA liamE Share on Facebook Tweet this Post Email to a Friend Follow me on Pinterest Follow me on Instagram

Category: PersonalNo comments

Hi, friends! Guess what?!… We’re MOVING!!! While an extremely difficult decision to make — because we LOVE our home and neighborhood friendships of 9-years! — we’re excited to move into my childhood home in Wellesley. Just 2-miles down the road! Feeling all the feels with this new adventure!

My family closed on this beautiful home in December 2000… I was 12 years old! Memories in this home from 8th grade, to all of my high school days, college holidays/summers… it’s been 20+ years of Christmas mornings, birthday (surprise!) celebrations, homecomings & proms, dance parties in the “boom boom party room” (in my garage!), slumber parties, graduation parties, engagement parties, karaoke nights, and more! Now it will be HOME with my husband and our boys… they will grow up with the same special memories, coming full-circle, and it couldn’t make me happier!

My parents have been looking to transition to a 55+ community with maintenance-free living for several years now… it wasn’t until several weeks ago when my parents were talking next steps on officially putting their house on the market that I suddenly got super sentimental about it all! Ryan and I had an “a-ha” moment while thinking about long-term family goals… why aren’t WE moving into this home to keep this gem in the family and carry on our family traditions?? My parents wouldn’t then have to hassle with getting their home “show ready” and we’ve been a huge help with decluttering their home to prep for their move. One morning my parents came over to talk everything over… we signed an offer with them… and celebrated with a Bloody Mary cheers!

There are so many things we LOVE about the Wellesley neighborhood… walking/biking distance to shops/restaurants, sidewalks/crosswalks, a beautiful lake, a community pool (swim team!), a gym, tennis courts, basketball, clubhouse events, a good sledding hill (HA!), and more! We’re thrilled to have these new neighborhood amenities for our family + staying in the same awesome school district we’re in now. Our sub-division within Wellesley has some new neighbors too — many with young boys right next door!

SO! We decided to capitalize on this HOT real estate market right now and take quick action! Somehow with 2 little boys running around Ryan and I got our house “show ready” within ONE week! It was such a surreal feeling the first day our house went on the market! Seeing our house on MLS and the homepage of Zillow — watching the scheduled showings rack up — pulling into our driveway seeing the official “For Sale” sign in the yard… it’s all really happening! Our house went LIVE on MLS, we had 4-days of back-to-back showings all weekend long… and we signed the best offer!

After 3-weeks of hustle to get our house sold… we then scooted off to the rivah for FOUR kid-free nights!!! The perfect way to unwind, unplug, relax, and CELEBRATE Ryan’s 40th birthday and selling our house! A much needed escape and now back to reality with packing up our house in the next 30-days! We close mid-May. Never say never but we feel strongly that this is our forever home (before retiring to our rocking chairs on the Rappahannock)!

Bittersweet to say farewell to the home we first moved into as newlyweds, brought both our newborn babies home to, had our final moments with our fur-babies, and hosted a multitude of celebrations… unforgettable memories over the last {almost} decade! 

Lots of packing and logistics in the coming weeks/months ahead… we move in 23-days!! We have a long list of fixer upper projects on our to-do list to spruce up our new place and put our own spin on things! You all know how much we love those “naptime hustle” before/after projects! In efforts to not flood my business page with house stuff… I decided to create a fun Instagram account to document our various house projects and adventures at our new home sweet home… follow along here at The Shumate Estate.

As luck would have it… just before Easter weekend, my parent’s signed a contract with their new house! Just a few miles down the road from us — in the wide-open land of Goochland County is their exclusive neighborhood. It’s a perfect home for them. They plan to live at the rivah this summer until they move-in in October.

Lastly! More details to come on this but… I’m SUPER excited for my new in-home Studio at our NEW house!! It’s the room with the large window above the front door. This room used to be MY bedroom as a teenager. It’s filled with beautiful natural light and I cannot wait to give the room a fresh coat of paint, new carpet, and new furniture. Stay tuned for boudoir booking details this summer!

PS! If anyone is looking for an AMAZING realtor, Bev Bailey is your go-to lady!! She’s been a dear family friend for 20+ years since my family first moved into Wellesley (she once lived on our street!). She helped sell Ryan’s home in Chesterfield before we moved to the West End (just before we got married!) and has now helped with our “new” home (see the transition below!). Tell her we sent you! 🙂

Category: Personal
Back to Top 69,109,97,105,108,32,65,108,108,105,115,111,110nosillA liamE Share on Facebook Tweet this Post Email to a Friend Follow me on Pinterest Follow me on Instagram

Category: Ask Anything • Business • PersonalNo comments

Happy SNOW day, friends!! My boys were dressed & out in the snow by 7AM! We plan to gather the cousins together this morning for some sledding! ⛄️

Here are some iPhone photography tips for capturing some fun in the SNOW with your family today! Cannot wait to see what you capture!

❄️First thing in the morning… Carefully walk down your driveway to get a street view photo of your house in the snow before it’s covered in family footprints. If actively snowing during this time, capture some video of the falling snow!

❄️Grab a tripod and gather your family in the snow. To reduce stress of capturing the perfect shot on self-timer — the struggle is real with wiggly toddlers! — set it to video to record various poses/candid moments/etc… then you can play/pause the video to screenshot the good pics!

❄️ Snowy trees are SO beautiful! Instead of taking a regular “up & down/portrait” pic… switch your setting to “Pano” and take a vertical shot to include all the trees/sky.

❄️ Put your phone on a tripod and set it to “timelapse”. Capture some video snippets of your family playing in the snow, snowball fights, making a snowman and snow angels, sledding, etc. ⛄️

❄️ Take some fun slo-mo videos to capture all the exciting emotion of your kiddos sledding! 🛷

❄️ For action shots, use BURST mode to catch just the right moment. Simply hold down the shutter button to capture a series of photos as the subject moves through the scene, then select the best shot from the sequence.

❄️Adjust your exposure — The problem with snowy scenes is that the large areas of white can trick the iPhone’s camera into under-exposing the photo. Your phone settings will adjust to make the snow look grey. To ensure the snow appears fresh and bright, you often need to adjust the exposure levels before you take the shot. To do this, start in “camera” mode and tap the screen to focus on your subject then simply swipe up on the screen to increase the brightness (using the sun icon). Be careful not to make the image too bright though, otherwise you’ll lose all of the detail and texture in the snow.

Hope these tips were helpful! Enjoy your SNOW DAY!!

Category: Ask Anything • Business • Personal
Back to Top 69,109,97,105,108,32,65,108,108,105,115,111,110nosillA liamE Share on Facebook Tweet this Post Email to a Friend Follow me on Pinterest Follow me on Instagram

Category: Business • GiveawaysNo comments

Hi, y’all! I cannot express to you my EXCITEMENT for today!! My newly resigned website is LIVE! Yesssss!!! A new and fresh look to my website is here! Designed by yours truly.

My hope is this virtual home sweet home is warm and inviting, high-end and professional, helpful and informative. Beautifully showcasing my latest work, my client experience services, and beyond. NEW pages are now featured on my website… my Studio, Boudoir Sessions, Small Business headshots, Album Design services, & more! New testimonials and new text explaining my overall client experience. My website is mobile friendly now too which is a game-changer! So tech-savy! SO very proud of this redesign launch! It now truly represents the services and experience that I offer my clients. Grab a cup of coffee, snuggle up, and browse around!

THANK YOU in advance for taking a minute out of your day to SHARE my website launch announcement to your feeds/Stories… each share/like/comment/tag/mention makes such a difference and does not go unnoticed by me. It puts a HUGE SMILE on my face that your supporting this dream job of mine!!! I take great pride in the way I run my business by providing an overall experience with my clients. As a small business owner, the power of word-of-mouth referrals are my main driver for new client growth. I greatly appreciate, with all my heart, that you value my work enough to spread the word about my services to your friends, family, co-workers, & neighbors.

I have some GOALS for my website traffic today… I want to see a certain number of page views / unique site visitors stopping by… I would LOVE to book a new client TODAY and welcome them to The ASP Family! Build it and they will come, right? Well… not really. Think of all the new websites websites that launch daily on the world wide web. Thanks to the social media algorithm these days… it’s not as easy to get the word out! SO! In efforts to help build some excitement buzz about this website launch… let’s do some GIVEAWAYS! Checkout my Instagram and Facebook feeds for more details!!!

Category: Business • Giveaways
Back to Top 69,109,97,105,108,32,65,108,108,105,115,111,110nosillA liamE Share on Facebook Tweet this Post Email to a Friend Follow me on Pinterest Follow me on Instagram

Category: Family • Mini-SessionNo comments

Christmas 2020 is sure to be remembered… what a year!! What better way to wrap up 2020 than with a snuggly studio session in Christmas pajamas?! Is it even Christmas without cheerful photographs of your littles (or big kids!) in cozy Christmas jammies?! Booking is now LIVE. SHOP HERE.

My cozy in-home Studio will host a limited offering of Christmas Pajama Minis!! 10-minute sessions of just the kiddos! During our short & sweet time together, we’ll capture a variety of posing including smiles, giggles, silly outtakes, jumping on the bed, reading a Christmas book, snuggles, & more! » OPEN POST »

Category: Family • Mini-Session
Back to Top 69,109,97,105,108,32,65,108,108,105,115,111,110nosillA liamE Share on Facebook Tweet this Post Email to a Friend Follow me on Pinterest Follow me on Instagram

Category: Naptime Hustle • PersonalNo comments

I know I say it every single time… but this before/after house project is my favorite!! You may have seen our recent, painted garage, painted staircase and garage mudroom… next up we have… Ryan’s Man Shed! You know I tried to convince my hubby for a She Shed but there was no budging… I can always transition the look inside down the road, shhhh… HA! Over the last 2-years or so I’ve slowly but surely started taking over the garage space with my office / craft corner… So! Ryan wanted a designated space that was all his. A consolidated and functional place to organize all things tools, car stuff, yard stuff, golf stuff, paint supplies, and more! This Man Cave may or may not be a fun spot for the occasional poker game and backyard pub! » OPEN POST »

Category: Naptime Hustle • Personal
Back to Top 69,109,97,105,108,32,65,108,108,105,115,111,110nosillA liamE Share on Facebook Tweet this Post Email to a Friend Follow me on Pinterest Follow me on Instagram

Category: Personal1 comment

Another day, another naptime hustle project! As a boy-mama to two busy toddlers, I’m always looking for ways to streamline our everyday. The days go much smoother with kiddos when we’re prepared and organized — do you agree?? With back-to-school season approaching (next week!), I wanted to create a “drop zone” space for my family to organize all things preschool, work, bills, charging dock, shoes, jackets, and on-the-go must-haves.

Since we don’t exactly have a good mudroom space inside our house — plus I didn’t want the extra clutter on display — so, space was created in our garage! We are loving our freshly painted staircase!! I couldn’t wait to start decorating around it to make it feel more homey! I fell in love with the idea of a garage mudroom! Such a great space-saver option to keep the clutter contained before coming inside the house. Since the garage is the primary way we enter/exit our house… this was a no-brainer decision!

I carved out a corner right next to our garage steps — easy access! What once was a spot to hold a stroller and a few random items (see before collage below!!)… has now transformed to an ultra-functional storage space! After a quick trip to Marshalls — I had all things for the bookshelf! Both of my boys have their own designated basket to hold their go-to shoes and must-haves for on-the-go. Ryan and I have our own cubby for clean masks, sunglasses, and other personal items. Shoutout to my neighbor and bestie, Missy, for her white bookshelf hand-me-down. It’s anchored to our staircase and we love it! The media table was purchased at HomeGoods a few years ago and we used to have in our playroom before we rearranged that room (more on this later!). This table holds some cute seasonal décor, our keys, a charging dock station for devices, storage for family games, and me/Ryan’s go-to shoes. I added a cork board for pinning photos, invitations, cards, etc. I installed black hooks to the staircase for additional storage (hats, purse, gym bag, etc.). Back in March, I put together a sanitization station at the top of our garage staircase — All things Lysol, hand sanitizer, wipes, masks, thermometer, and more!

I’m getting the boys involved with our new space and they love it too! Each morning before we get in “mama’s car” we gather our things and off we go! When we come home, the boys put their things in their proper place (bags/shoes/etc.), we each sanitize, and we walk inside the house. Hope this inspired you to spruce up a “drop-zone” area for your family! I’ve provided affiliated Amazon links below to link you to most everything you see below!

Click below for Amazon LINKS!!

 

Before we dive in to the details!!! Here’s what it looked like BEFORE…

Annnnnd…. AFTER!!!

Category: Personal
Back to Top 69,109,97,105,108,32,65,108,108,105,115,111,110nosillA liamE Share on Facebook Tweet this Post Email to a Friend Follow me on Pinterest Follow me on Instagram
Make a Comment
  • Operation Man Shed » Allison Shumate Photography - October 29, 2020 - 5:16 PM

    […] house project is my favorite!! You may have seen our recent, painted garage, painted staircase and garage mudroom… next up we have… Ryan’s Man Shed! You know I tried to convince my hubby for a […]ReplyCancel

« Older posts