Leah O'Connell

Charlottesville family photographer

families, favorites, Featured sessions

Featured | family photos at home (and the chicken coop)

I'm Leah!

I’m obsessed with stories of family, creativity, and simple joys.  A nostalgia nerd, educator, wife, and mom of 3, I believe life’s most fun when you’re dreaming big and having kitchen dance parties. 

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I’ve had the joy of capturing this family through several special milestones. But as they’ve settled into a new home and started to sink into their family dynamic, it was a real treat to make family photos at home… and at their chicken coop.

Along with their two kids, they raise 19 chickens, four bunnies, 2 dogs, and a cat.

And a strawberry patch. And sourdough. And a church. And a homeschooling co-op.

On a hot summer day, the girls showed me around their rooms and let the bunnies hop around while they played and read books together. We played silly games in their favorite comfy chair and played outside on the tree swing. We held and fed the animals and ran wild in the open grass.

But it really wasn’t so much about what they did as it was about how they did it.

With openness and kindness. Sinking into the play. Loose and with love.

At one point, I asked them to pile into a patch of grass with a bunch of white clover and the mom laughed. She said people thought she was crazy because she loved all those “weeds” in the grass, but she didn’t care because she thought they were beautiful.

I tend to agree.

They thought she was crazy when she wanted all those chickens, too.

But it’s the simple life they always dreamed of. And they are really soaking it in.


Family photos at home | Louisa, Virginia

family photos with a bunny
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lifestyle family photos with a chicken coop
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mother and daughter pose laying in the grass, lifestyle family photography

If you’re interested in some laid back, warm and vibrant family photos that feel wild and true – let’s make it happen. Reach out here to get started.

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Hi, I'm Leah.
Family photographer, writer, educator.

I’m  one of the first to meet your newborn baby, the one who won't judge your clothes baskets and unmade beds, and the one who can capture the way your husband looks at you with a twinkle in his eye after 12 years of marriage. I believe in honoring people and telling stories.

I believe art has the power to light up the world in dark places, starting at home.