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I recently photographed Lindsay & Marks intimate wedding at the Morison House Hotel. It was definitely a smaller event, but that made it all the more interesting. It gave me plenty of time with the bride and groom for creative portraits around Old Town Alexandria.And Lindsay was definitely a trooper- walking several blocks in the August heat to make some photos! She was definitely a hit with all the people out and about- people kept stopping us to say congratulations and wave hello. It was a blast!

Now, if you’re a loyal follower of this blog, you may remember this wedding- I blogged it once before shortly after the wedding. However, having recently made the switch to my new WordPress site I didn’t want to leave any of the earlier work that I loved out, so I decided to repost this. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to just import the old posts to the new blog.

Morrison House is a great venue if you’re looking for something classic, but smaller. They definitely couldn’t handle a 250 guest wedding, it’s just not a large enough space, but if you’re having a smaller event it’s wonderful- the hotels architecture is eye-catching and the neighborhood is great for photographs (always a plus for me!). I like it so much, I even shot Thomas & Margie’s engagement photos in Alexandria! Thanks to Rebecca Watkins Photography for her assistance photographing this wedding.

Seriously, could there be a better looking pair than these two?!? They’re currently planning a 2014 wedding in Rob’s hometown of Hershey. I can’t wait!

Thanks to Moshe Zusman for his outstanding light-holding technique and assistance- he’s overqualified for the position, but was great fun to work with!

They met through some friends at a party and their relationship grew until they were running multi-day overnight races together. Now THAT’S true love! Jason’s surprise proposal came on New Year’s Eve. Jen’s response? A thousand times yes!

When it came time for their engagement session, Jen made just one request: do whatever I want. So, I took the opportunity to do some video work, as well as still photography. This blog post is just some still photos from the shoot, video will follow once I get to editing it all.

We started out at the home they just bought and are renovating. Did some video work there in the backyard. Despite Allie Mae’s best efforts to eat my camera, we prevailed. Then we headed into the District, to the Yards Park near the Navy Yards.

After the park, Jen and Jason snazzed it up a bit and we headed towards Capitol Hill, stopping for a few shots along 8th Street SE near the Marine barracks.

Finally we made it over to the Capitol, where, surprisingly, the police couldn’t have cared less!

All in all, it was one of my favorite engagement sessions this year. Special thanks to Becca from Rebecca Watkins Photography for her assistance during the shoot! Best of luck to my friends Jen & Jason, I wish them all the happiness in the world.

Teresa and Andre had a wonderful wedding celebration a few weeks ago at the DoubleTree hotel in downtown Bethesda, Maryland. The ceremony was held at the Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church, with a reception immediately after at the DoubleTree Hotel. Teresa’s no stranger to wedding planning, she works at the beautiful Kentlands Mansion in Gaithersburg- also a great location to have your wedding! If it weren’t for that, Teresa may not have found me- I applied to be in one of their bridal expo’s and she came across me while she was accepting registrations for the show. It worked out perfectly! I was assisted at the wedding by Emily Chastain Photography. Enjoy!

I recently had the pleasure of assisting Terra Dawn Photography with wedding photography at Bree &Kenny’s Potomac Point Winery wedding. What an amazing venue! The architecture, the scenery, the little details, the weather, it was all so perfect. The day started cloudy, threatening rain, but by show time it was a spectacular blue autumn sky, with the occasional early leaves falling during the ceremony.

Bree could not have looked more spectacular if she tried and Kenny didn’t look half bad either, if it’s ok for a guy to say that about another guy. And the best part? They allowed PLENTY of time for creative portrait photography, ensuring they have some amazing images to remember their wedding day with. My favorite spot at Potomac Point Winery was the cellar- where the old wooden barrels are stored (Aged? I have no idea, I don’t drink wine. . . Anyone getting married at a whiskey distillery? Lets talk!). Floor to ceiling barrels made for interesting shapes and forms in the background, and a little creative lighting gave me perhaps my favorite groomsmen portrait of the year!

How great WAS this place? Good question, glad you asked. The bride and groom got to stomp grapes!!! After a quick portrait session in the vineyards they made their way back to the reception where two tubs of grapes were ready to be stomped- yes Bree was still in her wedding dress! Apparently through the miracle of science, even though these grapes are purple, the juice is clear or something… neat! No stains!

But my absolute favorite image of the day came in the last 15 minutes. We snuck the bride and groom away for one last set of photos in the cellar (not as creepy as that sounded). We wanted to get one last shot in the wine library <insert dewey decimal system joke here>. Before I even said anything, Bree playfully jumped up on the table. It was perfect. I set up two lights real quick, and BAM, the results:

I couldn’t be more pleased with how this image came out- great lighting, great looking couple, awesome location.

Sadly, this will probably be the last wedding I get to shoot with Terra Dawn Photography until… who knows when, if ever. I owe Terra my photography career- she gave me my start and has held my hand all the way through when Ive needed it. She’s been a great friend and a mentor, but, sadly, has moved away to the great Northwest. I miss her already!

Congratulations to Margie & Thomas! And super big thanks to Terra Dawn Photography for her help.

Recently I had a former bride of my request a boudoir portrait session as a gift for her husband on their first Christmas as a married couple. What could possibly be a more personal or intimate gift? The thing is, however, I’d never shot a boudoir session before, so it was a first for me as well.  Nervous though I was to try something new, it went very well! The client absolutely loves her photos, and has made comments like “Ive never felt pretty before I saw myself in those photos” and “I cant believe that’s me in those photos!” She says its been an amazing boost to her confidence and self-esteem and she knows her husband is going to flip out (in a good way!) when he gets the album for Christmas.

And that, right there, is what I love about being a portrait photographer- making  person feel good about themselves, see how they are beautiful, and to make them happy. My favorite part of this job is not depositing the checks (which I do like, of course), but seeing peoples reactions when I deliver their wedding album, or seeing how a great senior portrait session can boost a teen’s confidence,e or in this case, a boudoir session can make a woman feel beautiful for the first time. Those are the moments I like. Love.

Lets talk a minute about boudoir and what it is and isn’t. Wikipedia tells me, literally, boudoir  means a lady’s private bedroom… alrighty then. Photographically, its a style of intimate and personal portrait photography of a lady as a gift for her man- Christmas, anniversary, etc, or, even better, to celebrate herself and indulge herself. Maybe she’s celebrating a health or fitness goal, maybe she wants to remember herself pre-child birth, or, celebrate getting her figure back after child birth. Or, best of all maybe she just wants to spoil herself and feel beautiful! Whatever the reason, its most commonly shot in a classy, upscale hotel or the clients home. Attire can be anything from sexy little pajamas to one of her husbands dress shirts to classy and sexy lingerie- there’s no limits on what can be worn or not worn. But what boudoir isn’t- it’s not porn. it’s not explicit. The poses aren’t overly suggestive, nudity is more often implied than shown, and, really the woman is often wearing far more clothing than she would be for a day at the beach.

Now the big part. You’re a girl. I’m a guy. I can understand how you’d be a little shy or even nervous about being in your unmentionables in front of a guy you probably don’t know so well. Makes sense. But, I always have a female assistant with me on all shoots and what I said above stands- you’re likely going to be far more covered up than you would be for a day at the beach in front of hundreds of strangers with cell phone cameras. The point is, I’m a discreet professional who keeps all your photos private. And of course you’re always welcome to bring a girlfriend or your sister or anyone you want!

So, back to this shoot from the other day. I promised Ms. M I wouldn’t use her identifying information or post photos of her face here, so the selection of images I can show is a bit limited. However, if you’re a past or former bride of mine, or just a lady looking to spoil yourself or your husband, Id be  glad to share the full series with you and discuss your options. Terra Dawn posted a great blog post about boudoir- what it is and what it isn’t. Give it a read, then shoot me an email and let’s see what we can do! And no, it’s no too late to do this in time for a Christmas gift!