Happy 4th everyone! I hope that everyone is having a safe and family oriented holiday! I recently had the chance to photograph the Boyd family and they were so fun. We went to a local park and got these great family portraits for them since they hadn't had any in the past three years. Always a great thing to be able to preserve memories for families and be able to hang out for the afternoon with great kids!
I was linked up with Syreeta C Fashion in April and she was gracious enough to ask me to become a part of her prom giveaway. I thought it would be a great experience to give back to a local teen in the DC, Maryland, Northern Virginia area and document the journey through photographs. Prom Promenade is open to all high school seniors in the DMV area and they must fill out an application with a short essay on why they deserve to win. We also take into account the GPA and any future goals that the individual may have.
Once we received the applications this year our winner was clear and it was Miss Kailah. Kailah had an amazing story along with the GPA and future goals and had already accepted the college she would attend to study Nursing. Once we selected Kailah we met with her and her mother and had the initial concept meeting for the dress. This included the sketch, color selection and fabric choice. It was awesome to be apart of this initial meeting and help push her out of her comfort zone. Heck...it is not ever day you get a custom gown, hair and makeup package, stylist and photography! The next meeting was the first fitting with a rough example of the gown to get the fit as close as possible. From there, Syreeta began to construct the gown and then we had the fitting with the actual gown. We had one more fitting that happened at the hair salon with Tei from The Tei Touch. The stylist Kasha Reavis, sent some amazing shoes, jewelry and a killer handbags for Kailah's big prom night!
Finally, it was prom night and we all came together with Kailah's family to help her get ready. Her mother cooked for us and we had music and fun! They were so welcoming to us! We got her hair and makeup finished, got her dressed and sent her on her way with he two closest friends.
Prom Promenade was such as awesome experience and I can't wait until we get going for Prom 2017!
Frances contacted me not to long ago with a request to have photos done during Cherry Blossom time in DC! Unfortunately their schedules got us out a week late and we were on the tail end of the festival and the day of the Kite festivities. Now y'all know I am not from DC and being in all this traffic freaked me out!!! However, I braved the traffic and met this awesome couple in the District. We walked and saw a couple of great locations and got some amazing images. I am glad we decided to stay in the city and not venture to far off. I can't wait until their wedding sometime this fall!
Brooklyn has ARRIVED!!!! This little angel came into my studio and was PERFECT!! Brooklyn was so sweet and quiet! She was a joy to photograph and loved her swaddle. Oh she didn't like being on her back but as soon as you put her on the side she was in her happy place as you can see by the images. Another successful newborn session and I only got trickled on one time :-)!
New family additions are a joy and when I get to be apart and photograph the family it is extra special for me! The Anderson's came to the studio and had ideas of what they wanted in their photos and Latoya had the most gorgeous gowns. We added a bit with the tutu for the black and white and she was very pleased with her images. I am eager to meet the new addition who should be arriving soon.
Having the opportunity to work with models and a styled shoot is something that I love to do, so I naturally jumped on the opportunity to do so. The day was cloudy and rained off and on but we still were able to capture a few great images and have an overall great day.
In March I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Inaugural Women's Breakfast for the Princes Georges Chamber of Commerce. The women of the chamber really put together a lovely breakfast to celebrate women in the county that contribute and do amazing things. Hosting the event was Shomari Stone of the Channel 4 News. Honorees included the States Attorney General and the Prince Georges Community Colleges President. Amazing speeches with life lessons were shared and there was nothing but love in the room. I can't wait until next year's breakfast and I only see this event growing and being bigger and better.
A lot was learned in this week long fashion experience in the DC area. I closed out with the Indie Fashion Week Finale which I found out about the night before. I am certainly learning my way around the media circuit and how to get into such events. I can tell you that I have been bitten by the fashion photography bug and I am now headed in the right direction. I met a handful of business people in the area and any opportunity to network is an opportunity to grow and learn. I am very optimistic about my future in fashion photography.
I was recently contacted to come on board as a feature photographer for an event known as Dine Diaspora. It was an interesting event where the three ladies that put on these quarterly events, bring together leaders in the community and they discuss issues to specific to their groups and how to interact and share ideas and ultimately to network and build with each other. The also bring in a guest chef that specializes in Diaspora type cuisine. I was very impressed with everything from the table settings to the Chef and his menu presentation and the stories that made up the menu. These ladies are on to something and I hope they keep it going and grow.
Being in the DMV for two years has been an eye opening experience in many ways. One way was to be able to discover the local fashion scene here in the city and it only took two years to find out that DC has a fashion week. I was fortunate enough to be able to cover three of the events they had starting with the mens fashion show on the first night. The second event I covered was the emerging designers of the area and eight designers were featured. The finale night, which was my favorite, showcased a lot of the international designers that live here in the DMV area. Below are just a few of the images I was able to show on this blog but believe me there were plenty of amazing designs this year! I can't wait to see what the next season will bring for this DC designers.
While I was in Alabama a great friend and old boss of mine needed updated photos to document her family and there time in the south. So while there we had this mini session at a nearby park and got these great shots. I even got my little Calvin Klein model for the day to give me some interesting faces while we were out. It was so good to see them and hang out for the few moments we had.
I had the great pleasure of traveling to Alabama to capture the newborn photos for this little princess. She was so small and cuddly it was hard for me to put her down and get these few shots. Her big sister Aurora even got in on a couple even though she wasn't feeling the greatest on this day. Then to pull out the final photo...a baby that has Texas roots has to represent and that Miss Maria did. Huge thanks to her mother and father for trusting me to take spend this time with them.
Engagement sessions are all about the love, and this couple was no exception. I was thrilled to meet them and they were camera ready when they arrived. The bride had one request for a piano to be in the shoot, however I am new to the area and had to make this work. I had to call on a friend to set up the location and then we were well on our way. The wedding is this coming June in Ghana and I know they will have an amazing day and life together as they start their new journey.
I met Ms. Ivy online and we sent text back and forth for a couple of days and then met up for this session. We clicked right away and we had an amazing time on our shoot. Ivy was such a sweet person to work with and we vibed on everything from yoga to tattoos. She recently just started her own yoga studio and you can find her on IG and YouTube to see her words of inspiration and daily poses. I will definitely look her up when I head back to Cali!
BABY ALERT!!!! 11 days old and Andrew was in from of my camera! He has a special blanket that he loves and without it...he doesn't stay asleep very long. His mother and I had a time trying to keep him cozy and comfy. As you can see even swaddled he was wide awake, but as soon as you put the magic blanket on him he would go to sleep. He was adorable and can't wait to see him in 3 months!
Whose is a dancer at heart? ME!!! I love everything about dance and being able to express yourself. I always want to photograph dancers and their movement and how they express themselves. I had the pleasure of meeting Lindey and we had a great time in the photo studio and listened to some great music. Her strength and love for this art form was great to watch and I wish her the best in her budding career.
Anyone who knows me can tell you that cultural ceremonies are where I feel the most comfortable. I love learning about and getting to know different dynamics of families and the traditions which they hold dear to them. I have been to several Indian ceremonies but each one is different depending on the families involved and the religion they follow. This particular ceremony was an engagement party which involved exchanging of rings and the meeting of the two families. There were gifts present to the soon to be bride and groom from the family members as well as blessings with money and the giving of sweets. They were all so welcoming and I can't wait to cover their future wedding.
