The talented singer/ songwriter/ guitarist Heidi Martin, born and bred in Washington, DC, influenced in Casablanca, croons jazz and blues that go well with a martini on a warm summer night. Together we had a super creative time checking out parts of Rock Creek Park, finding blends of nature and industry for a funky setting for her artistic shots. These are best viewed in conjunction to her music, so check her out!
I totally upped my cool factor by photographing a jazz/ blues musician, Heidi Martin. More to come…
There are lots of good intentions out there, and lots of action whirling around to bring those intentions to light. But sometimes, a roadblock appears in the process, bringing the project to a screeching halt. Enter The Management Center: a company whose purpose is to help nonprofits manage their processes and people better, and help them overcome hurdles to realize their mission and goals. The company is made up of people from all over the country, with a wide range of experience and background, but united with passion and drive to do good. For a rare moment, the staff were together in DC recently for a company gathering and seized the opportunity for a group photo and some headshots.
The physicians therapists of Bethesda-based Point Performance are some of the most talented I’ve ever encountered. They fixed my shin splints and got me back on the road right before the New York Marathon. They have an astounding reputation for being really careful, precise and personalized with their approach, rather than cookie-cutter and just follow what’s in the book. I’ve had the pleasure of photographing each of their new therapists with the matching outdoorsy look, one in each season (fall, winter, summer). Here’s Michal, Adam and Robert.
That’s Marie, sporting a baby bump, and dad-to-be Patrick! The two wanted to capture the pregnancy, since it’s one of those rare moments in a mother’s life where she is hauling a bowling ball around in her belly for all those months. Marie, however, carries it like it’s no big deal. I regaled them with stories about my pregnancies and told them to go see lots of movies before the baby came. Yet the two of them together seem completely content just to sit side by side, passing the time by conversing with each other instead of passively staring at movie screens. Here are some shots of them in a quaint and quieter time in their lives, awaiting with anticipation for the next new, exciting phase. Congratulations, you two!
Ha was moving overseas to China, where companies tend to like seeing pictures of job candidates along with their applications, so she asked me to take a bunch. We went for the more laid-back, smiling ones as well as the very serious, firm and stern versions. The latter didn’t go so well because she kept laughing and because she’s not a very stern person.
Yiftach and his business partner took the plunge and started their own company- something involving government contracting, defense, strategy, and a lot of intelligence (both secret information AND being very smart). The two of them asked me to take some working shots of them, and in these shots they aren’t posing – these guys work so hard, they decided to maximize their time and actually have a meeting, so these shots are genuine, the real thing.
Violeta contacted me: “My entire extended family is coming into town and we want to take a picture of all of us. ALL of us.” And, there were a lot of them – particularly these little ones. But they were so smiley and completely photogenic, so with a few obligatory silly faces, we had a great time – even the littlest one who wavered between smiling and pouting. Here are a few select shots.
(probably my favorite shot of the day – this little girl with her big expressions)
Sara has been coming to the Outer Banks her entire life, when she spent her childhood here and then later when her parents invested in a vacation home. We got to spend a weekend with them, watching the sunrise and sunset, playing on the beach, and eating seafood galore. We lucked out on a hot, 90-degree weekend in April for the weekend. Sara likes to bring her own little family now to share in her favorite place, so we took some memorable moments at sunset with her husband Phil and their 11-year-old son.
Nick and his financial team (Kevin and Kim) braved a morning of headshots which, they soon learned, can be a painless process. Even if they were forced to listen to my terrible jokes, they still smiled – even laughed – at a few of them, which resulted in some great shots. The proof that financial planning and headshots can both be fun are found below.
(this last one is really just an outtake – but one of my favorites)
This fall I got to photograph Alice and Joseph and their cute little boys. Big brother loves his little brother, but had a hard time standing upright next to him – every hug resulted in them falling backwards into a cuddly heap. It was a lot of fun, though, as we wandered through their Takoma Park neighborhood and neighborhood park. Finally, I found some time to post their photos!
Cyndi recently reached a major milestone in her life, the “Halfway to 100!” birthday. And in honor of it, her husband set the bar very, very high for husbands worldwide – by throwing a tremendous party, complete with dinner, open bar, cake, and a band, at the eclectic Mansion on O St. Relatives and friends flew in from all over the country and huddled just beyond the entrance of the hotel to shout Surprise! as she entered. Not only that, her husband Ryan had arranged an entire fake surprise party the night before to throw her off. Cyndi, who I met through a mutual friend, is a fellow shutter bug who is usually the one behind the camera. She was thrilled to take the night off to eat, dance, catch up with old friends and family, and enter her 50s properly. Even though I spent most of the time capturing the fantastic event, both she and Ryan made me put my camera down and join the crowd as they danced the night away. As the night grew late, one guest even commented, “How do they have all this energy? I guess I need to be 50!” Congrats Cyndi, and here’s to another 50 years!
Tina contacted me for a lifestyle session because, as working parents go, she only had pictures of her kids, but not of just her. For an application she was working on, she needed some pictures of just her, demonstrating some of her personal favorite activities – baking, reading, sewing, exercising, and tending to her garden. It was a nice way to remember that even though most of our non-working time is eaten away by little ones, we are still people as well as parents, and we have independent interests. Anyway, she was a great subject to work with and we had a lot of fun. Here are a few glimpses into Tina’s life when she has a moment to herself.
This is look of someone who just found out what her husband had been secretly engineering for the past six months in honor of her 50th birthday. More to come from this incredible surprise party for Cyndi’s birthday at the eclectic Mansion on O Street!
Lexi, finishing up her degree as a nurse practitioner, needed some professional shots for job-searching. Look at that calm, confident composure – who wouldn’t want to put their healthcare in her capable hands?
My sister needed headshots for a conference where she would be presenting, so of course who else would she call to have them taken?
Janice and Ben have a lot going on recently! Janice recently graduated from training to become an acupuncturist. Then the two extraordinarily creative artists did EVERYTHING themselves for this wedding, from the twine-balloon globes to the lemon pies (well, this photographer and two others ended up helping the weary bride bake those). Lastly, they’re busy preparing for the arrival of a mini-Janice/Ben! Janice and Ben met while working at San Francisco’s hip clothier BetaBrand, where Janice was the first women’s line designer. The two modeled often for the company and recently appeared on a billboard as well. They share the same birthday, as well as so many other creative traits and qualities. Their wedding, up in wine country (Sebastapol, California) where they maintain a little country cottage, was “Mad Hatter”-themed and all the guests came donning hats in a blend between Kentucky Derby and Carnivale. Janice has been one of my closest friends since elementary school and I was very excited to be a part of her wedding and to take pictures of the memorable ceremony! Congrats you two (almost three)!
Sebastapol, California
I love this picture because while both were very happy and exhausted on their thoroughly creative wedding day (I mean, Janice was still baking pies the night before), Ben was just elated with this perpetual smile on his face. More to come from this amazing wedding!
Cherry blossoms down on the National Mall just don’t compare to the suburban ones, I have to admit, though the suburban ones don’t come with massive tourists buses and swarms of tourists trying to climb the fragile trees or rip the flowers off of them. However, the advantage to living within a metro ride to the country’s most-famous spring decor is that I can pop by at any point during the short-lived week of blossom-age, which occurred so early this year that I had to reschedule all my shoots and work around rain, sick kids, and all that. Regina and Jerry, who are only spending a year in DC with their little one for a residency, decided to capture their family session down on the Mall, and we lucked out with a smaller crowd and full blossoms on the stretch of arbor near 17th and Constitution. Though it was a cooler, cloudy day, the magnificence of these pink petals still make for a beautiful backdrop. I had a great time chasing their kid around who just loved toddling his way up and down through the trees. A few pics from that day!
I was invited by the Friday Morning Music Club again to take pictures of their performance, but this time it was in honor of the club’s 130th anniversary! That’s a really long time. So I spent a Sunday afternoon at the Northern Virginia Community College performance hall capturing the Avanti orchestra, conducted by Pablo Saelzer. They first played Scheherazade suite by Rimsky-Korsakov and then were joined by the choir and winners of the Washington International Voice Competition who sang selections from Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus. The event was capped by a champagne-and-cake reception afterwards to mark the illustrious event.
The performance was also reviewed by the Washington Post, where one of my photos appeared! Yippee! Here are a few more from the concert!
Kathy and Alex and their growing family gathered for some cherry blossoms pictures earlier this spring! Their toddler was such a calm little guy who was curious about everything growing – the spring flowers, his mother’s belly, the baby who would be his new sibling. Congrats to the happy family!
Kate and Ben and their kids showed up subtly color-coordinated for their cherry blossom shoot at a nearby park in Silver Spring, which was perfect. Their smiley little kids were particularly drawn to the attached playground, of course, but I managed to get some adorable shots of them hugging each other and with their parents. The little girl was all belly and smiles and their boy was energetic and hilarious. Here are a few from our sun-setting day just as the blossoms were beginning to peak and before the rainstorm of a weekend.
This year, the cherry blossoms in DC decided to make an early, early appearance – nearly three weeks earlier than last year. After undergoing an unusually warm winter, the blossoms were terribly confused as to when it was spring, and once they began blooming, I had a very short window of opportunity to capture photos and family sessions. To make it more interesting, my weekend of blossom line-ups were interrupted by rain and threat of snow. I madly ran around town examining the buds on the trees each day to make sure they peaked when the National Park Service was claiming they would. Fortunately, they were correct, as was I, and some lucky families got to take some early spring photos.
Emily and Sean and their baby boy enjoyed a morning of photos in their impeccable Silver Spring home. I mean, sparkling impeccable. It’s like they had a newborn who couldn’t move around destroying half the house or something yet. For now, he lay around looking ornamentally cute on the floor and on their couch. Adorned by two loyal dogs, the family couldn’t have had a more picture-perfect holiday card. In the last shot, he was already napping soundly in his father’s arms.
There she is! My friend Kevin’s new-ish baby girl, sitting so well for the camera. She and Kevin are inseparable. He donned her in this little holiday outfit for her first Christmas card, which I had the honor of taking the photos for. She was all smiles and cheeks, and we lucked out on another beautiful sunny day to capture some of her joyous glow.
Red Kite Studios 
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