The Reams :: Massachusetts family portrait photographer

In case you didn't know, I am my family's official photographer.  I'm usually never anywhere without my camera somewhere within reach (and it's always been that way) so it works out well.  I don't mind it in the least though.  The gift of capturing beautiful images of people is a gift that I know I've been blessed with and I absolutely love sharing it with people.

These two handsome young gentlemen are my nephews and every time I see them they just got taller and more dashing looking.  The taller of the two was the first grandchild of the family and my first nephew and I still remember holding him at the hospital when he was first born.  With his younger brother, they are the only boy grandchildren of the whole crew of grandkids and I'm continually reminded of the fact that my next child would be a great blessing especially if it is a boy. For the record: If and when God blesses me with another bundle of joy, I'll be happy with whichever it is.  In the meanwhile I will just live vicariously through my brother and sister-in-law and their beautiful sons...

This might be one of my top five favorite portraits I've ever captured.  I love how my oldest nephew is standing there all big brother-like as if to say, "If you want to get to him? You WILL go through ME."

We took these portraits over my Thanksgiving vacation (one of the many advantages to having a day-job that is teaching) and as I've been editing them and getting them ready for proofing and printing on (this) my last day of break, I'm still reveling in the gratitude I have of being a part of such a beautiful and amazing family. 

The Osbornes :: Pennsylvania family portrait photographer

One of my favorite kinds of photography to do is portraits.  I started out doing this kind of photography and every time I return to it, I just like it more.  Doing portraits always makes me feel like I'm giving people very I special gifts to treasure for years and generations to come.

A new trend in portrait photography is called lifestyle portrait photography where people use mostly natural light to illuminate their subjects.  I like the style very much but for as much as I try, I tend more toward a style that is much closer to heirloom, I think.  I feel like it has a more timeless quality to it and though it's more challenging because you don't use natural light and have to understand how to do flash photography, I enjoy it very much.  And it always helps when your customers have beautiful homes that lend themselves to classic settings.

This past weekend I did some portraits for a childhood friend of mine (all the way Pennsylvania!) and her portraits turned out gorgeous.  She is surprising her hard-working husband who (conveniently) was working during her portrait appointment but I think the next portrait session he will get to be in the pictures as well as she is already talking about scheduling another session!

Thank you, Jenny, for opening your home to me and for providing such a beautiful family of subjects for me to   photograph.  Such a blessing to me to be able to spend time with you!  I look forward to our next portrait session.

The Reams :: Richmond family portrait photographer

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!

I am celebrating the day by giving thanks for the beautiful family I have been so blessed to be a part of.  Want proof of just how beautiful they are?  See below...

My eldest niece

My middle niece (and goddaughter)

My youngest niece

The whole gang of nieces together

My older brother, sis-in-law, and their gang (of my nieces)

I love taking pictures of my family but I don't get to do it often enough because they live so far away from me in Maryland.  The beauty part is there are major holidays throughout the year that draw us together so that we have great excuses to spend time with one another.  Who needs an excuse to see your family?  Sadly... I do because I'm such a workaholic like that. *shamed*  I'm grateful for them loving me despite my own ridiculous nature to work even during the holidays - like how I finagled to do now on Thanksgiving!  Well, at least they got some gorgeous portraits out of it, right?  There's always something to be thankful for. *wink*

The Ganns :: Bowie portrait photographer

Portraiture is and will always be one of my favorite things to do.  People are always telling me that they aren't photogenic enough to look decent in pictures and I just love proving them wrong!  God has given me both the heart and the eye to see others as truly beautiful in the way He created them in His likeness and I love being able to provide tangible evidence to show others that they aren't just photogenic but they're also really beautiful.

With November here (and, let's face it, almost gone now), wedding season is over and portrait season is in full swing.  I had the great blessing last evening to create some portraits for the lovely Gann family and we all had a great time trying to get the timing right for everybody to look at the camera and smile at the same time.  I'd say from what we got below, they're pretty set in the way of family portraits for the season, wouldn't you?

Always a joy and a blessing to create your portraits, Ganns. (Especially the littlest Gann folks)  See you next year for your annual portrait session!

A view by Sher :: DC artist portrait photographer

Yes, you can call me a photographer. But if you don't mind, please call me a visual artist.  Because I don't believe in just taking someone's picture.  Rather, I insist on creating an image that is elevated to a level of visual artistry.

This past Sunday I had the great honor to spend some time with and create a portrait for another of my kind.  She's a photographer as well and she's been working diligently and tirelessly to perfect her craft.  She will be graduating next month from the amazing Art Institute located in Arlington, Virginia and she is also preparing to make her mark on the interwebs soon with a launch of her photography business website.  To say that she is amazingly talented would be a ridiculous understatement.  And I would link to her website here but I think she's still working on it - though I know it's going to be any moment now.  The good thing of it is that we were able to take care of her artist portrait for the "about me" section that most any good visual artist should have to explain themselves a little better...

We scouted and trekked all over Georgetown to find a location for the above and we almost missed this setting because it was literally down a little grassy knolls and almost under a bridge.  *shrug* (Visual artists will go just about anywhere and do just about anything for the shot they need and want.)  The vision for the picture was to have something with a colorful background ala what's found in Philadelphia more than DC but the best we could do was some monotone graffiti tags.  Oh... what's that?  The graffiti isn't monotone?  Hmmm... that's right!  That's because I used my "mad skillz" (as my high school students like to call them) in Photoshop and I tweaked them so they looked colorful as if they were meant to be that way.  The power of Photoshop is amazing sometimes and though I prefer using it only for minor adjustments, the situation called for such a major "tweak" so that it was more accurately illustrative of how colorful and dynamic Sher is to begin with - nevermind her amazing visual artwork!

Spending time with Sher and being able to create her artist portrait was both a treat and an honor for me.  We talked plenty about visual art and how powerful it can be as well as just getting to know each other a little better on a personal level.  Always a joy meeting someone like Sher who has the same type of passion for visual art as I do!  Can't wait to see where Sher will go with all the talent she's got going on for herself because I guarantee that she's going to blow people's minds with whatever she will do.

Best of luck, Sher!  You've come quite a ways but I'm certain you have yet to surpass everyone with the miles you have yet to go.