Shea's Dress

Shea's dress fit her perfectly. Not just physically fit her, but it fit her personality. You see, Shea is one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet. She is bubbly, but not obnoxious, trusting, but not naive, fun, but not pretentious. She is a classic woman, with a modern elegance.

This photo was taken in the back corner of the lobby of Founder's Inn of Virginia Beach. We had an Alien Bee B800 with a translucent umbrella shooting through the window from the outside.

Jasmine's Instant Exposure

I'm about to start offering a Polaroid add-on to my portrait packages after doing a little trial run with Jasmine on our recent photo shoot. You can see more of Jasmine's shoot on Facebook.

Shea, The Bride

I had the distinct pleasure of shooting Shea's bridal portraits, and now that she is married, I can share them here.

This was shot in the Founders Inn lobby in Virginia Beach. My trusty assistant Craig is outside keeping the light stand company. I had an Alien Bee B800 shooting in from the outdoors through a translucent umbrella.

Grace In Her Backyard

My wife and I had the pleasure of spending time at the Tate farm in Windsor, VA to shoot Grace's senior portraits. I am a texture fiend, so walking around their farm is like Toys-R-Us for a 7-year-old.

Shot with the Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 on a Nikon d700 with an Alien Bee B1600 with 48" shoot-through umbrella providing the light.

Daniel on a Pile of Trash

This was taken on top of Mount Trashmore in Virginia Beach. For those of you who grew up in VB, that doesn't phase you at all.

Mount Trashmore is a landfill that the city turned into a park. It's favorited by kite-flyers, joggers, and when it snows, it's frequented by daring kids with trashcan lids.

We were fortunate enough to have clear skies and gorgeous weather for Daniel's senior portraits.

Shot with a 80-200mm Nikkor lens zoomed to 80mm @ f/16. The sun was to the left of the frame, and my Alien Bees B1600 at half-power was providing our key light.

Daniel is a natural in front of the camera, and such an easy-going guy to begin with, it was a cinch to get what we needed.

Sarah's Head Shot

This is Sarah Meeker. Sarah and I worked together in the independent theater scene in Virginia Beach, VA way back in high school. What's that? You didn't know Virginia Beach had an independent theater scene? Oh. Well, neither did anyone else.

Sarah is a very talented, obviously beautiful, and very sweet young lady who is finishing up her senior year at VCU. Heather and I packed up the kids and a bounce card and headed down to Richmond on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon. The weather was absolutely perfect.

I used my 85mm lens almost exclusively on this shoot, and also had the chance to experiment with some lighting techniques. I used all manner of modifiers and reflectors to get creative catch lights in Sarah's eyes.

Michael in the Parking Garage

I like this portrait of my good friend Michael because he is not the first place your eye goes. Naturally, your eye goes to the light, to see if there's anything there, and although Michael is not really in the shadows, I wanted him to not be completely in the light either. My goal was to create the illusion of a dark underground parking garage with some of the lights out. In reality, this was a very well-lit, above-ground garage with plenty of daylight pouring in.

On the technical side of things, I was using a Nikon SB-28 speedlight shot into a 46" reflective umbrella triggered by pocket wizards. I was using my "new" Nikkor 20-35mm f/2.8 lens that I got from UsedCameras.com - This is the first zoom lens I've owned in about 5 years. Primes are still my first love, but I figured, since it's a constant aperture, it will have plenty in common with the other glass in my bag. Plus, it's a preemptive step for more international travel.