Golfsmith Grand Opening | DC Event Photographer

Golfsmith International recently had their Grand Opening for their new store in Gainesville, VA.  ​​I was asked to photograph the event and capture the fun and emotion of the new customers as they shopped the store for the first time.  They gave away a $1,000 gift certificate to one lucky customer.   I love to golf, so this was a great assignment.  

They have a wonderful Fitting Studio where customers can swing clubs and see if they like the feel of a club and which club gives them the best distance and trajectory.  They also have a club repair shop, a very large practice putting green, and about everything else a golfer could want from clubs, balls, shoes, to clothes.​  

  

 

 

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Executive Portrait Photography | Washington, DC Photographer

The best part of doing executive portrait / headshot photography is that I get to meet a lot of interesting people. Sometimes I get to spend 45 minutes with them, and sometimes it is only 5 minutes.  Sometimes they prefer environmental portraits, sometimes they prefer more of a studio setting with a background.  At the end of the day, they all want professional portraits that show their true personality. 

Here is a collection of portraits I took over the last couple of weeks.

 

 

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Washington DC Metro Center Domination Campaign | Washington, DC Photographer

Strayer University is running a marketing campaign at the Washington, DC Metro Center train station.  For those of you who do not live in Washington, DC, the Metro Center station is the central hub station for the Metro subway system, and I would assume it is the largest and gets the most commuter traffic everyday.  The idea for the campaign is to "dominate" the station with advertisements which included two-sheet posters, large banner graphic over escalators, pillar wraps, platform runners, and floor graphics.  From what I could see, Strayer was the only company advertising in the entire station.  It seems like a great marketing strategy.  

So they asked me to go down during late rush hour and take some photos with and without people.  I got a lot of strange looks from people as I was postioned high and low to get as many interesting angles of the campaign as I could.  It is perfectly legal to take photographs in a Metro station,  I only got stopped by security once for using a garbage can to help steady my camera.

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IDEA Personal Trainer Institute™ East - Northern VA Event Photographer

This years IDEA Personal Trainer Institute in Alexandria, VA was the fifth IDEA event that I have photographed over the last two years.  Three events have been at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, one has been at the Los Angeles Conventioin Center, and one at the San Diego Convention Center.   

I look forward to these events every year.  There is so much positive energy in every session that the days just fly by and I get the opportunity to take some great photos in a great environment. 

Most of the attendees are trainers from around the world.  They attend leading-edge sessions in the areas of nutrition, wellness, positive well-being, and specific-population programming, along with the most effective new strategies for social media, marketing, management, and generating business and income growth. There are also a lot of high-energy and very exhausting sessions that make sure that all the trainers learn by doing the latest and greatest training techniques.   

 

 

 

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Seeing Washington, DC for the First Time with a Washington, DC Photographer

I received an email from a member of the US Army who was visiting Washington, DC for the first time.  He was a photography buff and wanted someone to photograph him as he/we walked around the National Mall.  We started out at the White House and then walked around to the Washington Monument, The US Capitol, and then by the Tidal Basin where we could see the Jefferson Memorial.  Then we crossed over to the WW II Memorial, and walked down alongside the reflecting pool to the Lincoln Memorial, and lastly over to the Vietnam Memorial. 

It took about two hours, and I gave him my best shot also being a tour guide in addition to being a photographer. He was a pleasure to spend the morning with, and I was honored to be able to spend a few hours with him on his first visit to our nation's Capitol.

 

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Rebecca Shambaugh's Book Launch Event at the Kennedy Center | Washington, DC Photographer

Rebecca Shambaugh launched her 3rd book, Make Room for Her: Why Companies Need an Integrated Leadership Model to Achieve Extraordinary Results at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts | Washington DC on January 29, 2013.

I had the pleasure of meeting Rebecca when I took her portrait for her book cover.  She asked me to photograph her book launch event at the Kennedy Center.  Rebecca makes the point that women bring different perspectives, feelings, and experiences that are unique to women and that add value to almost any business discussion.  Corporations that do not take advantage of these unique traits are doing themselves a disfavour.  Given that I have worked with women my entire career, and I live with four women, I couldn't agree more. 

Rebecca spoke on the Integrated Leadership Model and why it's essential for today's organizations and their leaders. She maintains that while current leadership models aren't necessarily "broken," they won't drive success in today's challenging and competitive global marketplace.

The event included a musical performance by the National Symphony Orchestra's Youth Fellows as well as the following distinguished guest speakers:

• Kathleen Matthews, Executive Vice President of Global Communications and Public Affairs, Marriott International
• Bill Richardson, Executive Vice President of Global Business Development, PPD
• Dottie Brienza, Chief Diversity Officer and Head of Talent Development, Merck
• Anne Altman, General Manager, Global Public Sector, IBM
• Dr. Christine Dingivan, Chief Medical Officer, PPD

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Giving Back | Washington, DC Portrait Photographer

One of the great aspects of being a photographer is that you get to meet some exceptional individuals.  A few months ago I was doing a photo shoot for Scholar Magazine for Strayer University.  I had the pleasure to meet Alex Galeano who is currently the vice president and controller for the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB).  

Alex came to the United States from Nicaragua when he was 11, but he never forgot his roots.  In addition to his job at NAB, he runs a nonprofit that gives back to the community he left back in Nicaragua.  We spent about a half day talking photos of him in his office in Washington, DC and outside around DuPont Circle.  

You can read the entire article by clicking on this link. 

 

The White House | Washington, DC Photographer

I was walking back to the Metro after a shoot in Washington, DC and I decided to grab a cup of coffee and sit down in Lafayette Park and just watch people as they came by the White House.  Sometimes you need to take a moment and, as they say, smell the flowers.  

Executive Portrait / Headshots | Northern VA Photographer

Clients are constantly looking for different and interesting Executive Portraits.  They want their images to stand out from the crowd and show their company's personality.  So more often than not I will go to a client's office and make use of their office space for backdrops for environmental executive portraits.  The fun is taking areas of an office space that look pretty plains to the naked eye, and turning them into a work of art by using light and shapes creativly.  

The following executive portraits were taken over the last month in a variety of office environments in Reston, VA, Herndon, VA, Tysons Corner, VA, and Leesburg, VA.  I even met an executive who was having a meeting at Lansdowne Resort and we walked around the hotel and took a few portraits of him before he headed into his 8AM meeting.

  

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Company Testimonial Brochure Photographs in 45 Minutes | Dulles, VA Photographer

I received a call from a client in Philadelphia, PA who needed a few photographs of their client for a marketing brochure they were developing. Their client's offices were in Dulles, VA.   They needed the photographs within 48 hours and the client only had about 45 minutes to give me to take the photographs.  Other than that it was easy.  So I showed up and scoped out the building to get some ideas, the client (four people) showed up on time at 9AM and we started.  We were done by 9:45AM and everyone was able to get back to work.

I sent the photos to my client later that afternoon.  They were VERY pleased.  It can be nerve racking walking into an unknown environment and having to come out with first class, professional photographs with little time, but I also find I thrive under those conditions and produce some of my best work.