My Daughter (My Model) Photo Shoot

My daughter, Amanda, was home for holiday break from the University of Virginia.  I was looking to practice some different lighting setups and I thought what better way to do it than to get some beautiful pictures of my daughter while I am working/practicing. 

All the photos were shot in our home and in the woods outside our house.  It was one of those Indian Summer days where the temperature got to 60 degrees.

Posted by VA Photographer - Len Spoden

Missing Board Member - Found in Photoshop

I took the photographs of the Westwood Country Board Members recently.  One of the board members was ill and could not make the photo shoot.  I took individual photographs as well as a group shot.  The individual photograph was easy to take care of at a later time, but what do you do about the group shot?  This actually happened last year as well.  One of the members could not make the group shot because of a prior commitment.  By positioning the missing person in the right place and using the same lighting, you can do a pretty good job and making it look like everyone is the original photograph.

 

Posted by Vienna, VA Photographer Len Spoden

McLean VA Hilton Hotel Holiday Party

ASCE held their annual holiday party at the McLean VA Hilton Hotel.  Over 200 employees and their guests enjoyed a great evening of good food, good drinks, good dancing, good friends and most of all good cheer.  Awards were given out for years of service, and a raffle was held with the grand prize being an Apple Ipad II!

Architectural Photography - Alexandria, VA

I love doing architectural photography.  It is always interesting to look at a new building, office space, or home and see what the architect or interior designer was trying to accomplish with their design.  It is my job as the architectural photographer, to capture that spirit / theme in my photographs. 

I recently photographed an office building in Alexandria, VA that was still in the final stages of construction, but the property management company wanted to begin marketing the property.  As you can see from the photographs the building had a unique angled design with water fountains and sitting areas.

Washington DC Engagement Photographs at Georgetown Cupcake, Union Station and the Jefferson Memorial

Manda and Amar got engaged at the world famous Georgetown Cupcake last spring.  Amar called ahead and had the chef at Georgetown Cupcake prepare a special set of cupcakes that popped THE (will you marry me) question to Manda.  They live in Dallas, TX and were visiting some relatives in the area, so they wanted their engagement photographs taken in the DC area, specifically at Union Station, the Jefferson Memorial, and Georgetown Cupcake.

The weather couldn't have been better.  It was the day after Thanksgiving and we had 70 degrees and sunny  weather.  They were such a beautiful couple that we were stopped a number of times and asked if  we were doing a magazine shoot with models.  We ended the busy day with about a dozen cupcakes to go ... they were VERY good. 

Executive Portrait / Headshot

The classic executive portrait / headshot never goes out of style.  Every client has a different personality and objective for their portrait.  I try to get to know each client and understand what they are looking for and trying to portray before every portrait session.  

Posted by Virginia Executive Portrait / Headshot Photographer - Len Spoden

BMX

I had the opportunity to photograph a BMX racer back in October down at the NOVA BMX track in Woodbridge, VA.  The magazine I was shooting for wanted portrait (vs. action) shots so we walked around the track and tried to get as many fun angles as we could and leverage the blue sky and midday sun.  

Executive Portrait / Headshot - Simple and Comfortable

A real estate company in California is starting an new office hear in Reston, VA and wanted photographs of their regional manager who was moving to the area.  They wanted to project a very simple, comfortable, and friendly style with black and white images on a white and gray background.  So I went to their offices in Reston, VA and setup a small studio in the conference room.  They wanted a variety of shots that were close up, medium, and full length. Paul was very friendly and we had a great time shooting the photographs.  The actual shoot took less than 20 minutes.

Posted by Reston, VA Exective Headshot / Portrait Photograph - Len Spoden

Anniversary Photographs

I had the pleasure of photographing Katie and Runjit's wedding a couple of years ago.  We have a standing appointment to do a quick photo shoot every year on their anniversary.  This year we picked to do the shoot in Vienna, VA along the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park by Church Street.  Within a block you have a large mural, a train station, and the Historic Freeman House.  

Spy Museum Event in Washington, DC

One of my client's was hosting a party for their clients at the Spy Museum in Washington, DC.  To spice it up they brought in some actors to play the parts of James Bond and Austin Powers.  The also had the "Bond Girl" in her beautiful red dress as well as an actor playing the role of a polygraph (lie detector) examiner.  It made for a very lively and entertaining evening.  The guests were also able to tour the Spy Museum.  No photos were  allowed in the museum so the event photographer, yours truly, was not allowed in that part of the museum.  

Joanna and John's Wedding at the Tremont Grand

I had the pleasure this past Fall of photographing Joanna and John's wedding at the Tremont Grand in Baltimore, MD.  I was the their engagement photographer last Spring where we had a great time walking around the Jefferson Memorial and other DC monuments.   There wedding ceremony was at Grace and St. Peter's Church in Baltimore.  

 

Posted by Washington DC Photographer Len Spoden

One Year Anniversary Photographs in Georgetown - Washington, DC

Chris and Josh were married last year on a tropical island.  Their wedding photographer did an okay job, but they wanted some really nice photos of the two of them.  They live out of town currently, but are from the Washington, DC area and they were in town for a few days and wanted the photographs to have a DC theme to them.  We discussed a few ideas and decided on Georgetown as our backdrop.  Even though I have been a photographer in the Washington, DC area for a number of years, I haven't done a lot of photography in Georgetown.

We walked around Georgetown for about 90 minutes and just stopping at places that had interesting light or overall character that we thought would make for a nice portrait.  Chis and Josh are a wonderful couple, they were a pleasure to spend some time with, and Georgetown provided a wonderful environment for our pictures.

Posted by Washington, DC Photographer Len Spoden

Executive Portraits - Fairfax Chamber of Commerce

The Fairfax Chamber of Commerce, led by its President Jim Corcoran, have done a wonderful job of serving the business community in the Fairfax County Virginia area.  Even with a difficult economy, they have managed to grow their membership and as a result have added some new staff members to help support their growing membership.  I was asked to do a few executive portraits / head-shots of some of their new members and while I was their, take a portrait of Jim Corcoran by their logo.

Posted by Fairfax, VA Photographer Len Spoden

Senior Portraits

A Penn State college friend of mine who lives in York, PA asked if I could come up to York and take some senior portraits of his senior high school daughter.  Needless to say, I was flattered and honored to do it.  They have a beautiful home and we were able to take all the photographs at their home.  The fact that his daughter is beautiful made my job very easy. 

Posted by Virginia Senior Photographer Len Spoden

Engagment Photographs at the Jefferson Memorial

Amanda and Kyle are college students in their senior year at Gallaudet University in Washington DC and are getting married next June and wanted to take some engagement photographs around the Jefferson Memorial. It was late in the afternoon and the sun was low and warm, perfect light for photography.  We stayed long enough so we could get some nice photographs just  as the sun was setting.

Posted by Washington, DC Photographer Len Spoden