Since the beginning of my photographic journey, I’ve seen countless trends. I remember when double exposure portraits (with ghostly heads floating in the corner) were the thing. When I started professionally, spot color was all the rage (e.g., the photo in black & white, except for a red rose). Washed out colors. Super punchy colors. Old Hollywood film noir. Harsh light and shadows (shudder).

You may have heard terms like “dark and moody” (underexposed) or “light and airy” (overexposed) which, if done properly, can actually look really pretty… but often, it’s not. For a short while here, there’s been a trend to turn everything almost sepia – warm, orangy-brown – sometimes combined with dark and moody (contrasty) or light and airy (creamy).

And now? As the kids say, “I saw it on TikTok,” the latest fad: blurry and grainy.

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I was raised old-school, I guess. WYSIWYG: what you see is what you get. That was the goal. My personal practice, my college photography and journalism classes, my photo-journalism roommate… the goal was clean and crisp. It still is, honestly, my default. It takes conscious effort for me to incorporate any bokeh (out-of-focus background).

I want to create a true photographic representation of you. In focus. Correctly colored.

So when it comes to your portraits, I might lightly blur pronounced wrinkles later, but I want super-sharp focus on your eyes. You’ll see that I often use solid color backgrounds (usually neutral) and ask that you dress in solid colors, because I want to create clean images that draw all the attention to your face – the subject of a portrait. I might ask that you take a test shot with a black/white/gray target so I can make sure the color is correct and your skin tone is accurate (not too pink; not too yellow).

As far as I can tell, there isn’t a fancy style term for what I do. Clean and crisp works… but I saw another photographer describe something similar as “awash in true color with a hint of vibrance.” I think I like that.

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Women are multi-faceted, and I love helping them share images that show their authentic, beautiful, confident shine! How do you want to be photographed? Let's meet over coffee and talk about it. Contact me: text/call 434-226-0365 or email [email protected]... or schedule online here!