Unveiling Brilliance: A Memorable Photoshoot with Rezvan Azimi for Her Business Headshots
During the session, it was evident that Rezvan's natural confidence and approachability effortlessly complemented each other. As the sun painted the Houston skyline with its warm glow, I clicked away, aiming to portray the multifaceted brilliance of this inspiring businesswoman. The location added a touch of authenticity, giving her headshots a distinct blend of professionalism and genuine charm, truly representing her unique persona and dedication to her craft.
Family Mini Session In Houston Downtown
We had a blast creating candid photos for Amanda Norris and her family while there were still 3 of them. Hope to see them soon for an updated family photo. ))
Family Mini Session for Anna Chrabaszcz
Summer mini sessions.
Some families are all so handsome and photogenic that it’s hard to believe that they are real people, not professional models. We created a few headshots for Anna Chrabaszcz as well. Just beautiful!
Engagement Mini Session in North Park for Patrice Carter
Spring and summer mini sessions in Pittsburgh’s North Park.
Patrice Carter wanted fun and intimate portraits with her fiancé. We were blessed with a warm sunny day on the lake shore. The newly engaged couple looked happy and very much in love. Just perfect conditions for a successful photo session!
Family Mini Session in Pittsburgh for Lauren Perlis
Mini sessions in Pittsburgh’s Mellon Park.
It was a pleasure to meet Laurel Perils and her family on a bright sunny morning in Mellon Park. The kids really enjoyed running around and the parents’ task was to react quickly when an opportunity to pose as a family presented itself. I had to be fast enough to find myself in the right place at the right time, expose, compose, focus and press click. No pressure. ))
Winter Mini Session at Phipps for Leanne Elliott and her family
Family Mini sessions at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
Have you ever seen a 9-months old baby smiling and looking at the camera for all 30 minutes: no tears, not even a trace of dissatisfaction, just a pure bundle of joy? I now have! It’s Leanne Eliott’s little son. We were able to create so many photographic memories for this family, what you see here is just a small fraction of their gallery. :-)
Winter Mini Session at Phipps for Noah Robbins and his family
Family Mini sessions at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
It was the second time I photographed Noah Robbins, his parents Michaela and Dave. It was great to re-connect with them again. Noah made great progress and looked strong, happy and handsome! This time the family came with the grandparents, all dressed in themed, beautifully created costumes - Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, John Darling and Mr Smee. We had a blast creating a story for their family album.
Winter Mini Session at Phipps for Spencer Kingman and his family
Family Mini sessions at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
Spencer Kingman brought his family fully prepared for the inclement weather, armed with five umbrellas in case of the forecasted torrential rain. We got lucky and had a blast creating group and individual portraits for all the family. Love their outfits in jewel colors - a perfect way to look gorgeous in any season.
Winter Mini Session at Phipps for Andrea D’Alessandro and her large family
Winter Mini sessions in the City.
Andrea D’Alessandro presented me with a special challenge that day: to photograph her extended family of fifteen. They did a great job of dressing in one style and the children were incredibly cooperative, so we had plenty of time to create a few of all family portraits, photos of just the kids, every family individually and even a fun time running around for the little ones.
And of course, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens are gorgeous in any weather and any season, even when the skies look menacing.
Winter Mini Session at Phipps - Mother and Daughter
Winter Mini sessions at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, PA.
Mother and daughter were wearing navy, beige and burgundy colors, perfect with the remaining golden fall foliage in the background. They both looked gorgeous and were incredibly easy to work with.
Winter Mini Session at Phipps for Zach Reed and family
Winter Mini sessions in the City.
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens look gorgeous in any weather and any season, even when the skies are threatening with rain any minute.
Love how Zach’s family played with the earth colors in their outfits. I personally have a weak spot for light dresses combined with cowboy boots. So fitting for winter and just gorgeous!
City Mini Session for Crela Frye and her family
Mini sessions in the City.
Some shoots look better in black and white. Pittsburgh’s signature yellow bridges are spectacular but sometimes you just want to focus on the emotions, not the surroundings and thus black and white perfect.
City Break in Savannah, Georgia: October 2021
I’ve always wanted to visit Savannah, in fact since childhood when I read about it in a few books, but when we moved to America, there have always been more famous sights to see: New York City, Grand Canyon, the Niagara Falls, California, Pacific Northwest, the Great Lakes and so on - a very long list of all the beautiful national parks and cities in the US
City Break in Washington DC: October 2021
I finally have time to go through our vacation photos! Here are a few from the city break to Washington, DC, back in October 2021. We just wandered around our favorite spots: the French bakery Paul, the National Mall, and a couple of hidden gardens we keep discovering with every visit.
We visited the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. I think it opened just recently, so we were curious to see what was inside. The Soviet Union/Russian section was really well-represented and we learned something new as we’d hoped. We had a very interesting conversation with one of the volunteers who all but gave us a private tour of the features in the astronaut suit.
And the crown jewel of the Washington, DC, visit was the hockey game at the Capital One Arena. The Washington Capitals played the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Caps lost… at least cameras were allowed and both Dmitry and I clicked away during the pre-game skate and even the game itself.
Christmas at New York City: a portrait session with Shania Shields
Day 5, Part Two of photography workshop with Joe McNally in a New York City studio.
I was looking forward to this part of the workshop most of all as this involved photographing a professional dancer in a studio.
Shania Shields is a 2021 graduate of the New York University Tisch School of the Arts and she is a professional dancer, singer and actress who received her BFA studio training in the drama department at Playwrights Horizons, Atlantic Acting School and Stonestreet Studios. @shania.aprill
Shania’s stage experience was greatly appreciated by everyone in our group and it was mostly up to our skills as photographers to work fast enough to capture every graceful pose and elegant move. Anyone who had ever modeled for a photography session would agree that posing is not an easy matter. You are asked to freeze and keep the pose or repeat a movement over and over, maintain precision in your position and perfection in your moves and while doing all that, your face needs to express ease and happiness at all times. Kudos to Shania for being a perfect model.
Christmas at New York City: a portrait session with Danté Crichlow
Day 5, Part One of photography workshop with Joe McNally in a New York City studio.
Danté Crichlow is an actor known for Netflix movies “See You Yesterday” (2019 and 2017)and he studied at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts.
Dante was part of our photography group and he graciously agreed to pose for me. I was following Joe McNally’s advice from his book “Sketching Light” to always watch for dusty windows as they are some of the best light diffusers available in the real world. That Sunday morning we found ourselves on an abandoned and badly dilapidated floor of an industrial building with huge windows that hadn't been washed for at least half-century. The bright midday sun rays were bouncing from the opposite buildings and creating ice-like patterns on the glass surfaces. Just gorgeous.
Christmas at New York City: Chinatown and Year of the Tiger
Day 4, Part Two of photography workshop with Joe McNally in New York City during the Christmas season.
The evening at Chinatown and Little Italy. Both quarters are lively and vibrant and they are divided by just one street. Interestingly enough, the crowds don’t mix at all. On one side of the street you are surrounded by Mandarin sounds and red lanterns and then you cross the street and suddenly, as if by magic, you hear only Italian speech and laughter and you smell pizza and lasagna. Both quarters are insanely vibrant and a feast for the photographer’s eye.
Christmas at New York City: Times Square in the Fog
Day 4, Part One of photography workshop with Joe McNally in New York City during the Christmas season.
The initial plan was to photograph the Winter Village at Bryant Park. Internally, I was not so sure if I would be able to get anything Christmassy or worth looking at in broad daylight. Luckily, it had been raining all night (yes, there’s no bad weather in photography) and the morning looked foggy and gloomy - a perfect timing to visit Times Square. It was dark enough to make the neon lights stand out and the wet surfaces provided ample opportunities to capture reflections. Even people lining up for a rapid Covid-19 test at a mobile site looked hopeful and enjoying the views.
On my way back to the hotel I wandered to the Lyric theater, the home of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play. I stopped at a gorgeous Art Deco building to use its windows as a mirror. To my surprise, a kind concierge inside waved to me to come in and he even kindly invited me to visit the upper floor to get more photos of the stunning interior. This completed my happy morning in New York City.
Christmas at New York City: Grand Central Station and Rockefeller
Day 3, Part Two of photography workshop with Joe McNally in New York City during the Christmas season.
We spent the morning wandering around the Grand Central Terminal, alternating long and wide lenses, motion blur and slow shutter speed, camera handheld and on a tripod and different white balance settings. We were even lucky to catch the spectacular display “Into the Northern Lights: An Immersive Experience”. This Canadian interactive installation gave a full experiencing the northern lights in Canada with its floor-to-ceiling mirrors reflecting the northern lights in all directions. They even allowed photography inside, of which we took full advantage, of course.
The rest of the images are from somewhere along Fifth Avenue between the Central Park and Rockefeller Center. The lit balloons were a definite theme this year and the police officers were fiercely guarding the elevated surfaces of the Channel Gardens from public recklessly attempting to climb them for a better view of the holiday installations.
Christmas at New York City: Holiday Window Displays on Fifth Avenue
Day 3, Part One of photography workshop with Joe McNally in New York City during the Christmas season.
The assignment was to photograph the holiday window displays of the high end brands on Fifth Avenue. By this time I had a better sense of what was expected of each assignment - do something that would make the viewers stop and get a second glance at your work. How could I photograph the work of insanely talented designers and attempt to add something of my own? I went with a long lens and focused on tiny fragments of the installations, thus making the photographs more about portraiture rather than holidays and shopping windows.