Starting as a political news and celebrity portrait photographer in DC, Sam was instantly drawn to wedding photography as a space to promote more inventive ideas. Sam’s focus is on photographic techniques that are deceptively simple but have the potential to transform difficult or uninspiring shooting environments into one-of-a-kind opportunities for every photo made.
Some sessions just feel like hanging out with people you already know, and this one was exactly that. We started at home with the two dogs underfoot, warm light pouring across the bookshelves, and it set the whole tone for the night. When a couple is comfortable in their own space, letting me photograph the mess and the personality of where they actually live, everything after that gets easier. The dogs did their part too, which is to say they mostly ignored the plan and looked adorable anyway.
From there we wandered outside and chased that last bit of golden light through the hedges and side streets before letting the evening go fully blue and neon. The dinosaur tattoo peeking out with a real dinosaur photobombing in the background is the kind of small specific detail I live for because it tells you exactly who these two are without a single word. This is why I love an engagement session that spills into the neighborhood after dark. You get the quiet cozy stuff and the playful late night stuff all in one, and it ends up feeling like a real portrait of a real relationship instead of a set of poses.
Photographers… you can find deconstructions of images like these and more over on my patreon feed.
Everything edited w/ my profile.
