Doin’ Hair

May 16, 2011
by Victoria J

Back in the day… ok, it was not that long ago – just after my undergraduate experience – but back then, I wanted to “do hair” as my profession. Perhaps I was motivated to do so after creating a retailing plan for an upscale salon and spa in the Atlanta area in a Marketing class, or perhaps it was because I loved creating exotic hairstyles for myself and my friends. It could have even been because I decided to start growing my relaxer out, and I really had to “do” my hair on a regular basis. Whatever the case, I wanted to pursue a cosmetology degree, so I started researching hair schools in the Atlanta area. When I saw Empire Beauty School’s $18,000 tuition, I started re-evaluating my new career aspirations, especially since I had student loans of about that much that I needed to pay off. Needless to say, I never did move in the direction of hair school, but recently I have been blessed with opportunities to work with hair stylists, like the one I photographed in Delaware last week.

View select images below from this “hair-focused” headshot session, and by the way, if you see something you like, don’t forget to leave a comment below!

Pretty in PURPLE!!!

May 5, 2011
by Victoria J

A few weeks ago, I had my last official day at the elementary school. It was marked with surprises, the struggle of 3rd graders trying to keep surprises, tying up a lot of loose ends, a massive rain forest display, ice cream and cake, and plenty of PURPLE!!! I planned earlier that week to wear my Bohemian purple skirt set that Thursday as we prepared for Spring Break. Well, that Thursday morning when I swung around to pick up my classmate, I noticed that she too was decked in a purple dress (interesting coincidence or just great minds thinking alike). Anyway, we enjoyed our last day with our students, and then went home… but not without taking a few photos (since I had my camera on me that afternoon and we looked so springy). Anyway, one of the photos of me was taken by one of my students (not bad… I was actually thinking about hiring him on, if it wasn’t for those child labor laws), and the other was taken by my fellow (student) teacher. See all of the true beauty of the color of royalty in the images below!

Taking on Washington!

March 28, 2011
by Victoria J

Through my studies at Howard University, I was afforded the opportunity of meeting a young California man with focus and determination who has set his sights on education and the creation of policies surrounding that. Recently, he commissioned me to take photographs of him for his portfolio, so we chose the Capital area as our venue. Besides similar majors, we both shared a lack of understanding concerning the fact that it was snowing in DC at the end of the month of March (Sunday morning it snowed). Really, it’s supposed to be warm already! Anyway, the cold weather actually worked in our favor to (1) allow for less harsh sunlight, less shadows, etc, and (2) encourage people to stay home (meaning less people that I had to dodge in the photos). All in all, the images came out beautifully from this session, and I learned a DC secret in the process: The best time to shoot at the historic sites in DC is when a building is closed in the morning, like Sunday mornings.

I have included select images from this session below, and if you see something you like, please leave a comment below! I’d love to hear from you!

After Graduation, Advocation Should be My Occupation

March 22, 2011March 22, 2011
by Victoria J

Back in October, I photographed a future educator during a headshot session. To my delight, I was commissioned by him once again to do a portrait session for his birthday, and this time he chose to don a suit with a retro-1960’s cut. We previously set DC’s Union Station as our venue, but as I began to talk to him a little more and hear of his goals during the session, I realized that we needed to step outside of the venue. So we walked about some of the DC streets in this neighborhood, which was steps away from the US Capitol building. He shared with me his hopes to one day get his law degree and eventually advocate for the children – what a noble cause. I can actually think of many men of African or African-American decent that I have seen in education with the goal of moving towards policy creation or child advocacy, like this man, so I was not too surprised. Rather, I was refreshed by his drive, aspiration, community-focus, and all of those other good things that we do not often hear when speaking of men of African or African-American decent. I can go on and on about that, but I won’t. Instead, I will show a few of the stately images that I was able to capture during our session.

Before I show select images, here is my quick PSA: No matter what you find yourself doing, PLEASE make an effort to make a difference in the life of somebody else!

By the way, if you see something you like, don’t forget to leave a comment!

Another Sneak Peek – Through the Eyes of a Child

March 3, 2011March 5, 2011
by Victoria J

I am just about done editing the photos from a recent family portrait session, but I did not want to let the week go by without posting anything on my blog. The truth is, my focus has been on being prepared for the children at school and completing projects for my clients… so much so that I have not been able to update my blog as much as I’d like to (or even release my newest version of my website yet). But this is great problem to have — plenty of work! So please enjoy this photo, but more importantly, stay tuned for the rest of the story!

All About the HAIR!

January 13, 2011January 13, 2011
by Victoria J

One of the many things I love about what I do is the diversity of projects that I take on. One day, I may be photographing a family portrait session, the next day, I may cover an awards ceremony, and then next project may be a fashion shoot! It constantly has me thinking on my toes, looking for the best shots to capture the essence of the moment or the personalities. Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to do a photography session for a lace-front wig manufacturing company, based in Maryland – Hair Works International. The session was all about the hair with fans blowing and plenty of whipping (this is a reference to my last post). The resulting images were some of my best work to date! The goal was to not simply sell hair, but to sell a lifestyle and an experience. I will let you all be the judge for how successful I was! Select images from this session are included below.

By the way, if you see something you like, please DO NOT HESITATE to LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW!

It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

December 15, 2010December 15, 2010
by Victoria J

On the day after Thanksgiving, we gathered at one of my Aunt’s house for a Sister Portrait Session. When my Aunts and my Mom get together, it is always an interesting and exciting time. I often times get invited to tag along, but on this occasion, I was contracted to do a portrait session! Now, we had been together for the past 3 days as one day we celebrated a birthday, then we celebrated Thanksgiving, now we were doing the portrait session, and that evening we were having a game night, but in spite of all of this QT (quality time), everyone still had love for each other. And when these ladies get together, you cannot control or stop the laughter! But that’s what makes them so beautiful on the outside as well as the inside! They don’t take themselves too seriously, they won’t hold onto unforgiveness for too long, they will celebrate with you, and at times they will laugh at themselves!

I never had a real sister, but this holiday season, I felt like I was a Sister-In-Training. Below are images from our recent Sister Portrait Session in the DC area. By the way, if you see something you like, please feel free to leave a comment!