Children: Helena + Vivian

Posted May 11, 2010 to children , portrait by: .

I got a last minute call from a family whom I photographed the past summer (same year). They wanted me to do another session on Tilghman Island, but just the children this time.  They wanted the pictures for Christmas.

Unfortunately, they could only do it on the same day where I already had two sessions! However, the first session with Adele the book writer, was very early in the morning, and the engagement session would be late in the afternoon. So I was able to squeeze in another session for that day later in the morning, which works pretty well for all of us.

girl swinging under a tree in black and white. Candid children photographer St Michael Tilghman Island MD

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5 Responses to “Children: Helena + Vivian”

  1. Maria

    Leo, your work is a real art… I always love children’s pictures … Helena and Vivian are so gorgeous and you catch them so naturally in each shot. Well done, Leo!!!!

  2. Leo Dj

    Thank you for your kind words, Maria. 🙂

  3. Asep Muchyidin

    Sangat bagus…. Leo.

  4. anna seleska

    i’ve been searching for pictures and photographs for so long to see whether still pictures can capture deep emotion and tell a story. well, my search wasnt really satisfactory.
    but you’ve done it very well sir. you have made them not mere a photograph, they’re deep. i enjoy to see them over and over again..
    you made commoners such natural actor/actress. and that’s beautiful
    thanks for sharing such gift

    i’m waiting for other breakthrough of yours sir
    best regards

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Commercial Work: Adele

Posted May 6, 2010 to commercial work , portrait by: .

OK. After going off the beaten path of trying to post in chronological order by posting recent works, now I’m back on track continuing from where I left off, the family portrait session from last November.

Only about a month after I did my commercial work for the Crazy Chick Salon, I got a call from Adele. She was referred to me by Becky, the owner of the salon. Adele said that I was highly recommended. That made me smile from ear to ear. 😀

Adele wanted a few portraits of her in a natural setting, not studio, for her Web site and her book “The Legend of the Seahawk”. She wanted to have the images as soon as possible. We had agreed to a shoot date. However, because of the weather, it had to be postponed to another date in November. I already had another client on that day for an engagement session. Fortunately, it was in the afternoon. So I was able to do the session with Adele very early in the morning to get the morning sunlight.

Here are some of my favorite images.

Women writer by water. Commercial work book writer portrait photographer Annapolis, Kent Island, Eastern Shore, Maryland

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One Response to “Commercial Work: Adele”

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Engagement: Junelyn + Brad

Posted April 27, 2010 to engagement session , pre-wedding by: .

Junelyn and Brad saw my portfolio on my site last year. They instantly fell in love with my style, did not want to look at any other wedding photographers, and decided to book me right away. It was love at first sight. 🙂 Don’t you just fell in love with these kind of clients? Well I sure did… 🙂 They made me jump and said, “Yes!!”

They decided to do the engagement session this Spring. We were blessed to get such a perfect warm weather that afternoon. Although, it was a quite a struggle for them to get to the Eastern Shore. It took few hours for them to get here because it was during a weekday, Tuesday, and it was rush hour. Surprisingly there was a long backup at Annapolis and at the Bay Bridge too, which is not very common on a Spring weekday. Probably because it was still a spring break for few schools and probably lots of families decided to go to the beach.

Anyway, when Junelyn and Brad got here, the loved the beautiful and peaceful place and said that it made them forgot about the bad traffic they had. It was totally worth the drive for them. 🙂

I was actually sick on that day, although I was much better than the two days before, but I already made a promise. I also thought that there may not be another chance for a perfect weather where both of them can get a day off from work, so I forced myself to do it. It was worth it for me as well, as you can see from these images below. 🙂

engaged couple hugging, kissing on the beach with warm amber sunset. Romantic engagement session on beach Kent Island Maryland

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2 Responses to “Engagement: Junelyn + Brad”

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High School Senior: Marissa

Posted April 15, 2010 to high school senior , portrait by: .

This is my first full session of high school senior portrait. Well sort of…

Marissa supposed to graduate this year along with her other classmates. However, she graduated a year early, and is now in college. Way to go Marissa! 🙂

Nevertheless, she wanted to do this senior photo session anyway. I’m honored to have her as my first. 🙂

I knew Marissa through Facebook through other friends, and she is one of the most nicest/politest person in FB. I think Marissa is a beautiful person not only on the outside, but also inside. 🙂

Close up face portrait of a beautiful girl. Kent Island Annapolis High School Senior Portrait

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2 Responses to “High School Senior: Marissa”

  1. hesti.riansari

    nice pict,… ^_^.. loking good,..

  2. Dawn Clark

    Hi Leo

    I stumbled upon your work- WOW!!!

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Workshop with Susan Stripling

Posted April 8, 2010 to bridal , engagement session , model , workshop by: .

I had always been interested in taking Susan Stripling’s seminar/workshop, but got a bit discouraged by the need to travel to Florida where she usually does her workshop.

Lucky me, I just became friends with another photographer, Stacy Richardson on Facebook. A few days later, she announced that Susan Stripling was having a workshop in just 3 more days at Annapolis and there were only two vacancies left. I was so excited! The problem was that it was a last minute deal, and I had to find someone to watch my son. Luckily, we had some good friends that were willing to help us. So again, lucky me. 😀

The workshop was in late March. It started at 10 in the morning and ended at almost 10 in the evening. 🙂 We got a chance to practice to shoot outdoor where we observed the location, where the lights were coming from, and how the lights fell on the subjects. We were fortunate to have Lauren, Jen and Brent to model for us. Make up was done by the talented Amie Decker.

The forecast said that it was supposed to rain all day. Lucky us, we got some breaks in the cloud and we ended up with cloudy day during the shoot although it was quite chilly. 🙂

So here are some of my favorite images.

Girl hugged by guy, looking at camera. Engagement session model photography - Annapolis photographer

Most of the poses and set-ups was done by Susan, but some were done by the attendees. The first image above was set by Susan, but when it was my turn to shoot, I modified the pose a bit and directed Jen and Brent where to look. BTW, don’t you think Jen had amazing eyes? 🙂

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3 Responses to “Workshop with Susan Stripling”

  1. Asep Muchyidin

    Amazing!

  2. Tiwiw

    Leo… Glad to hear that you continue to learn and enhance your photography skills… Amazing takes which show how much diligence you have in your career…! Proviciat!

  3. hesti.riansari

    very very nice pict,…. loking good,…^_^

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Sneak Peak: Ashley + Anthony’s Wedding

Posted March 25, 2010 to wedding by: .

I never done this before, but I decided to start doing it now. I want to feature a sneak peak blog while it’s still fresh. This is from my latest destination wedding. 🙂

The real blog with more images and complete story will be released later in chronological order like the rest of my posts. However, for right now, I’m going to temporarily go off the beaten path. 🙂

This wedding was from this month at Clifton Inn, Charlottesville, Virginia. It was a really beautiful place, and we got a beautiful weather too!

Bride and groom holding hands. Clifton Inn Charlottesville VA Destination Wedding Photographer

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4 Responses to “Sneak Peak: Ashley + Anthony’s Wedding”

  1. Michael Beard

    Leo,

    This sneak peak blog serves as an incredible synopsis of the day. It was a beautiful venue, day and more importantly- wedding. You did such a wonderful job capturing it all. Very well done.

  2. Aunt Debby

    Leo,
    What a WONDERFUL job!!!! You’re great!!! I can’t wait to see the rest of the pictures.

  3. Nana &Papa Bruerton

    Leo,
    A fantastic job, we look forward to the rest.
    As Ashleys Grandfather it was difficult not being there but you have captured the moments that are special and give me a chance to live the experience

    Ron and Janice Bruerton

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The Dudley and Pirhalla Family

Posted March 23, 2010 to children , family by: .

I knew Renee way back when we used to work for one company. We had lost contact until about a year ago we met again through Facebook. Thank you Facebook! 😀

Renee saw my photography work and became interested in having her family and her brother’s family photographed for Christmas cards and for themselves.

She wanted to do the photo session in fall to get the warm foliage colors.  So I suggested that we do it at Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis.

We had to postpone from the original scheduled date due to the weather. We were lucky that we finally got a great weather and still had some fall colors. This was early November last year.

Here is my most favorite shot from the session because it shows the children’s characters, their unique expressions. 🙂

brothers, sisters, siblings, and cousins. Fun candid family children lifestyle photographer Annapolis Maryland

I got this shot after they became more comfortable with me and trusted me.

It wasn’t easy during the first few minutes though. 😀

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3 Responses to “The Dudley and Pirhalla Family”

  1. Renee Pirhalla

    Thanks to you Leo! The day was perfect, the kids were less than perfect (I couldn’t believe how much N. warmed up to you after that less than perfect start). You took some take some AMAZING photos! I know we will be calling on you again!
    Best wishes to you, I love your blog stories with photos! People are very lucky to have their memories captured by you!

  2. Yasaman

    Nice Photos and Photography ^_^
    Light, colors, views are perfect.

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Engagement: Brittany + Dan

Posted March 18, 2010 to engagement session by: .

OK. Moving on to November 2009. 🙂

For some reason, fall season is very very popular for all sort of photo sessions: engagement, weddings, family portrait, etc. You name it. I was fully booked in October and November last year. People just like the weather and the tree colors. 🙂

This was the first photo session in November, an engagement or pre-wedding photography session with Brittany and Dan at Matapeake Beach and the marina in between the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club and Hemingways.

engaged couple kissing with beautiful sunset color background. Engagement Photographer Matapeake Beach, Chesapeake Bay

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4 Responses to “Engagement: Brittany + Dan”

  1. Nathalia

    Leo, wah bagus2 banget foto2nya 🙂 didn’t know u were into photography 🙂 btw…apparently your sister was my teacher pas ngeles di Lasalle 🙂 what a small world 🙂

  2. Leo Dj

    Lia, thank you so much! 🙂
    Is that right? Wow, what a small world indeed! 🙂

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Dr. Philbin and Staff

Posted March 16, 2010 to portrait by: .

I took my son to his orthodontist in late October. When I came in to the office, boy, was I in for a surprise! 😀

It was almost Halloween and everyone in the office, including the two orthodontists, were wearing 80’s themed outfit. October 31st fell on a weekend, and the office would not be opened, so they celebrated it on the last couple of weekdays. That is Thursday at the Kent Island office and Friday at the Annapolis office.

Their clothing was so colorful and reminded me of Madonna, Paula Abdul, etc. back in the days. One of the staff became Paul Stanley from KISS. What cracked me up (and amazed me at the same time) was that Dr. Philbin became Michael Jackson. I actually liked the outfit he was wearing better than the typical infamous red jacket that MJ wore for the Thriller video.  Not that there’s anything wrong with the red jacket outfit, but I thought the black shirt with the sequins was awesome! It looked more expensive too! 😀

Anyway, since I loved the way they looked, I decided to immortalize the fun that they had and offered them to take their photos.  Fortunately, they liked the idea and happily agreed to do it! Woohoo!! 😀

It was morning when I took my son to their office, so I had to come back in the afternoon after the office hours to take the pictures. Well of course, we couldn’t do it when the patient was waiting. They’d be furious! 😛

Here are the images from the session…

We originally wanted to do it outside, but then we would have to drive to the location, and that would not be practical for everyone. Luckily, they had this red brick wall in their office. What a perfect backdrop!

As you could see here, the background really matched their colorful outfit. It also reminded me of Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall album. I couldn’t ask for any better. 😀

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2 Responses to “Dr. Philbin and Staff”

  1. Blonnie

    These are awesome! I love them — you did such a great job, as did your “models” 🙂

  2. Leo Dj

    Thanks, Blonnie. 🙂

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Commercial Work: Eva + Chris

Posted March 10, 2010 to commercial work , comp card by: .

Late October last year, one of my friend asked me if I could take pictures of her children for comp cards. I said, “Sure!”

It was supposed to be in mid October but it rained that weekend, so we decided to postpone it to the next weekend.

We were lucky that the next weekend we got a good weather. Our prayers were answered! 🙂

The session was supposed to be at Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis, but for some reason there was a traffic backup at the Bay Bridge. Not sure what happened. I couldn’ get through and we’re running out of daylight. Fortunately, Heidy was kind enough to offer herself to drive to Kent Island. I found this small picnic park with a pond. We were lucky to get some fall colored trees as well.

Anyway, here’s Eva.

Girl cover face, mouth, nose, with pink sweater. Commercial comp card photograper Kent Island Annapolis MD Washington DC

And… here’s Chris. 🙂

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