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Proud pup mom, type A creative, lover of the outdoors, Top Chef fan girl, and wedding and portrait photographer. Welcome to the blog!
HI, I'M RACHEL!
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Today’s blog post might make you want to take a professional photographer with you on beach vacations from now on. Just sayin’. The folks who traveled to the Dominican Republic for our Dance Adventures trip might have felt like I was doing them a favor by taking some quick headshots, but little did they know they were doing me a favor. Magic hour portraits on the beach has been on this photographer’s bucket list for a long time!
Being that we were in the Dominican Republic, which is an island in the Atlantic & Caribbean, we made it to the beach most days of our trip. In fact, we were at the beach the day prior, smack in the middle of the day. The midday sun provides pretty harsh light & it’s not my favorite to shoot in, so I asked the trip leaders if we could make sure to come back to the beach another day during magic hour.
My request was granted pretty quickly, as the following day we went to the beach a little later after a morning coaching session. I made sure to bring a prime lens (Sigma 35mm f1.4) & waited with bated breath for the sun to start sinking into the horizon. And I soooo lucked out: this magic hour had a little extra magic in it – I am in love with these photos!
While the light helped make these photos beautiful, the thing that really makes these images special are the people in them. Apparently a week of dancing, eating delicious food, immersing yourself in a welcoming foreign culture, making new friends, getting in touch with yourself, being secluded from your everyday life, & dedicating your days to laughter & adventure really creates the perfect atmosphere for a photo shoot! Who knew?! The light in the sky was golden & beautiful, but what I really captured here was the warmth & light shining from each of the incredible humans in these photos.
Thank you to my DR familia for playing in the magic hour light with me, and for continuously being such an inspiration <3
HELLO@RACHELEHPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
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Rachel is a wedding and portrait photographer
Serving brilliant, elegant couples in Washington D.C. + Beyond
Copyright 2022 Rachel E.H. Photography | Website by Alex Collier Design
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