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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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micro WEDDINGS
elopements
I just want to keep repeating this: I’m becoming more and more appreciative each day that I get to capture love as my job. Photography is seriously the best. This weekend I got to be a DC micro wedding photographer while taking photos for Lilly & Josh’s Annandale micro wedding.
The past week has been a lot to process. As a business owner, I spend a lot of time on social media, and social media has been an… interesting… place the past week. I’ve experienced probably every emotion there is in the span of an hour, multiple times a day. The thing I’ve been most present to is that the black community is often faced with those emotions and challenges. They live with and in fear, they are routinely discriminated against, they experience the dark side of humanity more often than the rest of us. And that’s on top of the everyday challenges of their individual life circumstances (which are often already heavier than what the rest of us experience, due to systemic racist policies and circumstances – it’s a snowball effect). I’ve always known this, I’ve just been ever present to it this week. Black folks deal with a LOT (emotions, discrimination, processing, fear, loss, up-hill battles, etc.) on a daily basis. I’m actively looking for ways to ease their burden.
I have so many incomplete thoughts and ideas, so for now I’m doing a combo of processing, learning, and graciously addressing unproductive comments and actions from my fellow whites folks when I see them (graciously being the operative word there!). I know I’m most productive and effective when I take aligned action (more on that here), so I think this balance will best set me up to be the most helpful as an ally and to understand where I personally and professionally need to make changes.
Due to the daily protests in D.C. last week, I had to do some rearranging of my schedule. Several photo shoots were postponed. Permits weren’t being issued and I didn’t think it was a good idea to take clients into the city. Plus I didn’t feel it was appropriate to be doing a photo shoot blocks from a very serious protest. Photo shoots can wait! One very patient client had been waiting since March to have her graduation photos taken. When it became apparent that her fourth reschedule date wasn’t going to happen at the Lincoln Memorial, we finally switched to doing her session in Old Town Alexandria. It was wonderful to finally meet Caity and her adorable corgi puppy, Ralphie!
That evening I met up with my friend Rebecca at her sister’s house, who happens to have the perfect porch for social distancing. Milli and I hung out with Rebecca and her niece and nephew who just adore Milli. Too bad Milli is afraid of small kids and she totally ignored them. Oy. (Face palm emoji.)
Saturday I got to be a DC micro wedding photographer for a small backyard ceremony for Lilly and Josh. Lilly and Josh were supposed to be married on a cruise, and since most travel is put on hold, they decided to go ahead and say I do locally. Their officiant hosted their ceremony in her yard, and then we found a beautiful spot in a nearby office park (can you believe that?!) for a few portraits.
After the ceremony, I met Rebecca, Ruby, and Noble in DelRay for some Dairy Godmother! My first taste of sugar in about three months! It was heaven! haha
Sunday I got to talk to some new potential wedding clients where I get to play DC micro wedding photographer, before spending the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather.
On tap for the blog this week: Allison & Preston’s engagement photos, and two recent graduation sessions. Hope you have a wonderful Monday!
Did this post get you excited to book your own wedding, elopement, or engagement session?! If yes, send me a note and we can chat about what you have in mind: contact me
Hi – I’m Rachel! A wedding, engagements, and headshots photographer in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and northern Virginia. I love taking photos of elegant people who love to laugh, as well as of much in-love couples. If you’re a dog owner, that’s a plus! I’m currently booking 2020 portrait sessions, as well as 2020 and 2021 weddings.
HELLO@RACHELEHPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
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Rachel is a wedding and portrait photographer
Serving brilliant, elegant couples in Washington D.C. + Beyond
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