I'm Zach! your Northern Virginia, DC, and Maryland Wedding & Family Photographer

A bit about me

I am originally from Virginia but have lived in Canada, California, Utah, Nevada and Maryland. I spent nearly a decade in California and moved back to Virginia in 2010. When not taking photos you can find me camping in the mountains, watching movies, enjoying a spirited drive on the back roads, or improving my piano technique.

I serve the Northern Virginia, Maryland and DC area. Contact me for destination event inquiries.

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Equipment

I have been shooting on Nikon cameras since I received my first DSLR, a Nikon D3200 at the age of 16. I still have that camera on display on my gear shelf, and it still functions perfectly after tens of thousands of images.
Today I shoot on the Nikon Z8. The Z8 is the top of the line professional camera body offered by Nikon, offering identical technical capabilities to the flagship Z9, but in a smaller form factor critically important to photographers who need to be mobile.
Be warned: Nerdy camera stuff below.
The Z8 offers the same full frame 35mm image sensor as the Z9- recording 45 Megapixels of image resolution into 14 bit digital negative image files. It can shoot at a continuous frame rate of 20 frames per second in this format for those split second moments.
The Z8 is also capable of recording video up to 8k resolution at 60 frames per second in 12 bit lossless raw format.
Another critically important feature of the Z8 is the capability to record to two separate cards simultaneously guaranteeing in the event of a card failure during a shoot, no images are lost.
On a typical wedding or event session you will see me with two camera bodies for an added layer of redundancy and to have multiple lenses available to use simultaneously.
Also always on my person during a shoot is my trusty shoulder bag.
In my bag I typically have one or two alternative lens choices, backup SD cards and backup batteries, among other practical tools such as color measurement tools and lens filters.
The Nikon Z system offers some of the most technologically advanced and optically brilliant lenses available on the market. The lenses I use will depend entirely on the needs of the scene but typically I will have a selection of the following lenses with me.
Tamron Z 35-150mm F/2-2.8 - A versatile and fast zoom lens perfect for photojournalistic coverage of events where the moments don't wait for the photographer.
Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 S - The gold standard of portrait lenses.
Nikon Z 50mm f/2.8 Macro - The go to lens for flat lays and detail photos.
Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART - A trusty fast prime lens great for tight low light situations.

My Style

When I look back on my catalogue of favorite photos over my career, I find 8 in 10 of those top picks are photos which capture an individuals unique presence in a real, human moment.
That directly translates to how I approach a scene. Typically 80% of my delivered work is of a photojournalistic, fly on the wall documentary approach with short directed portrait sessions at carefully chosen moments.
As cliché as it sounds, I aim for a timeless and naturalistic look to my photos. This means I steer clear of overly stylized color grades.
Heavy handed edits may be more immediately striking, but I find these "looks" fall in and out of favor with the times.
I prefer a more subtle approach to color, thinking first of the composition of the photo and how to bring out the most authentic representation of an individual's unique presence and the atmosphere of the session.
Similar to my color grading style- I typically only retouch photos strictly in service of the composition and to present an authentic representation of the individual.
One wouldn't enlarge an acrylic painting to three times the size it was intended to be viewed at, and then go on to lament every inconsistency in the artist's brush strokes. Its those ridges and variations that bring life and character to a piece, when viewed as a whole.
The same is true of a person. For this reason I typically will not alter a persons appearance in a photo beyond removal of distracting temporary blemishes.

Two Decades Behind The Lens

I may be dating myself a bit here, but I first started taking photos as a kid with the old disposable Kodak point and shoot film cameras of model cars and trains. That was over 20 years ago now. At the age of 16 I received my first DSLR as a Christmas gift and ever since you'd be hard pressed to find me without a camera close by.

I enjoy virtually all types of photography ranging Astrophotography, Landscapes, Architecture, Street Photography, Styled Portraiture, and of course Weddings.

Scroll down for a small selection of some of my favorite art pieces.