Jan is one of Washington DC’s most sought-after photographers, with a style best described as elegant whimsy. Her vast knowledge of lighting, composure, and posing is rivaled by few professional and fine photographers today. Pair her alluring style with a romantic sensibility and the result is nothing short of astonishingly beautiful photographs, reflecting the true essence of her client’s personality.
Jan earned a degree in Business Administration with a minor in Economics. She later added a degree in Professional Photography. Today, she is a member of The National Association of Photoshop Professionals, The Professional Photographers of America, as well as Wedding and Portrait Photographers International. She is also an enthusiastic world traveler and has a slight addiction to dark chocolate.
I always say that everyone needs a good picture of themselves, whether it’s a gift for a family member, a representation for business, for social media and networking, or a variety of other uses. A good headshot always comes in handy, and makes you feel good about showing your face to the world.
Chuck is retired, but needed an updated picture for several reasons. One is for potential extra work for movies being filmed here. Wouldn’t he make the best friendly yet distinguished gentleman? We included his wife in the shoot so now they have a portrait to give their son and a Christmas card picture too! It was such a pleasure to meet and work with them both!
How cute is Declan with those big blue eyes!? This adorable little boy is about 14 months old and what a busy kid he is! Fortunately, he’s very serious about playing catch or there would have been no hope of keeping him still long enough for a picture. It’s so interesting how children are born with certain tendencies, he’s not into cars and trucks, he’s working on his ball game. As a childrens photographer, every shoot is different, because every child is different. Thankfully Declan’s parents thought to bring one of his favorite things, which really made his personality shine in these pictures – and kept him still for a few headshots. Many thanks to them for their hard work keeping him entertained and moving in the right direction! And I know he’s a boy, but I had to include a picture of his amazing eye lashes at the end. So sweet!
jan michele photography is a boutique studio. This means that I only take on a limited number of weddings, so that my clients receive lots of my attention, before and after the wedding, to ensure their wedding photography is not only a good experience, but they love the results. If my clients weren’t thrilled with their pictures, then I’d be wasting my time and their money. Making client’s happy by giving them beautiful memories to look at for a lifetime is the reason I’m a wedding photographer. That may sound a little dramatic, but it’s true!
Part of this personalized service I offer is my effort to post proofs and the album design quickly. While most couples wait weeks and months to see their pictures, my goal is to post proofs within a week of the wedding and the album design within two weeks. Quite often my clients see their proofs and slideshow while still on their honeymoon and have their album design waiting upon their return. I had one couple have their completed album in their hands only a month after the wedding! I know I’m a little crazy for attempting so much work so quickly (post processing after a wedding is a minimum of 30-40 hours of work that must be done in 6 to 8 hour, uninterrupted, chunks of time) but my clients are worth the extra effort. This quick turn around time is one of the many ways my work is set apart from other wedding photographers.
I probably should also mention that every album design is completely unique, designed by me, to beautifully tell the story of the wedding day. No templates, no outsourcing. After all, creating the design and combining individual pictures to tell a story is my favorite part!
So, without further ado, Amanada and Jon’s album design that was waiting for them upon their return from Hawaii last week. They made one minor change and now it’s ready for production. I can’t wait to see these pages on beautiful metallic paper!
I often limit my blog to cute babies or sweet couples, but documenting other times and phases of life is important too. So I wanted to show some of those images today. “Big” kids still change from year to year as children grow up and these portraits are also family treasures down the road. Plus, once the children are a bit older family pictures are more fun and less exhausting work for the parents! Even without a baby or toddler, a family photo session is still a great idea!
I’ve known this family since before kids and it’s a joy to catch up with them every couple of years. If you’ve been following my blog for long you may recognize them from my last trip to Uruguay two and a half years ago. Here’s the post to show how much the kids have grown. This is our second official family photo shoot, squeezed into a visit on one of the hottest days of July. A stop in Old Town Alexandria and a tour of Mt. Vernon provided our backdrops.
Fortunately photos don’t convey heat, it was incredibly humid and sticky. With photography just about any day can look picture perfect, especially when the subjects are as cooperative as this wonderful family. This is also a great example of a family coordinating their clothes but not all matching. The print works because there is only one, and the guys shirts compliment the colors in the pattern. Don’t they look patriotic?
These 8 cousins live in 3 states so their families took advantage of them all being in the same place at the same time, the first time in two years, for a group portrait. I think that was a great idea! We also recreated a few of the grandmothers favorite pictures from when they were much younger. How fun would it be to have so many cousins so close to the same age? As I have no cousins at all, I’m a little envious. It was super hot and they were great sports. In the first picture they are in order by age. I especially love the boxcar pictures!
