Your Life, Through My Lens

I am Mama to three beautiful children. When my third was born I had to make some big decisions and transition to being at home more with my babies and it was at that time "Dana Marie Photography" was born.

Photography has been a creative outlet and passion of mine for more than ten years. I started with film and learning on a 35mm how to "paint with light" and it took off from there.

My business began trying a little bit of everything and has stayed that course. I love the challenge of thinking on my feet and meeting and working with different kinds of people of all shapes and sizes. I specialize in working with women and not limiting myself to one genre of photography keeps my skills fresh and I love having a variety in my schedule. People ask often what my favorite is and it is people, I love capturing people and helping them look and feel their best - especially women - our bodies change so many times over our lives and it's been a mission of mine to help ladies feel their best at all the different stages of life.

In my spare time I enjoy spending time with my family, scrapbooking, taking recreational photos, playing on the beach, collecting tattoos and playing piano. I am a huge Dave Matthews Band fan and if they are playing in Virginia Beach you might see me there!

My Style

I strive to create memorable images, I want my followers to see one of my images and know it is my work. I want my images to pop and be eye-catching. Since starting my business I have been constantly training my eye to look at photographs in a whole new way. One of my biggest photography inspirations growing up was Cindy Sherman, she liked to dress up and take crazy self-portraits of herself and in different places, I like to try new things and be spontaneous with my self-portraits also.

While I can shoot natural light I actually prefer a combination of natural and artificial light in many situations, even outdoors. I prefer not to be at the sun's mercy when it comes to lighting at my portrait sessions which also gives me the benefit of not being restricted to a certain time of day or place to hold sessions. While all photographers have preferences, enhancing with artificial light gives me the ability to be more flexible with my photography and light my clients in a way that still looks very natural.

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What People Are Saying

JENNIFER K. - Google

“
Dana was amazing & captured our day perfectly! Easy to work with, very responsive & got the pictures to us quickly! She was great at handling the large group pictures we requested & getting our niece & nephew both under 4 to smile & look at the camera! Dana did what she needed to get the picture, stood on a chair in the sand or got down & laid in the sand! We highly recommend!
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CINDY B. - Google

“
I am a repeat customer! Dana is the BEST! She captures beauty in simple moments. Her photos capture love and emotions. She is quick, competent, easy to work with, great with kids and makes you feel at ease. Her photos are proudly displayed in my home and make my heart happy!
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COLBY P. - Google

“
Wow!! After years of iPhone photos I decided to get professional photos done of my daughters and I and I COULD NOT BE HAPPIER!! The girls said how nice Dana and was and how she made the session feel comfortable and natural. Dana Marie has an eye for location and should be anybody’s first choice when needing photographs. She is a true artist! ❤️
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ALEX T. - Google

“
Dana is such a talented photographer! We have used her services for newborn and Holiday family photo sessions, she is a always such a joy to work with! She knows exactly how to capture the perfect moments, and works so incredibly well with kids/babies!
Her galleries are filled with frame worthy photos, its always so hard to choose which to print! So we end up making photo books! We love you Dana and are grateful to have these beautiful photos for a lifetime! Love, The Tolan Family”
SARA W. - Google

“Dana was so, so, so amazing. We are so thankful we booked her for our wedding day. First and foremost, we love our photos and the way she captured the happiness and love from the day. Second, she had the best energy. You end up spending quite a bit of time with your vendors that day and she was the best (and our bridal party/families/guests thought so too). In fact I told my now husband that we have to book her again for family photos once we have babies. She was the perfect balance of organized, reliable & present, but chill enough that nothing felt interrupted or tedious. Thank you Dana for being amazing!!!”