Benson Blake Photography » Portraits

AKA Debutante Portraits

Benson Blake Photography — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 10:42:58 +0000

In March, I had the pleasure of photographing 10 debutantes in Maryland, as part of an upcoming Tea Rose Cotillion event. The debutantes are being sponsored by the Xi Zeta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (AKA) Inc.'s Ivy Foundation. The Saturday morning session included a variety of individual and group portraits of the ladies. Special thanks to Jean-Ann for hosting us all for the portrait session. I counted at least 30 pair of shoes lined up at the door… whew! I'd also like to thank the cotillion co-chairs and Ivy Foundation of Washington for continuing to host the cotillion event for these young women.

For the photographers, here's the lighting setup I used…
Four Alien Bee strobes, 4×6' reflector and seamless background paper.

Ramona & Burton

Benson Blake Photography — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:15:42 +0000

Earlier this summer, I had the pleasure of photographing Ramona & Burton for their engagement session. We took a stroll around the National Harbor in Maryland, then captured some of DC's monuments from across the water in Virginia. Thanks to Ramona and Burton for their great energy during that hot and humid summer day. They managed to stay nice and cool for the camera. The couple's October wedding will take place in Washington DC area.

Miss Hampton Portraits ’09

Benson Blake Photography — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:21:41 +0000

The day after the 2009 pageant, a portrait session was held for the newly crowned Miss Hampton University, Nikole Churchill. Promotional images were created using a variety of outfits and poses. Thanks to Bobby and Myrtle for assisting with the equipment setup and styling for the session. Here's one of my favorite images from the session. Good luck to Nikole, as she competes for Miss Virginia in the Spring 2010 pageant.

The Ewing Family

Benson Blake Photography — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:47:11 +0000

This summer, had the pleasure of photographing the Ewing family in Dumfries, VA. The session took place at a nearby neighborhood's clubhouse, providing a nice park-like atmosphere for portraits. For this group of combined families, we created a series of portraits to show their unique relationships with one another. Some of their vibrant personalities were also captured in the process. Here are some of the family's images created that Friday morning.

Debutantes at THEARC

Benson Blake Photography — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:01:47 +0000

I was recently commissioned to photograph 8 young ladies who will be participating in the Tea Rose Cotillion this month, in the DC area. The session was held at the THEARC Campus of the Washington Middle School for Girls in DC. Several portraits were created of each debutante, showing their formal dresses and some personality. The images will be used as a part of the printed program for the upcoming cotillion event. Thanks to the Xi Zeta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (AKA) Inc.'s Ivy Foundation for sponsoring this occasion. I'm sure the debutantes will remember this experience for years to come.

Natalynn & Dan’s Portraits

Benson Blake Photography — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:49:11 +0000

On February 7th, I traveled to Chesterfield, Virginia to photograph business-woman Natalynn Roman. She's the president of the Strategic Leadership Development Group in Virginia, a company that provides leadership and organizational consulting services to a variety of clients.

Natalynn will be featured in the April 2009 issue of Black Enterprise Magazine, as Part 3 of a three-part "Women & Money" series. Natalynn and her husband were both photographed together for the magazine, as well as individual headshots. Here are a some portraits of the couple that were created that beautiful day in Chesterfield.

Miss Hampton Portraits ’08

Benson Blake Photography — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:39:50 +0000

Congratulations to Shannon Cooper, Miss Hampton University 2008-2009. She was crowned on October 11, 2008 and will serve as an ambassador for the University for the current academic year. The day after the pageant, we held a portrait session in Hampton to capture some promotional images. The 2009 "Black College Queens" issue of Ebony Magazine will feature a photo from this session. Good luck to Shannon, as she will compete for the title of Miss Virginia in the Spring 2009 pageant.

The Toney Family

Benson Blake Photography — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 02:12:07 +0000

On October 4th, I created portraits of the Toney family at their beautiful home in Haymarket, VA. The family dog, Nikki, stepped in occasionally for her cameo appearance throughout the morning. Thanks to my assistant Precious of Precious Perspectives for helping out with the session! The two boys, 10 months and 3 years, were all smiles (and silly) for the camera. Three years ago, I photographed their youngest son when he was just 8 months old. So, this was a great way to capture both children as infants. Here are a few of the images…

Seidah & John 8-8-08

Benson Blake Photography — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:28:47 +0000

Congratulations to newlyweds Seidah & John, who recently married in northern VA on 8-8-08. They enjoyed a private ceremony, then held a party on a later date for family and friends to join the celebration. I had the pleasure of creating casual portraits for their custom-printed invitations.

Dr. Peggy Britt

Benson Blake Photography — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:52:38 +0000

On last week, I held a portrait session on location with gospel artist and pastor Dr. Peggy Britt. For this session, I setup at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Methodist Church in Portsmouth VA to create some promotional images for her.Â We started with a few in the sanctuary to give a church-like feel, then ended with some headshots to show more personality.

The Garcia Family

Benson Blake Photography — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:25:41 +0000

On last weekend, I had the joy of photographing the Garcia family in Dumfries, Virginia. The newest addition to the family is their 5 month old son, who was ready for his close-up! Big brother and sister also had their portraits done… then the whole family piled up for a casual portrait. These are just a few of my favorites from this family's session. Enjoy!

VA Outstanding Scientists

Benson Blake Photography — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:45:19 +0000

Congratulations to Dr. James M. Russell III, recipient of the 2008 Virginia Outstanding Scientist award. On last week, I photographed Russell and the 2007 award winner, Dr. M. Patrick McCormick, on the campus of Hampton University. Images were created of them in front of Ogden Hall, the Administration Building (pictured below), and other areas of the campus. Thanks to Yuri and her staff for coordinating this session. One or two images from the session will be part of a billboard display along interstate 64 in Hampton VA. Look for the super-sized image during August and September 2008.

Dr. James M. Russell III (left) and Dr. M. Patrick McCormick (right), winners of the 2008 and 2007 Virginia Outstanding Scientist Award

The Hopkins Family

Benson Blake Photography — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:18:33 +0000

I was recently commissioned to photograph the Hopkins family in Triangle VA. One or two images from their session will be published in the August 2008 issue of Black Enterprise Magazine. The family will be featured in a real estate article, about successfully investing in the current housing market. Here are a couple of images from our session.

Ross & Darby Families

Benson Blake Photography — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:33:58 +0000

wI recently had the pleasure of photographing the Ross and Darby families in Newport News VA.Â Their outdoor session took place at Huntington Park, which has become one of my new favorite locations for photography.Â Thanks to the families for being such great sports in the extreme heat… whew!Â Fortunately, there was plenty of shade for us to work in and still get some great images.

Amber’s Portraits

Benson Blake Photography — Sun, 18 May 2008 13:50:43 +0000

I recently held a studio portrait session for Amber, a music major at Hampton University. We created lots of great images to be used for her upcoming vocal competition. Hopefully we can narrow them down to just one for the program. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Pageant Committee

Benson Blake Photography — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:08:05 +0000

On Wednesday, I held a studio portrait session for a few members of the Miss Southeastern Virginia Pageant committee. I thought it was neat how they just happened to show up wearing red, white & blue. Their solid-colored clothing worked great for these promotional images. Here are a few from our studio session.

Bishop Thomas’ Portraits

Benson Blake Photography — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:51:32 +0000

I recently had the opportunity to photograph Bishop Ted Thomas Sr., pastor of New Community Temple COGIC. This session included studio portraits and images created on location at his church in Portsmouth VA. Here's a sample of images from that afternoon.

Mom & Daughter Session

Benson Blake Photography — Tue, 06 May 2008 11:55:17 +0000

Last week, I created a series of mother and daughter portraits for Patricia and her mom Alberta. The session took place on location at their Portsmouth VA home. Some images were captured inside the home, while others were taken just outside their front door. Here's a sneak peek…

Epsilon Delta Boulé

Benson Blake Photography — Fri, 02 May 2008 23:13:14 +0000

On Saturday evening, I had the pleasure of taking group portraits of the Epsilon Delta chapter of the Sigma Pi Phi fraternity. Congratulations to the new members who were recently inducted. Their spouses also posed for a formal portrait.

Deanna and Natario

Benson Blake Photography — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:30:48 +0000

Deanna and Natario's engagement session took place at Huntington Park in Newport News VA. The warm weather was right on time, and the morning sunlight was perfect for photography. Click here to view the wedding photos.