About Us
It all started out of depression
It all started out of depression
and losing a child.
I have a Masters in Education and always thought that I was going to go into teaching full-time and be a principal by the time I was 35. But my plans changed when I had my first child In 2010. I went from working full-time, being a director of a nonprofit that worked for inner-city kids and writing curriculum, organizing summer camp experiences to changing diapers and being alone in a basement apartment filled with mold for two years.
Then we lost our second child in the first trimester and it brought me to the point of contemplating suicide.
We then couldn’t even afford to live in a basement apartment in Washington DC and so we moved to one room of a family’s house for two months to try to make ends meet. Then we moved to Virginia Beach and got a small apartment while I started my business and my husband volunteered as a minister.
I started shooting photography for friends and family from the knowledge that I gained from watching YouTube videos in 2011 with a $400 camera from Amazon.
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We became a licensed business in Chesapeake, VA in 2012. We have added videography, an event photobooth, social media management, marketing & graphic design to our list of services that we taught ourselves.
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Now we shoot over 100 shoots, sessions, events a year, averaging 100,000 photos taken.
We work with an average of 14 to 20 different brands and small businesses each year- creating contact with them each and every year through graphic design, websites, marketing co suits branding and logos
We have been featured over 60 times on various online publications and we were voted One of the Top Photographers in Va Beach in 2016,2018, 2019, 2020 & 2021
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In 2020, after the loss of my husband’s minister position, we started not one but two different businesses for him. He specializes in home renovations, reclaimed furniture creation and tiny homes.
Now me and my husband run four businesses full-time and we homeschool three children. Our house is a constant construction zone and creation zone. Besides homeschooling, I mentor other photographers in the area and my passion is educating other business owners to create and manage successful businesses.
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Follow our crazy life here:
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www.instagram.com/virginiamarketingandmedia
www.instagram.com/virginiaphotosandfilms