am a family and brand photographer, established in 2017. I met and married my husband Michael at our first jobs
am a Northern VA photographer for families and brands, established in 2017. I met and married my husband Michael at our first jobs out of college at IBM (waddup Big Blue!) and we now live in Chantilly, Virginia with our threenager, Wesley, and two cats, Dusty and Dori.
Your Northern VA Photographer for Family & Brands
featured in
Arlington Magazine
VoyageBaltimore
ShutterUp Magazine
Capital Romance
LOOKSLIKEFILM
I
I delight in finding creative ways to tell the stories of my clients. It's truly a blessing to capture the laughter and the light I see, especially in children. This feeling of joy is not something I take for granted, after spending 2+ years trying to conceive Wesley (clomid baby!). Marry that with postpartum life and well, it's been a wild ride into motherhood. I'm an open book about our conception journey, postpartum life, and everything in-between so welcome! I can't wait to laugh with you and capture your story.
out of college at IBM (waddup Big Blue!) and we now live in Chantilly, Virginia with our threenager, Wesley, and two cats, Dusty and Dori.
I delight in finding creative ways to tell the stories of my clients. It's truly a blessing to capture the laughter and the light I see, especially in children. This feeling of joy is not something I take for granted, after spending 2+ years trying to conceive Wesley. Marry that with postpartum life and well, it's been a wild ride into motherhood. I'm an open book about our conception journey, postpartum life, and everything in-between so welcome! I can't wait to laugh with you and capture your story.
Hey there, I'm Denise
authentic • joyful connections
No matter if you're a new parent, in the thick of life with littles, or growing a heart-led business, you deserve authentic, inspired images that represent exactly where you are now. These moments are your story.
I am so happy that we got newborn and breastfeeding photos with Denise. Over a year later and these are still photos I frequently look back on and use for time piece materials. Denise has a knack for finding beauty in really normal and every day happenings and these photos document through this lens. It makes me remember the newborn stage and that transition very fondly. She was great at using our space on the fly to complement our family, and at conveying what she sees into a great story and work of art. She put all of our family members at ease and it was easy to just act normal and have her snap some photos while following us around the house. I requested an "epic breastfeeding photoshoot" and she delivered! Tasteful and so glamorous. Denise is a professional with quick turn around time and great communication. Thank you Denise for documenting this time for us. We look forward to working with you again!
- Steph & George
in-home Newborn
"Denise has a knack for finding beauty"
I recently had the pleasure of working with Denise for a family photo shoot. From start to finish, the experience was fantastic. Denise was professional, personable, and made us all feel at ease in front of the camera.
One thing that really impressed me about Denise's work was her ability to capture great action shots. She was able to capture my son's energetic personality and the photos turned out beautifully. The end result of the photo shoot was stunning. Denise captured all of our personalities perfectly, and the memories that these photos represent will be treasured forever.
I highly recommend Denise to anyone looking for a talented, reliable, and enjoyable photographer. Thank you for the wonderful experience, Denise!
- Kelly & Shane
Family
"The memories that these photos represent will be treasured forever"
Denise made our newborn photo shoot feel easy! We absolutely love how she captured our whole family (including our pup!) during a really special time. She has a great eye for how to make even a basic space on a cloudy day look special and beautiful.
- Becca & Paul
In-home newborn
"Denise made our newborn photo shoot feel easy"
Denise does beautiful work and is a true artist! We love the tulip field photos that she took of our family. It was awful weather at the time of our session, but nonetheless she worked fast and made the best out of a difficult situation. Thank you so much, Denise! We are really looking forward to using your services for branding photos for our small business.
- Chrissy & Manny
Family
"Denise does beautiful work and is a true artist"
Denise has been photographing my family for years as we’ve changed and grown and I love getting to display her work! She connects so well with all of her clients, especially the kids, and my daughter loves looking at all of “Ms. Denise’s pictures.”
Our house is full of love and laughter and Denise has perfectly captured those memories in her photographs. These young years fly by too fast and I will forever be grateful to Denise for helping us freeze these little moments in time!
- Nicole & Brian
in-home newborn
"Denise has perfectly captured those memories"
Amazing photography AND Denise is wonderful with kids. My son was initially a bit hesitant about the session, and she got him to open up while capturing the true heart of our family. We loved all of the photos and couldn't choose just 12 that came with the mini-session; it was easy to go ahead and buy the rest! Getting family presents this year was a snap with all of the great photos to choose from. Will definitely be using Denise Van Photography again!
- Erin & Nayden
Family
"capturing the true heart of our family"
I recently had the pleasure of working with Denise for a family photo shoot. From start to finish, the experience was fantastic. Denise was professional, personable, and made us all feel at ease in front of the camera.
One thing that really impressed me about Denise's work was her ability to capture great action shots. She was able to capture my son's energetic personality and the photos turned out beautifully. The end result of the photo shoot was stunning. Denise captured all of our personalities perfectly, and the memories that these photos represent will be treasured forever.
I highly recommend Denise to anyone looking for a talented, reliable, and enjoyable photographer. Thank you for the wonderful experience, Denise!
BUMP-TO-NEWBORN
Heidi & James
Denise takes incredible pictures, but even more than that is the positive energy that she brings to the photo session. She made our entire family feel comfortable and found a way to get our 4 yr old and 2 yr old to smile!! She truly captured the essence of our family and made the entire process enjoyable and a special memory. We couldn't recommend her more highly!!
- Jenn & Jon
family
"She truly captured the essence of our family"
Can you love your photographer as much as I love mine? Probably not.
I love her because 1. She makes me look amazing and 2. She has this way of capturing personalities in her photography. My son (pre-teen to the max) hates photos taken but she did absolutely amazing with him. She allowed him to be himself and was able to translate that into her photos. So much better than me saying, "smile right for the camera" and getting that "I don't wanna be here" child smile.
I appreciate her talents and knowledge and her fast turn around service. She made my whole month with those photos! Definitely recommend!
- Corrie
Motherhood
"She has this way of capturing personalities"
Where do I even start? Thank you so much! These photos are truly a treasure for Connor and me, and we LOVE them!! When we started planning our wedding and keeping it simple, I thought I had my bases covered with a checklist to make the day go as planned. Little did I know in this planning stage that one of the most important people for our wedding day would be our photographer! You took all of my general sketched out plans and helped us make beautiful memories with each other and our families. I cannot tell you how amazing it has been to work with you and spend our special day with you! I think I can safely say you made our day extremely special and you captured it perfectly! I know that my recommendation to friends and family getting married in the future is 1. have Denise as your photographer if you're in the area, or if you're not lucky enough to be nearby, 2. find a photographer you trust and enjoy. You have such talent in building trust, hyping the couple up, and capturing joy and love.
- Melissa & Connor
Elopement
"You made our day extremely special"
Denise spent the day with us, well not the whole day because that would be ridiculous, but the time of our session capturing some of our favorite photos of ourselves ever. Communication between us was seamless and our meeting for planning the session definitely added to the value of the experience. At the shoot, she preached for us to act natural and do what felt right at the moment. What came out were pictures that we will share with family and friends for years. Neither of us considers ourselves very photogenic, but Denise worked some magic and figured out how to trick the camera into making us look even more in love than we are. I’d recommend Denise to anyone wanting a positive professional experience, open communication, and someone that truly cares about her craft. Thanks again Denise!
Elopement
Kelsey & Erik
Omg where do I even begin? Denise is an absolute magician behind the lens! K and I are soo awkward behind the camera but she made us at ease and captured such authentic, genuine moments in a wonderful backdrop of Fall. We had a great time at the shoot, and she made us relaxed and knew the best prompts for poses! Besides that, we had to reschedule a few times due to conflicts and we really appreciate the flexibility. The previews made us super duper excited too. We can't wait to capture more moments with Denise! If you are looking for a photographer in Reston or the DMV area, don't hesitate to choose her for your session or special event :)
Couple's
Chelsea & Kyle
I hired Denise to take pictures of our soups and broths at 100 Bowls of Soup, including a full catalog of our entire menu. The project involved taking over 100 photographs and ensuring consistency across all shots. She also took ingredient and mood shots which we are using to update our website, using creative staging and props to help us tell our story. The quality of the photographs are outstanding, capturing the unique qualities of each soup and the love that goes into them. Denise was a pleasure to work with from start to finish, detail oriented, responsive, proactive and professional. I cannot recommend Denise Van Photography more highly.
WEbsite Refresh
Katharine, 100 Bowls of Soup
I LOVED , LOVED , LOVED my branding shoot with Denise. Doing a business branding shoot involves a lot more than a portrait session. As a jewelry designer, I also needed process shots, head shots, in studio shots, etc. There were a lot of pre-shoot preparation and communication in order to have a successful and productive shoot. Denise is very detail orientated and understand what I wanted and how I wanted these photos to represent my brand. We both were well prepared the day of the shoot. I got images I love and can be used in various media outlets. Denise went above and beyond my expectations. It was the best investment I made last year. If you are considering a branding shoot, definitely check out and talk with Denise.
Brand session
Irene, Black Sand Designs
Denise is one of the most talented and creative people I know. She is meticulous but also knows how to let things flow on a session, and that’s how she captures the magic. She and I have worked together on branding photos and she made the experience so easy and comfortable. When I saw the end result, I was floored that she captured me perfectly, but with a glow!
- Crystal, Temple Honey Healing
Brand session
"She made the experience so easy and comfortable"
From the very first moment we spoke, she listened to our vision for our company and was incredibly patient with our indecisiveness. Having these photos taken had been a dream of mine for quite some time, so it was a very emotionally charged process for me. I knew it would play a huge role in making me feel like we had a "legitimate" business and weren't some imposters. Denise was the perfect professional. She directed us all with ease, helped our team of very shy guys feel more at home for their photos, and even got adorable shots of our family with our company truck - these are some of my favorite. When the photos finally came in, I had such a hard time choosing my favorites that I ended up buying almost all of them. I consider myself to be a pretty picky person, but Denise truly delivered in every way. She is an incredible artist with an outstanding eye, and she brought my vision for our business to life. Her photos are now on display for all of our clients and supporters to see, and we couldn't be prouder of their professional quality - they are much better than the photos of some of our closest competitors, and truly capture the essence of our business - approachable, friendly and family-oriented, while still providing top quality and service. If you are considering hiring Denise for your branding photos, you will not regret it. The investment is 1000% worth it for the reputation of your business.
Brand session/WEbsite Refresh
Chrissy & Manny, Handy Manny's Painting
I'm super happy you're here. In order to get more information about a session with me, please fill out this form and tell me more about yourself. I’ll be in touch!
PLEASE NOTE: PORTRAITS START FROM $550
