Alumbra Photography

Susannah is like a great friend who is also fantastic at taking photos. When you are photographing with her she puts you completely at ease, washes away any insecurities, and has a ton of tricks up her sleeves for making you look your best. Whether it’s small things like ensuring your hands look good (dead hands are the worst!) or big things like creating a well lit space, Susannah is on top of it. And during the session you feel like she’s having fun, which can turn something that may feel like a chore (seriously, lining up your family can be a lot of work) into a fun, memorable experience. I absolutely loved working with her!
Also, I liked getting to chose my photos and the photo books and canvases are so, so high quality I really feel like you get your money’s worth.
It’s clear that this is Susannah’s passion and she brings such love and energy to her shoots that it is a joy working with her. I absolutely recommend her for both family portraiture and glamour photos. I will be using her for my annual christmas cards!

Susannah was fabulous. She made our engagement photo shoot fun, easy, and I wouldn’t even mind doing it all over again, which is saying a lot because I hate having to pose for pictures. My fiancé and I had only two requirements for our engagement photos, that our dog Misha be included and that we wanted to use the gorgeous backdrop of Old Town Alexandria in our photos. Susannah went above and beyond our expectations, and made us more photogenic than we realized. The pictures we chose are now my current favorite photos of the three of us.
Susannah is so flexible, easy going and so organized that the whole process was truly enjoyable. She had a consultation with us before the shoot to discuss the numerous details I didn’t even realize went into a photo shoot, including offering her opinion on our outfit choices. As part of the photo session hair and makeup was included, which was fantastic having a professional tame my curls. I was truly impressed with all the details that Susannah included to make the entire process less stressful and it was like I was going on a photo shoot with my best friend instead of a stranger that I had just met. Susannah even got Misha to smile. :)
What really put Alumbra into the 5 star range was not just the excellent service and overall quality of the photos but the fact that Susannah sent us three gift prints with a handwritten thank you a couple weeks after we ordered our photos.
Thanks Susannah!