Koils by Nature Presents the 2nd Annual Natural is Not a Fad | Alexandria, VA

This past Sunday I had the privilege of participating in a wonderful event! The 2nd Annual Natural is Not a Fad presented by Koils by Nature! I had a great time on meeting lots of beautiful folks and seeing some familiar faces again! A huge thank you goes out to the wonderful people who came up and said hello who follow me on facebook, instagram, twitter, etc it was a pleasure to meet you in person! 

Just a quick PSA before I get into the photos- I still don’t offer event photography services. Which is why you won’t see very many photos of the program, mainly portraits :) I was a sponsor for this event and in exchange I took photos of the attendees for a possible feature on Essence Online :) 

First up, we have the beauty and brains behind this fabulous event- the Founder and CEO of Koils by Nature, Ms. Pamela Jenkins. 

Next, my table! I was so excited once I learned that I would be participating in this event so I made sure everything was as fabulous as can be :)

Me at my table!

Huge thanks to Genae, my mom, and Debbie for putting these little info packets together! FYI to everyone who got one- be sure to take advantage of the exclusive offer on the back of your card :)

There was a free shoot giveaway!

And free makeovers with my fabulous makeup artists: Makeup Art by Denyelle and Runway Ready Makeup Artistry! These were definitely a hit! Before and afters are coming up…

Winner of the first On-the-spot makeover with Runway Ready Makeup Artistry

Winner of the first On-the-spot makeover with Makeup Art by Denyelle!

Winner of the second On-the-spot makeover with Runway Ready Makeup Artistry!

Winner of the second On-the-spot makeover with Makeup Art by Denyelle!

Winner of the third and final On-the-spot makeover with Runway Ready Makeup Artistry!

Winner of the third On-the-spot makeover with Makeup Art by Denyelle! (I forgot to take her before pic, but clearly she was happy with the outcome :)

Next up, the Q&A Panel!
From L to R:
Oraje of Oraje Holistics, Mama Naturalista, Veronica of PrettyGirlRockBlog, Dr. Phoenyx Austin, Pamela of Koils by Nature, Cassidy of Natural Selection, Natural Chica, Mushiya of The Damn Salon, and Nina “BeautifulBrwnBabyDol” Ellis-Hervey.
 

Lol! I love this shot :)

It’s a reunion! Denyelle, Mae, and I back together again :)

And last, but certainly not least, photos of the event’s fabulous attendees!

L: Dr. Phoenyx Austin. M: Veronica Campbell. R: Aevin Dugas.

L: Gayna Boettcher. M: Constance Franks. R: Cassidy Blackwell.

L: Jessica Gray. M: Sherrelle Dorsey. R: Shashonia Gilliam.

L: Maisia Smith-Jackson. M: Whitney McArthur. R: Tiffany Josephs.

L: Simone Ferguson. M: Shawn Hurt. R: Sydne Kersey.

And last but definitely not least, my beautiful mother who was there helping out along with the rest of my fabulous ladies! From L to R: Denyelle, my mom, me :), Stephanie, Debbie. I’m sad I didn’t get a photo of all of us before Genae left, but we were running all around the place while she was there lol.

These are not all of the photos I took, if you’re interested in viewing more, you can see them HERE. If you’re still looking for your photo and you don’t see it, hopefully you’ll be seeing it soon on Essence Online :) 

Thanks Pamela and Koils by Nature for putting on a great event that I’m sure was very beneficial to all of the ladies who made it out!

Sunday is the big day! | Alexandria, VA Creative Lifestyle Photographer

Happy Thursday everyone! I can hardly believe this week is almost over… it will be Sunday before you know it! And what happens on Sunday you ask? Oh, just a little event I’ll be participating in lol. Sunday is the Koils by Nature “Natural is Not a Fad” Event!

After seeing the photos I took of Mae “Natural Chica” , Pamela (the founder of Koils by Nature) contacted me to take participate in the event and I couldn’t be more excited! 

As a sponsor, I will have a booth set up where folks can come and learn more about DFinney Photography, enter for a chance to win 1 of SIX possible FREE on-the-spot makeovers with my fabulous makeup artists: Makeup Art by Denyelle and Runway Ready Makeup Artistry, have their photo taken (which may end up on Essence Online!), sign up to win a FREE styled photo session, and tons of other goodies! 

Here are just a few things that have been delivered so far for the show :) I’m getting a package delivered almost every day it seems and I love it! lol

If you’re interested in attending, tickets can still be purchased here: http://KBNevents.eventbrite.com/ but FRIDAY (tomorrow) is the LAST day to purchase $20 advance tickets! If not, tickets will be available at the door for $25 so you’re still more than welcome to come to the Westin Alexandria for the show on Sunday!

I’ll be posting photos from the show on instagram throughout the day so make sure you’re following me @dfinneyphoto for all the behind the scenes photos :)

I can’t wait to see some of you there and I’ll definitely share how things went next week!

Niaja | Greenbelt, MD Lifestyle Senior Photographer

Let me just start by saying that this feels my first year doing real senior portraits lol… Although I’ve done them here and there in the past, I’ve been fairly lazy about getting out there to seniors in time to take photos, but this year (even though I’m getting started late) I’m on the right track to change that! lol

Well now that that’s out of the way, I present to you Niaja! My very first senior rep :) Niaja is DFinney Photography’s 2013 Eleanor Roosevelt HS Senior Rep. I’ve known her for quite a few years and she has grown into a beautiful young lady!

Hair, makeup, and styling assistance were all arranged by DFinney Photography and that’s what you can expect for your senior session as well! Emphasizing her natural beauty, we took Niaja from simply beautiful to simply radiant! 

Take a look at the photos from her senior session! 

Hair: Anastasia (Visually Chic)
Makeup: Crystal Davis

If you’re a senior at Eleanor Roosevelt HS interested in your very own senior session, hit up Niaja for a discount :) 

Flashback Friday | Washington, DC Creative Lifestyle Photographer

I can’t believe the first week of September is gone already! This year is flying by…

So I turned 25 on Monday and with that came a bit of reflection when I realized that just 3 years ago I’d just been laid off and was wondering how things were going to work out… I would soon find out that being laid off was one of the best things that ever happened to me! Over the past 3 years I’ve been able to take a mere hobby I practiced on the side to a full-fledged business! I honestly can hardly believe it sometimes, but I am so thankful for my family (parents especially) and friends for helping me along the way. I could truly go on longer with this topic, but I will save that for another time :)

I have quite a few exciting things to share this coming week, but for now I want to share a few of my images over the years (this is a Flashback Friday post!) so you can get a get a glimpse at how far things have come in 3 years :)

And just as a bonus… here are a couple of my absolute favorite photos in 2009:

Clearly I’ve always had a thing for graffiti lol… Fast-forward a few years, and here’s a 2012 version of how I do graffiti :)

I would be remiss if I didn’t take time to thank all of my lovely clients, supporters, admirers, etc in addition to my family and friends because without you all, I would not have a successful business! Well let me stop before I get too emotional lol… I hope you guys have a great weekend :)

PS- Get ready for some awesomeness come next week!!

-Danni

Jendi | Washington, DC Creative Lifestyle Photographer

Happy Wednesday you guys! It feels like forever since I’ve shared a new session on the blog. It reeally hasn’t been that long… it just feels that way lol. Anyway I’m super excited to share this one :)

One of my wonderful makeup artists, Denyelle pitched the idea of doing a natural hair series a couple months ago and at the time I wasn’t 100% on the idea… not because it was a bad one, but because I kind of tried to do one a couple years ago and it fell by the wayside so I didn’t have high hopes lol… Well fast-forward to now and my beautiful friend Jendi so graciously agreed to participate and be the first in the series :) We had so much fun on her session, now I can’t wait to get more lined up lol. 

Since her braids are so cool, I definitely wanted this shoot to be a little more funky and full of color!

Here is the first of our Natural Hair Series (we’ll have to come up with a better name for it eventually lol)

Enjoy :)