Rachel Schrock Photography

06/02/2022

05/11/2021

Katie and Joel,

Round 2! Married...again! May 1st held so much love and celebration. Thanks for the most perfect day, you two.

Love you both,
Rachel

Thanks so much to those who helped with this day:
Venue: Madison at the Mill
Planner and Florist: Farmandfields
Hair: Martin Castanon
Makeup: Meghana Murray
Cake: Erin Nafziger

For a few more peeks:
https://rachelschrockphotography.pixieset.com/katieandjoel/

05/06/2021

5 tips for an engaging engagement session:
1️⃣ Choose a location that is true to you! You don’t have to have a monumental backdrop for your session. It can be your favorite date spot, the bar where you met, or even your kitchen. If you’re comfortable in the space, this will translate to your photos!
2️⃣ Wear neutrals but bring a statement piece to add into the lineup. Adding in a leather jacket, colorful scarf, your fave sunnies, or a statement necklace is a quick way to change it up and make your images more you.
3️⃣ Let’s treat ourselves. Food and drink liven up a session and add nostalgia. Additionally, a cocktail can ease nerves or a coffee can boost your energy. If you want a snack break, I’m 💯 here for that.
4️⃣ Share your jams. Let me know what song is selected for your first dance, what is on your road trip playlist, and what song you cannot not dance to. Adding music makes movement more authentic and evokes raw emotion.
5️⃣ Everyone shows love differently, so do what feels most natural to you. I ask clients to take a love languages test before their session, to better understand how they most naturally give and receive love. Some people glow with verbal affirmations, some want a tight squeeze, and some just want to feel like they’re spending quality time while doing an activity together. My goal is for couples to leave their session feeling completely loved and celebrated by their partner.
Recap: Customization helps me represent your relationship in its most natural form. My favorite sessions are those that feel like a relaxed date...like even if I wasn't there you'd be feeding each other cookie dough and dancing to Whitney Houston. 🍪

03/20/2021

Can’t think of a lovelier duo to spend my lazy Saturday mornings with. ☕️

03/11/2021

Hi, hello!
I rarely ever post an introduction, but I’m seeing new faces here and just got a headshot by the lovely ...so HERE WE GO!
👋🏻1) I’m Rachel, a wedding photographer living in Washington, DC, & shooting along the East Coast.

📸2) I first learned photography from my dear grandfather, who has thousands of printed photos from many years of dedicated craft. When I was younger, I’d flip through stacks of film scans and photography magazines for hours.

🍤3) I’m a foodie, and get it honestly. My family plans our vacations and gatherings around what we will be eating. The spicier the better, and I prefer salty over sweet!

🌈4) Rachel Schrock Photography is an inclusive business that welcomes all couples in love. You and your Boo are celebrated here.

👀5) One of the things I miss most about pre-pandemic normalcy is people watching in a crowded bar or cafe. I love editing, drawing, or writing, in spaces bursting with activity. That and movie theater popcorn! Gosh, I miss that, too.

🌞6) I’m feeling more hopeful for what is ahead. I’ve received my second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and I’d encourage you to do the same, as soon as you’re able. Travel, weddings, and being with friends again is on the horizon! Also, this recent warm weather has me feeling lighter and brighter.

💛7) I’m glad you’re here. I’ll end with my favorite emoji: a yellow heart. Happy to be on your feed, friend.

03/01/2021

A foggy Baltimore morning on film.
It has been almost an entire year of quarantining, change, and loss. How do days go by slowly, but a year went by so fast?
One of my quarantine highlights was spontaneously purchasing a film camera on Craigslist. I bought it from a retiring photographer who lovingly wrapped each lens in bubble wrap and went out of his way to buy me batteries so I could start shooting immediately. "You just need to hear the whir of the shutter," he laughed.
He'd saved every manual and the original receipt, purchased in 1990, when the equipment cost him $2,500. When he handed the beaut off with a sad smile, he made me promise to appreciate the way shooting film makes you
s l o w w a y d o w n.
Now, a constant in my camera bag, I'm still appreciating the nods towards intentionality and ritual. It's been a *pivot* (buzz word, I know) that I've been really grateful for.

02/16/2021

I will forever be chasing light like this...light that wraps you up in the perfect glow.

01/31/2021

Happy birthday, Pops! Hard-working and fun-loving, the best sourdough bread baker, and the most dedicated code names partner. Cheers to near(ish) retirement, and hopefully next year we can be sipping red wine together for your sixtieth! 💛 .schrock.1

01/20/2021

I’m breathing easier today.
Amanda Gorman’s beautiful words have been rolling around in my mind all day. I’m so grateful for the feeling of hope, blooming in my chest.
“We've braved the belly of the beast, we've learned that quiet isn't always peace. And the norms and notions of what just is isn't always justice. And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it, somehow we do it. Somehow we've weathered and witnessed a nation that isn't broken, but simply unfinished.”

-Amanda Gorman, from ‘The Hill We Climb.”

12/31/2020

BUH BYE 2020. I took this photo on a particularly difficult day a couple of months ago. It was the kind where you put a blazer over your pajamas for a Zoom call, then promptly call it a day. Feeling restless, I grabbed my film camera then walked and walked. I walked through my favorite neighborhoods in DC, taking pictures of whatever struck me as interesting. This shot, of a plant leaning up against a wall, felt poignant to me. Growth. Wonky. Lovely. Absurd.
I’ve grown a lot this year, but I’ve also felt like I’m hitting a wall. I went part time to pursue more photography work, then almost all of my 2020 weddings were moved to 2021. I signed a lease on a new apartment in early March, then realized I’d be quarantining in those 600 sq. feet for months on end. I planned for travel and photoshoots, then needed to cancel each trip.
Even though it’s been the weirdest year of my life, I’ve also felt a lot of love and joy. Here’s a V brief highlight reel:
*Moved in with my best friend and navigated working from home together*
*Booked more weddings than any other year*
*Binged Tiger King, Unorthodox, Bosch, Umbrella Academy, and Queen’s Gambit (a lot of TV)*
*Bought a gorg little film camera on Craigslist and completely fell for this medium*
*Brought out my oil paints more regularly*
*Perfected my Tom Kha recipe*
*Spent the past two weeks laughing and loving on my family* (Tonight, we will be eating SO MUCH SEAFOOD—a Schrock New Years tradition.)
What was a highlight from your year?