About Michael Sink

I’m Michael Sink, a Certified Professional Photographer (CPP) and a member of the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) and the Virginia Professional Photographers Association (VPPA). For years I’ve made my living behind the camera, mostly photographing the two things people care about most: the day they get married and the people they love.

How I work

My style is calm and unobtrusive. At a wedding, the best moments are the ones nobody poses for — the look on a father’s face, the laugh in the middle of a toast, the quiet second before the doors open. My job is to be close enough to catch those and invisible enough not to change them.

For portraits and senior sessions, it’s the opposite kind of attention: slowing down, getting the light right, and making people comfortable enough to look like themselves. A good portrait isn’t about a fancy pose. It’s about the moment the subject forgets the camera is there.

The CPP behind the name

The Certified Professional Photographer credential isn’t handed out for showing up. It requires passing a written exam on the technical craft and submitting a portfolio to a panel of judges for review. I mention it not to brag, but because it’s a promise: the person you hire knows the difference between a photo that looks good on the back of the camera and one that will still look right printed large on a wall in twenty years.

Why the guides

Alongside client work, I write the photography guides on this site. After enough sessions and enough questions from clients and beginners, the same handful of topics come up again and again — RAW versus JPEG, which lens to buy first, how to shoot in golden-hour light. So I wrote them down, plainly, the way I’d explain them to a friend.

If you’d like to work together, or just have a question, the contact page is the place to start. You can also read what past clients have said on the reviews page.