Hi! I’m Mina — I’m a portrait photographer specializing in women’s portraiture, personal branding and headshots in the Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland area.
Women’s portraiture helps to connect women with their Inner Goddess and unleash their Wild Woman. And personal branding photography helps take your business to the next level. I also create unique portraits for high school seniors and couples in love.
I have the gift of sight and vision.
An astrologer told me so! And not just with my eyes, although as an artist that is quite important. My gift goes further than the physical and steps into the esoteric. My sight and vision is intuitive and innate. It can see not only how an image should look or how a photoshoot should unfold but it can see your essence and spirit, the magick that lies within you.
And I reveal that for you.
I’ve made quite a few journeys around the sun and in that time I’ve done a lot of things. I started my journey into the working world as a bank teller then climbed the corporate ladder into a successful Telecommunications career. It was a great time in my life but there was something missing. I can tell you though, that “upbringing” in a corporate environment instilled a work ethic and procedural mindset that is still useful today.
I returned to college in my thirties to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts. I went the safe route opting for a degree in Graphic Design. You know, a good degree to land a job. I also discovered Eastern philosophy, yoga and the Goddess during this time. Talk about some game changers. During the same time I was stepping into my design career I also started teaching yoga and learning more about magick, nature, the Goddess, and astrology. It felt like I was coming home. The graphic design career was great, for awhile. But again, something was missing.
There was a disconnect in what I was doing and who I was.
It’s when I started taking more photographs that it clicked – pun intended! I had always dabbled in photography. I remember loving the fun in the dark room in college, watching images unfold before your eyes after hopefully capturing them the way you intended on film. I never intended on becoming a portrait artist but those early images when I started capturing the essence of the people, mostly women, in front of my lens captivated me. It’s like I was seeing their spirits. I photographed a lot of families, couples and weddings. And amazing women.
And then it hit me … I needed to help women connect with their Inner Goddess, their Wild Woman. I needed to help female entrepreneurs build their businesses with photography that is authentic and true to their brand.
I still photograph the most wonderful families ever, loving couples and select number of weddings each year.
But my focus is on the Goddesses. To empower and embolden them.
I’m also a Gemini, so that means I will always have a number of things going on! I still teach yoga and will be embarking on an Advanced Yogastrology Teacher Training this Fall. Yes, that’s yoga and astrology combined. How can that be, you ask? Come find out sometime. I’m at Pure Prana Yoga Studio.
I’m married to an amazing man who is a bass player extraordinaire, has a green thumb like no other, builder and maker of all kinds of things, and super helpful assistant to me. We have the two most awesome cats ever (sorry, we really do!!) that bring us tremendous amounts of joy. When we aren’t at gigs, you can find us hanging out in our backyard oasis, the Jasmine Lounge, sipping coffee or cocktails.
