—  About me (obligatory first person bio)

JUSTINE UNGARO

Hello, this is a slightly outdated yet not quite embarrassingly old picture of me during a trip to Paris, because as the cobblers kids have no shoes, photographers rarely have pictures of ourselves. I grew up in the Washington DC area, where my mother was also a photographer. I remember creeping down the dusty unfinished basement stairs to investigate the glow of the red light in my mother’s darkroom. The smell of those somewhat toxic chemicals still makes me feel all kinds of nostalgia. Perhaps needless to say, I learned photography the old fashioned way on film. Much to my dismay, a few years later I had to re-learn many aspects of the craft when the digital revolution crept into maturity. I’ve been doing what I do for over 20 years now so you can breathe a sigh of relief to know that I really really know what I'm doing. My work has been published in lots of magazines. (You don't care which ones, do you?) I've been on some lists of the top wedding photographers in the US. I have no idea if any such lists exist of mitzvah photographers but I'd like to be on that list too. Sometimes I speak at photography conventions and conferences, I've won some awards and I've been named as one of Profoto's Legends of Light. I’m not that great at keeping this website updated and current but that’s because I’m usually quite busy producing new work for lovely families.

Now that you have suffered through the obligatory resume nonsense, I would like to emphasize that what is entirely more important is what you can tell me about you, about your family, your event. I'm truly honored to become intimately acquainted with each family, becoming a part of your story and creating memories you didn't even know you wanted until you got them. I believe that the experience of being photographed is just as important as the images themselves. It's not uncommon to see me with a kid on my back (sometimes they need a better view) or giving hugs to all of my young friends who might be guests at your party. 

Anything else you'd like to know? Let's chat or meet or email. 

xo, Justine