I've had a very nice Canon digital camera for several years that has never seen any setting other…read morethan "Auto". I found Elliot Cohen and his company, Washington Photo Focus, via a Google search when I was contemplating upping my photography game. I signed up for his intro class (via Zoom right now) and just finished the three class course. It was wonderful experience! It was just what I was looking for to increase my knowledge and comfort level with my camera. Elliot is a patient, methodical instructor. He encourages questions and answers thoroughly. He keeps the class sizes small which means a lot of personal attention. He had us give him info on our cameras before the class started so that he could give us very specific instructions on the various settings. See the "before" and "after" photos of one of our dogs.

I have had two online classes and a one-on-one session with Eliot Cohen and can report that he…read moreexceeded my expectations. He is an excellent teacher: knowledgeable, clear, patient, willing to listen, and with a sense of humor. Who could ask for anything more? Bravo. By way although the review says I am in San Francisco I am really in Washington, DC. Hard to trust this review system. But my review is genuine and true.

Studio 151 Photography did my professional headshot at the Loudoun Employment Resource Expo, and…read morethe whole process was smooth from start to finish. Samantha was genuinely welcoming, kept things moving without making it feel rushed, and gave clear direction that made it easy to relax in front of the camera. Their setup looked dialed in, too. The lighting was clean and flattering, the camera gear felt legit, and I especially appreciated the floor mat they used to guide where to stand. That small touch made posing way easier and kept everything consistent, which really shows in the final shots. The photo quality came out awesome. Takeaway: A friendly, well-organized headshot experience with great results. Perfect for anyone who needs a polished photo for job hunting or updating their LinkedIn.

We had such a great experience with Samantha! She made everyone feel comfortable and confident, and…read morethe photos turned out amazing. The attention to detail and quick turnaround exceeded all expectations. Definitely my new go-to for future headshots and events!

Staff member, Amid, was a fantastic problem-solver for me with the issue I had with my lens. He…read moretook the time to really assess the issue and didn't give up on it till he found a solution. Super grateful for his patience and service!

I have had extremely mixed experiences with Ace Photo for more than a decade. I'm a longtime film…read moreand digital photographer, and camera repair technician. Sometimes I've gotten good products for a good value; other times it's been really disappointing or even felt like being cheated or disrespected. I'll just tell a few stories from the years; you decide. About 5-6 years ago I bought a set of used lenses from their website. The items were well-priced and essentially new. I couldn't see any evidence of prior use. I've used them extensively and this was a great buy. In the past couple of years I bought a large format film camera from the website. It had a lens cone but no lens, and I emailed them prior to purchase to try to figure out what focal length the cone was made for, because it wasn't visible in the photos. A very basic question; the resulting emails proved that they a) had no clue what I was asking, b) had no idea of their ignorance, and c) were condescending, implying that I didn't know what I was shopping for. I gave up, bought it on faith, and as expected, the answer I needed was clearly engraved in large type on the cone. I assume the rep was looking at the website photos instead of the camera, and not seeing what I was asking for, tried to brush off what should have been a trivial question. But there was another problem. The camera was damaged after photographing for the website, in a visually obvious way, and they shipped it to me knowing it was broken. I wrote back to ask for a discount, explaining that I was competent to machine a replacement part (this camera is out of production and there is no parts source, so that was the only option). The discount I received was insultingly small, but I kept the camera. Finally, in-person. When I travel, I try to visit brick-and-mortar camera stores, and Ace had been on my list for years. It was so-so. First, I was greeted by the familiar claim that it's the largest camera store in the mid-Atlantic; I'd expected to spend 2-3 hours as I often do, but actually 20-30 minutes was plenty to browse everything. Definitely not the largest store in the mid-Atlantic, and I know firsthand. Still, I was interested in a couple of items. I asked about a discount on a vintage lens I would enjoy repairing, and was bluntly told they do not negotiate. I then explained that this lens had serious issues, and was told, again bluntly, that the shelf I got it from all had issues and was priced accordingly. That irritated me: the person was bluffing; they didn't know which shelf I'd gotten it from, and it was not a gear-with-issues shelf nor priced accordingly. They obviously thought it was in top condition and the price was delusionally high even if it'd been mint. Nonetheless, I mildly asked them to take a look at the glaring defects and see if they thought it was worth reconsidering. Two people tried to look at it, in clumsy ways that would never work; obviously totally inexperienced, but they kept squinting uselessly and then looking at me with scornful expressions like I was trying to scam them. I told them how to do it, but they condescendingly ignored me and kept doing it wrong, so I said more firmly, "let me show you." So I showed them something no reasonably competent person would have missed, and they took it back to ask the boss who said "no, price is firm." OK, fine; I asked about another item, whose tag listed a complete kit but half of the kit had obviously been sold off separately. The person looked on the website and said "that's how it is on the website so that's how it is." Again, just a blunt customer-is-wrong response, combined with customer-is-annoying tone. Despite this, two of the other staff members WERE really helpful and attentive, and seemed knowledgeable, hence why I call this a so-so experience. I've given a small but representative sample of many more stories I could tell here, and I think I'm done with Ace after the in-person visit. Life's too short to support people who run businesses like customers are just a money source to be sucked dry. I can't look past the 50/50 good-to-bad ratio anymore. Mistakes and occasional miscommunications etc are expected; a consistently higher than usual number of these kinds of bad interactions are symptomatic of something deeply wrong overall, and after reading other Yelp reviews I realize I'm not alone in this assessment. I have more great options elsewhere than I can name here, and plan to give them my business in the future. Locally I recommend Pro Camera in Charlottesville, Southeastern Camera in Raleigh, Ball Camera in Asheville, KEH and PPR in Atlanta, among others. Online and further distant from this area, I recommend especially KEH, MPB, Roberts Used Photo Pro, National Camera, Midwest Photo, B&H, Adorama, Blue Moon Camera & Machine, Film Photography Project, Brooklyn Film Camera, and TheDarkroom film processing lab.

Okello has a very easy going and wonderful teaching style. He has a way of explaining things that…read morejust make sense. I am completely new to learning to go manual on my DSLR. I took a Groupon class of his and then went to an in person class. His sense of humor along with his knowledge made it fun and not overwhelming to take my first photography class. I can't recommend him and this class enough. You won't be disappointed. I am actually taking pictures on manual and so excited to put into practice what he taught.

I took the DSLR Workshop I from this location. The class duration was from 6PM to 9PM but we got…read moreout little late. I thought it was very useful class for anyone who just purchased (or given) a DSLR camera and want a quick learning curve on how to use the device effectively. The class was held in a hotel conference room. The class was full, we had about 20 or so people. All with various types of DSLR with them. Some with more advanced camera and equipments, other with more older models (some even discontinued). The skill levels were all different but for this course, it's gear toward to BEGINNERS. Okello is an enthusiastic and funny dude. He'll probably read this review at some point, but I'll be truly honest about the course I just took. Pros: The class is very effective for any beginners. He'll go over everything about the DSLR and what to focus on. He'll spend great time discussing aperture, focus, ISO, and lighting. Basically four things you'll need to know inside out if you want to make great shots on your next trip to Jamaica or New York City. He'll explain difficult and complicated things easily using many analogies so that newbies like I can understand what he's talking about and apply. He's funny. Maybe he has to, otherwise the lecture-based workshop can be really boring and he would lose his audience. Everyone's level is different, so one may know more than others, thus make things little boring for those who are more advanced. But there's nothing Okello do about it. He does his best to engage his audience in practices and theology of DSLR. Cons: I wish he would focus and show us pictures that we can all take. Too many times, the sample photos shown on projector were taken with $1,600 lens, tripods, polarizers, and etc. Equipments we (beginners) can't probably afford and only dream about. We have 18-55mm very basic lens, so if he had shown photos with those lens, maybe we could have increased our hopes of taking great shots too. Also, I believe he spent little too much time talking about technicality of DSLR rather than skills/tips on how to take great photography. I wish he would spent more time on composition, background, lighting on different occasions. We were all very soaked in aperture, ISO and shutter speed. Those are important to know, but I, ultimately believe (I'm sure Okello does too) that it's about personal skills and experience that makes the picture spectacular. Not the ISO numbers. Summary: I found this course very effective to my growth and learning of photography. I'm a hobby photographer and want to be recognized by my friends not from the media. I probably won't take his advanced courses, but this one and Workshop II maybe great for anyone who's willing to take the photography skills to next level.

8/16/20 & 8/22/19…read more Once again Yelp fails to understand what a review is and delete another one of my reviews...fuck you very much:) and now on to my review. Back in February or March I saw and met with a representative at the Dulles Expo Center. This business is one of the attractions that caught my eye. Getting some photos taken with my wife could be a lot of fun. Doing nudes or something risky or out of our comfort zone would be fun. Talking to one of the representative gave good feeling and something I would like to try with my wife. I wish I could remember the name of the representative, but her name escapes me. I do remember some of the promotional photos I saw on this website and knew I had found the right business. Talking with this representative gave me the information and feeling that this business is worth doing. Doing business with them looks good because of the way the representative handled my questions.

I had a boudoir session with David and had an amazing experience. He was extremely professional and…read morehighly respected my privacy. My photos turn out beautiful. I swear he made my body and skin look 10 x times prettier than real life. David was extremely fast at responding to all my emails. Pictures and edits came back faster than expected. I highly recommend. 5 stars in every category!

Chieu's been our annual family photographer since we moved here 3 years ago. She's very easy to…read morework with and patient with our 2 little guys. We've done both outdoor and indoor photo shoots with her. The indoor shoots were done at her home studio which is clean and cozy. We highly recommend her to capture your family memories.

Chieu came through for us, even though we forgot our baby's cute outfit changes! She really…read moreimprovised on the whim and we loved the final photos. It was easy to schedule a session. She was very communicative in her emails. I absolutely loved the final photos and will definitely reach out to her in the future. it was a great experience overall!

More experienced photographers may disagree, but as a beginner, I found WSP's "Focus on…read moreComposition" course super helpful. The class tried to instill a habit of thinking through a checklist before taking a picture (or evaluating it afterwards). The checklist included, among other things: * What's the subject? * Do the direction and quality of light work for your subject? * Does the background distract from the subject? * Check the frame's edges: Is the cropping awkward? * Is there comfortable spacing between the elements of your photograph? Our class was small, so in addition to the lectures and the pithy, informative handouts, we could spend more time going over our homework, getting concrete suggestions for how to improve. For example, the instructor (Joe Yablonsky) would sometimes suggest moving the camera up, down, right, left, closer, or further, to get a cleaner background, a more flattering portrait angle, or more interesting "directionality" in the photo's lines. Other times, the instructor would notice patterns-- that my ISOs tended to be too high, or that there's dust on someone's sensor, or that the focusing was sometimes off. He'd then ask how we took the shot, and suggest new settings or focusing methods (or suggest cleaning the sensor!). Sometimes he'd ask the class to weigh in on the critique, so we could also benefit from our talented (and opinionated!) classmates. One session was a fun field trip to the National Mall. At the National Gallery of Art sculpture garden,we chased photogenic squirrels and captured tourists' hilarious reactions to Joan Miro's Personnage Gothique, Oiseau-Eclair. (Google it if you don't know it). I watched as one classmate got several amazing portraits of strangers, just by walking up and asking. The instructor also gave me a demonstration of how to get my camera to focus with a neutral density filter. (I had been having trouble with that). The course just ended last week, and I still need a lot of practice. But it's made my photos noticeably better. (One of my homework assignments even got published last week, as the page 2 photo in the Washington Post Express!) The downsides: Classes can be expensive! (Luckily I had a gift certificate). Sometimes you can find coupons or Living Social deals, e.g. here's one that's on right now (as of late March 2014): http://conta.cc/1jNpdud Washington School of Photography can be a pain to get to without a car. It's somewhat walkable from Twinbrook Metro, but the commute from DC (especially with weekend red line schedules) took me more than an hour.

Love these guys...they've taught me so much about the technical and functional aspects of…read morephotography, from how my DSLR works to how to better frame and compose my shots. I'll be taking my third class, on composition and design, next month. The 2 teachers I've had, Joe Yablonsky & Cortney Jackson, are instructors that I would recommend to anyone who wants to pursue photography as a hobby or as a profession.

I took my son to do the chick and duckling pictures and was amazed at how they photos turned out…read more Helen does an amazing job!

One of the best things about this year was finding Helen Don Photography as our family…read morephotographer. Helen makes everything so incredibly simple for us. She is very transparent about the process and cost. There are no surprises. There's a quick turnaround. Most importantly, she takes the most gorgeous photographs. At a time when I was the most tired, vulnerable, pained, feeling less than beautiful days after the birth of our child, Helen made our newborn session process so simple, stress-free, and fun. Later that year, we luckily booked Helen for more family photographs. During the session, Helen was such a professional, rolling with the punches with our little ones and improvising shots, which turned out stunning. We are thrilled to have such high quality images documenting our little family. Thank you, Helen!

This is an amazing park with a museum, theater, dance hall, and great art galleries. Used to be an…read moreamusement park but now a great historical site. They also have the Clara Barton House that my wife and I toured. You can drive here or take Ride On Route 29 from Bethesda or Friendship Heights.

Tried the waltzing class at the Glen Echo Park complex and loved it. Tony Treston (affiliated with…read moreWaltz Time) was my instructor; he demonstrates the basics of waltzing in an easygoing manner. My first lesson was no pressure and I felt like I made a lot of progress. BTW, this is not Viennesse waltzing, which is a formalized style of waltzing. The kind of waltzing taught here is more of a "garden variety", and done by cultures all over the world. It's a 3-step candance (slow, quick quick), and anyone can do it, seriously. It might be the best $13 that I ever spent. That's the cost of admission, which includes a 45 minute lesson, followed by nearly 3 hours of dance time with a live band. The Spanish Ballroom, where the social dances are held, is a premier venue. The building itself is Art Deco architecture and considered to be one of the best ballrooms of its kind on the East Coast. The interior is decorated tastefully and lighted well. The expansive floor is made of a lovely maple wood. The live music is such a treat as the acoustics here are top notch. The social dances are a lot of fun, and waltzing isn't the only style offered--there's contra dancing; tango dancing; swing dancing; blues dancing, etc. The social dance calendar is quite extensive. Check out Glen Echo Park and Waltz Time websites to see all the possibilities. Am already planning when I'll attend again.

My daughter (6 y.o) has been going here for a year now and we are very happy with Artmellow. She's…read moregained confidence in her painting ability she has fun, it's a very calming environment. The teachers are wonderful and helpful. We have many beautiful pieces of artwork at home now very thankful to have found this space!

We hosted a party here for my 7yo, the artists were so helpful and everyone's paintings turned out…read morebeautifully. It's a really nice space with big windows. Highly recommend!