let's get to know each other
My name is Gretchen Thompson
I am a Northern Virginia based family portrait and food photographer. I am a proud Guamanian-Filipina. I was born and raised in Guam. I love to travel, eat good food (self proclaimed foodie), and just have fun. I love capturing families in their most authentic moments and creating memories that will last a lifetime.
"Photography is the art of freezing a single moment, allowing it to transcend time and speak to the heart across generations."
Love Notes From My Clients
Ashleigh & Paul
"I came across Gretchen on a local mom’s group. When I had we had recently learned that our very loved dog, Griffin, had a deadly tumor and was given weeks, maybe a couple months to live. My girls absolutely love our dog but knowing that he won’t be able to be around for their childhood much longer, I desperately wanted some photos of them just showing how amazing their bond was so that they could have them when he is no longer with us. Gretchen had posted about a mini season, but the weather was bad and we had to cancel. She later reached out offering another session and without question agreed to letting us have a session with our pup. That session was a bit difficult, my girls wanted nothing to do with the wet grass, Griffin was so happy to just be out that all he wanted to do was sniff everything, after 15 minutes we all decided to just call it quits and reschedule again. Needless to say, I was bummed at that time not knowing if I would get the photos that I hoped for. Well, even in those 15 minutes, Gretchen still managed to get 20 AMAZING photos. Photos of Griff looking straight at the camera, photos with the girls together with Griff and by themselves. I was beyond happy and relieved. Well last week, after nearly 6 months of chemo and kicking this tumors butt, our perfect little guy passed away suddenly. We obviously have been devastated, however one thing that has helped significantly is those photos. Shortly after I had them professionally printed and framed, I have posted 6 of them in our home and I have them to look at each day. I am so beyond thankful to Gretchen for capturing this amazing friendship and love my girls have with our Griff and I can’t thank you enough. <3"
Gretchen is the best photographer! My family and I had never had our pictures professionally taken before, so we were very nervous at the idea of doing a photoshoot because we both aren’t naturals at posing and we were afraid that our bodies/ faces would look awkward the entire time. We also had our toddler son with us there so we had no idea if he would collaborate or not! Gretchen made us feel so comfortable from the get-go, she told us exactly what to do, and the pictures she captured surpassed every expectation we could’ve ever had! I don’t know how but she managed to captured SO MANY SMILES from our little one! The pictures looked so perfect, like straight out of a magazine. I’m writing this review months later after having our shoot and I’m still obsessing over how great the pictures turned out!
Don’t look elsewhere, Gretchen is the one to call! We sure will be using her services again in the near future!
"Family photography captures the heartbeats of a home, the laughter of loved ones, and the symphony of connections that form the masterpiece of a lifetime."
