THE HUMAN BEHIND THE CAMERA

Who is Hannah From Earth?

Oregon raised. Virginia based. Filmmaker at heart. Photographer of people being completely, wonderfully themselves.

THE LIFE THAT SHAPES THE WORK

HI, I’M HANNAH

I’ve always been a little obsessed with stories.

A woman with tattoos on her right arm and dark hair styled in loose waves stands on a balcony during sunset, with residential buildings and the ocean visible in the background.

I’m a Northern Virginia wedding and portrait photographer, Oregon native, and lifelong collector of the little moments people don’t always realize are happening.

Before photography, I fell in love with storytelling through filmmaking. I think that’s still a big part of the way I see the world now. I notice movement, atmosphere, the way people interact when they think no one is paying attention, and all the tiny pieces happening around the obvious moment.

These days, I get to turn that instinct into photographs. The kind that feel lived-in, a little cinematic, and most importantly, like the people actually in them.

A FEW THINGS ABOUT ME

Things that have shaped the way I see the world.

I’m married to Dalton, my skater-boy husband and favorite person to do life with. We have an Aussiedoodle named Baxter who we got together in Oregon. He’s silly, rambunctious, incredibly sweet, and has made our lives infinitely more fun.

DALTON + BAXTER

PLACES THAT STAY WITH ME

I love to travel, and I have a habit of coming home from almost every trip declaring it my favorite one ever. A few places that have really stayed with me: Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan; and Santa Teresa, Costa Rica.

I adore the rain. Maybe growing up in the high desert made it feel a little more special. Music is just as constant in my life, and while I listen to a little bit of everything, I always find my way back to softer, stranger sounds. I’ve loved Bon Iver since 2012, and 22, A Million is still one of my favorite albums.

RAIN + SOFT MUSIC

CREATIVITY RUNS IN THE FAMILY

I come from a family of artists. Creativity has been passed down through generations, and I owe so much of my own way of seeing things to my parents and the environment I was raised in.

My favorite film of all time is Into the Wild. I’ve loved that story for years, and I think it has quietly influenced so much of the way I see the world and the art I’m drawn to making- freedom, solitude, nature, movement, and the pull toward somewhere unknown.

THE FILM I’LL NEVER GET OVER

I used to think I was a summer person until I learned how to snowboard. Now I look forward to winter in an entirely different way. There is something about mountains covered in snow, cold air, and everything going quiet that I completely fell in love with.

WINTER, APPARENTLY

THE PROJECT THAT CHANGED ME

For my senior thesis in the VCUarts film program, I spent two months traveling around the country alone, living out of my car and filming in national parks and wild places along the way. The project was about meeting yourself in nature; about solitude, freedom, and what the open road can pull out of you. A lot of what I learned during that trip still finds its way into my work today.

AND UNDERNEATH ALL OF IT

My faith is deeply personal to me. I love Jesus, and creating, for me, often starts with paying attention to what God has already put in front of me - the beauty, the people, the places, and the moments that make me want to stop and really notice.

BEFORE THE STILL FRAME

I learned to tell stories in motion first.

Before photography became the way I told stories, there was film.

I studied filmmaking at VCUarts, where I became obsessed with the way a story could be built through movement, sound, pacing, atmosphere, and all the tiny moments happening between the obvious ones. That way of seeing never really left me.

For my senior thesis, I spent two months traveling around the country alone, living out of my car and filming in national parks and wild places along the way. The project was about solitude, freedom, and what can happen when you give yourself enough space to really meet who you are.

I think that experience shaped more of me than I realized at the time.

Now, when I photograph a wedding or a couple, I’m still thinking in scenes. I’m watching how one moment leads into another, what’s happening at the edge of the frame, the way someone moves toward the person they love, the pause before a laugh, the wind picking something up, the quiet that happens right after the big moment.

I don’t want your gallery to feel like a collection of disconnected pretty photographs.

I want it to feel like something you can step back into.

A woman sitting on a large rock by the ocean on a cloudy day.
A woman sitting on a large rock by the ocean on a cloudy day.
A young woman with brown hair and a black floral jacket sitting on a rocky ledge at the Grand Canyon during daytime. The expansive canyon landscape stretches into the distance with layered rock formations and a clear blue sky overhead.
A woman standing under a Joshua tree in a desert landscape with dry grass, distant mountains, and a clear blue sky.
Woman with curly hair and sunglasses wearing a green sweater, patterned skirt, and patterned pants standing in a dry, cracked desert landscape under cloudy sky.
A young girl sitting in a grassy field with mountains in the background, wearing a yellow cap and denim jacket.
A woman standing in front of red rock formations under a clear blue sky, with desert vegetation in the foreground.
A woman sitting on a rock outdoors in a mountainous landscape, holding a camera, wearing sunglasses, a cap, a denim jacket, and checkered shoes.
A woman with curly hair wearing a blue jacket and black skirt stands in a desert landscape with golden bushes, snowy patches on the ground, and mountain peaks in the background under a clear blue sky.
A woman sitting on the sand in a desert with sand dunes in the background and footprints in the foreground.

WHAT IT FEELS LIKE

I’m there to notice, not to take over.

I’ll give direction when you need it, help keep things moving when the day gets chaotic, and step back when the moment is already doing exactly what it needs to do.

I’m not interested in turning your wedding or session into a performance for the camera. I want you to have room to actually be in it — to laugh weird, get emotional, move around, forget about me for a while, and let the day unfold the way it was always going to.

A lot of my favorite photographs happen when nobody is trying to make a photograph happen at all. The hand reaching across the table. Your best friend losing it during the speeches. The second after the posed photo when everyone finally relaxes. The wind, the mess, the movement, the stuff you didn’t know you’d want to remember.

That’s usually where I’m looking.

TWO PLACES THAT SHAPED ME

Virginia based. Oregon rooted.

I’m based in Northern Virginia now, photographing weddings, couples, and stories throughout Virginia, Maryland, DC, and beyond.

Oregon is where I grew up, where so much of my creative life began, and a place I still return to often for weddings and sessions. The landscapes are very different, but both places have shaped the way I photograph people and the environments around them.

And if your story happens somewhere else entirely, I’m always open to going there too.

OKAY, ENOUGH ABOUT ME

Tell me about you.

Tell me what you’re planning, what matters to you, what you want it to feel like, and all the little details you already know you’ll want to remember.

The big stuff, the weird stuff, the sentimental stuff. I want to hear all of it.

START YOUR STORY →
A man and young girl are playing together outdoors in a grassy field with tall grass and trees in the background. The girl is holding the man's hands and they are smiling and laughing. The girl is wearing a white top and red checkered shorts, and the man is dressed in a dark T-shirt and white pants.