About Amanda

Amanda is a weddings, events, headshots, branding and family photographer based in Charlottesville, Virginia.  She is known for her documentary/photojournalistic style, and she believes photography is about capturing and savoring the beauty in life.

Amanda started her career off as a photo editor at one of the top 5 newspapers in the country, and later became a staff photographer for one of New York's best celebrity photo studios, where she worked as a photojournalist and celebrity photographer, photographing everyone from Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande to President Bill Clinton.  

After 13 years in NYC, Amanda moved with her family (husband Nick and now 2 kids: Rocco and Nico) back to her home state of Virginia, where she launched her weddings, corporate events photography and portraiture business.  She loves living in Charlottesville where it is easy to balance family life with her rewarding career as a photographer capturing the most important moments in her clients' lives.  She loves how weddings combine her background in photojournalism (she never misses a shot!) with her love for beautiful and artistic portraiture, and she can't resist a good dance party at the end of the night (resulting in some of her favorite photos!)

Amanda gets the same feedback after each of her weddings: “You seemed to be having so much fun, smiling from ear to ear, making everyone feel comfortable.  You were everywhere at all times, yet stayed under the radar.  It was obvious you were telling the story of the wedding day by being in the moment, and capturing all of the details and people there, and you didn’t seem to be "ticking off the boxes on a generic wedding shot list."  Just check out her REVIEWS!!

Random facts about me:

• I was a barista in college, and I make my own espresso drinks at home, usually a cappuccino in the morning and an iced latte in the afternoon.  Big time coffee snob :)

• I think it’s silly when photographers put a bunch of useless information on their About page like what drink they like to drink… but…oops! Hey, why not?

• I learned to shoot with an SLR when I was 9 years old, and haven’t stopped since! My camera is an extension of my arm!

• I was a DJ in college on WTJU and my show was called From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea ( a Cure song)

• I have 2 little boys, Rocco and Nico, and they keep my head on a swivel and my heart very full. 

• After the boys go to sleep, my husband and I binge watch HBO and Netflix shows while I edit photos. 

• I love reading home-making magazines.  

• I love water - the beach, the pool, rivers, lakes, sailing...

• I love traveling and experiencing other cultures and countries. The furthest I have been is to India. 

• My favorite authors are Salman Rushdie, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Dostoevsky and Paule Marshall.

• My guilty pleasure is watching reality tv shows....Real Housewives of  Name-that-City, Jersey Shore Family Reunion, Queer Eye, Fixer Upper, Shahs of Sunset…

• My first photography class was with 4H and my last was at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.

• I am a D.I.Y. queen, and proud of it.

• My music collection reflects my love for heavy metal, hardcore, punk and emo....but I also listen to Top 40 in my car and know just about every popular song ever, from the 1950s to 2023.

• I moved to NYC the week before September 11th, and I watched the 2nd tower fall from my rooftop.  The neighbors across the hall moved back to Vermont.  I stayed for 13 years (in 7 different apartments.)

• Artists and Photographers who have inspired me: Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, Diane Arbus, Rineke Dijkstra, William Eggleston. 

• In college at UVA, I was an English major with a Spanish minor.  My favorite classes were Russian literature, African American Women’s Literature, and Post-Modern literature.  I had already been a photographer from a young age, and I spent a lot of my spare time in the darkroom, developing film and making prints...I didn't feel I needed a degree in photography.

• Nicest celebrities I have worked with: 50 Cent, Daniel Radcliffe, Tom Cruise, Amy Schumer, Geoffrey Rush

• Meanest celebrities I have worked with: …let’s not go there…

Note:  I shot under my maiden name, Amanda Schwab, during my time in New York, if you want to Google me!