Steve Budman Photography

Steve Budman Photography

• What I do •

I am a storyteller. Arranging light, color, and my point of view of a scene into a comprehensible visual context composes a little story through photography. It is my way of making sense of the world and of sharing insights with my viewers, my clients, and their clientele.

As people fascinate me, I approach executive portraiture with an emphasis on the eyes and expression to give a hint into a person’s narrative. When a portrait can be environmental, I like to use the setting and background as supporting elements, second in importance only to the face in telling the story.

But my drive to create photographic stories extends beyond people. My portfolio spans aerial, architectural, medical, and product photography shot on location, as well as in my studio.

• My journey •

Hailing from the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC, I have also lived in Filothei outside of Athens, Greece, where I happily sustained myself on a diet of souvlaki; and in Munich, Germany, where I studied with Rudi, a German master photographer. I learned to ski on the Zugspitze.

At the University of Maryland, I studied journalism and shot for the Diamondback, the student daily that competed with The Washington Post for timely scoops. I worked for The Baltimore Sun, and did editorial photos for magazines. Eventually, I began shooting for advertising agencies. Today my work is primarily with corporate industrial clients.

I taught photography at Salisbury State in Maryland and at Guilford Tech in Jamestown, North Carolina. Norfolk, Virginia, is now my home of 23 years, where I live with my wife and Morgan the cat, when we’re not following our two daughters’ adventures in college and beyond as best we can. At home, I cook the way I used to work in my darkroom, but usually with less burning and dodging.

• My work •

High-resolution full-format cameras and a high-end drone are my tools. Having mastered the darkroom, processing and printing both black-and-white and color film, I moved into the digital darkroom using Photoshop since 4.0, and now stay abreast of both Photoshop and Lightroom via Adobe CS. A DJI Inspire 2 drone handles low-altitude aerials, while high-altitude photographs are generally taken from a helicopter’s perspective.

People say I am known for my unique perspective, attention to detail, and easy-going approach with my subjects. That’s what ‘they say,’ anyway. Find out for yourself.

To inquire about assignments, and stock and art images, please .