A little over a decade ago, I was searching for a photographer in the Washington DC area who would be able to take proposal photos as a surprise to my now wife. Jae was one of the photographers who reached out and ultimately the one I ended up going with. Looking back, it was absolutely the right choice! He was incredibly helpful in planning out the proposal and choosing the best location for our photos. He answered all of my questions and was easy to get in touch with both before and on the night of the proposal, keeping me updated and making sure everything was ready before the big moment. The photos turned out perfect! Even today, they stand out as some of our favorite pictures. Fast forward 10 years later - I had an idea to get a kind of "follow up" set with our daughter for our 10th anniversary. I reached out to see if Jae was still in the area and if he'd have some availability to do these for us. He got back to me fast and we ended up planning everything out, starting right back where the proposal happened. This time was just as great! Jae was fantastic with our daughter and really helped bring out her smile. He was great posing us and knew exactly how to work each location we walked to. The photos (again) turned out fantastic! Being able to look back at both sets side by side, a decade later, is like opening a time capsule - it's just so cool! read more

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Jae is an amazing photographer and I highly recommend him! If you're looking for someone who will go above and beyond expectations, Jae is the man. He is very responsive and detail oriented. I hired him to take photos of my proposal. From the start, he removed all the stress out of planning so I only had to focus on actually proposing. He was essentially a photographer and a planner! Once I chose the general location and time of the proposal, Jae went out of his way to scout the place beforehand. He provided me with the exact spots with the best background, detailed diagrams of how to get to the spot, and how to propose for the best shots. Because it was an outdoor location, Jae helped me come up with contingency plans and what to do for each case. My fiancée and I are more awkward when it comes to photos but Jae brings in over 10 years of experience. He was able to help us get into the best poses and he edited the photos to make us really shine. Jae even stayed up late to finish editing our photos earlier than anticipated when he found out we were heading out of town soon after. I am truly thankful for Jae's help. read more

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I reached out to Jae asking if he would be willing to get creative and do a quirky, Wes Anderson-style maternity photo shoot. The stars must have aligned, because he ended up being the perfect person for the job. He was eager to execute and ended up going above and beyond for us. He helped us scout a location, provided suggestions for outfits, and came up with some great ideas to fit the prompt. He also responded quickly to emails and all the logistics were made easy, which is a relief when you're 7 months pregnant! On the day, he was arrived early at the Smithsonian castle and gardens to check for the best spots. My husband and I are pretty camera-shy, and he went out of his way to pose us and make us feel comfortable. I was surprised we ended up actually having fun taking photos, which is something that normally fills me with dread. Whatever the photographer equivalent of bedside manner is called, Jae certainly has it. His editing fit the prompt perfectly, and you cannot tell we took the photos on a wet and rainy day. We got our photos back on time, along with some sweet and thoughtful parenting advice. They turned out so perfect, and really captured "us" and the vibe we were going for. I'm so glad he was down for this fun experiment and for his fantastic attention to detail. The photos were such a special gift to share with my parents, and they even made my dad cry - not an easy feat! We could not recommend Jae's services more highly. read more

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Jae is really good at what he does! He was so kind, personable, and professional! He was responsive when I reached out to him. We organized a family photo shoot with a quick turnaround despite his busy schedule. The price was reasonable and we got lots of photos that made us look even better with his good editing. We were amazed at how well he worked with our three year old child. Jae has a great personality that works with the kids. The really cool thing about our experience was that Jae got to know us as a family and we have a real connection with him despite only meeting him once! He was truly invested in who we were as people. We will use him for our next photo shoot for sure! read more

Jae was incredibly pleasant to work with for my maternity photos. From the initial email correspondences to the actual photo shoot, he was flexible and easy-going. During the scheduling process, Jae was quick to respond with frequent emails. Finding a time that worked for us was difficult with our work schedules and my indecision regarding indoor vs outdoor photos. Our photos would be done in the summer, and I really wanted an outdoor setting but was already experiencing hot flashes and worried about the heat and humidity. Jae provided suggestions about locations and time of day for possibly cooler temps. He was incredibly understanding. On the day of the photo shoot, Jae was thoughtful and even texted me the location of the closest clean bathroom to the park we were shooting at, knowing that an 8 month pregnant woman may need to make frequent bathroom stops. He was also sweet with our 6 year old son, making conversation with him and allowing him to take the lead with some silly poses. We felt at ease. The photos turned out great. I'd highly recommend Jae! read more

This is our second year in a row with Jae, and he's proved his skill is RELIABLE! He accommodated our schedule last-minute, and gave us the easiest, most laid back session. It was so laid back that I wondered if he got any good shots in the quick 30-minute session where the entire time my kids (5 and 8) chatted away nonstop about KPop Demon Hunters. He sent over our photos today, and I realize-- He looked like he was hanging out with my kids, but the entire time he had a subtle timing to capturing their best smiles. I'm so grateful! read more

I've worked with Jae twice and have nothing but praise for him as a photographer and as a person. The first time was for a pet photoshoot with my fiancé, our dog, and I. Jae made all three of us feel comfortable and worked with us to get all the shots we wanted. We were so pleased with the experience and the amazing photos that we hired him for our wedding. Jae was great and got tons of fantastic shots that we will treasure for the rest of our lives. Jae is not only supremely professional, he's a super chill guy and a photoshoot with him feels like hanging out with an old friend. If you're awkward like me and my husband, Jae will put you at ease and work with you to get the glamor shots you never knew you had in you. I plan to ask Jae the next time we need any kind of professional photography and highly recommend his services to anyone. read more

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Jae is amazing to work with! He is patient with young children who might not always want to pose for pictures. He is able to capture beautiful pictures and we will be repeat customers again next year! read more

I would give 10 stars if I could. My family recently hired Jae for a last minute photo shoot for my dad's 80th birthday and Jae went absolutely above and beyond to make it a great experience. Jae was efficient, made everyone feel comfortable, and most importantly, the photos came out wonderfully. He turned around the edits quickly, helped us with some extra customization, and even hand delivered the prints back to the house. When I say above and beyond, I really mean it! Don't hesitate to hire Jae for any photographic ideas/needs you have. Jae, we look forward to working with you again soon and thanks so much on behalf of our whole family. read more

I don't even know where to begin! Jae was an absolute dream come true of a photographer! We couldn't have asked for a better experience or photos at our wedding. From our initial contact, Jae was very speedy in getting back to us and made us feel at ease throughout the planning process. Our photos were STUNNING, he truly captured the spirit of the day and took so many beautiful shots. By the end of our wedding it really felt like he was a part of our friends and family, not just a photographer. We cannot recommend him enough, he blew away our expectations. We will cherish our wedding photos forever and cannot thank him enough for all he did. read more

I recently had the pleasure of working with Jae for my first-ever professional headshots, and I couldn't be happier with the results. From the moment I reached out, Jae made me feel completely at ease, and answered any questions/concerns that I had. His friendly and professional demeanor (along with patience!) helped calm my nerves throughout the process. I highly recommend J. Yi Photography to anyone looking for high-quality, professional photos. Thank you, Jae, for an amazing experience! read more

I couldn't have conducted my proposal without Jae. He provided thorough communication, planning, and stellar photo quality throughout the entire process. Flexible and easy to work with. read more

To start, Jae is an absolutely delight to work with! We reached out to him for an autumnal/Christmas card photoshoot with our dog after finding his website recommended on a Reddit thread, and we loved the entire experience. Jae was accommodating in scheduling our session, and he recommended a beautiful location for the shoot. During the actual shoot, he helped us pose naturally (despite some camera shyness on our ends!), and he was very patient with our very excited pup--he managed to get great shots of him actually looking at the camera! The photos themselves came out so beautifully that we're struggling to pick favorites. We are very happy with our choice to work with Jae, who captured our family perfectly, and we are excited to work with him again in the future! read more

Thanks Jae for the quick turnaround on shooting and processing my new professional headshots! If you're in the DC area and looking for an experienced, independent photographer, I can't recommend his services enough! read more

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I was in a bind to get mandatory headshots for work taken on very short notice, but Jae was kind enough to fit me in on a Saturday morning. His work was professional and efficient, taking no more than 15 minutes to take several pictures that were so good it was hard to pick a favorite to finalize. His prices are quite a bit steeper than other photographers who didn't have availability to accommodate me on such short notice, but the end product was high quality. You definitely get what you pay for. I do wish that more than one picture was covered for the price ($550+tax), as other local professional photographers include five photos and charge around $500. read more

Jae is the best! He was very prompt and friendly in his communication and made it a point to learn everyone's names before a family photoshoot (which everyone was very impressed by)! He is very easy going and handled uncooperative children with grace. I would highly recommend Jae for any photography needs you have! read more

I had the pleasure of working with Jae for many years from the beginning of his photography career. His professionalism and eye for beautiful portraiture never cease to amazes me. I am a photographer as well and I've many photographers without the same experience and skills as Jae. I've used his services for fashion photographs and professional headshots. Yes, I could've taken these photos myself but Jae is great at suggesting flattering poses. Most people hate being in front of the camera but Jae will make you look very attractive. If you don't like how you look in photos then you haven't found the right photographer. I recommended Jae to my younger sister, who hates being photographed. She looked so youthful and happy in her photos. She even had fun! Jae is a chill, patient dude. He works with clients to plan photo shoots for weddings and other events. His turnaround time is fast. He takes great photos without the need for heavy photoshopping. Great photographers shouldn't spend hours editing a single photo. Photos should require minimal touch-ups. Asides from wedding, engagement, and professional photos, he is open to everything. Jae is quite versatile and the quality of his work is consistent. He's currently editing my photos but I will post one to Yelp soon. I highly recommend Jae for any photography needs. He's everything you need and want from a photographer. I hope to work with him again soon! read more

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Jae has worked with our growing family twice now, and each time has been an absolute joy. We first met with Jae for a maternity shoot where he worked hard to ensure we were safe (during Covid), comfortable and worked to ensure the shots were flattering. He was flexible with style preferences and made the experience fun and enjoyable. The shots he got were beautiful and really symbolized the joys and beauty of pregnancy. Jae also did our 3 month photo shoot with our daughter. Even though the day was hot, my kid was cranky and it was incredibly humid, Jae was able to capture the quick moments where she didn't look miserable and we appeared to be a happy and comfortable family. The pictures were perfection, and again flattering to all the members of the family. Jae's prices are very reasonable and he works to ensure the product is exactly what we were looking for. We will definitely be utilizing Jae again for future photo shoots. read more

Jae Yi is competitively priced, easy to work with, and a great photographer. I run a small law practice in Arlington, Virginia. We engaged him to take a group shot and some headshots for our lawyers. He did excellent work, replied quickly to our questions, and was a pleasure to work with. The shots will be up shortly at www.jmontanalaw.com, if you want to see real-world samples. Strongly recommend. read more

My husband and I had the pleasure of working with Jae to capture our daughter's first birthday party at our home this past weekend. We initially found him through his stellar yelp reviews and reached out to him. Jae responded promptly and as luck would have it, not only did the date work for him, but we also discovered that we lived close by, which allowed us to meet him and talk prior to the party. We found Jae to be professional, responsive and very easy to communicate with. On the day of the party, Jae arrived promptly and was able to take pictures without interrupting the flow of the party. He captured all of the special moments of that day! Jae was able to edit our pictures and turn them around in a matter of days. The end result is an album of high-quality images that will allow us to remember this day in our daughter's life forever! We highly recommend using Jae for any and all of your photography needs!! read more

Jae helped us with our engagement photos and he did an incredible job. The photos were top-quality professional grade and we received the full set within 24 hours! Incredible quality and incredible service, very well worth it! Jae is very experienced with the Georgetown area. Not only did he help us coordinate the entire event, he provided great feedback along the way to optimize the angles, lighting, and backdrop-- a true professional who brings expert judgement. During the day of, Jae took care of all of the setup and coordinated with all of the other parts of our engagement for a seamless process-- this let me focus on the event itself! read more

Jae was SUCH a pleasure to work with during our work conference at APA Congress 2018! He was punctual, communicative & completely flexible with any and all nuances of the event - as is, the nature of any large event. He has such a great, creative eye to capture the essence and energy of the people he photographs and couldn't be happier with contracting him for our presence! read more

Jae is FANTASTIC! He captured my niece's first birthday celebration and the pictures came out beautifully! Even my dad commented on how well the pictures came out and how professional they looked (my dad is an amateur photographer). Jae was so patient with my crazy family and is so easy to work with. I would definitely recommend him for any occasion! read more

Jae is the perfect photographer for any event!! When he showed up for our wedding, he already knew everyone's name and got our guests involved. He helped ease our nervousness on our special day and made us smile the whole time. We loved the variety of the photos and the quality was excellent! The edited photos came back so BEAUTIFUL! He captured pictures we will treasure forever! We are so grateful to have met Jae! It was such a pleasure working with him. We are beyond pleased and recommend Jae to EVERYONE! read more

I worked with Jae to capture my proposal and he was awesome! I had a spot and time picked out, with a plan to casually walk our dogs and check out a beautiful canal. He scoped out the spot ahead of time and provided a detailed plan to optimize the photos, with more specific tips on the day of shooting. She was so surprised and happy and Jae captured the moment beautifully! He took the first shots from a hidden spot and then came out and took many posed shots. There were many more people around than I expected, but he was able to get a lot of really good shots without getting passerbys, and he even got some great shots of our puppies. He was great to work with and sent the finished photos later that same night. read more

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I've been working with Jae for both family sessions and commercial for my business. Jae is an absolute professional and knows his stuff. He is an amazing communicator, which has made him very easy to work with. Jae is very flexible and able to understand the intent of what you're going for. Highly recommended and I will continue being a repeat customer! read more

Our whole family enjoyed working both Jae. He took care to learn everyone's names before the shoot and was very communicative both before and after, giving us tips on what to wear/not to wear, and working with me to find a good location. We hope to work with him again in the future! read more

Jae was absolutely wonderful to work with. I have not met a photographer with a better attitude. He pays attention to detail and captures the best shots. You will be lucky to have your portraits taken by him. He is also very open to ideas and feedback. He is punctual, professional and very talented. It's an honor to work with him. read more

Jae is great and easy to work with. The booking process was quick and easy, the pricing was reasonable, and the actual session was very laid back, but good. He's great with communications and offers guidance/tips when needed. The final pictures were phenomenal. read more

We hired Jae Yi to shoot press photo shoots for Scena Theatre, and we typically have to shoot during a Preview or dress rehearsal. This makes the job challenging to capture great photos. Even so, Jae has done an outstanding job every time. Jae simply goes with the flow. He's flexible, responsive and talented. We definitely recommend him ... even for complicated shoots with lots moving parts. Thanks again! read more

Follow-up report here. We booked Jae again for a family photo shoot with our 2 year old. He did a fantastic job of being flexible and we figured our way through the shoot based on how the toddler was doing. We ended up going over time a bit but Jae was cool about it and really went with the flow to make sure we got all the shots we could in. The photos we received at the end blew us away and came out WAY better than expected. The best part in all this is that Jae is just super easy to work with while producing great results. We don't have time for shenanigans dealing with an unresponsive photographer, we have a toddler for that. read more

I've been to places like Glamour Shots and professional places before so I'm comparing my experience with Jae to them. After a disappointing attempt at Glamour Shots to do my pregnancy photos, I contacted Jae with some examples I found on Pinterest. Jae is extremely knowledgeable in lighting and posing! He was able to recreate exactly the scenes I found on pinterest, AND he was able to pose me to make me look skinny everywhere except for where my baby bump is :) Best of all, he was very patient in order to get the best shots. Enthusiastically recommended! Thank you Jae! read more

I highly recommend!! Jae most recently captured exactly what I needed for my album cover. With such a broad range of skills, fantastic eye, and intuition for locking into the overall vision, Jae is my go-to for any professional photography needs in NoVA! I had a tight deadline and he came through and I couldn't be happier :) read more

I first came across Jae's photography when he responded to a fellow poster on the r/nova sub-reddit. I loved his portfolio, so we he responded to my own inquiry about a wedding photographer I was thrilled. Jae has a unique ability to capture people as they really are, which was something I could see from his website. This continued to be true for the multitude of pictures he took at my wedding (and he went above and beyond in the number of photos he provided at no extra charge). This was very important to me because I had virtually no pictures of myself and my husband and now I have a many beautiful, professional, intimate photographs to share with him and others. Jae has a wonderful personality and is a joy to work with and be around. This is important, because you need a photographer who can set you at ease. He is also a professional and skilled business person. He is extremely affordable, especially considering the quality of his work. And he deftly handled my lawyer father's parsing of his pretty impenetrable contract. His patience and reliability were both flawless and much appreciated. If I ever need professional photos again he will be the first person I contact, or the first I refer others to. My wedding only happened 14 days ago and I'm already thinking of excuses for another photo shoot. I really cannot recommend Jae highly enough. You will not be disappointed with either the quality of service or the quality of the product. read more

Jae was a pleasure to work with - he was professional, prepared, easygoing & gave our business as well as a couple of friends great professional headshots. He worked with our large group, gave us exactly what we needed & produced the finished product incredibly fast. We highly recommend Jae Yi Photography and will happily reengage Jae again in the future! read more

J is an amazing photographer. How I got connected is I found him, called him on a monday and told him I wanted to propose to my gf. Had so many ideas of places and day but didn't narrow anything down. Jae not only helped, he knew exactly the right time and right place by showing photos that made me narrow down exactly what I wanted. What makes Jae even better is the fact that this guy has alot of integrity in his work, that week was his wedding weekend, he got married on a Friday and still showed up on the Sunday of proposing, was at the place early and ready for me to propose. He did everything amazing, got the best pictures, we posted on facebook and hundreds and hundreds of people said we looked great, pictures were amazing. It was truly the best experience I have had when it comes to seeking the help of an independent business owner. He was professional, he didn't rush good photos he got it to us when it was perfected. I was truly happy and recommend Jae. He will be my go to guy from now on. Thanks J! and continue being an amazing resource for those in need! read more

Jae was absolutely amazing. I've never done a professional photoshoot before, and he was great at giving me all the information I needed, staying in contact with me, and making me feel comfortable both before and during the shoot. The photos he took were beautiful: definite portfolio material. Next time I need a photographer, he'll be the first one I call. read more

J. Yi Photography is truly wonderful! We have used him for our nonprofits Capitol Hill Lobby Day and related events for a number of years and he provides a really professional and high quality product. Additionally for professional events, his demeanor fits perfectly into the environment and has the right combination of assertive to take candid photos as well as make sure to keep the appropriate flow of the event. Additionally he was kind enough to take a beautiful professional headshot for me during a past event to use on LinkedIn. What I'd say is that I've had a variety taken over the years, and his product in 5 minutes of a shoot was much better than previous photoshoots! You can view the professional headshot here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrina-velasquez-esq-a4601816 . I'm disappointed that I did not know of the extent of his services until after my wedding because I would have surely used him! read more

Jae is AWESOME! This review is a year overdue but it's still relevant because he still went out of his way to help us a year later. Full story - last year for Mother's Day, I wanted to hold a family photoshoot because my mom loves taking photos of her family but never herself wants to be in them, and we haven't had a family photoshoot in about 10 years. Being the procrastinator I am (this comes back later), I scoured the internet for a local photo studio and reached out to Jae on the Wednesday before Mother's Day. He was completely booked up but was still willing to make it work in case anyone rescheduled, and asked to learn more about my family. After explaining my situation, Jae literally rescheduled his anniversary weekend breakfast in order to squeeze us in for an early morning shoot. Who DOES that!! During the shoot itself he made my awkward parents feel super comfortable and accommodated our wardrobe change, scenery desires, and individual personalities and preferences as well. He was consistently super responsive and kind in all our interactions. I didn't get around to ordering photos until a year later (now writing this review) and reached out to Jae, who quickly renewed our photo gallery to allow us to order full resolution photos and prints to finally get a new family portrait up in our house. Not to mention the photos themselves were BEAUTIFUL! My parents still talk about how thankful they are that we were able to have this photoshoot when we did last year because of aging and whatnot. I can't thank you enough! read more

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Jae is top notch! I was in need of a professional headshot on short turnaround and I contacted him after reading many recommendations from his clients in our local community group on Facebook. Not only did Jae respond promptly to my inquiry (during a holiday weekend!), he also squeezed my session in to take place the very next business day given my urgency. And - he even took the time to edit my photo that same evening, and he had the final version over to me in less than 24 hours! Jae's photography skills are excellent. He's super friendly and amazing to work with, I highly recommend his services and I look forward to reaching out to him again in the fall for family portraits! Thanks again Jae!! read more