PRESS RELEASE -
Alexandria, VA, October, 2021 -- Renée C. Gage, M.Photog., owner of Renée C. Gage Photography, celebrates twenty years of business this October, 2021. A native of Versailles, Kentucky and a graduate of Lynchburg College, Gage fell in love with photography while experimenting with black and white film printing in a tiny dark room in college. It was pure magic watching her images appear. She then pursued the craft over 5 summers of study with the Jay Stock Group in Maine, and later at the New England School of Photography, and the Texas School of Professional Photography. She also studied under the mentorship of renowned photographer Gail Nogle.
In 2001, Gage launched her photography business out of her home in Maine, where her husband was stationed as a pilot for the Navy. Despite the challenges of entrepreneurship and military life, Gage grew her passion for photography into her dream career, and has been privileged to photograph subjects in every city Navy life has taken her, both domestic and abroad.
Gage employs her portraiture and photojournalistic talents to tell the stories of her subjects with elegance and eloquence. Over the years she has captured countless children, newborns, families, high school and college seniors, expectant mothers, and professionals on camera. Click by click, image by image, Gage preserves life’s rich beauty, capturing the little moments that mean the most.
Gage holds a Master of Photography, a degree awarded to photographers by the Professional Photographers of America for superior skills, advanced education, and service to the industry. She is highly regarded for her fine art portraits, including her hand-torn giclée prints, and has been the recipient of multiple photography accolades. She is a member of the American Society of Photographers (ASP), Professional Photographers of America (PPA), and the Virginia Professional Photographers Association (VPPA), and has received numerous professional accolades for her outstanding imagery, including Best Portrait of a Child for 2020 and 2021 for VPPA.
In January of 2022, she will receive her Photographic Craftsman degree, which, as the PPA defines, “is awarded to photographers for their service as a speaker, author or mentor. This degree shows that you have gone beyond the creation of images and dedicated your time to move the industry forward and encourage education.”
Gage was also honored by PPA as a Grand Imaging Award Finalist in the 2021 Southeast District Photographic Competition for Creative Excellence in the Field of Professional Photography for her children’s portraiture. Her image was in the Top 10 for the Region and Top 50 in the Country. Gage’s images have also received the prestigious Kodak Gallery Award multiple times throughout her career.
Gage’s work has been published in NBC, CNN, Good Morning America, The Washington Post, The Washingtonian, The Bend Magazine, Bainbridge Island Magazine, The Scout Guide, Flying Edna, and Military Families Magazine.
Her prints have been displayed prominently around the country, including in the U.S. Capitol and Disney’s Epcot Center. Additionally, she has hosted gallery exhibits across the country to capture the beauty of all the places the Navy has taken her family: Maine, Virginia, Washington, and Texas, where she hosted exhibits to raise funds for the turtle rescue at the Padre Island National Seashore and Navy Marine Corp Relief.
As a mother of five, Gage dedicates much of her time and talent to supporting local education. While stationed in Corpus Christi, Texas, Gage started the Seashore Portrait Project to raise money for the Island Foundation and Seashore Charter Schools by capturing timeless black and white portraits of the children of Seashore in exchange for donations to the schools. Over seven years, the project has raised more than $58,000 for the public charter schools.
Since moving to Alexandria, Virginia in 2019, she has hosted school portrait fundraisers and donated to Stratford Landing Elementary, Aldersgate Day School, Waynewood Elementary, and St. Luke’s Day School. During the pandemic, Gage launched a neighborhood initiative called Letters of CommUNITY where she offered free front-porch family portraits to her community in exchange for letters of thanks that her family distributed to essential and front-line workers.
In addition to shooting on location in Alexandria and Washington, D.C., Gage travels the country (virtually and in-person) to host workshops and speak at photography conventions. She is proud to be sponsored by Miller’s Professional Imaging. She is also proud to collaborate with local and women-owned businesses, including Mint & Ivy Gifting, Monday’s Child Boutique, MaddAlex Designs, AR Workshop, The Scout Guide Alexandria, LAY/N/GO, Alexandria Stylebook, WeSTAT Podcast, and The Shoe Hive, as well as Goodies Frozen Custard & Treats and Be The Good, to promote all things local in their city.
Gage is one of the very best examples of military spouse resilience and determination, and her husband, Captain Sam Gage, USN, has encouraged her every step of the way. Her passion for photography has been a constant through twenty years of marriage, raising five boys, 12 military moves, and 5 deployments. She is always in motion, capturing memories on camera, pushing herself to new creative heights, lifting up other photographers and entrepreneurs, and finding unique ways to give back to her community. Renée C. Gage Photography plans to celebrate 20 years this October with a reception in historic Old Town, Alexandria.
For more information, please visit reneecgage.com, @reneecgagephoto, or email [email protected].
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