Derrel R. Todd | Photographer & Cinematographer

Baby Amir Loading 🧸💙. 📸 @dtodd

Although I am still “booked & busy” as they say, I often find myself sifting through my old work in my down time. And each time I get more and more grateful for the opportunities that I was given. And those moments also tend to make me even excited about what lies ahead… Throwback Thursday Post (Just fyi though…because of the algorithm and overall disinterest, I am posting less and less of current work… I hope to post more this year though) . . #throwbackthursday #dorothyheight #drmayaangelou #drdorothyheight #derreltodd

The short version… ..a little over 10 years ago, I was invited to CT to photograph @janellemonae performance. That email arrived on Christmas Eve just as I was pulling up to my Aunt & Uncle’s house for their annual party. What a Christmas gift, right? As it turns out, the concert was being held on 12/29…which just happens to be me & my twin’s birthday!!! Unbelievable right? I know…I couldn’t believe it either! There was a Prince signage all over the casino. I was like OMG!!! First person I met at the credentials area, @kevinmazur ! I’m sure that I scared the blazes out of him and his wife when I yelled (my raspy yell) “YOU’RE KEVIN MAZUR”. Next person I met, @twopointoh ! He showed me where I could stand, and where I couldn’t. I told him how nervous I was and he quickly reassured me and told me that I am where I’m supposed to be. Never forgetting that in a million years…even though I still get nervous sometimes…I come back to those words often! Next person I met, @iamjeffcohran @theeamandarenee and @natewonderful (although I’d met Nate briefly in DC 2 months earlier)…more on that later… So I captured her set and then went to an area where friends and family were seated. @therealkellindo walked up during Prince’s set, and sat beside me. He complimented my work and then asked had I met Janelle. I hadn’t, but of course was already intimately familiar with her work back from when she opened for a couple of @saadiqmoves shows. Anyway, he takes me down to where Amanda usually works. Prince was onstage setting the place ablaze. Kellindo tapped Janelle on the shoulder and introduced me. Of course, I’m having a completely outta body experience, because I can’t believe ANY OF THIS! Janelle turns, thanked me for coming, thanked me for the images, and we all went back to watching Prince. Next thing you know, SHE’S ONSTAGE WITH HIM DURING HIS SET! I was so busy jamming, that I didn’t even notice she’d left the area! Kellindo is like “..C’mon, let’s go backstage! Was I gonna say “no”? I followed him through the crowd, reluctantly because.. (Instagram cut this short…the rest of the SHORT VERSION on Threads) #Prince #JanelleMonae #JanelleMonáe #derreltodd #dtodd

My 12th Annual Silver Sessions will be held on the last Sunday of this month! That’s April 26th!!!!! What are those? They’re COMPLIMENTARY…FREE…Mini Portrait Sessions that I offer in honor of my Pop, Roger C. Moore. I first offered them in April 2014, two weeks after he departed this existence as a way of coping with the loss and celebrating his life. What’s the catch…the fine print…the stipulations….? Must be a MINIMUM of 62 years-old (born before April 1964), and if you look super young, we reserve the right to check ID…and sign a photo release which says I can display your photo on my website, social media, in galleries…blah, blah, blah. What’s different this year? By popular demand…reserved session times…a sign-up sheet…and new location(s). More details to follow…so pull out that suit, grab that gown or dress, don’t forget that hat (if you’re into that), and come on! (Silver hair not required, but definitely appreciated!) #silverhair #silvercitizen #seniorcitizen #dmvphotographer #dcportraitphotographer

How I got the shot…and the shot… …and then later that evening @tidelaundry to the rescue for those grass stains 🤪 📲 - Behind The Scenes video by Rose . . #cherryblossoms2026 #dcportraitphotographer #dmvportraitphotographer #sunrisephotoshoot #dcweddingphotographer

I could say thank you a million times to Liz and Ty, and would still need to say it about 2 million more fully illustrate my gratitude for this past weekend, the wedding in Mexico, and more! . . 📸: 🙋🏾‍♂️ Derrel R. Todd . . #cherryblossoms2026 #dmvportraitphotographer #dcportraitphotographer #dtodd #derrelrtodd

One reason I waited to take him, was so that he’d remember more when he’s older….because I know, for me, past the age of 10 memories get a lil foggy…ok, a lot foggy 😂 Then I remembered, I’ve probably photographed every second of his life. So even when the memories get foggy, the photos will be there to fill in the gaps and hopefully trigger forgotten moments or cool moments that he never knew I recorded. Image by Moi using my Limited Edition @leicacamerausa Hodinkee Q2 ….inspired by Frank . . #daddydaycare #holidayweekend #historyfirsthand #diadora #leicaq2ghost

At my photo gig on Sunday the couples were dancing up a storm to Leon Huff’s “I’m Not Jivin, I’m Jammin”! So many people clicked on the video of my sister and I dancing, that I figured I’d share more of where I get it from…. …in the DC area it’s referred to as Hand Dancing. It’s slower than Lindy Hop and the Hustle, and it’s different from Chicago Steppin & Detroit Ballroom. To me it’s most closely related to the Philly Bop! Me though? I like to go fast, but this…this was a night to learn…oh, and do what they actually paid me to do…which was record the memories! 📸😏😂 . . #handdance #phillybop #handdancing #stepping #ballroom

I love, love, love vintage images posted by @dcdecades @itssmalcolm @blackarchives.co @nmaahc @smithsonian and of course, @jazzphotoarchives ! Viewing those practically daily, prompted me to upload images from my grandmother’s archive. When she passed in at age 96 in 2023, it was then that I was told that she sewed clothing for a popular white photographer in Petersburg, VA, and did some other domestic housework at his studio and at his home. I can only surmise that he gave her access to film and pretty decent cameras from that period. It’s likely too that he also processed the film for her or sent it to the lab that he used. Funny, my Granny never told me that she was a true shutterbug. I guess had there been more/ANY opportunities for women, specifically Black Women, in the field at that time that she would have been one of the greats. Well, now I’m the custodian of almost 3,000 images that she captured (or that she’s pictured in). Here’s just a few… . . Images appear courtesy of the Bernice Bouldin Taylor Photographic Archive . 1. My mother with my grandparents after graduating from high school - 1966 2. Other Peabody High grads 3. Bernice, Tiny, and Virginia (Granny and two of my Great Aunts after church) 4. My Aunt Claudette showing tourists how to load film using her Nikon…bought in Japan when my Great Uncle was stationed there. 5. Hayward Taylor on Augusta Ave in Petersburg, VA (my Pop Pop) 6. After service in their Sunday Best! 7. My Uncle Daniel Todd and my cousin Verna after his graduation. 8. JoAnn Todd at age 20 (my Mother…now age 77) 9. My grandparents on their wedding day. 10. Verna, Shirley, Noris (JoAnn), Nora, Pat, Rose, and Danny (my mom and her cousins. I think my mother is about 3 years old here) 11. Fenton & Virginia Bland and Bernice & Hayward Taylor hangin out at the Beaux Twenty Club (built in 1942 for Black WWII Servicemen and their families as a recreational space for the Black community during segregation. 12. Bernice after church! 13. Pop Pop & friends..There was no money for flying to exotic places at that time. So road trips were common. . #vintagephotography #blackhistorymonth #blackphotographers #ourstory #ourlens

D’Angelo…. …..an icon born on February 11th . . Image by Derrel R. Todd in Yokohama, Japan . . #dangelo #aheadofhistime yet #rightontime #dtodd #photographerforcreativepeople

A. Todd by D. Todd . . Art by @danflavin .. Image using @leicacamerausa . . #silouette #leicaq2 #photographerforcreativepeople #dajforever #derreltodd

Unfiltered … With @dajforever . . 📸: of A. Todd by his “big cuz” D. Todd . . #unfiltered #unapologetic #headshot #actor #model