Peter M. Budraitis - Senior Portrait Artist
"Over 25 years ago a client said something to me that forever changed my life."
It was a young woman. She didn’t have very high self-esteem and didn’t have a great self-image. She rarely wore much makeup. She came to my studio because she needed to have a portrait taken. At that early point in my photographic career, I was having my own self-doubts about whether I had what it would take to be a true portrait artist. This young woman had her hair and makeup all done professionally and she looked great. Even so, she was so nervous about her session and was so skeptical that she would look good in her pictures. I nervously did her session and dreaded having to show her the images. When she saw them, something happened to both of us. Tears began to roll down her face and I became terrified. She turned and looked at me, her eyes red and teary and said to me “I never thought I could look so beautiful” I can’t describe the feeling that came over me when I realized hers were tears of joy! It was at that very moment that I knew what I was destined to
Year after year I continued taking weeklong workshops and attended seminars from some of the greatest photographers from around the country, many of whom specialized in making women look beautiful. For years I would study lighting, posing, and camera techniques to accentuate a woman’s most flattering features and de-emphasize or hide any flaws.
The joy I’ve experienced from the awards I’ve won for my portraiture, the Master of Photography Degree I earned from the Professional Photographers of America, and other accreditations I’ve received, all pale in comparison to the joy I feel when I see a woman so touched by the portraits I have created for her and knowing she will treasure them for the rest of her life.
“God’s gift to you is the talent he gave you. Your gift to God is what you do with that talent”
I truly believe creating beautiful portraits of women is more than an extreme passion of mine, it’s my calling. I sincerely hope you will give me the opportunity to make you feel so beautiful, you will continue to fuel my passion!