I photograph people the way they actually are.

Who I am

I'm John Kornegay, a Raleigh-based photographer with a cinematic, documentary approach to every session I take on.

I specialize in four things: intimate weddings and elopements for couples who want their day to feel like theirs, branding portraits for entrepreneurs and small business owners in the Triangle who need images that actually convert, and family sessions for people who want something real, not posed, not stiff, not Sears.

I also lead the Baba Project An ongoing portrait series documenting Black fathers and their children in the Triangle. It's personal work that grew out of my own experience as a father to my son, Langston. The project is about visibility, legacy, and what it means to be seen.

My approach

I don't hand you a shot list and run through poses. I show up, I observe, and I make photographs out of what's already happening. Most of my favorite images from any session come from the moment just before or just after the “official” moment, when people forget I'm there.

If you've had a bad experience with a photographer who made you feel awkward, I get it. That's a director problem, not a subject problem. My job is to make you comfortable enough that you stop performing, and that's when the real photographs happen.

Where I work

I'm based in Raleigh, NC. Most of my work happens across the Triangle: Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and Cary. I also travel for elopements throughout North Carolina and beyond.