01 / Image
David Lee Photography
Your place, your people, in their best light.
- Food & drink
- Venues, live music & events
- Faith & ministry
- Headshots & portraits
- Fine-art prints
A PRACTICE OF ARC/EMBER
Creative consultancy · Frederick, Maryland
Story-led. Systems-built.
Photography, content, brand and the marketing systems that keep it all working, for restaurants, venues, ministries and owner-led businesses from Frederick to DC.
The idea
Most creative work burns bright for one post and goes cold. Arc is the shape of your story. Ember is the heat that keeps it alive. We plan the shoot around the story, make the work, and build the system that keeps it going.
Four practices, one team
From the first frame to the system that posts it
Hire one practice or all four. Either way, you work directly with the founder.
02 / Motion
Social & video
One shoot becomes a season of content.
- Reels & short-form edits
- Event recap videos
- Sermon Media for churches
- Content calendars & posting
03 / Identity
Brand strategy & design
Know what you stand for, then look like it.
- Discovery workshop
- Positioning & messaging
- Logo & visual identity
- Brand guidelines
04 / Systems
Marketing, web & AI
The story keeps working when you're busy.
- Marketing strategy
- Websites
- CRM & email
- AI content & workflow automation
Who we work with
Places and people with a real story to tell
Restaurants, bars & wineries
The dish, the room at 9pm, the regulars. Menu launches, pairing nights and a feed that fills tables.
Live music venues & events
The moment the room lifts. Show coverage, recap reels within 48 hours, a calendar that sells itself.
Churches, ministries & nonprofits
Services, baptisms and outreach, told with reverence. Sermon clips, websites and giving pages that work.
Owner-led businesses
Headshots, a clear position and a site that works as hard as you do, with the busywork automated.
How it works
Six steps from conversation to working system
Working session
60–90 minutes on your story, goals and gaps. Credited to your first invoice.
Proposal
Within 3 business days: scope, timeline, price and one recommended engagement.
Shape the arc
Content plan, shot list and messaging, agreed before anything is made.
Make the work
Shoots, edits, design and builds, by the person you met in step one.
Build the system
Calendar, posting, website and automation, set up to run without you.
Review and renew
A monthly or quarterly look at what worked and what comes next.
Photography engagements
Three ways to book David Lee Photography. Clear prices.
Every engagement starts with a working session. Exact scope is confirmed in your proposal.
A single project
Spark
$400 / week
2–6 weeks
One defined photography project, done properly.
- Shoot planning and shot list
- On-location shoot
- Edited gallery, delivered ready to post
A quarter of photography
Season
$2,000 / month
3 months
A planned quarter of photography, timed to your calendar.
- Planning session and shot plan
- Up to 2 shoots a week, up to 90 minutes each
- Edited images delivered monthly
- Monthly review
Your ongoing photographer
Partner
$1,500 / month
12 months · limited spots
A year of photography with a photographer who knows your place.
- Up to 3 shoots a week
- Priority booking for events
- Organized image library
- Quarterly planning
Add-ons: extra shoot day [price] · 48-hour rush delivery [price] · fine-art print editions priced per piece. Motion, Identity and Systems work is quoted per project after a working session.
For churches · 02 / Motion
Sermon Media
You preach it and send us the recording. We turn it into a full message for YouTube, short clips for social and a podcast episode on Spotify, so the sermon keeps reaching people all week.
$500 / month
- Full-length sermon edit
- 5 short-form clips for Reels, Shorts and TikTok
- Podcast episode published to Spotify
About
A photographer who also builds the machine
Arc & Ember is led by David Lee, a Frederick photographer and process engineer who has worked in generative AI since 2022, from startup builds to implementation inside large companies.
That pairing is the point. The person who frames the shot is the same person who designs the content plan, the website and the automation behind it, so nothing gets lost in a hand-off.
Arc & Ember takes on a small number of clients at a time.
Start a project
Tell us the story. We'll shape the arc.
Share a little about your business and what you need. We reply within one business day to set up a working session.
hello@arcandemberstudio.comFrederick, Maryland