So Tender Is Humanity

Alex was an amazing photographer. We really enjoyed working with him and loved the pictures

I wish we could give them 6 stars! Alex and Anastasiia were an absolute dream to work with and the pictures are incredible. We did both our engagement shoot and wedding with them. They were extremely communicative throughout the process. On the day of our wedding , they were not in our way but made sure we got all the best shots. We will be using them in the future for mini sessions!!!

Hiring Alex and Anastasiia was easily the best decision we made for our wedding. You can obviously look at their photos and see for yourselves that they are incredible photographers — their thoughtfulness, artistry, and technical skill is second to none. More than that though, they’re just incredible, kind, and funny people who are great to have around (which is so important, because you will spend your entire wedding day with your photographers). They navigated through the hustle and bustle of our wedding day with ease and big smiles. Our wedding was documented so authentically and beautifully, and we are so grateful to them both! Thank you!

HIRE THEM! Anastasiia and Alex are amazing! My now-husband and I worked with them for our engagement + wedding photos, and creating our wedding album. One tip I received prior to booking photographers was that, beyond making sure you like their work, photographers are going to spend one of your most important days close to you and your husband – so make sure you like being around them! Anastasiia and Alex are just that – talented and phenomenal to work with, but also fun, friendly, and attentive! My husband isn’t the most patient when taking photos and Anastasiia and Alex worked their magic, getting the classic shots in quickly and then capturing what I can only say is the essence of our wedding. From emotional shots, to fun dance moves, and endearing moments, they captured it all, with an artistic and beautiful eye. The wedding album they created is one of my favorite possessions. Do yourself a favor and hire them!

TLDR: HIRE THEM. My now husband and I were lucky enough to be introduced to Alex and Anastasiia at our friends’ wedding right after we got engaged and knew immediately that we would hire them for our own wedding. We loved how they became part of the party, literally dancing alongside wedding guests to get the most candid shots, while also somehow feeling practically invisible. Alex and Anastasiia have an amazing ability to capture incredible documentary moments while letting your wedding day stay YOUR wedding day. From the moment we reached out, Alex and Anastasiia pushed us outside our comfort zone to make sure that everything we received as part of our package was so very, truly US. The very first thing they asked us – before they wanted to know anything about our aesthetic or wedding plans – was about the most daring thing we both had done. When we both gave answers that had to do with backpacking, they immediately suggested that we find a way to make a camping shoot happen for our engagement photos. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to actual CAMP with my wedding photographers, but a few months later, sure enough we found ourselves in Shenandoah for the weekend with Alex, Anastasiia and our dog. I could go on about how fun the weekend was, how they were so prepared for everything, gave us so much of their time and energy and how amazing it is to become actual friends with your photographers – that weekend will always be one of the best memories of the whole wedding process. But really the photos speak for themselves. What an extraordinary gift to have who you are and the things you hold closest at such a pivotal moment in time captured so perfectly. And when it came time for our wedding day, we were already so comfortable with them that it felt like having two more friends in the room while we were getting ready, standing up with us as we exchanged vows and, once again, alongside us and all our friends on the dance floor. Months later, our friends and family still comment in disbelief over how amazing our wedding photos are, how they encapsulate who my husband and I are so perfectly. Alex and Anastasiia are so creative in how they frame moments and I can honestly say that our wedding photos are the best and most unique wedding photos I’ve ever seen. I am forever grateful to have these memories captured so vividly and to have gained two incredible friends along the way. I cannot recommend them enough and if you’ve read this far I hope it’s clear that you should be hire them immediately.

Alex was amazing. We were pretty adamant about not having traditional posed wedding photos and requested mostly candid shots throughout the evening. He did just that and the photos came out SO well. I was blown away by the incredible action shots of our family and friends—the dancing photos were especially great. We had around 50 people, and Adam by himself managed to capture it all seamlessly. I highly highly recommend this company.

Alex and Anastasiia were incredible to work with and my husband and I are OBSESSED with how our photos turned out. We aren't great at taking photos in general and weren't thrilled at the idea of standing and posing for extended periods of time. While looking around, we discovered Polyakov Photography (now So Tender is Humanity) and fell in love with the creativity of their documentary-style wedding photos. We wanted some portraits and scenic shots (we walked down to the Georgetown waterfront and K street at one point), but also wanted candid, in-the moment shots. And oh man did Alex and Anastasiia deliver. From getting ready to end-of-the-night dance floor shots, they captured the day in full. From a methodology standpoint, it was great for my husband and I because outside of the standard family / wedding party portraits, they weaved themselves seamlessly into the day-of proceedings and would then pull us aside for 10-15 min ad hoc intervals for couple portraits. In doing so, we got a variety of different couples photos with some insanely creative settings. We're having such a hard time choosing which ones to get printed! Their enthusiasm and creativity was so much fun to work with! The whole process in general (video calls in advance to coordinate, communication etc.) was very smooth. They also delivered the wedding gallery in a very cute way and in a very timely fashion. I'd HIGHLY recommend Alex and Anastasiia for your wedding!

Alex and Anastasia were wonderful throughout our wedding photography experience. They were enthusiastic, engaged, attentive, and punctual through the entire process. Alex was creative and collaborative for our engagement shoot -- his recommended locations proved to be gorgeous. During our wedding, Alex and Anastasia captured all of the important moments from a variety of perspectives -- my sister-in-law exclaimed how the photos looked better than real life! Their video compilation and curated galleries were lovely! I had a few edits I wanted and Alex and Anastasia were incredibly receptive. Overall, my experience was phenomenal, my husband and I are so happy we chose So Tender Is Humanity for our special day.

Working with Alex and Anastasiia was a great experience! Alex spent time before the wedding to talk to me through the schedule and was reassuring about the timing of it all. Anastasiia the day of was like a fly on the wall and took amazing photos throughout the entire day (they both did). They even accommodated me after the wedding and provided the raw photos, which were just as great as the edited ones. Would definitely recommend working with them. They're worth the price.

If you are looking for wedding photographers... look no more! Anastasiia and Alex were absolutely the best of the best and we would hire them again any day without thinking twice! They were extremely pleasant to be around at all times but never intrusive, and their work is absolutely stunning. I would give 10 stars if I could. Book them for your event if they are available... you will not regret it!

Alex and Anastasiia were a highlight of our wedding experience! They are hugely creative and captured the energy and joy of the day. They were unobtrusive on our wedding day. So often it feels like the photographers are running the wedding, but this was not the case with them. Beyond the photos they took, they were very pleasant to work with and professional, taking the time to talk in advance about our vision and hopes for the day.

We hired So Tender Is Humanity (formerly Polyakov Photography) for our wedding in October 2021. Alex and Anastasiia were awesome! They were super patient during various venue walk-throughs and meetings with our wedding planner (some of these required a lot of patience!). During the venue walkthrough Alex did not have a lot of time to spend privately with us to plan out the day, but did a great job being flexible and making it work. They had so much energy and enthusiasm on the day of the wedding. They tried very hard to get the best possible shots - even getting out on the dance floor and getting low to capture some artistic shots. They have excellent artistic vision and creativity. As someone who's done a lot of photography I really appreciated the quality of their shots and the amount of time and effort that went into the post processing. Highly recommend to anyone in the Northern Virginia/DC area.

We are so happy we found Alex and Anastasiia to be our wedding photographers! They just might be our favorite vendor and we had a lot of really great vendors. When we first started searching, we discovered this category of documentary style photography and realized this is exactly what we were looking for – a focus on capturing all of the raw emotions and special moments throughout the day rather than a focus on creating and capturing a perfectly composed scene. It’s not that we didn’t want some of the typical family portraits and wedding party poses you often see, or to somehow look great from all the angles, we just wanted a photographer that understood that we put a higher value on the candid shots. And we got two! Alex and Anastasiia understood this balance way better than we did and used their crazy good creativity and sensitivity to capture what was meaningful to us, to align with the miscellaneous aesthetic interests we discussed and practiced during the engagement shoot, and to document the beautiful realities of the day so perfectly. The communication was great. They were super kind, respectful, and patient. They were simultaneously easy-going and professional. We highly recommend and will be reaching back out to them for any future professional photo needs. We’re so grateful to be able to relive the day through the photo gallery forever. Also, by the way we found them on fearlessphotographers.com – an incredibly impressive group that needless to say Alex and Anastasiia can hang with.

Alex and Anastasiia were an absolute delight to work with, and honestly the MVP vendor of our entire wedding (and the rest of them were great too!). When people told us their thoughts on our wedding, most of them commented (unprompted) on how great the photographers were. Alex and Anastasiia get a combination of posed and documentary-style candid shots, and each and every one of them is STUNNING. When I look through our wedding album all I can think of is how well they captured how fun the day was and also "damn, they made us look GOOD!" This is not to mention that they are timely, professional, kind, creative, fun, and always prepared. 10/10, would hire again/recommend to anyone. https://polyakovphotography.com/stone-tower-winery-wedding/

We couldn't have been happier with Alex and Anastasiia! They regularly touched base with us before our wedding which made us feel that they were completely on top of things - and they were! They were on time, professional, and made us feel so comfortable. They did an amazing job at the wedding and we couldn't be happier with our photos and with them. Many of our guests said that Alex and Anastasiia felt like they were part of the family at the wedding and were dancing right along with us.

We highly recommend Polyakov Photography for your wedding. They took so many amazing and creative photos, they were accommodating to our schedules coming from out of town, and they stayed in touch throughout the months leading up to the big day. Everyone who has seen our engagement and wedding photos has been blown away by the quality and artistic eye. Their passion for photography shined throughout our time with them, and they seemed to be genuinely excited to edit our photos and deliver something we would love. Anastasiia and Alex were a delight to work with. We are both naturally a bit camera shy but they helped us have fun with it on our initial engagement shoot and it didn't take long for us to trust their recommendations for different poses and ideas. We are having a hard time narrowing down which pictures to order from them because we love so many different shots. We thoroughly enjoyed working with Alex and Anastasiia, from the first phone call to receiving our wedding pictures in a special way. We know you will love working with them, too!

We can't thank Alex and Anastasiia enough for providing their photography talents to our wedding. They were incredibly fun and easy to work with right from the start. Neither I nor my husband have any experience posing for photos, but they made us feel right at home during our engagement session. They were similarly communicative and easy to work with at the time of our wedding and the final photos were absolutely amazing! Our friends and family simply loved them and couldn't stop complimenting them. They have given us some wonderful memories to cherish. Thank you Alex and Anastasiia!

When my then-fiancé (now husband) and I started researching wedding photographers, we knew we needed the best. We wanted our special day to be captured perfectly so that we could look back and remember the joy, excitement, and love we felt on our wedding day. After combing through Polykov Photography's website and seeing examples of their work, we knew they would be perfect. We loved the vibrant colors, how they captured emotion and movement, and how they framed their shots. We met Alex early on just to make sure we were a right fit. He spent over an hour chatting with us answering all of our questions. We could immediately see that Alex was patient, kind, and knowledgeable, and his passion for photography just jumped out at us, and that's exactly what we wanted in a photographer. Alex and Anastasiia did our engagement photo shoot at the National Harbor. The weather was very uncooperative, but they were extremely flexible and rescheduled a couple of times just so that we could get good pictures. They were so fun and easy to work with, it was almost like hanging out with friends! The photos were gorgeous! It was so crowded that day, but they made it seem as if we had the entire harbor to ourselves. For our wedding day, the only instructions we gave Alex and Anastasiia was to take as many pictures of everything and everyone as they can. They tag teamed our event, and I'm positive they didn't miss a single thing! Friends remarked to me that the photographers were everywhere! On several occasions, I saw Alex jumping up and down on the dance floor along with a groups of guests so that he could capture the moment! They brought such positive energy that anyone who saw them immediately wanted to smile. My husband and I are still waiting for the bulk of our photos (since they have to go through over 10,000 shots!), but they sent us a small batch as a teaser, and the photos are astonishingly beautiful. The colors, the details, the angles, the emotions, the everything! I don't know how they got so many great candid pictures. Alex and Anastasiia are masters of their craft, and we were so fortunate to have worked with them. If you're looking for a photographer, definitely reach out to Polyakov Photography. It will be one of the best decisions you'll ever make.

Alex and Anastasia were phenomenal and it shows in their work! We loved their style the moment we looked at their portfolio and we are so happy we booked them early on. Anastasia worked with me and the girls getting ready. She was very open to my ideas and had some great ones of her own! We had a church ceremony and they were both very respectful. Hardly noticed them at all during mass. During the reception Alex was so kind to follow my husband and I around to each table and take mini group shots with each family. It was exhausting for us to keep smiling (we had a lot of tables to visit) but Alex was quick and made it easy for us to get through them all. Alex even joined in on the dance floor and showed us some awesome moves! A week right after the wedding they were able to show us some teasers and these photos are just spectacular! Anastasia and Alex were amazing to work with all day and we can’t wait to see the rest of the photos.

What can I say that hasn't already been said? Alex and Anastasiia are amazing. My husband and I are so happy with our engagement and wedding photos. Everyone has commented on how lovely our pictures are and how much they captured the love, fun, and excitement of our wedding and us as a couple. Alex and Anastasiia made us feel so comfortable and they were so much fun! They were also very responsive and flexible. I also loved the reaction shots they got from everyone at the wedding so we didn't miss any important moments. Looking through our photos is like re-living the wedding all over again. The pictures are bright, clear, colorful, and they have a lot of heart. We cannot recommend Polyakov Photography enough. Amazing. Amazing. Amazing. HIRE THEM!

Alex and Anastasiia were a great photographer duo. They were very responsive during the planning stages and friendly to work with. They combined artistic/creative elements that reflected a sense of adventure and also delivered high-quality classic shots and portraits. Their photo-journalistic style also helped to capture candid shots of the wedding and reception. Great seeing them work as a team and their willingness to try new things. Thanks both for capture our day! Highly recommend.

Alex and Anastasiia are fantastic to work with. We did an engagement shoot and they took the pictures at our wedding. Our engagement shoot was so fun! We took some standard engagement style pictures in Occoquan then switched gears and had a paint war by the lake at my Aunt's house. They were really into it and had no issues with two locations and two completely different style shoots. Everyone loved our paint war pictures! Leading up to the wedding Alex checked in with us and even did a walkthrough at the site with us. They were both so prepared the day of we all leaned on them to keep us on track. They did it beautifully. We had a hiccup with our first look location and Alex switched gears, took charge and organized on the fly a new location. It turned out perfectly! I have gotten nothing but compliments on how great our photography team is from my bridal party and guests and I'm in love with our pictures. You cannot go wrong with them! Book them now :)

We cannot say enough good things about our experience with Alex and Anastasiia! We hired them as our photographer for our engagement pictures and for our wedding pictures. All the pictures turned out so beautiful and everyone we show love them just as much as we do. They captured our wedding day perfectly and they are the perfect thing to go back and look at. I have already caught myself going back to look at the pictures a bunch of times. They are also great people to work with. They are friendly and prompt. We had to change a few thing last minute for our wedding. They had no problem making the changes and were so great to work with. They answer emails right away and they have a great turn around time getting pictures back to you. If you are looking for a great wedding photography duo, I highly recommend Polyakov photography.

I researched 50+ photographers in the metro DC area and I am so glad I decided to go with Polyakov Photography. The quality of their photos, the value you receive, the professionalism and how they accommodate all surpassed my expectations. Thank you again, Alex and Anastasiia!

It was so wonderful working with Alex and Anastasia! They were a wonderful team and made our day so special. We had a very intimate family wedding and both Alex and Anastasiia made everyone feel so comfortable. They were respectful and unobtrusive but so much fun to work with and were such a huge part of the day. Towards the end I viewed them as more than just our photographers but as our guests and friends. I would choose them to shoot my wedding every time and I highly recommend them. Their work is beautiful and captured the essence of the entire day. They are truly artists. I will treasure the photos always. Thank you both so much!

We had an engagement photoshoot with Polyakov and the pictures turned out amazing! The clarity, color, and creativity were beyond expectations. They caught all our natural emotions and poses with a pristine background. From booking to meeting to delivering, truly an outstanding couple. I wish we had waited before signing with our wedding date photographer.

Alex and Ana are an excellent team. My husband found them online and based on their photo gallery and their reviews we reached out to see if they could do our wedding. First of all, they are super responsive and very kind people. All of the details and the costs were outlined clearly which made it so easy to work with them. They offered to do our engagement shoot as well which ended up being a great investment. We loved the pics and got a chance to get to know them and vice versa, which helped a lot when it was time for the big day. One thing that stands out about them is their energy is so positive...you can't believe what a difference it makes. They are attentive, encouraging, and uplifting. They made us feel like they were honored to be working on our event. They made us feel like superstars! Every detail was attended to before, during and even after the event. Some of our requests were weird but they went above and beyond to ensure our complete satisfaction. We are tremendously pleased with Alex and Ana. They know what they are doing and they enjoy it! Also, I've never seen a dancing photographer like Alex. That was the cutest thing ever. I think our DJ got the best of him. Our favorites are all of the candid/action shots they got at our reception. Because of them we have so many memories captured forever and we are very grateful! We highly recommend them without reservation. -The Martins

Great photographers! Pictures speak for themselves. Had thousands of photos taken from beginning to end. Our wedding was around 10 hours from start to finish. Then they provided really good photos immediately after the wedding. Followed by the full digital album a few weeks later that looks like it was digitally remastered. So much more color in the photos. When we were first looking around for photographers, I was worried that we will end up with photographers who didn't know how to take pictures in the dark too well. because we both had lots of friends who got married and their photographers were always subpar. But as you can see in the photos (you can check out my review on weddingwire as we can't upload photos on the knot), they went above our expectations. Also, we were able to finish all the different photo shoots ahead of schedule because they were so organized. We went from ceremony to family wedding photos, couple photos, and a bunch of other photos and we were 25 minutes ahead of schedule according to our timeline. So organized and so good at instructing people what to do. I would highly recommend!!

Alex and Anastasiia are fantastic to work with and have incredible vision. It was an absolute pleasure and we had tons of fun shooting with them.

We had an absolutely amazing experience working with Alex. The photos were just beyond anything we could have imagined. He was punctual, patient and very professional. We could not be happier with the pictures and the memories he helped create!

I am absolutely in love with the results of a creative photoshoot that Polyakov Photography did for Igor and I. They made us feel so comfortable in front of the camera and had endless ideas for our shots. You can really feel our love when you look at the pictures - they really know how to capture the moment. I would highly recommend them for your engagement shoot, wedding shoot, or just a fun shoot on a Saturday afternoon. I can't wait to share our pictures with everyone! Thank you, Alex & Anastasiia!

Polyakov Photography is absolutely great! My fiance and I used them for a creative photoshoot and couldn't be happier with our pictures! Anastasia & Alex are extremely professional. They are super responsive, and have a fast turn around time. We received our pictures in less than two weeks! Highly recommend them!

We did a photoshoot with Alex and he was great! Easy to work with and very receptive to feedback. We scheduled one session with our dogs at Sligo Creek Park and we got some great shots. However, our dogs quickly lost interest and made it tough to proceed so Alex offered to do a whole additional session in another setting in the city. In addition to his flexibility, the pics came out great! We can't wait to share them with our family and friends!

My fiance and I thoroughly enjoyed working with Polyakov Photography. We did our engagement photoshoot with them in Washington D.C. They were very flexible and were able to come up with a different location option on the spot when our first one wasn't open! It's very obvious that Alex and Anastasia have a passion for photography and are comfortable coming up with creative ideas they go. We couldn't have been more happy with the way our photos turned out and all of our friends and family just loved them as well. : )

On October 22, 2017 I (Maid of Honor)have witnessed the most important event in my best friend’s life-her marriage! Like any other woman she desired this day to be perfect, so are the photos that would remind her of the brightest and happiest moments she shared on that day with her loved ones for the rest of her life! So the couple did an extensive research of DC area photography companies to ensure they choose the best one for reasonable costs. After a few meetings with some photographers, I remember her calling me being super excited about hiring Polyakov Photography company and saying that she fell instantly in love with the work they had shown to her. Well, as it turned out soon after the wedding, it was the best decision ever!! I think it would be inappropriate to call the wedding pictures as just, the photos, I’d rather say each of them is a piece of art! (check out the album called Daniela& Dave on their website and you will see yourself) Besides, Alex and Anastasia did such an amazing job that day at dealing with the crowd during the group picture photo session, at giving the instructions and suggestions about postures, coming up with some funny poses for us all! Overall, they made it a truly fun on such a beautiful (but also stressful for bride and groom!) day and handled it all on 150%! I strongly recommend you to hire them if want your happiest moments to be perfectly captured on your photos!

Alex & Anastasiia did an incredible job with our wedding photography and we'd happily recommend them to anyone. Polyakov Photography provides excellent value for their services. They first scouted the area to find the best location, and demonstrated a clear knowledge and artistic vision regarding lighting, poses, etc. They also did a great job of managing the crowd and taking good shots of everyone without feeling overbearing or intrusive. We trusted this company with the most important day of our lives and they were absolutely up to the task! -Dave & Daniela