A portrait artist who has spent his life learning exactly how to make people feel at ease and look like themselves.
Photography has been my life's work for as long as I can remember. Through my company DLS Innovations, my team photographs thousands of students, athletes, and organizations across the region every single year. That volume taught me something most photographers never get to learn: how to read a person in seconds, direct with confidence, and find the real expression under the nerves.
Blackwater is where I bring that craft to a single family at a time. This is my fine art studio, unhurried and personal, built around one belief. The people you love deserve to become artwork on your walls, not files lost on a phone.
I am honored to be named a 2026 Professional Photographers of America 30 Under 30 Honoree, recognition I carry into every session at Blackwater.
Donnie Stevens · Named by the Professional Photographers of America
Proud members of the Professional Photographers of America, the Professional Photographers of Ohio, and the St. Clairsville Area Chamber of Commerce.
The difference between a photographer and a portrait artist is intention. Every choice is made with the finished piece in mind.
DLS Innovations photographs thousands of people a year across multiple regions. Blackwater is that same expertise, slowed down and focused entirely on you.
You will never wonder how to stand or where to look. Real ease in front of the camera comes from an artist who has guided thousands of people before you.
Every session is planned around the wall it will live on, finished as archival artwork designed to be handed down.
I am especially passionate about animal portraiture. The bond between a family and the pet they love is one of the most honest relationships there is, and it deserves to be treated as fine art. Blackwater is building the region's finest animal portrait work, created with the same artistry as any family commission.
Tell me about your family, your senior, or your animal, and we will plan a portrait experience made for you.