dancing in the columbia

I had an incredible time with this delightful senior!  She had wonderful energy and we were able to capture some once-in-a-lifetime photos!  She and her mother asked me what we could do with some water and a tutu.  I think you will be quite pleased by what we came up with!  Her mother is a dear friend of mine and I was honored to be able to let her daughter see herself this way!

Hanging Out Downtown

I had to supreme pleasure of photographing this beautiful senior's older sister three years ago. She was actually in some of her sister's photos, so I was excited to get to work with her again! She decided upon a more metropolitan atmosphere and so we headed to downtown Portland. I tried to do my "dramatic" posing with her, but it just didn't fit. She has such a free and easy-going personality, she needed to look as cheerful and full of life as she is!

I loved her clothing choices: three very distinctive looks which are all part of her personality. The blue shirt, cream-colored cords, and black boots looked amazing next to the red brick wall. She had told me earlier that she wanted to bring her long board. I love the photos of her and her sister with their boards. I had them ride them in front of a Federal Building and I was sure the FBI or someone like that would cart me away! Just kidding!

We ended up with her simple black dress. The teal wall and then the marble columns of City Hall were beautiful backdrops. I love the photo of her twirling!

Here you go "M". You looking amazing!

At Water's Edge

This gorgeous 2010 senior is the sister of one of my 2009 seniors. I absolutely love working within families! You have to take just one look at those eyes and you are blown away! Her smile is to die for too! I had such a delightful time with her. She is taking a full load in school and is a cheerleader. Her easy-going and cheerful personality just shine in her photos.

She chose colors which really highlight her skin tone and beautiful eyes. I love the shots of her down by the water. She was totally relaxed and comfortable there. The shot of her with sandy feet is a definite favorite of mine!

Well, "A", I hope you love your photos. You are stunning!

Beauty in the Back Yard

I was so excited to work with this senior, because she was giving me a new location I haven't been to before - her back yard! It was amazing! We first of all started with her adorable little dog which I kind of wanted to take home with me.

She has the most gorgeous eyes, hair, smile - pretty much everything about her is stunning! I love the bright colors she chose to wear. They have an incredible garden with a bronze gate which has "Secret Garden" written on it. I could spend hours there, reading, watching and breathing in all the glorious fresh air! The yard couldn't have been better if a photographer had planned it just for photos.

"K" was completely delightful. She can carry off the dramatic side to her personality as well as the beautiful sunny disposition of her relaxed and happy side. It was a pure pleasure to work with her. By the way, those are her goats on the last photo! There were a few others in another pasture, one particularly, who reminded me of what a "Billy Goat Gruff" would look like!

Here you go, "K", I hope you love these as much as I do!

Stilettos in a 'Vette

This senior was so full of energy and fun, I could hardly keep up with her! She has the most incredible smile and her eyes just glow! We went down to the water front for her photos. I loved her green jacket over the purple top. The colors just pop! We then pulled some weeds for a bouquet to go with her stunning prom dress! I love the shots of her in her bare feet on the beach. Then we parked her vintage Corvette in front of the park and grabbed some photos! Her red stilettos were perfectly matched to the red leather interior of that amazing car. The light was fading quickly so we ran down to the beach and caught some incredibly unique and wonderful images with the full moon and Portland's lights across the river. The balloons and her raincoat were such a fun addition to those photos. It was so dark by the time we finished, we had to walk very carefully by the light of the moon back to the car!

Here you go "N"! You look absolutely gorgeous!

Ballet Beneath the Freeway

I was so excited to try out a new location with this senior! My husband and I scouted out the beat up areas located beneath the 1-5 freeway in Portland and found some wonderfully grungy spots!

When she came in with her mother (a gifted watercolorist) for her consultation, they were just brimming with ideas for props and accessories. She brought balloons, which I adored! Then she let a bouquet of flowers droop and die a few days before and we used those when she was in that watercolor ballet dress! What's not to love about the juxtaposition of the graceful ballerina amid the grunge of the city?

We headed up to Pittock Mansion and she brought out the cowboy hat and sunflowers! The red dress was fabulous and then she put on her tutu. It was exquisite! I played around with an off camera flash to get some dramatic shadows in the fading sunlight. There are some shots of her which definitely take my breath away!

We ended up at my studio. I love the ones with the graffiti backdrop and her legs in crazy positions. The one with her green dress on my new red backdrop is stunning! All in all and wonderful photo shoot!

Here you go "B"! I hope you love these as much as I do!

Senior in the Spring

I always feel like it is kind of a shame that all of my seniors have to get their photos taken so early in the senior year for their yearbooks. You really just feel like an "old" junior at the beginning of the school year. I always have a few seniors wait until Spring for their photos.

This gorgeous senior was one of them! We went to downtown Portland on a gorgeous day with late afternoon sunshine. I loved her first outfit with the hat and boots! She looks so fresh and full of life! Then she put on a breath-taking blue top with high heels. For those of you who know me, I kind of love high heels with jeans. The trees and bushes were covered in flowers and everything looked fantastic! Every outfit she chose looks so unique and distinctive. When she put on her Scottish Highland kilt, I went bonkers! I learned the "Highland Fling" when I was a teenager! We headed back to the studio and captured some incredibly artistic and dramatic shots of her with highly contrasted lighting.

Here you go "L". You look absolutely fabulous!