Meet the Park family. Such a cooperative and beautiful family! Oh yeah, and definitely entertaining too! Do you see that sun? Yep, it was sun in Portland….not too long ago. In fact, not only was it sun, but it was ‘hot’ sun for a late September afternoon. I couldn’t believe it when I got in my car only to see that the outside temperature reading was 82 degrees! As I look at the rain dripping outside my office window, I wish I was complaining about the heat right now. However, the forecast is for sun this weekend. If you’re looking at trying to squeeze family portraits in before it starts getting cold outside, now would be the time! Happy Monday! Have a great week and enjoy your sneak peek!

Planning around Oregon’s fall weather is starting to become more difficult. Fortunately, for this shoot, we had blue skies and dry ground. I met this family and their set of twin 3 year olds, downtown in the Pearl District and they were all smiles as well searched for goldfish and roly polys. We couldn’t have had more perfect conditions…happy kids, warm fall weather and dry ground! It’s looking like my next few shoots may be a bit tricky when it comes to ‘dry’, but we will find creative ways to make it happen. Mom and Dad….enjoy your sneak peek!

If you saw the the previous post, we now bring you Hayden AND his family. Now that school is fully in gear, trying to coordinate 5 busy kids’ schedules and get both parents all in the same place, at the same time…on a weekday….when it’s sunny is a near impossible feat. However, mom pulled it off! And successfully! What a beautiful family is all I gotta say. Somehow we managed to photograph everyone, and get group shots all in less than 2 hours. With time to spare to do a little shopping when it was all said and done. And, just as most of my shoots have stories, this one has  no exception. Dad was having fun teaching kids how to compact my reflector. Open, close, open, close…no big deal. I’ve had this reflector since the beginning of time…and although I would never admit it to myself, it was my ‘go to’ reflector. Somewhere, somehow, the reflector became floppy and wouldn’t fold. No big deal…I had another one. And…I’m not telling this story because I want to make dad feel bad. I actually want to thank you because I was overdue to replace it. And, have since purchased a new one that I absolutely LOVE! So, whether it broke or not on your watch, I owe YOU one

My good friend, running partner and fellow Hood to Coast running partner lent me a helping hand earlier this year when I hosted Portraits for Japan Relief. So, it was time to repay the favor. I really do have the best clients, because the ALL bring the humor and all I gotta do is snap a few photos. Well….I guess there is a little more to it than that, but I always get some good laughs whenever I am out and about with my portrait clients. And, on a day like the day we took these photos, you had to have a sense of humor about you because it was 1) first day of school AND 2) it was extremely hot outside! Fortunately, the shade of the trees brought some peace, serenity AND cooler air. I kinda forgot to tell Jen that we might be doing a little ‘walking’ on the trails…so, platforms and heat, she endured it all! Enjoy your sneak peek!

This post is LONG overdue….and so was this shoot. These cuties were at my studio a few years ago and after a long day. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out the first go around. So, fast forward 2 years later, we’re all smiles and having fun! I can’t believe summer is almost over and school starts next week. Enjoy your sneak peek! Have a happy Labor Day Weekend everyone and enjoy these last few days with your kids!

Just a few years ago I had the privilege of photographing our family friend’s wedding photos…and fast forward a few years later and they’ve blossomed into a beautiful family of four! This boys were up and at ‘em early in the morning but definitely full of energy and keeping me on my toes. I loved how laid back this session was and the interaction mom and dad were having with the boys. So much so that I phoned grandma and grandpa to get in on the action! I often hear, “I didn’t think I was going to be in the photos!” However, when is really a good time for family portraits. No regrets. Grandma and Grandpa looked great and now we don’t have to say, “we’ll get them next time.” Enjoy your sneak peek!

With a 2nd birthday around the corner and just shy of missing our Portrait Relief for Japan event, Mr. O and his mom wanted some images to commemorate a special time in their lives. I’ve been photographing this little hunk of handsome since he was just a wee newborn. Full of humor, charm and an irresistible smile, I always have a blast when I’m hanging out with “O” and his family. Here’s a quick sneak peek from this quick session with mom that I wanted to get up on the blog today. Enjoy!

“Planning around rain” seems to be a major theme of several of my latest posts. And, while I think it’s pretty much goes to say that you just have to ‘go with the flow’ when it comes to Portland weather, this family shoot was no exception. Rolling into the Pearl District at 5:00 with a big black cloud looming over my head, with promises of clearing rolling through in 15 minutes…I looked out my car window, texting “it’s coming down.” But, by the time the family had shown up, it was, as predicted ‘clearing up’. So, I hauled out my gear, electrical and all – something I don’t normally do with that much uncertainty in the weather, and proceeded to start setting up. Within another 15 minutes, drip…drip…drip…and then, “run back to the car!” Suffice it to say, lights and electrical went back in the car while we waited it out another 5 minutes. Trying to coordinate the busy schedules of a family of 7, getting them all to the same place, at the same time…there was not way we were rescheduling this one. Mark this one down in the books of another one of those, “I rarely reschedule for rain” moments. As usual, I had a blast and we had some great light.

If you missed out on last weekend’s event, you have another opportunity to participate this Sunday, April 10th at Bethany Athletic Club in NW Portland – click here for details! Hope to see you there! Big kids, little kids, ALL are welcome!