For some schools, the senior portrait rush is coming to a close with the eminent deadline for senior yearbook photo submissions. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t get creative senior portraits taken before your senior year is over. I had a blast photographing Carson on a sunny, yet windy, fall day in Portland. He did a great job putting up with my numerous location selections for our shoot in the Pearl District as well as a somewhat longer, drawn out session on the field at Westview HS. Destined for good things to come, I continue to be impressed with the senior clients that are coming through my studio. Congrats on all of your accomplishments. Can’t wait to have you see the rest of the images! Enjoy your sneak peek!

I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’m really starting to think that my ‘guy’ high school senior clients are watching America’s Next Top Model just as much as my ‘girl’ high school senior clients. I’ve had some guys through the studio lately that have just been rock’n their senior portrait sessions! Although, Austin’s session had to be quick, we snuck in a lot of variety in the amount of time that we had to tool around the couple of blocks radius of my studio. Again, another mom assistant that knew how to rock the reflector! It made for really easy shooting and Austin pretty much knew how to sport his style and the variety of clothing he brought was great! Unfortunately, there were too many images that I wanted to share, so, Austin, I will put a plug in here that you are a big Wazzu fan. The images of you in your Cougs shirt are killer but you’ll have to wait for your private online gallery for that one! An avid baseball fan and athlete, Austin nailed the baseball image we got of him with Westview’s new baseball scoreboard in the background. Austin (& Michele), enjoy your sneak peek!

Haven’t scheduled your senior pictures yet? No worries, shoot an email to info@melissahathaway.com and we’ll get you scheduled. Don’t wait too long. Session availability is limited for September and we are booking October dates now as well!

Rachel is currently a high school senior at Westview High School just weeks away from graduation. We photographed her senior pictures in downtown Portland earlier in the season this past fall. You can check out the images from her senior session here. Rachel also wanted to have some basketball sports portraits taken as part of her senior photos. And…we needed to get it done before she graduates! Rachel and her mom came to the studio and we did a few things in the studio and also outside. I always have a blast coming up with something different every time I photograph a sports portrait, especially when we get to go outside the studio in the Pearl District. Rachel, enjoy your sneak peek!

Some people may dislike the drab rainy days that we get in Portland, but our constant cloudiness is actually a photographer’s dream. Constant natural diffusion….what more could we want? Well, all that is nice from a technical standpoint but our subjects may not necessarily like the fact that it’s cold outside. On my senior portrait model rep session with Amida, I was fortunate enough to have grabbed my reflector before we headed out the door. That reflector ended up being Amida’s ‘rain cover’ on the short trek back to the studio. Most of my model rep sessions have been inside the studio…1) to try some new things with lighting and 2) because it’s been raining! Well, we did get a few images outside for her session.

Check out a few things about Amida that you might now know….

1. Favorite saying: “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.”
2. Current fave get ready song: All I do is Win
3. I speak four languages
4. Even though I’m Asian I can’t use chopsticks
5. I still need childhood teddy bear to sleep
6. I play four musical instruments
7. I am a basketball player who can do the splits
8. I’m really slow when it comes to jokes.
9. I get very distracted by shiny objects.
10. I still have a baby tooth

Meet Tyson from Beaverton High School. Tyson wanted a variety in his senior pictures; wanting to incorporate both studio portraits and some on location. I had fun trying to create some off the wall, creative and edgy portraits in areas that I haven’t shot in previously. Fortunately, he came to me specifically for ‘creative,’ ‘edgy’, and ‘out of the box’. Not sure how much more we could have pushed the envelope by creating ‘boogie boarding in northwest industrial Portland’ but something tells me, we’ll just have to keep pushing it next year. Looking forward to you seeing the rest! Enjoy your sneak peek!

Last week I was fortunate to dodge the rain most of the week and Mark’s session was no exception. With the weather on our side and some great urban surroundings, we wandered the streets of the Pearl District and got some great stuff in just a little over an hour. And, I strategically planned this location so we could a few photos of Mark playing his favorite sport. Can’t wait to show you the rest! Enjoy your sneak peek!

What better way to represent your senior pictures in Portland than by adding elements that are part of you – or better yet, part of your family? Kendra is one of our Senior Model Reps from Westview High School and since I am fortunate enough to have a little ‘insider’ info, I’ve known for several years now that incorporating her grandfather’s ’61 Corvette in her senior portraits was a ‘must’. It was an absolutely gorgeous day out when we went out near the river. The sky was blue and the clouds were perfect …. if I do say so myself! Everything in the photo below is ‘real’! Kendra was my first ‘teen’ subject many years ago and am happy that I was privileged enough to photograph her for her senior portraits. I’m not really sure what I’m going to do next year when I need a test subject! But, I will try not to think about how far this accomplished high school student has come and how quickly time has passed. While I won’t say congratulations quite yet, I already know you are driven and will accomplish any goal you set for yourself! Enjoy the remainder of your senior year because it’s going by too fast!

Meet Ryan….lacrosse player, skier and snowboarder! What more could you want for senior sports portraits in Portland? Well, we’re not done yet! Ryan and his mom came to me because I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to head up to the mountain this season and create some what will hopefully be some killer images for Ryan on his board and skis. Here’s a sneak peek of what we’ve done so far and I can’t wait for some snow to fall so we can hit the slopes in the coming months! If you’re interested in ski or snowboard sports portraits at Mt. Hood, let us know – we’ll be offering this opportunity to others soon! Ryan & Paige – enjoy your sneak peek!

Most of you already know this but Portland is a very small ‘town’. In some way shape or form, I think we all have something to do with 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon. Katelyn happens to be related to one of my daughter’s preschool friends and it’s taken 3 years for us to meet again even though we’ve probably met each other before at a previous family function. In my profession, we I get to meet a lot of beautiful girls and handsome guys. Katelyn is no exception – and yes, there’s a ‘but’….she is a ‘natural’ in front of the camera! I had fun with Katelyn and her mom and fortunately…again, we had beautiful weather to go along with it! Enjoy your sneak peek!

Meet Marcus….funny, witty, smart….if you’re friends with Marcus, you know he can’t be serious for very long. This is a good thing. I think Marcus entertained me more during his session(s) than I entertained him. As you look at these images, some of them have something to do with him and I promise, I didn’t “pre-plan” this – it just happened that the locations that we went to had these ‘symbols’ that had something to do with Marcus. We wrapped up the end of our Freestyle Session at Kruger’s just as they were in the midst of their Autumn Harvest celebration. So…we snuck in to get some quick Corn Maze shots and Marcus ended up making a little friend on our way outEnjoy your sneak peek….studio shots @ your viewing session