An Afternoon with Allie

I had a wonderful time working with Allie, Beth (her mom), Emily, Suzanne (Emily's mom) and my assistant Katie (we were a big group!) wandering a nearby park for Allie's pictures. The park we were shooting at has a great variety of locations and is one I have been going to for a long time. Sure enough, the geese that used to scare me and chase me around as a kid decided to get a little too close for our comfort. Allie was a great sport in putting up with the near animal-attack, as well as my requests for her to lay down in the dirt or stand in the super high grass. She is a horse-person, so thank goodness she's used to getting a little dusty! :)

I feel so blessed to work with such great and photogenic seniors. Allie was no exception! As we roamed various locations around the park, I kept gushing over her awesome blue eyes. I love it when seniors make my job easy! ;) So without further ado, here are some of Allie's shots!

Allie: A preview

As a friend of Emily, I was so excited to have an opportunity to work with Allie yesterday. There are so many great shots, I am really struggling to narrow them down! Below is a preview of Allie's session and I had a lot of fun with this one! :)

Ellie is All Grown Up

It's so weird how time seems to warp when you see the growth of a kid in the span of a few years. The last time I saw Ellie, the cousin of my friend Katie, she was only three years old and now, at 6 she seems all grown up! It was a lot of fun to do a quick cuz photoshoot with Ellie and her beloved Katie. With such a quiet, sweet personality and awesome eyes, Ellie was a great little model!

The Photography Plunder Down Under

I cannot explain how difficult it is not to post every photo I took on my trip. When you're in a place as diverse and utterly COOL as Australia, it's easy to take over 700 photos! Although this blog is primarily for portraits, I thought I would share some of my favorites from my trip!

Finally, I'll leave you with a picture that actually has a person in it! :)

Trashing the Dress with Eva

I have been wanting to do a "trash the dress" session for a long time but haven't really had the opportunity to find a model or a dress that is willing to get messy. But then Eva decided she wanted to have a session to commemorate her move away from her lifelong home. We chose a 10 dollar dress from a local secondhand store and walked down to the woods that was our childhood haunt. Usually I like bright and happy photos but we had a fun time doing darker, vampirey pictures. Though I've never seen nor read Twilight, it was sort of our inspiration as Eva has been a reader of the series for a long time. So without further ado, here's Eva the fashionista vampire of the Washington Woods.

Alyssa's Spring Shoot

I've had a great time working with Alyssa and her family. In the fall, as you may remember, we ran around in the rain to snag her yearbook photo in time for the deadline. Last week, I had the chance to shoot a full session with her and we returned to the same park. I really enjoyed adverturing through the park and discovering new places!! It was also great to shoot some family shots too! Thanks Alyssa and the family K for an awesome time!

Alyssa: Rain or Shine...or both?

I had the opportunity to shoot Alyssa's yearbook photos this past fall and we had an awesome time running through the rain with her family at a local park. So when she asked me to do a full senior session there, I was excited to branch out from under the eves of buildings and roam around this awesome park. We had a great time and even got some family shots as well. I can't wait to get these all done and sent over to her! Here is just a preview of the pictures :)

Um...can you pull over please?

While spending some time with my two very good friends, Katie and Nicole, from the Seattle area, we spotted a housing development under construction. After some skilled driving techniques, Katie was able to pull over so that we could have this spontaneous photo shoot in the beautiful grass and 7pm light! The first two are of Nicole who currently lives in Tacoma and is an amazing graphic design major with a real talent for drawing! The next two are of Katie who has a phenomenal voice and is on her way to creating the next chart-topping cd. :)
I am currently working on a personal web site and you will be able to see these lovely ladies in my portfolio once it is finished!

Weddings in May

May has been a busy month for me but it has also been a great month! Last weekend, I had the opportunity to shoot Heidi and Andrew's wedding with Michelle. They met while playing frisbee golf, so that was a big theme in their wedding as you can see in the pictures. It was a great wedding and I extend a huge congratulations to them!
Two days later, Michelle and I were off to the wedding of our friends Suzanne and Jonathan. Although we weren't photographing this one, I just had to get a shot of their marvelous cake (bottom picture). I had a ton of fun just hanging out, dancing and chatting and am very excited to see them start their "wedded" life together!
I've always heard that weddings are really hard to photograph so I feel very fortunate to have been able to attend or shoot these two weddings. Congrats to you all!

E-Sesh with Suzanne and Jonathan (oh and Michelle too!)

So I'm about a month late in posting this, but Michelle and I had the opportunity to do the engagement session for our friends Suzanne and Jonathan. Michelle used the D80 (my "llama") while I went retro with the old Canon and acted more as a second shooter.
This past weekend we also shot an "E-Sesh" with Heidi and Andrew. I had lots of fun playing assistant to Michelle and am looking forward to their wedding in May! I'll post a picture or two of Michelle's when she has finished with them. :)

So without further delay, here are the lovely Suzanne and Jonathan!

Just Hanging Out With Elyse

Taking a break from the stresses of school, Elyse and I were able to catch up over a cup of Dutch Bros coffee and a photoshoot! We walked around campus chatting and snapping away. Elyse is such a sweetheart, it was really fun to have her as a model! Here is a glimpse at some of the fun photos!

A First as a Second

Saturday was my first time ever as a "second shooter", and it was an outstanding experience! I worked under Lori Alley of Alleyway Photography and Amy Pearson, who drove down from Vancouver. We went down to Grand Ronde for a marathon of photography. I've filmed a wedding before but photographing one was high pressure in comparison. I am glad that I had a chance to second shoot before Michelle and I make our adventure into Wedding Photography this summer! Below are some of my faves from the day.