Meet
Leah Flores
I was born on February 29th, a day that only comes around once every four years, and it shaped the way I see everything. Rare Day Photo is built on that same belief — that your wedding day is singular, unrepeatable, and deserves to be captured that way. Based in Portland, Oregon, specializing in LGBTQ+, inclusive, and adventurous couples worldwide.
Travels Worldwide
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Adventure
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Nerd
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Dinosaur Enthusiast
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Awkward
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Travels Worldwide ✳︎ Adventure ✳︎ Nerd ✳︎ Dinosaur Enthusiast ✳︎ Awkward ✳︎
I came into this world as a nomad. My family's roots stretch from Costa Rica to Scotland before settling in the Pacific Northwest, and I think that restlessness was baked in from the start. Growing up homeschooled and constantly moving, I spent my childhood living in national parks, Yellowstone most of all, where my dad handed me a disposable camera and accidentally set the course for my entire career.
I originally came to Portland on a soccer scholarship, and the city never really let me go. I studied psychology, spent several years working in mental health, and eventually the camera took over completely. That background shapes how I work more than people might expect. So much of wedding and elopement photography is about reading a room and making people feel at ease, and it turns out that skill matters a lot more on a wedding day than knowing which lens to reach for.
I was a sheltered queer kid growing up in one of the most isolated places in America, in a house where music was not allowed. Little me would have never believed that in the future photography would put me on the road and in the front row, camera in hand, shooting some of the biggest names in music. I’ve photographed Post Malone, Pearl Jam, Megan Thee Stallion, Queens of the Stone Age, and countless other musicians who I never would have been allowed to listen to growing up.
PS - my passion project is
Portland made it easy to stay. The food, the art, the dive bars, the nerd culture, and the fact that a waterfall, a mountain, or the ocean is never more than a couple hours away. Ferns are my love language. I will die on the hill that a 55 degree rainy day in the Pacific Northwest is genuinely one of the better things weather has to offer.
Being homeschooled also left me deeply familiar with awkward, which turns out to be a professional superpower. One couple hired me specifically because they figured a homeschooled kid would get it. They were not wrong. Helping people feel calm and confident in front of a camera is one of my favorite parts of the job. I also tried to teach myself Sindarin from Lord of the Rings and would very much like to be in your D&D campaign, so if you are a little nerdy and a little awkward, we are probably going to get along just fine.
After college, photography took me places I never anticipated. I have shot weddings and elopements in the Scottish Highlands, Vietnam, and across the Pacific Northwest, and spent years embedded in the adventure tourism industry working with resorts and agencies worldwide. Some trips stick with you more than others. Snorkeling in the Galápagos surrounded by baby sea lions, sharks, and blue footed boobies. Two weeks on safari in South Africa, where I photographed a cluster of young meerkats in a group hug that is probably my favorite image I have ever made. It is a strange and lucky thing to have your hobby become your job and your job become an excuse to keep moving.
Rare Day Photo is based in Portland, Oregon and available for queer and LGBTQ+ inclusive weddings, elopements, and adventure sessions across the Pacific Northwest and destinations worldwide. If you want photos that actually look like you, you are in the right place.
Favorites
Books: The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell, Blankets by Craig Thompson, and Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey.
Movies: Jurassic Park, Die Hard, Palm Springs, A Goofy Movie, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and Train to Busan.
Board Games: Scythe, Gloomhaven, Wavelength, Wits & Wagers, and Hues & Clues.
Portland Escape Rooms: Hour to Midnight and Escapism.
Musicians: Shawn James, Bruce Springsteen, Brandi Carlile, and Agalloch.
Destinations: Sabi Sabi - South Africa, Manuel Antonio - Costa Rica, Galápagos Islands - Ecuador, and Glacier National Park - Montana.
Portland Restaurants: Foxtrot, Khao Moo Dang, Clyde’s, and Midpoint
Dinosaurs: Pachycephalosaurus, Parasaurolophus, and Protoceratops.
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