Cameron and Brianna's Backyard Couples Session in Portland, Oregon
There's something really special about photographing a couple before you know where their story is going to take them. This backyard session with Cameron and Brianna was the very first time I got to point my camera at the two of them, and it turned out to be the start of a beautiful, creative relationship I've gotten to carry through several chapters of their life since.
We kept this one simple. A backyard. A warm afternoon in late summer. Pizza, cold drinks, a picnic blanket tossed out on the grass, and that golden Portland light filtering through the trees the way it does in August. Brianna wore a marigold sweater slipping off one shoulder, and Cameron matched her perfectly in a soft plaid flannel. They looked like a painting. They always do.
We started at their outdoor table with homemade pizza and cold drinks, and before I could even say anything, Brianna leaned over and kissed Cameron mid-cheers. That's pretty much the whole relationship summed up in one frame. Playful, affectionate, completely theirs. From there, we moved out to the grass, where I had them lie down on a dark wool blanket with their heads side by side and photographed them from above. Her ring caught the light as she reached up to cradle the side of his face: some of my favorite frames of the whole day.
As the sun dropped lower, I got Brianna alone for a few portraits near a trellis of red roses in their garden. Her smile in that warm, honeyed light, framed by those deep red blooms: a gift. Cameron stood behind me the whole time, grinning like he still can't believe he gets to be married to her. Which is the whole point.
Cameron and Brianna, thank you for trusting me with that very first afternoon together, and for every session since. If you're a Portland couple who'd love an unhurried, personal session at home or somewhere that means something to you, I would love to hear from you. Reach out here and let's make something beautiful together.
If you'd like to see how Cameron and Brianna's story has unfolded since this session, you can follow along through their maternity session at Wahclella Falls in the Columbia River Gorge, their "from two to three" family session at Scouters Mountain in Happy Valley when baby E joined the family, and their tender in-home newborn session soaking in those impossibly small early days.
