The McNeil Family | Three Boys & Laurelhurst Park
I've been photographing the McNeils since their oldest was born — and every session since has been a little louder, a little more chaotic, and a whole lot more fun. Three boys will do that. We spent a fall afternoon at Laurelhurst Park and I don't think anyone stood still for more than thirty seconds. Exactly right.
Golden Hour at Mount Tabor | Portland Family Photography
Some clients become more than clients. I first photographed Caitlin and Matt at their engagement session back in 2010 — and over the last fifteen years I've had the privilege of watching their family grow, session by session. Maternity. Newborns. Milestones. And now, three kids tearing down the trails at Mount Tabor in the most perfect November light I've seen all year. This one is for the archives.
Baby Myla is Coming | Andrea & Deion's Maternity Session at Cooper Mountain, Oregon
Andrea and Deion came to Cooper Mountain Nature Park for their maternity session for baby Myla, and I will be thinking about this one for a long time. The blush tulle robe — layers and layers of ruffles catching the wind on a hilltop above the Tualatin Valley — might be the most stunning maternity look I have ever photographed. I'm not exaggerating. The dress alone could stop traffic. Combined with that sky, that golden autumn grass, that dog sitting impossibly perfectly in every single frame? I didn't want the session to end. This is what maternity photography is supposed to feel like.
Evan, Chantal & Eli | Golden Hour on the Oregon Coast with a Very Busy Toddler
The last time I photographed this family, Eli was still a character waiting to be rolled. Chantal was luminous in an emerald dress in the old-growth forest at Oxbow, and there was so much anticipation for whoever was on the way. Now he's here. He's a full person. He has opinions about waves. And watching these three together at golden hour on the Oregon Coast was one of those sessions I'll carry with me for a long time.
For Your Favorite Person | A Grandmother & Granddaughter Session at Tryon Creek
Alexis came to me with a request I had never gotten before: a portrait session with her grandmother. Not a full family session, not a milestone event — just the two of them, in the woods, photographed together because her grandmother is her favorite person and she wanted pictures that showed it. I said yes immediately, and now I am completely obsessed. I want every single person reading this to book this session. The hands reaching toward each other through the green. The way she rested her head on her grandmother's shoulder and they both just laughed. I haven't stopped thinking about this one since.
Troy & Elise | Maternity Among the Roses in Portland
The International Rose Test Garden in Portland is one of those locations that does all the work for you — rows of roses in every color, tall evergreens overhead, soft light filtering through. Troy and Elise brought their whole world to this session: his son, her sweet black dog dressed in a pink flower collar, and a belly full of baby girl. We strolled, we laughed, we lined up four tiny pink Converse in the grass between two pairs of grown-up shoes, and I photographed a family on the edge of something wonderful.
Amelia & Devin | A Front Yard Wedding in Portland, Oregon
Portland kept changing the COVID restrictions week by week, and we weren't sure until the night before whether the wedding would happen at all. It did — in Amelia and Devin's front yard, officiated by her brother Austin, livestreamed to the people who couldn't be there, and cheered on by a car parade of friends who drove by honking and holding up signs. It was one of the most joyful, most human weddings I've ever photographed.
Oregon to Scotland & Back Again | Kelli & Niall's Wedding at Gray Gables Estate, Portland
Kelli and Niall met at a University of Oregon tailgate. Niall was on a West Coast road trip from Scotland with friends — they wanted to experience an American college football game, so they showed up in full Ducks gear, green tutus, and face paint. Kelli's dad was parked right next to them. He introduced himself, chatted Niall up, and then said: I need to introduce you to my daughter. The rest is a love story that crossed an ocean, survived COVID, and ended in a kilt at Gray Gables Estate in Portland.
Roll for Cuteness | Chantal & Evan's Maternity Session at Oxbow Regional Park, Oregon
Evan is my cousin and my Dungeon Master — whether we're mid-campaign in Dungeons & Dragons or deep into a Pathfinder session, he's the one running the table. For their maternity session, we took to the ancient forest at Oxbow Regional Park on the Sandy River, where 700-year-old trees make everything feel hushed and timeless. Chantal wore an emerald dress and wildflowers in her hair and looked completely at home in the wild. This one was deeply special to photograph.
Becca, Tim & Family | Light & Airy Beach Portraits in Lincoln City, Oregon
Here's a fun fact: Becca and Tim were the very first wedding I ever photographed. We went to college together, and back in 2009 I was behind the camera for the day they got married — and I caught the bouquet. Fifteen-plus years later, I'm photographing their family of five on the Oregon Coast. Some things come full circle in the most beautiful ways.
Three Generations | Andrea, Deion & Myla's Family Session in Clackamas County, Oregon
I've been with Andrea and Deion through a lot of chapters — the engagement, the wedding, the maternity session. Now there's Myla, a baby with the best smile and a pink stuffed elephant nearly as big as she is, and the whole family gathered in the fall color of a Clackamas County park to be photographed together. Three generations, one perfect afternoon.
Danielle | Senior Portraits Under the Arches of Cathedral Park in Portland, Oregon
Danielle is my cousin, and photographing her senior session was one of those jobs that didn't feel like a job at all. I've watched her grow up — and getting to be the one to document this chapter, at Cathedral Park under the iconic arches of the St. Johns Bridge with camellias in full bloom, was a genuine gift.
Aubrey | Senior Portraits | Metzler Park, Estacada, Oregon
Aubrey came to her senior session with multiple looks, a volleyball, and a letterman jacket full of pins that told the whole story of her high school years. We took everything to Metzler Park, a beautiful Clackamas County park tucked along Clear Creek south of Estacada — and the forest delivered on every single shot.
Murphy McGuinness, Finn McCool & the People Who Love Them | Dog Portraits in Hoyt Arboretum | Portland, Oregon
I met Chris and Jessica over a decade ago when they were my neighbors in downtown Portland. I had to introduce myself — Jessica was out on a walk with Murphy McGuinness, a Newfoundland puppy so impossibly adorable I had no choice. We've been friends ever since. Now there's Finn McCool, a massive Leonberger, and the four of them together are exactly as wonderful as you'd expect. We took it to Hoyt Arboretum, one of my favorite places in the city, and the fall forest did not disappoint.
From Two to Three: Brianna, Cameron & E at Scouters Mountain | Happy Valley, Oregon
I've photographed Brianna and Cameron through a lot of chapters — the engagement, the wedding, the maternity session where Brianna stood at the base of Wahclella Falls and told me, half joking, that she'd be in Vogue one day (she was right). Now there's E, a toddler with opinions about everything and a laugh that fills the whole forest. Scouters Mountain gave us ancient trees, Mount Hood on the horizon, and one family who already knows how to show up.
The Coopers Come to Bend: An Extended Family Session in Central Oregon
There is something so special about being trusted with a family's memories across multiple chapters. I photographed Sami and Joseph's wedding. I photographed Joseph's sister Rachel's wedding. And now here I am in Bend, Oregon, camera in hand, photographing Sami's entire side of the family — the Coopers — as they gathered from wherever life has taken them to be together in one place. This is exactly why I do what I do.
Yes. Yes. F** Yes.: Austin & Chelsea's Abernethy Center Wedding*
Austin proposed to Chelsea. And when he did, she left no room for ambiguity about how she felt about it — because on their wedding day at Abernethy Center's Abigail's Garden in Oregon City, she gave him a custom-engraved Timex with the back inscribed with the exact words she said when he got down on one knee. It read: Yes. Yes. F** Yes.* Date: 09.26.2020. That is the energy this entire wedding had, from the private vows in the garden to the moment I2I by Powerline came on and every single person on the dance floor absolutely detonated.
Gothic Arches and Golden Light: Layla & Eric Engagement Session at Cathedral Park Portland
Cathedral Park sits beneath the St. Johns Bridge in North Portland, and if you've never been, the Gothic concrete arches that line the riverbank are unlike anything else in the city — dramatic, airy, and somehow both grand and intimate all at once. It was the perfect setting for Layla and Eric, who would go on to have one of my all-time favorite weddings the following year. Spoiler: it was stunning.
From Silver Falls to Sunset: Cassie & Sean's Perfect Oregon Wedding Day
There are wedding days that follow a schedule, and then there are wedding days that feel like a whole story. Cassie and Sean's started at Silver Falls State Park — misty waterfalls, mossy forest trails, a first look that made time stop — and ended with their people dancing in the dark on private property in the Oregon hills. Every single chapter was perfect.
Two Worlds, One Love: Joyce & Peter's Nigerian-American Wedding at the Abernethy Center
The Abernethy Center's Veiled Garden in Oregon City was the perfect backdrop for Joyce and Peter's multicultural wedding — white doves released into a canopy of Pacific Northwest forest, a Nigerian outfit change mid-reception, and the Norman Sylvester Band keeping the dance floor going all night long.