Andreas & Louise | An Urban Engagement Session Through the Heart of Downtown Portland
Andreas and Louise wanted classic, urban, Portland — the city they've both come to love and call home. So we walked it. The waterfront with the Hawthorne Bridge stretching behind them. The public docks. Keller Fountain Park. The murals in the Park Blocks. The steps outside the Portland Art Museum. And somewhere along the way it became clear that these two have absolutely been taking dance classes — the spins, the dips, the easy way they moved together — because they were good. July cannot come fast enough.
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.
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.
Allie & Ryan | An Engagement Session at Hoyt Arboretum in Portland, Oregon
Allie and Ryan brought their dogs to their Hoyt Arboretum engagement session — a Jack Russell mix and a yellow Lab, both wearing matching plaid bowties, both completely certain the session was for them. They weren't wrong. The arboretum's redwood grove, forest trails, and fall ferns gave us some of my favorite frames from this location, and these two were absolutely natural in front of the camera.
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.