Portland Oregon Family Photographer

Tag: ‘Portland Oregon Family Photographer’

Happiness & Tenderness | Portland & Newport Beach Family Photographer

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

Although I still have a ton of 2011 sessions to post to the blog, I figured I’d throw in something recent now and again. I took these photos last week when I was in Southern CA. If the “Portland & Newport Beach” in the title is confusing to you, let me explain. I live in Portland and I will forevermore because its the best damn city on the planet. However, I have family and friends in Southern CA and take a couple trips down there each year. It helps my self-diagnosed seasonal depression to see blue sky and temperatures above 50 during the eight months out of the year when its normally dark grey and rainy here. Plus I love driving 75 on the Freeway and referring to it as “the 5″ instead of “I-5″.

Anyhoo, these photos are of my stepsister and her family. I got a temporary baby fix last week when I got to hold the handsome little dude, but I’m sure that is close to wearing off so I’ll soon be on the lookout for another baby to hold. I was so lucky to be able to take their first family photos. To be able to capture how much they love their little man. To freeze in time all those awesome little faces he makes. I’m sure these are the first of many photos they’ll get from me (one of the little perks, in addition to enjoying my charming personality of course, of being related to me), and I look forward to watching him grow in front of my camera.

This first set of photos is kind of fun. The one on the left is from their wedding (their wedding photos were gorgeous). We were standing in front of a garage door and I told them to stand like they were in their wedding photo. They knew exactly which one I was talking about. Had we planned it ahead of time, we may have found a different door or put heels on her so she stood a couple inches taller, but it was a spur of the moment kind of thing. I had to try and copy their wedding photographer’s processing and I’m the first to admit that I kind of suck at copying other photographer’s style, but I did my best by converting it to a sepia b&w and added a bit of grain. I’m a bit of a technical rule follower freak when it comes to photography so it just about killed me to crop in a finger chop, but I had to do it. Kinda cool, right?
portland family photographer

We took a few at their place before we ventured outside. Look at those blue eyes. This won’t be the first time I talk about them.
portland family photographer

This is Murray. He’s one of the best three dogs I’ve ever known. Kodi and Millie are the other two.
portland family photographer

This is the first of many unbelievable adorable expressions this little man gave me. I love him.
portland family photographer

portland family photographer

See what I’m talking about? Look at both of his expressions, just seconds apart.
portland family photographer

portland family photographer

GORGEOUS blue eyes.
portland family photographer

Can’t forget who the first baby was in this family.

Does this photo not melt your heart? This was one of those photos where I couldn’t decide whether I wanted it in color or b&w. I literally sat in front of my computer and converted it back and forth like 20x. Color won. Barely.
portland family photographer

portland family photographer

These two photos are two of my favorites from the session.
portland family photographer

These two are my kids’ favorites. Look at poor Murray. Taking such abuse. Told you he was one of the best three dogs ever.
portland family photographer

These two photos are why I named this post Happiness and Tenderness. There’s no other way to describe the photo on the left other than happy, and tender for the photo on the right. The two ingredients that make being a mom the most wonderful thing in the world.
portland family photographer

portland family photographer

I couldn’t decide which of the next two to post. They’re both very similar but have completely different feelings to me. My indecisiveness won and I posted both.
portland family photographer

portland family photographer

Tags: Beaverton Oregon Family Photographer, Beaverton Oregon High School Senior Photographer, Krissy Allori Photography, Portland Oregon Baby Photography, Portland Oregon Child Photography, Portland Oregon Engagement Photographer, Portland Oregon Family Photographer, Portland Oregon High School Senior Photographer, Portland Oregon Maternity Photographer, Portland Oregon Wedding Photographer
Posted in family | 21 Comments »

The Biggest Dandelion E V E R | Portland Custom Photographer

Tuesday, February 7th, 2012

So I’ve been told this technically isn’t a dandelion, but humor me here. This is my daughter, captured in the same pose, same location, same outfit, same pigtails (as a toddler will allow, of course) for the past three years in a row.

portland custom photographer

The first photo, when she was two years old, is what I call a happy accident. At that point in time, I was trying to master shooting in manual mode and getting the shot right in camera. I had not gone into business at that point. I dressed my daughter up and made her be my model (a role she quickly learned how to avoid). I found a great location near our home that I use all the time now for photos. It was then that I saw this MONSTER sized dandelion. I had never seen anything like it! There was only a small patch of them near the rail road tracks. I picked one, put it in her hands, showed her how to blow to make the seeds fly away, and frantically ran over to set up my shot because I knew it was impossible to ask a 2-yr-old to wait for such an awesome task. Lucky for me, no matter how hard she blew, the seeds wouldn’t fly away, so I just had to be quicker than her realizing that all she had to do was shake the flower to make all the seeds blow away. I believe I got the shot seconds before that revelation happened. I actually didn’t think the photo was anything special until I posted it on a photography forum I am part of and the thread took off like I was posting a hot piece of gossip! I was incredibly flattered that the photo got so much attention and didn’t really see the beauty and wonder of the photo until after that point. My favorite part is seeing the sheer determination on her face and knowing that more spit than breath was blowing out from in between those gorgeous red lips.

The next year I asked myself, “now wouldn’t it be cool if I could get the same photo one year later?”. Achieving this feat was like a complicated equation (you know how I love my math). This is what was going on in my brain: [(big ass dandelions in bloom)+(overcast soft light in the middle of a summer day)]/(my daughter’s mood… she was 3 afterall) + (my 1-yr-old son’s mood and willingness to behave long enough to allow me to get the shot) = SUCCESS. The planets must have been aligned that day because it worked!

Surprisingly (or maybe not for all you moms out there), the third year proved to be the most challenging. You see, by this point in time, the only photos I got of my daughter were when she wanted them, and after having had so many photos taken, this mood did not strike too often. Even more difficult was getting her to wear the same outfit again. Mind you, she was ~~4 years old~~ 4-and-a-half-years-old (mentioning the half is very important at this age), and the dress was size 2T and the sweater was size 18-24 months! Plus all of the conditions listed above had to be met. After an entire summer of begging, I was desperate because I really wanted that photo. If I never get one again, I had to at least get three, right? I had to stoop to bribery. I promised her a cupcake from Bliss Cupcakes if she let me get the photo. Of course her brother would get one too. Food always does the trick… they are my kids afterall. So, a patch of these dandelions usually grows across the street from my house. On our way to driving to the location, there was a single flower growing near our house. With the utmost of care, I gingerly picked it and wedged it in between the passenger seat and the center console so as to not knock any of the seeds off. Sure enough, when we got to the location there wasn’t a flower in sight. I knew she was now old enough to blow the seeds off with one single breath, and if she wasn’t successful on the first attempt she had enough sheer determination to eliminate the rest with a follow up breath, so I gave her very specific instructions to wait until I was ready. Lucky for me she is a good listener… when there’s a cupcake on the line, that is.

I just showed her the series of pictures and asked if I can get one every single year until she turns 18. With a big grin, she looked at me and nodded yes. Getting her to fit into the same clothes will be a challenge, of course, especially if I keep bribing her with cupcakes.

Cidney | Portland Senior Portrait Photographer

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

I debated whether to call this post “apples” or remain consistent with my other senior portrait posts and title it using the senior’s name. But my inner OCD took over and I had to remain consistent… plus I really love the spelling of Cidney’s name.

Why “apples” you ask? This is why. Look at them apples. This gorgeous girl has the most perfect bone structure – she should seriously be a model. If only I had apples like that. They ordered a 16×24 of this photo in a metal print and I can’t begin to tell you how stunning it looks up on the wall.

Cidney is one of those girls that really surprised me. Back when I was in High School long long ago, I remember girls either being really pretty or totally nice or smart and responsible. Rarely did someone fall into all three categories. Unless times have changed from when I was a teenager way back when, Cidney is an exception to the rule. And after seeing how much her mom loves her, all of this is no surprise to me.

These were taken early last fall but I’m just now getting them up on the blog. Its crazy to think how many photos we got in such a short period of time. I’m only showing a fraction of what we got. We just zipped around from location to location and hit all of my favorite photo spots in about an hour! I love me some comments so don’t be shy!

Okay, this middle photo has a story to it. Her footing was a little awkward while walking across the railroad tie and she said she felt like the creature from The Grudge. Then she gave me her best impersonation. If you know what I’m talking about, you’ll know that she did a pretty good job mimicking that creepy kid with the hair over his face working his way down the stairs. We got some pretty good laughs out of that one.
portland senior portrait photographer

Apple and eyelashes. Totally not fair.
portland senior portrait photographer

portland senior portrait photographer

There were some bicyclists getting ready for a ride when I was setting up this shot and one of them yelled out “you know, there’s a dumpster in the background.” Yup, I know. I don’t know what it is with me and dumpsters but I like them in my photos.
portland senior portrait photographer

portland senior portrait photographer

This location is one of my many secret little spots. Not secret in that its hard to find, but secret because there’s always a perfect little pocket of light that just wraps around whoever is standing there and you might not ever know it until you see the results in a photo.
portland senior portrait photographer

The photo on the left is one of my favorites.
portland senior portrait photographer

portland senior portrait photographer

Reason 723 why I love Oregon: super tall wooden railroad tracks that still get used on a daily basis.
portland senior portrait photographer

portland senior portrait photographer

my walls ain’t bare! | Portland Custom Photographer

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

Finally! My house somewhat resembles the kind of house you’d expect from someone who loves to take photos all. the. time. I’ve been shoving my big camera in front of my kids’ faces for years and what was the result? Lots and lots of photos on my hard drive. It took me years to figure out what color I wanted to paint the walls and then actually paint them – I can cut a mean wall to ceiling line now, by the way. But my walls either remained bare or had things hanging on them which I really didn’t care for the way they looked. I am soooo far from being done, too.

I’m showing these photos not because I’m trying to plant the seed in my clients’ and future clients’ heads that they need to spend oodles and oodles of money with me and buy tons and tons of products (although, I won’t argue if they do), but I’m showing them because it feels so awesome to have photos of my family up on the walls. Memories that I can relive every time I walk by them. I don’t care if every photo you have isn’t spectacular from a technical perspective – not the nicest background, harsh lighting, etc. What matters is that the photo is important to you because of who is in it, what was happening in your life at that moment in time, that expression they were making, whatever! Photos don’t deserve to be shoved in a box or stuck on your computer. Get them up on your walls! I love going over to people’s homes and looking at any photos they have up. Just last week we went to a friend’s house for the first time so our kids could have a playdate and I learned all about their family and the incredible hardships my friend had growing up, and as she opened up to me about everything, I got to know her family through all the photos on her walls and in an album on display.

The first set of pictures is of my frame wall. I’m really freakish about measuring twice and cutting once. That is why I planned the display out on paper first. A good photography friend of mine has a bunch of these frames that look amazing in her home (actually, all the photos in her home inspired me to get mine up on my walls) and she’s the one who suggested sketching them out before I ordered anything. Funny thing is that I based the entire design on the fact that I had a big thermostat in the middle of the wall. Had it not been there, my design would have been different. Anyway, all the frames show up and my husband says “Let’s just move the thermostat to the other side of the wall. That’s a better place for it anyway because it shouldn’t be right below the intake vent and its such a pain to get to with the couch there. Plus, now, we can easily turn the heat down when we leave the house.” That last part was a big bonus for him… we call our house the Ice Castle and he loves being able to turn the heat down easily whenever he can.

Here’s my sketch:
portland family, senior & wedding photographer

And here’s what they look like on the wall (sorry for the glare, they’re directly across from 3 big windows):
portland family, senior & wedding photographer

And I’ll show a few close ups. We dedicated this wall to putting our family photo in the middle (sadly, my stepson wasn’t in this one – we’ll replace it when he’s in the next one). On the right side is my entire extended family and on the left side is my husband’s family.
portland family, senior & wedding photographer

The frames are all handmade in the USA. I love the distressed look. The right side is the exact same layout as the left side, only inverted. I’m a huge fan of symmetry.

portland family, senior & wedding photographer

The silhouette photo on the bottom doesn’t exactly “go” with all the other photos, but it has particular meaning to me.

My grandma in the top frame and my grandpa in the bottom (both +/- 90 years old by a few years). My mom loved seeing the photo of my grandpa. She asked, “How did you get him to smile?” I never thought about it until I went through some old photo albums the other day and even in photos from 25-30 years ago, he was serious in every photo.

portland family, senior & wedding photographer

Here’s another frame that I recently ordered. Its pretty awesome. I just selected the photos I wanted to display and my lab prints the photos, assembles the frame, even seals it for moisture, and sends the whole thing to me ready to hang. I’m showing it because its HUGE, I think 40″ wide, but it doesn’t look like it is once it got up on the wall. So many times people want an 11×14 or 16×20 for the wall and think it’ll be too big. I say go big, or go home. Big is better. Show off those photos!

portland family, senior & wedding photographer

Here’s another example of a big photo. Its a 24×36 canvas and I have it on a hallway wall. I used to have a 16×20 hanging up in this spot and the 24×36 looks way better there.

portland family, senior & wedding photographer

I love that you can see my big daddy 40″ frame at the end of the hall from the point you walk in the front door.
portland family, senior & wedding photographer

Here’s my stair display. This wall is only dedicated to pictures of the kids and I seriously want to get twice as many frames as I have right now. My intention was to rotate out the photos as they got older… but as they keep getting older, the more I cherish seeing the photos from when they were so little. So, instead of rotating out the photos, the only solution is to add more frames, right?
portland family, senior & wedding photographer

portland family, senior & wedding photographer

Hopefully this post has given at least one of you inspiration to go hang more photos of your friends and family. Please let me know if it has.

Mckayla and Jeff | Portland Wedding Photographer | The DeSoto

Thursday, January 19th, 2012

After two solid weeks of dark grey skies and non-stop rain, the clouds went away and let the warm sun shine down on McKayla and Jeff as they took their vows in front of their family and closest friends on a Pearl District rooftop. Another two weeks of dark wet weather followed. People say that rain on your wedding day is good luck. I think that’s something people tell couples who get rained on during their wedding to make them feel better. *I can only say this, mind you, because none of my couples have ever been rained on during their wedding. Said comment will be retracted and replaced should future couple experience rain on their wedding day.* I told McKayla and Jeff that the one and only day of sunshine during a solid four week period was a sign that their wedding was meant to happen.

I love this couple. I know, I know. If you’re familiar with my blog, you know that I love all my couples. I can’t help it. They are all so incredible and each relationship is loving and unique in their own ways. Mckayla and Jeff make each other smile and they make everyone around them smile too. They are so comfortable being themselves around each other. During the toasts, I remember Jeff’s sister said that before Jeff had met Mckayla, he just wanted to find someone to make him laugh. He found her. Anyone can see just by watching them how perfect they are for each other. They have the same interests, the same values, the same beliefs, and most importantly, they make each other so incredibly happy.

You can see McKayla & Jeff’s target=”_blank”>engagement photos that were taken downtown. They will make you smile. Guaranteed.

Their wedding was absolutely lovely. The vendor list is below.
Venue: The DeSoto
Hotel: Courtyard by Marriott Portland City Center
Caterer: Art of Catering
Florist: Sammy’s Flowers
Cake: Beaverton Bakery
DJ: Surreal Sound
Transportation: PDX Pedicab
Photographer: The BEST in the business!!! (her words, not mine)

And now the photos…

The Bride & Groom

I always love to start with the formals. This one stands out as one of my favorites. It went on the cover of their album.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Before their ceremony, one of the guests came up to me and said “I can’t wait to see what you do with the rings! I love your ring shots.” Yes, that made me happy. I present to you the first of many ring shots.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

See what I’m talking about? Tell me that middle photo didn’t make you smile.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Every wedding needs a good dumpster pic, don’tcha think? I told him to give her his best “Hey Baby, what’s a fine lady like you doing hanging out by a nice dumpster like this?” pick up line. I think it worked.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

Self portrait. Can you see me?
Portland Wedding Photographer

Ah, backlight. I can’t begin to tell you how giddy I was to have backlight. Yay for no rain!
Portland Wedding Photographer

Before

Mckayla had the corner room on the top floor with floor to ceiling windows. The second I walked in I knew that I wanted this shot. Isn’t her dress spectacular?
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

G O R G E O U S.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

The wedding party was all family – the groom’s sister, her three adorable kids, and the bride’s brother. Perfect.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

The first time they saw each other on their wedding day was when she stepped off the elevator. It took some coordination to make sure he was waiting by the right one, but it turned out to be such an amazing moment.
Portland Wedding Photographer

The bride and groom arranged for pedicabs to take the wedding party and family from the hotel to The DeSoto where the wedding and reception would be. If you haven’t traveled by pedicab, you haven’t experienced Portland.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

I’m pretty sure they couldn’t be more adorable.
Portland Wedding Photographer

The wedding party.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

I love these two.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

The Ceremony

The ceremony was quaint, elegant, emotional, and the sun peek out from behind the high fluffy clouds to light up their faces.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

The kiss.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

The Reception

The cake, and of course all the flowers, were so gorgeous. It was delicious too. I never miss enjoying a sliver of wedding cake. Hey – I work hard, you know.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

Mini Rubens. Yeah. That’s right.
Portland Wedding Photographer

I loved this. In the elevator they had “The Story of Us” – a timeline of photos starting from their first date up until their wedding day. From Day 1, it looked like they were destined to be together.
Portland Wedding Photographer

The first dance.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Father/Daughter and Mother/Son dance.
Portland Wedding Photographer

The next two shots are kind of fun. During the reception, I went back up to their hotel room on the 16th floor and took a shot of the reception. The first one was taken with my 24mm wide angle lens. I drew a white arrow so you could see where the rooftop reception was and how far away I was.
Portland Wedding Photographer

I was standing in the same location, but this time I took the shot with a 200mm f/2 lens. I felt like a sniper. For all you photographers out there, I had to bump my ISO way up (hence the grain) and have a real low shutter speed to get the correct exposure, plus I had to crop in a bit so you could really see the wedding couple, but it worked. Pretty cool, especially when compared to the last photo, right?
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

I love candid moments like this. I also love seeing a couple who has been married for years who so clearly care about and love each other. Its inspiring.
Portland Wedding Photographer

And the night ended with a gorgeous full moon shining down on them.

I don’t usually share personal notes like this, but I was so touched by their thank you card to me…

“Krissy, Thank you for all that you did for us. From the engagement session, the wedding and accommodating my sister’s family session, everything was perfect. You have a wonderful blend of marketing, artistic ability and customer service that few can rival. I never doubted the final product from the very beginning. It was so nice to have one aspect of the wedding we knew was under control. You’re amazing! Love, Mckayla & Jeff”

To the amazing couple: You two couldn’t be more perfect for each other. Being able to photograph your wedding and document how crazy in love you are was such an honor. I can’t wait to take photos of all the red headed mountain bike riding little kids the two of you will make! Congratulations a million times over!!!

Happy Holidays! | Portland Custom Photographer

Thursday, December 29th, 2011

Naughty Krissy.

Naughty naughty naughty.

I have neglected my poor blog for over two months. I still have 13 mini sessions, 4 senior sessions, 6 family sessions and 1 wedding from 2011 I have yet to post on my blog. Naughty.

I have excuses though. Wanna hear them? Well, I’ll explain anyway. I just got busy. Real busy. So busy that anytime spent on the computer was editing sessions or ordering products. Once my clients were taken care of, I was a bit selfish and finally started working on stuff for me. I made a big album for my husband’s Christmas gift of our summer vacation. His reaction when he opened it? “Uh-huh, is this for me or for you?” It was for him. I promise. But I love that we have it. [insert evil grin] Then I spent a lot of time designing a big frame wall. You see, when you walk into my house, you wouldn’t really know someone who loves to take pictures lives here. I just never get around to editing them, let alone getting them displayed. My walls are bare no longer. I ordered 17 hand made in the USA custom frames and filled a 3×12′ area on a wall. I also got a huge framed print with a multi-opening mat to display three photos. I’m very excited. Pictures to follow…

So now what? Well, the first quarter of the year is always super slow for most photographers. Its not wedding season. Its not high school senior portrait time. And most families don’t want photos taken during an Oregon winter or early spring. But I love the first quarter of the year. It gives me time to post sessions from the year before that were never posted. It gives me time to update my website. And it gives me time to take a break, shoot more photos of my kids, and be inspired.

Now on to the good stuff.

Here’s our holiday card this year. Year 2 of showing an awkward family photo on the cover and a good picture on the inside. If you don’t think the photo on the cover is that bad, perhaps my blog isn’t the best one for you. Unfortunately my stepson wasn’t in this year’s card but there’s no way I’m letting him get out of 2012′s card. Sorry, dude. Its gonna be a good one too.

Here’s the front (it was a horizontal 5×7 folded card). What you see here is a super awesome photoshop effect called selective coloring. You have to have mad skills to do it. Especially when you color back in things like lips and eyes and super saturated denim.
portland family, senior & wedding photographer

and the good one, which will hang as a framed 20×24″ in the center of my frame wall (see reference above):
portland family, senior & wedding photographer

And in case you didn’t see last year’s, here’s the back and the front (it was a vertical 5×7 folded card).
portland family, senior & wedding photographer

and the inside spread (this one is a 24×36 canvas in our hall):
portland family, senior & wedding photographer

Last but not least, I would like to give a HUGE thank you to all of my clients who I love. I really do love them. Thank you for fueling my passion. Thank you for being so beautiful and easy to photograph. Thank you for trusting me to capture such personal moments. I picked just one photo from each session to show.
portland family, senior & wedding photographer

2011 was an incredibly memorable year; one I will never forget. Can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store!

Shallee & Gabe | Portland Wedding Photographer

Thursday, October 13th, 2011

I have a few ideas on what makes a wedding perfect. To me, it has to be intimate. Afterall, it’s a celebration of two people who are in love.

If I could use one word to describe Gabe and Shallee’s wedding, what would it be, you ask?

Intimate.

Let me paint the picture for you before you see the story unfold below. The ceremony and reception where held at the groom’s mother’s home. The groom’s brother performed the ceremony. The hydrangea used in the bouquets and table arrangements were grown by the bride. She held items with sentiment close to her while she took her vows. The DJ was a close family friend to the groom and told stories of him growing up. The wedding party played a round of Frisbee golf. The groom’s sister sang during the ceremony. A good friend sang the song to their first dance. Another good friend played his guitar during the ceremony and during the first dance. The gardening shed was converted to a beautiful “Love Shack” for the bride and groom to spend their first night. The wedding party spent the night in tents in the back yard. The bride and her father danced the fox trot, something she learned for the wedding. And there was a special dance dedicated to moms and their daughters.

Their wedding was not only intimate, but it was lovely. It was gorgeous. It was perfect.

You can see Gabe & Shallee’s engagement photos that were taken in the Pearl. She wore the coolest peacock dress to match the theme and colors of her wedding.

The vendor list is short and sweet.
Catering: Judy’s Catering, Eugene
Rentals: Special Occasion, Corvallis

Everything else was provided by friends, family, and the bride & groom.

And now the photos…

The Bride & Groom

I can’t begin to tell you how much I love this photo.

Portland Wedding Photographer

They had the most beautiful flower garden on the property.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Same set up, taken from different angles.
Portland Wedding Photographer

During the ceremony, it was mentioned that the bride and groom would be planting a tree. The reason? Because they cut one down and made this beautiful arch.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

I. Love. Her. Diamond.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

Before

Shallee’s dress was stunning. She added the jewels and peacock feathers to the shoes.
Portland Wedding Photographer

The bridesmaids’ dresses were all different colors inspired by the gorgeous jewel tones seen on a peacock.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

Ugh. I LOVED the dress. It was spectacular. And her hair was styled so beautiful, timeless and classy.
Portland Wedding Photographer

The bride and groom saw each other before the ceremony. I adore these photos. So much love and emotion.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

The Ceremony

The ceremony was held on the property, just steps away from the groom’s home and the reception area. The golden sunlight shined down on them as they took their vows.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

“Now join your hands, and with your hands your hearts.” ~ William Shakespeare
Portland Wedding Photographer

I just love how he’s embracing her.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

The Reception

The groom’s parents converted this shed to the Love Shack.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

The cake. GORGEOUS.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

The toasts.
Portland Wedding Photographer

The first dance. Okay, okay. I have no shame admitting the fact that I acted like a huge dork when I saw David Anders arrive as one of the guests. I’ve seen every episode of Alias, Heroes and 24 that he’s been in, among all sorts of other stuff. But yes, I was a star struck dork. Anyway, he sang during the bride and groom’s first dance and it was absolutely lovely.
Portland Wedding Photographer

I loved all the personal touches throughout the day.
Portland Wedding Photographer

And I got to enjoy some of the most entertaining dancing I’ve ever seen. This was a group of natural performers, I tell you!
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

In lieu of a traditional guest book, Gabe and Shallee wanted to do something fun and memorable for their guests so they had us do our photo booth. It was a huge hit!

Gabe and Shallee – your wedding was exquisite. The two of your are surrounded by amazing friends and family. It is evident how lucky you are to have each other to share the rest of your lives with. I wish you a lifetime full of amazing memories as husband and wife!

Kara & Daniel | Portland Wedding Photographer | Skamania Lodge

Wednesday, September 28th, 2011

Kara and Daniel.

How lucky am I to have one wonderful couple after another ask me to photograph their wedding.

Kara and Daniel were no exception.

Their wedding was spectacular. They got married on the lawn at Skamania Lodge overlooking the Columbia River. The ceremony was intimate. The skies were clear. The day was gorgeous. The ceremony was followed by a stunning, classy and romantic candle lit reception. It honestly couldn’t be more perfect.

I was lucky enough to get to know Kara and Daniel a bit when I took their engagement photos. When I first met them, I noticed this quiet between them. The kind of quiet energy you can feel between the two of them, like electricity. The magical thing about it is how subtle it is. It’s obvious to see they’re in love when you see them together, but there’s more to it than that. There’s this magic. The kind of magic where you have to watch them from afar. It doesn’t matter if they think they’re alone or they’re in a room of crowded people; every so often you can see the two of them drift off into their own private space as if nothing else in the world mattered. By the time you get to the last pictures, you’ll see it too.

Before you see the photos, here’s the list of the vendors.
Venue and Catering: Skamania Lodge
Flowers: Bloomsbury
Cake: Beaverton Bakery
D.J.: Bust A Move
Hair Styling Bride: Stacy Morin- Vitality Salon
Make-up Bride: Skamania Lodge- Waterleaf Spa
Hair Styling Bridesmaids: Heather Heffley
Lighting: Swank Audio and Visual

And now the photos…

The Bride & Groom

I always start with my favorite photo of the bride and groom. I had a real hard time choosing, but I think I fell in love with this shot the most.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

Sapphires in their wedding rings. I LOVE sapphires. A lot. Almost as much as diamonds.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

This is one of those shots I love because they didn’t know I was taking the photo. We were in between formals with the family and the bridal party and I caught them taking advantage of a quiet minute alone.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

The Bridal Party

By request, I have a totally hilarious, raunchy, and inappropriate photo of the entire group. As much as I would love to post it, I’m going to show restraint and keep the photos appropriate for all ages. These will have to due…

I love this shot. The others in the series are gorgeous as well.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

Before

This is the view from the bride’s room. If you’ve never stayed at Skamania, you should. And yes, the river view room is worth the upgrade. Can you see the ceremony site in the lower right? Can you imagine a more spectacular setting for a wedding?
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

The lace on her dress. Ugh. Gorgeous.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Love love love the details.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

The Ceremony

The ceremony was lovely. It was a warm windy day and you could feel that it was the start of fall.
Portland Wedding Photographer

This is the first time Daniel laid eyes on his bride.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

The cutie pie ring bearer kept everyone quite entertained.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

Exchanging the rings.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

Sealed with a kiss.
Portland Wedding Photographer

The Reception

Announcing, for the first time as husband and wife, Kara and Daniel!
Portland Wedding Photographer

The reception was gorgeous. The ambiance was warm and romantic. Rich fall colors, large maple leave centerpieces, candle light throughout. Stunning.
Portland Wedding Photographer

The first dance.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

The father daughter dance.
Portland Wedding Photographer

The mother son dance.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

The toasts.
Portland Wedding Photographer

The cake. Oh, the cake. It was gorgeous. I’ve never seen anything like it. Each one of those detailed glittery leaves was completely edible (and delicious, I might add). Can you read the bride and groom signs on the figurines? Mr. Right and Mrs. Always Right. Ain’t that the truth.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

Let the party begin!
Portland Wedding Photographer

These are my favorite shots of the whole night. Dancing was well underway. Everyone was having a good time. And Kara and Daniel were in their own little world. Look at each one of these pictures. Isn’t it great when you can feel how much two people love each other just by looking at them? You can feel the joy. You can feel the chemistry. You can feel the tenderness. These photos are what their entire day was all about – just being together. Having everything be easy. Being completely in love.
Portland Wedding Photographer

What wedding is complete without a grand exit!
Portland Wedding Photographer

Kara and Daniel – thank you for having me play such an important role in your wedding. It gives me goosebumps to see all your photos and relive your gorgeous wedding. Live by “Mr. Right and Mrs. Always Right” and you will have a long, happy, fulfilling marriage.

Ayaka | Portland Senior Portrait Photographer

Saturday, September 24th, 2011

Yay! Its senior portrait season!

Here’s the problem though… [I like math so I will equate things]

senior portrait season + wedding season + family photo holiday photo season = a VERY busy Krissy

As much as I would like to blog every senior and wedding and family session (with the occasional 1st birthday cake smash thrown in) real time, I just don’t have the band width to get each blog post up as I shoot it AND be able to deliver the final product to my clients in a timely manner.

What does that mean? [again, another equation]

busy summer/fall + purposely slow winter/spring = lots of summer blog posts throughout November-March

So… [here comes an IF, THEN statement]

IF you’ve had your photos done but haven’t seen a blog post yet

~ or ~

IF you enjoy looking at my work on a slow controlled new-post-every-week-or-so pace

~ or ~

IF you love seeing photos with warm golden sunlight when its been months since you’ve seen anything other than dark grey wet sky above,

THEN, keep checking the blog.

Can you tell I like math?

Anyway, how about I show you my first, of many, senior sessions of the season. I’m definitely not an over shooter, but I do take enough photos during a session so that I can be selective during editing. I don’t think I’ve ever had a session with so many keepers. I mean, this girl is gorgeous! She has such a sweet and kind disposition as well.

I had a five week period this summer where I did nothing but wedding after wedding. Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE weddings, but it is definitely easier to have more control over a senior portrait session. It was really quite refreshing to call all the shots from the setting and timing based on light, how to pose, what to wear, etc. Yes, I have discovered I’m a bit on the controlling side with the camera in hand, and I make no apologies for it. Every so often, the second I take a photo, I know it will be one of my new favorites. That’s what happened as soon as I took the photo below on the left. To me, it was perfection.

Okay, okay. Enough with the words. Enjoy the photos.

Portland Senior Portrait Photographer

Laura and John | Portland Wedding Photographer | DeArmond Gardens

Friday, September 16th, 2011

Prepare yourself. You are about to witness perfection.

Okay, are you comfortable? Because this is a wedding that will blow you away. If you don’t have a reasonable amount of time to absorb everything in this blog post, finish whatever it is you have to get done, grab a fresh cup of coffee and a snack, sit down, relax, and get ready to see an absolutely stunning, immaculate, exquisite, gorgeous, breathtaking (and any other similar adjective you can come up with) wedding, down to the very smallest details.

I met Laura and John last summer. She was actually the first of four couples who wanted to book me on August 20th, and I thank my lucky stars they came to me first because they, and everything about their wedding, was an absolute treat to photograph. When I first met them, well over a year before their wedding, Laura pulled out this big three-ring binder. She had the wedding contract I had emailed her completely filled out. She was so organized. Probably more so at that point than a lot of brides are a month before their wedding day. At that point, I didn’t know if she was going to be a complete Bridezilla or that her wedding was going to be sooooo AMAZING that it required a full three-ring binder fourteen months before the wedding. So happy to say that it was the latter.

They blew me away with the styling for their engagement photos. If you haven’t seen them, I suggest you go take a peek. She brought all sorts of props – vintage suit cases, open back frames, even a 1957 Bentley. It all tied in with her wedding.

The most amazing thing about Laura & John’s wedding is that they did it all on their own, with a ton of help from family and friends of course. One of the bridesmaids made all of the printed material and signs, the groom’s father made the photobooth, the bride’s childhood babysitter made the cake. I can’t even imagine that the most talented professional wedding coordinator could have done better. I can’t think of one detail that was not beautifully accounted for. I shot for nine hours straight and I still feel like I couldn’t capture it all.

Instead of going into too much description, I’m going to let the photos speak for themselves and I’ll throw my usual commentary in along the way…

I just have to say one last thing: Laura & John – congratulations! May every day of your lives together be as beautiful and as perfect as your wedding day.

Alright, are you ready to be wowed?

First off, the list of the vendors.
Venue: DeArmond Garden Estate
Caterer: Eat Your Heart Out
Rental Company: Party Pros
Chavari Chair Rentals: Ohana Party Rentals
Graphic Design, Invitations, & Printables: Modern Moments
Cake: Tammy Hayes 310.683.9049
Fondant Cake Flowers: Two Sugar Babies
Gelato Bar: Staccato Gelato
Florist: Basketcase, Inc.
DJ: All Wright Music, Eric Wright
Photo booth Mustaches & Lips: Whiskerworks
Place Card Holder Frames: Exclusively Weddings
Centerpiece Urns: Jamali Garden
Muslin Monogramed Bags: Run, Ellie. Run.
Event Styling: Double Take (Lindsey Ter Har & Laura Grim), 503.680.3721
Ceremony Music: Opera Singer, Richard Zeller, 503.998.0801, Michael Barnes Trio, 503.864.4530
Iron Work Chandeliers, Arches, and Urns: J Pedersen Home & Garden, 360.213.1619
Hair Styling: Salon Dulce, 503.701.5507
Makeup: Mary Kreger, 503.330.8207

The Bride & Groom

Portland Wedding Photographer

The Wedding Party

Portland Wedding Photographer

The Details

Oh, the details. These photos don’t even compare to how beautiful everything was in person.

As guests were greeted by the valet parking attendants at the entrance, they saw this big beautiful sign that must have been six feet tall. From there, they walked to the gardens through the green house.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

Set up inside the green house was the guest book and the wish tree.
Portland Wedding Photographer

This is what the green house looked like at night. Just outside the green house, crystals and picture frames were hung from the trees.
Portland Wedding Photographer

The place cards were beautifully hung from clothespins that were strung across an old barn window atop an antique dresser. Each clothespin varied in size and even they were decorated. Not one single detail was forgotten.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Immediately following the ceremony was the cocktail hour. The guests enjoyed ice cold mojitos and the hor dourves were mouthwatering.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

The dinner was held outdoors under a gorgeous white tent. I couldn’t possible capture all of the stunning details, but here’s just a taste of how exquisite everything looked.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Of course, the food was delicious. You know this is very important to me.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Breathtaking.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

This is the photobooth. I was floored when I saw it. I literally felt my jaw drop.
Portland Wedding Photographer

Portland Wedding Photographer

I think one of the biggest hits of the day was when the gelato cart opened. Their wedding was on the hottest day of the year.
Portland Wedding Photographer