Dan was my friend before he met Annie, and I can tell you as an objective judge of the situation, that Dan was a changed man once Annie walked into his life. This past weekend, I met up with Annie and Dan in Cannon Beach, Oregon – one of the most beautiful spots on the Oregon Coast – to take some engagement photos. Annie and Dan will be getting married in October, and I can’t wait to photograph them again.

There are few couples I know who are as well-suited to each other as Dan and Annie, and that makes them fun to be with and easy to admire. During our session, Annie and Dan were really good sports on the cold, cold beach. They even ended up barefoot in the surf at the end of the session. Let’s just say there was shrieking.

Annie’s family has vacationed in Cannon Beach for spring break quite a few times over the years, so it was fitting that I met up with them there, during their spring break trip. I also got to meet Annie’s parents and sister, who are so generous and sweet. It’s no surprise that Annie’s so lovely.

It was so lovely to see these friends again, and I’m so excited for their wedding. They’re so natural in front of the camera, it’s not even like work for me – they make it look so easy. At their wedding, they’re going to be driving away in a 1956 white Cadillac convertible – watch the blog in October for those pictures!

Thanks, Annie and Dan, for a fun afternoon at the beach – you guys are unbelievable!

P.S. Dan, please don’t judge me for my serious overuse of the exclamation point, yet again. Looks like I’ve abandoned my journalistic skills after all.

It’s a hallmark of Jesuit education that you become “men and women for others,” and that’s something I try to live up to in my life and in my business. I’m a graduate of Jesuit High School in Portland, and going there was a great experience for me (no matter the endless teasing from my senior reps that go to other schools, and especially our old rival, Beaverton High).

The Jesuit annual auction is one of the major ways the school raises funds for programs and to educate students. This year, they’re featuring an online auction in addition to their big gala auction, which will be on May 2. If you’re interested in getting a senior portrait session at a discounted rate while helping to support Jesuit, check out their online auction, which opens for bidding on Wednesday, April 1. In their online auction, I have three senior portrait sessions up for grabs. These sessions are worth $500 each at full price, and I’ve got a feeling you can get a deal!

Since my blog hasn’t been around all that long, I’m trying to catch up to let you all know what I’ve been shooting this year. Megan and Kyle’s wedding was in January in Hoquiam, Washington and I was a second photographer for my dear friend Molly, who owns Portrait Expressions in Aberdeen. Eric and I used to live in Aberdeen, which is where I met Molly back in the days when I was a working newspaper journalist, and she’s been a huge inspiration to me and my photography business.

I’ve tagged along on a couple of weddings with Molly, and she always has the best ideas for locations. Before their ceremony, we took Kyle and Megan out to a railroad trestle near the church, and got some fun photos (they were total good sports; it was literally freezing outside!)

When you live in a small town like Aberdeen or Hoquiam, you get to know lots of people and it’s always a small world. I discovered into the wedding that Kyle’s family are close friends with my husband Eric’s family (and Eric & Kyle went to high school together).

Megan was a beautiful bride, so poised and calm. Some of my favorite moments during a wedding day are like this, before the ceremony where there’s downtime and everyone is full of anticipation. What you can’t see in the picture is that Megan’s mom was standing behind me admiring her, and when I turned around, her eyes were filled with tears.

Megan and Kyle’s wedding was so much fun to photograph, and it’s always fun to tag along with Molly – maybe you’ll see her tagging along on one with me soon!

Yes, that’s right, I have three whole posts of senior reps. But I love hanging out with them and making cool pictures, so I’m all about them! This next group is particularly tight because they all three did their session together, which was loads of fun!

Jenn and Jeff are twins, juniors at Beaverton High School, and Sarah is Jenn’s best friend and a junior at Sunset High School. We played in Portland’s Pearl District on a Friday afternoon in February and they promised by the end that they didn’t think it was lame they had to spend their Friday with me!

Jenn is the one that made it all happen – she got in touch with me when she found out I was looking for more reps at her school, and Jenn & Jeff wanted to find someone who would take some fun twin pictures, too.

You can tell these three have been friends for a long time, because they get along so well. They were also totally willing to follow me all around the blocks of the Pearl District looking for fun locations to shoot in. As a result, I was so happy with their photos!

Jeff was funny, waiting for the girls to change and listening to them as they told him which way to look and whether to smile or try a “serious face.”

Sarah’s red high heels were totally engrossing for me – I had to get them in some of the pictures! I love this spot, which is right near where my friend Audra works (you’ll see her family photos on the blog soon!) and there is a whole block of great condos with little walk-up staircases. Amazing!

Are you interested in being a senior rep for Sara Gray Photography, or do you know someone who might be? You get your senior session free, plus a deck of rep cards to hand out at school. If any of my seniors refer ten friends, they get a shiny new iPod nano! I’m still looking for Portland-area seniors from Westview, Aloha, Tigard and Sunset high schools, plus any of the Portland schools. Just contact me to get on the schedule!

Stephanie has long, beautiful reddish blonde hair and is so funny and cool. She’s a varsity cheerleader at Beaverton High School and our parents know each other through church – in fact, the story goes that her dad and my mom actually went out on a date back in the days before they met their current spouses.

Stephanie’s older sister Shannon was one of my campers at church camp and back then, Stephanie tagged along to camp, helping in the kitchen. She’s come a long way, baby! Even though it makes me feel old to say this, whenever I go 5-8 years without seeing a kid, they seem like a totally different person to me. Stephanie even humored me by doing cheerleading jumps and stunts in the muddy grass at a park near BHS, which cracked me up. Stephanie’s senior year is going to rock!

Kelsey and Allison are another two Jesuit girls, but Kelsey’s a senior and Allison’s a junior. Kelsey is an actress and Allison is a tech-theater gal behind the scenes. In my Jesuit days, I did both, so these girls are like kindred spirits! I’ve known Kelsey’s family for a long time – her dad was my drama teacher in high school, and I got to know her mom through that as well, and again, it’s so fun to watch little girls grow up. Kelsey has really become an impressive actress, just finishing her run as Maria in the Sound of Music. I’m so proud of her!

Allison was such a fun girl to photograph as well – I love how she was ready to jump in and do anything! What a great smile…

Senior reps are special kinds of people, and I found the coolest crew of teenagers to help me launch my senior portrait services this year. I’m going to introduce you to them, but a few at a time since there are nine all together!

Emily is a Jesuit student, and we cheated with her just a little because she was actually just a sophomore this year. But I’m not sure anyone would know that she’s younger than the rest of my senior reps! Emily is my dear friend Patrick’s younger sister, and I remember working on projects at their house during high school, and Emily would always be tagging along. We even have one of our dance pictures with Emily in it!
Since the days of the old school projects, Emily has seriously grown up. She has become the most lovely girl, and it was a pleasure to photograph her. You may be seeing Emily as a senior rep next year again since she’s a member of the class of 2011!

Ana & McKenzie go to Southridge High School, and they are the kind of girls who make me just a little jealous. I was nowhere near as cool or as put-together as they are when I was in high school, but these chicks have it going on. I’ve also known Ana for a long time (we were next door neighbors for a long time, and her mom was my first grade teacher). Ana also spent time earlier this year playing soccer for Colombia’s U-17 women’s soccer team. She is such an amazing soccer player!

McKenzie came along with Ana for portraits and the three of us had so much fun. I really encourage people to bring a friend because it makes a portrait session so full of laughter and silly moments. In fact, I’m running a promotion throughout the month of April that makes it really easy to bring a friend and save money on senior portraits. It’s a 2-for-1 promotion, and it means you can split the cost of a senior portrait package (starting at $500) with a friend and you’ll both get all the things the package includes! For the starting package, that means each student gets a $100 print credit and a disc of high-resolution images, plus a sitting of both friends, both together and separately. It’s a great deal and a great way to save money by taking your photos a little early.

Hi, I’m Sara. I’m the photographer behind Sara Gray Photography and this site (although it was built with love by my husband, Eric Hensley – that’s us below in our Christmas card picture).

I’ve been so excited for this blog to launch while it’s been under construction, and now it’s finally here and I can’t wait to start posting and building a conversation with and about the lovely people I work with.

Blogging is something that I enjoy and have been doing for awhile – Eric and I started blogging when we moved to Argentina in 2008 at The Flyvemaskine Diaries, which we now keep up with a little less frequently, and I love it. I love to share, to hear back from others and to be a part of the larger discussion.

Sara Gray Photography serves clients throughout Oregon and Washington. I photograph weddings, which I think is an immense honor, and I also get to spend time with high school seniors and families.

The blog is the main part of this site now, but remember that you can also use the navigation bar above and the sidebar to get to the information you could access before – from subscribing to my e-mail newsletter (which is quarterly, not annoying and usually offers a contest or giveaway) to seeing galleries of my favorite portfolio photographs and having the option to contact me.

Until next time, enjoy this blog, feel free to comment and be part of the conversation, and contact me if you’d like to be on the other side of my camera!