I just wanted to give blog readers a heads-up to an article I wrote for The Wedding Guide of Europe, which is a great site if you live in Europe or are planning your wedding there. Click here to read about what your options are for hiring a destination wedding photographer!
This is only the second time I’ve done these “favorite shot” posts and it’s already getting hard. However, I stopped myself from settling on a tie. Here’s my favorite photo from this past month.
This month’s photo has already been on the blog over the past week, and it’s from Stefanie & Marc’s engagement session over Memorial Day Weekend. I can’t get enough of it.
Why do I love it? I have to tell you how fun this session was for me – Marc had just flown in for the weekend from Texas, and you could tell they were so happy to be together at last. It was palpable. Then we found this great little alley, and as these little leaves were falling all around, they stepped out into this little patch of warm sunshine, and it was like I wasn’t there. This was just one of the blissful moments that couples have. Moments like that never get old.
I shot this with my Canon 50D, fitted with the Canon 85mm f/1.8 lens. I shot at f/1.8 and a shutter speed of 1/2500.
P.S. I know it’s not officially the end of the month, but I don’t post on weekends, so the sessions I’ll be shooting this weekend will be counted toward June’s possible favorite of the month.
Now back to Stefanie & Marc’s engagement session. We met up last week in the SE Hawthorne district and explored in the beautiful weather. Marc had just barely landed to spend Memorial Day Weekend with Stefanie, so it wasn’t tough for them to have some romantic moments along the way.
In the above photo, Stefanie and Marc were kissing along this street corner when the cyclists came down the street hollering – that’s one of my favorite parts about engagement sessions in Portland.
I tried something new on this shoot, which was a lot of fun. I brought Eric along, with our new little Flip video camera, and we made a sort of fun video that shows a bit of the behind-the-scenes from the shoot. I thought this would be fun for everyone to see, especially those couples who are going to be doing one of these sessions soon and want to know what it’s like. Check this out!
Marc & Stefanie’s Engagement Session from Sara Gray on Vimeo.
The music featured on the video is from Portland-area artist Jennie Wayne. Click here to see her MySpace music page!
Thanks so much, Stefanie & Marc, for sacrificing a little of your Memorial Day weekend to come hang out with me and be photographed!
Stefanie and Marc went to grade school together. Yeah, sure, they knew each other. They knew each other in middle school too, and in high school. But it wasn’t until they reconnected at the University of Oregon that they got together. Now they’re getting married, in just a little more than a month. Hooray!
Stefanie wore this great green skirt to our shoot, which I adored. I think I told her that enough, too – my husband Eric was along for the ride on this one and he said I told her at least ten times. 
Marc is an Army man, currently stationed in Texas, and Stefanie has been a real trooper through their wedding-planning process. I remember in one e-mail, she told me, “The Army just has no concept of wedding planning!”
But this wedding planning story is approaching its happy ending, and the wedding will be on July 4. I can’t wait to see all that Stefanie has been pouring herself into these past few months. One thing’s for sure – they’re a great couple and they’ve got great things coming to them!
Check back tomorrow for part two of Stefanie and Marc’s engagement session!
In a down economy, one of the first things people cut out is their donations to charitable organizations. There are many that are hurting, and one local charity here in the Portland area that really needs continued community support is Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest.
Here’s what they do: “Big Brothers Big Sisters helps children reach their potential through professionally-supported, one-to-one relationships with mentors that have a measurable impact. Founded in 2002, Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest has become the largest one-to-one mentoring program in Oregon, the largest Big Brothers Big Sisters agency on the west coast and the ninth largest nationwide.”
They serve kids in seven local counties, including southwest Washington, and the children helped by their organization are more likely to get better grades, maintain healthy relationships and avoid drugs and alcohol. It’s a really important cause, and these people are doing great work.
So here’s the deal: for the month of June, I’m going to be doing a special promotion that will benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest. We’re calling it the “25/25″ promotion and it works like this: You call or e-mail to schedule a family portrait session during the month of June – a perfect Father’s Day gift, by the way! – and you mention Big Brothers Big Sisters. You’ll get 25% off your package as part of the promotion. Depending on the package you purchase, that’s between $100 and $250 off!
The second part is that at the end of the promotion, 25% of the profits will be donated directly back to Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest. You win, they win. It’s that simple.
Ready to get started? Go here to fill out our contact form, or call me directly at (503)927-3077 to get an appointment on the calendar, and let’s help this great organization together!
It was Memorial Day weekend last year and we just pulled into our friend Katy’s family’s house on the Hood Canal. It was just after 11 p.m., and the phone rang. “My water just broke,” Julie said. The next morning, Audrey Christine was born. Yesterday, she turned a year old!
I’ve known Julie since before I had any permanent teeth, and she met Dan in high school – we’ve known each other a long time. It’s been so fun to see them become parents and do such a great job with Audrey.
A couple of weeks ago, we headed out to the McMenamins’ Rock Creek Tavern and took some new photos for their family, so they can remember what it was like when their baby girl turned one. Pretty soon she’s going to be asking to borrow the car.
The below right photo is my favorite from the entire shoot. I love that mama-baby moment. The one on the left was Audrey’s birthday present from us (along with a copy of Shel Silverstein’s “Where the Sidewalk Ends” – it’s never too early for a little Silverstein).
I feel like Julie and I should still be sitting in the back seat of my parents’ car lipsyncing and making up hand motions to the oldies on the radio on our way to swimming lessons. You are such a great mom, Jules, and you’re a great dad too, Dan! You can check out Dan and Julie’s blog here if you want to see more of Audrey’s cuteness.
When you’re young, you have your friends, and then when you grow up you sometimes keep the same friends and you sometimes move on to new friends. Some of my favorite friends, though, are people who knew you when you were young, then met their soul mates and became even cooler friends times two. Chris and Amanda are like that.
Alright, Chris didn’t know me when he was young, but he and my husband Eric were so closely attached that “ChrisandEric” became one word. I was so happy when Chris found Amanda, because I was hoping for someone cool, and I love her, and love the two of them together.
Chris, Amanda, Eric and I spent the weekend in Tacoma, Washington last week, where we watched movies, ate and spent time together. We love hanging out with them, and we’re looking forward in November to hanging out with all THREE of them – Chris, Amanda and baby! We’re so excited for you guys and for what comes next in your lives.
Lots of these photos were taken outside “Hello, Cupcake” in downtown Tacoma, which rocked my world. Super simple, really cute pastel colors in the decorating, delicious cupcakes and a pink bike out front with a basket full of flowers! These are the things that make me a happy photographer.
Thank you, Chris and Amanda, for being such great friends – we can’t wait for the next time!
In my sessions, I often find kids who aren’t interested in being photographed, couples who feel self-conscious showing affection while I’m pointing a camera at them and more of the same. It’s a part of my job that I love, because when those people see their photos and they look better than they have before, they’re so happy.
Christine was not one of those people. She’s an aspiring model, and I had the pleasure of photographing her back in April with a group of local Portland photographers. She was loads of fun, though – she had all kinds of attitude, and was really willing to jump in and work the camera. I felt like a fashion photographer, working with such a pro!
Even though it was so fun getting such a taste of working with someone who’s a natural in front of the camera, I found myself missing the chance to try to crack a joke or take a chance to catch a natural moment. I even tried for awhile to get Christine to crack a smile – but she wasn’t having it!
Thanks, Christine, for being such a great model – for those of you who aren’t able to work a camera like that, not to worry. That’s my specialty.
I think that in the course of an average week, I see at least five of these posts all over photographer’s blogs, wedding sites etc. Many of them say the same things, and what I’ve discovered is that many of them are written based on the photographer’s own strengths. I’ll admit, I drafted a post like this where after reading it, you’d think I was the best wedding photographer for everyone. But here’s the real truth: I’m not!
There’s a certain kind of person that is my ideal client, based on what I offer and what I value. So here are the things that I think everyone should consider when shopping for a photographer, and a few things I think you should worry less about.
Important: Style
The style of a photographer affects everything. One photographer may pose you as a couple before taking shots and the other may document you interacting with each other from a distance. There are “traditional” wedding photographers, there are wedding photojournalists, there are those who process their photos in a muted-color, very “Martha Stewart” style and there are some who love the edgier look of a high-contrast photo. These styles and many, many more exist out there. There is no right answer. The right answer for you is the photos you like the most. If you see a photo on a photographer’s web site that you think you’d hang on your wall, that’s a good sign they’re a good fit for you.
Important: Personality
It’s true that on your wedding day, you’ll probably spend more time with the photographer than you will with your new spouse. So it’s pretty darn important that you get along.
Pick someone you’d be friends with otherwise, someone who gets you and who you don’t mind spending lots of time with. If you feel uncomfortable around them, head for the hills. This chemistry between photographer and client really is key – key to great pictures (no one looks beautiful when they’re tense!) and to happy, drama-free memories of your wedding day.
Not-so-important: Experience
I am not arguing that experience doesn’t matter. It does matter. But sometimes clients put too much emphasis on this when searching for a photographer.
You absolutely need a photographer who knows their equipment inside and out and has photographed weddings before. But they needn’t have been shooting weddings for years; in fact, I know some really talented photographers who are in their first or second year in wedding photography. Sometimes they have the freshest ideas, and they haven’t gotten too comfortable in their routine.
Not-too-important: Equipment
Sure, you don’t want to pay someone good money, then have them show up with a dinky point-and-shoot camera. But one of the overarching truths of photography is this: a camera does not make a photographer. Many wedding couples think that since their Uncle Bob bought a big honkin’ SLR, that he’d be a good candidate to photograph their wedding. But they’d most often be wrong. A good wedding photographer is someone who can take a stunning picture with a Polaroid camera if they need to. The tools help, but it’s the photographer’s eye you’re paying for.
In the end, it’s going to come down to what’s important to you and what you really want from your wedding photographer. Sit down with your fiance and discuss these factors before you start shopping, and you’ll know what you’re looking for once you get out there. Good luck!
I love this job because I get to meet the coolest people. One of those cool people is Darryl.
Darryl and I spent some time doing portraits on a quiet Sunday morning a few months back in the Southeast Industrial District, which is such a cool area with lots of great textures.
He was so funny – he totally made me laugh with his dance moves (check him out bouncing off that wall!) and his sense of humor.
Darryl drives a school bus in the Beaverton School District, and I bet he keeps his kids in stitches. He also coaches a high school debate team and is hoping to work his way into teaching, as soon as he’s finished with his education. Way to go, Darryl!
Thanks Darryl, for a fun shoot and for allowing me to get to know you a little better! Keep up the good work.
