Can you believe it’s already the end of July? I’ve been slammed with wonderful weddings in the past month and they’ll continue into August, so picking a favorite photo this month was really tough – especially since Marc, the groom in my July 4 wedding, stopped in the middle of his portrait posing, turned to me and said, “This better be the photo of the month.” No pressure!

Well, Marc, I’m sorry to let you down. I do adore your wedding photos, but you’re not the focus of my favorite this month.

This is Anna – she also got married in July and she was loads of fun. I love this photo because of the spontaneous moment. She was leading her bridal party across the street, I’m not sure she even saw me in front of her, and she was totally engrossed in the moment and how fabulous she felt. I love the city buildings behind her, the vibrant colors of her bouquet and the look on her face.

I took this photo with my Canon 50D, fitted with my 50mm f/1.4 lens. I snapped it at f/2.2 and with a shutter speed of 1/400 on a beautiful Northwest overcast day.

Happy August tomorrow! Check back for a great giveaway tomorrow on the blog!

Over the last month or so, I’ve been working with my dear friend Michael Ward from Solo Films on a video about me and what I do. I’m so pleased to announce that it’s finished and ready to share! Check it out here and let me know what you think!

Sara Gray Photography from Michael Ward on Vimeo.

This video shows footage from Stefanie and Marc’s July 4 wedding and from one of my designer senior sessions. They were both so much fun!

When we left off yesterday, we were enjoying the eye candy of Missy & Fred, who are getting married in August. Missy charmed me with her pink dress and Fred with his dimples. They are seriously so sweet together!

I was so excited to meet these guys at last, since most of our arrangement-making has been done through their awesome wedding coordinator, Brooke from Bellissimo Wedding and Event Planning.  I’m so looking forward to working with her!

When Eric looked at the above picture, he said it would be a good one for the Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce – ha! I love it.

Love the calmness of this last one. Thanks, Missy and Fred, for coming out to play with me! I can’t wait to see you next month for the big day!

Missy is from Spokane, and Fred is from Astoria. Now they live in Portland, and next month they’re getting married. I met up with them a couple of weeks ago for their engagement session in Lake Oswego and I really enjoyed seeing how they are together.

Missy and Fred are totally laid-back and really genuine people. We picked just about the perfect day, right at sunset as the sun gets warm and yellow.

I’m really looking forward to Missy and Fred’s wedding, which is going to be in Astoria at the end of August. What a great looking couple!

Stay tuned tomorrow for more of Missy and Fred’s engagement session!

When Catherine called me to tell me she had purchased one of my family portrait sessions at the NATAS auction in Seattle, I asked her how many people would be in her family portrait. “Umm…27?” she said, and I think I may have laughed a little. But it was such a blast meeting Catherine’s extended family, during their big family vacation in Gleneden Beach, Oregon.

This family is the product of two twin brothers – one of them was with them on their vacation this time, and the other missed the trip. They’re spread out on the west and east coasts – aren’t they a great-looking family? Check out their individual families, too:

I couldn’t have asked for more beautiful light, a greater beachy area to shoot in and a more cooperative and sweet family (and they’re Cougs!) Look at all those kids.

One last picture – check out Catherine and her husband having a “Toyota jump” moment (I had to explain to her kids what that meant – now it’s the “High School Musical” jump):

Thank you, Catherine and family, for supporting NATAS and for having me be a part of your family photos!

Here’s some more fun images from Anna and Alex’s Russian wedding, which was loads of fun. Look how fierce Anna is in this photo below – she knows how to work it for the camera!

Their ceremony was so sweet, held at Mt. Tabor park. The rain actually held off until after all our portraits and the ceremony were complete, and after all the guests had made it safely into the undercover area at the park.

Congratulations, Anna and Alex – you started off your married life with style, and I wish you many happy years to come!

Alex and Anna’s wedding was a total blast, due in part to these girls, her stunning bridesmaids Helen, Virginia and Evelina:

The entire wedding party climbed up (even in their heels and dresses) onto this windowsill at least six feet up for some portraits before the wedding. It was awesome – they were committed!

We had lots of fun early in the wedding day in the Pearl District, shooting and playing and hanging out with this fun bridal party.

So much fun! Check back tomorrow for the conclusion of this fun wedding day – including snippets from the part where it rained!

Some people say it’s good luck if it rains on your wedding day. I guess that’s a good thing to believe when you live in Oregon. But it didn’t seem to bother Anna and Alex at all when the rain came on theirs – besides, it gave us beautiful light on the morning of their wedding for portraits!

I tagged along as second photographer at this wedding with my friend Brandon Perron – we had so much fun with this bridal party! They were game for anything, as you’ll see.

Seriously, aren’t Alex and Anna a great-looking couple? Not only them, but when you see their wedding party you’re going to be blown away. Hotties, every last one.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more of this fun wedding!

Back in 2001, when I was starting my senior year of high school, I had my senior photos taken. I know what the process is like. It’s you and a photographer, sometimes your mom comes to watch and tell you when you make a weird face, and you have a set of photos that commemorate what you were like at age 17.

The only problem is, that’s not what I was like when I was 17. The essence of seniors in high school is not in stiff poses, in beautiful backdrops (although those are nice) or in getting a student on their own. My essence was about youth, humor, energy and laughter – and I think that’s true for most high school seniors.

With that, I’m officially introducing my new Designer Senior Sessions. It’s a totally new way to have your senior pictures taken, that takes the best parts of you and makes them into beautiful images that will remind you when you’re much older what the essence of being a teenager was like.

Here’s how these sessions work: they’re based in fashion photography with a dash of photojournalism, so it’s all about you. You bring your friends (3-7 of them) and you all have your photos taken together, while you horse around, laugh and have a great time.

I build each of these sessions totally custom around an original concept – a touch football game, a camping trip, laying by the pool, having a gigantic slumber party, etc. Then I bring in hair and makeup artists who will primp you, you’ll listen to music and have snacks with your friends and we’ll take lots of fun photos. Afterward, you’ll have a great set of photos of you on your own, as well as fun pictures of you with your friends that you can keep and treasure once you’ve headed on to college. These sessions are longer than an individual session, which ensures that you get just as much individual attention as you would without all your friends around.

So, what are you waiting for? Senior photo season is upon us now, and I’m booking designer senior sessions throughout the rest of the summer and into fall for the class of 2010. They start at $400 if you want your very own designer senior session, and at $350 per student when you come with your friends (which is what makes it fun!)

Note: If you’re interested in a designer senior session and you aren’t a Portland-area senior, let me know! I would love to line up some sessions out of town – give me a shout and we’ll line it up!

Click on “Read More” to see Stefanie and Marc’s slideshow.

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