American Cancer Society Hope Ball | Camp Ukandu

A couple weeks ago I was asked to donate a session to the American Cancer Society’s Portland Hope Ball auction, a fundraiser for Camp Ukandu, a medically-supervised camp for kids with cancer.  Of course I jumped all over that and asked if there is anything in addition that I can do to help.  Turns out some of the board members needed headshots for their website, wo I had the pleasure of meeting them and doing some quick portraits.

These three striking gentlemen donate a lot of time and energy to helping kids and families who have been dealt a very difficult hand in life.  It is my goal to continue to be involved and to help in any way I can!

Portrait of Three Generations | Edgefield | Portland Family Photographer

When I was considering locations for this family of eight, it occurred to me what a spectacular location Edgefield would be for a portrait.  I got married there, so I already know some good locales for portraits, plus it’s fall and there is beautiful foliage and interesting details to spice up the photos. I was patting myself on the back for thinking of such a cool and interesting location.

Well… turns out I am one of MANY who thought of this idea that same day!  It was a spectacular fall day when we took these photos, and I didn’t just see a couple of other groups doing portraits there–I kid you not there were at least 10 photographers there.  I think a lot of them were doing some last-minute seniors since the yearbook deadlines are approaching as well as families doing holiday portraits.  Lots of portraits to be done this time of year!

I had a lot of fun with this family, especially the two middle-schoolers.  They remind me of my art students, totally cool kids! You can see why photographers choose Edgefield; look at the beautiful color in these photos:

For this shoot, I used my Canon 5D Mark II with a 24-105 mm zoom lens for versatility.  The light was perfect, and I was able to stay at 100 ISO without adding light with a flash or even a reflector.  Sweet  🙂

Maternity Portrait in Studio | Kelly & Ryan | Portland OR Maternity Photographer

As I was working on these maternity photos for Kelly & Ryan, my husband informed me that Kelly, a mere four weeks away from her due date, looks about as big as I looked at 5 months pregnant.  I might have been mad except it’s totally true!

We did these photos in my SE Portland studio, some with a 6-foot single softbox and some with natural window light.  I used my 50 mm 1.4 lens for almost the entire shoot as usual… LOVE it.

Congrats Kelly & Ryan, can’t wait to do your newborn baby girl pics in December!