The M Family

WOW is all I can say about this family session. When Aaron first contacted me and asked about having a family session on top of Mary’s Peak, I just about died! Mary’s Peak is totally one of my top favorite locations, and the thought of running around the mountain for an hour with this family just made me so excited!

Enter the day of the session. I had a cold, wet, and windy engagement session to start the day off, but I was holding out hope that the weather would clear by the time we drove the 50 minutes to the peak. But the closer we got, the more snow piled up on the road and I quickly came to realization that this session would probably be either insanely amazing or insanely disastrous. Thankfully Aaron and Emily were already at the top when we got there, and I jumped out of my car (which was now shaking from the wind beating against it) to go talk to them. We agreed (in about 1.5 seconds) that the weather was just not our friend today and that we should head back down the mountain and see if we could find another location.

Just a few days earlier, I had been speaking with one of my co-workers at the real estate appraisal office where I work, and he told me about this adorable old bridge that he had driven past countless times. Turns out that bridge wasn’t far at all from Mary’s Peak, so when we didn’t find a satisfactory location on the mountain, I suggested we caravan over to the bridge.

The rest of the session went off without a hitch…their daughter is just the cutest thing ever and has eyes that I never wanted to stop photographing. Their son was so smiley and such a trooper through the whole thing! He even let my awesome assistant for the day (Salina with Spread Your Wings Photography) hold him for a bit while we got some photos of just Aaron & Emily. Either he’s just the happiest baby ever, or Salina is a baby whisperer…or maybe both!!

Aaron + Emily, thanks for being so flexible and such troopers throughout the whole session. Your family is so adorable and I cannot wait to get them in front of my lens again! (Just maybe this time during the summer months when we won’t be dealing with the possibility of snow and insane gusts of wind…)

❤

The Wood Family

I’ll never forget one of the first messages I got from Alicia.

                “You can practice on a friendly face!”

This came after seeing her post in the Amy & Jordan Shooting & Editing Course Facebook group, where she asked if anyone around the Bend, OR area wanted to trade family photos. I responded and said that I would love to, but wasn’t very far through the course so didn’t feel super confident shooting in this “new” style (read: light + bright + airy). But Alicia was sooo sweet, as you can see from her message above, and I am so glad that she agreed to trade sessions! I, of course, didn’t have a family with littles running around, but I did have a handsome boyfriend who I never seem to have enough photos of. ❤

We drove across the pass one Sunday early in December, and met at the BEAUTIFUL Shevlin Park in Bend. I am seriously considering a move that direction (kidding. sort of.) because of how freaking beautiful it is over there. Despite the sunshine, it was still *really* cold, but everyone did amazing, and the session turned into one of my absolute favorites. Definitely a good way to close out there year!

Alicia, you + your family are incredible, and I am so glad that we got to be in front of each other’s cameras. The photos you delivered of me + my man are GORGEOUS, and I will treasure them forever.

I cannot wait to collaborate with you again! 

❤