Portland Senior Portrait Photographer: Schedule your shoot for Winter Break!

The holidays are here and with the holidays come lots of free time and extra food (in the case of halloween make that extra candy)! I encourage Seniors who have yet to get their senior photos done to shoot me an email. Get your shoot session schedule for winter break, when Portland streets are lit up with lights and we can bundle you up with some great military jackets, american apparel hoodies and your winter boots.

I promise the rosy cheeks will look great in print ( :

Portland Senior Portrait Photographer: Joel

With Joel's yearbook photo just a week away, we were so lucky to shoot on a beautiful, overcast day. I'm not sure if I've mentioned before, but overcast days are great for shoots, because the clouds act like giant diffusers. The light rests over everything so evenly, that nothing ends up blown out, or too bright.

Anyhow, we shot in the industrial district and then over by the train station. Joel wanted a street, urban look for his photos, so we shot beneath the bridges,

Portland Senior Portrait Photographer: Ammara

I have to backtrack here soon and post the full shoots. It DOES take a while for the whole ordering process to ensue so that's part of it. I have a hard time editing all the photos before I know which one's will be ordered. ( : Sneak peaks are my favorite, because I try and select photos that give the overall feel of the day's shoot. With that being said, here's not only a peek, but a full overview of yesterday's shoot with Ammara!

Ammara was quite the comedian. She informed me before we even started shooting that she likes to make funny faces for the camera, so I prepared myself. And sure enough, here and there she would surprise me with a funny face or two. ( :

We chose this part of town for the obviously Portland backdrops, but also for the lovely overture of nature. Ammara was clear that she wanted some greenery here and there so we utilized the trees and tall grass every chance we got!

Makeup by Alisia Ray

Portland Senior Portraits: Sneak Peak with Brianna

Brianna was so fun to shoot, because I never once had to ask her to smile! She was seriously, "all smiles" all day. She requested a natural backdrop and after thinking it over for about 2 seconds I decided we should shoot at this field I recently scoped out and tucked away for something special. Brianna definitely had a Rock Star presence, despite the natural backdrop. Her florals were a nice mix with heavier accessories and ripped A&F jeans.

Here is a sneak peak from her shoot last month:

Hiatus

Although my lack of blog posts may indicated otherwise, no I have not taken a hiatus! I am still on the map people! I have been busy shooting Fall lines for the likes of Claire La Faye and just finished up a promotional shoot with Miss Oregon, USA Kate Paul. For those of you who may be interested in check out my fashion work, please check out my fashion blog.

Today's Senior Shoot may be rescheduled due to the rain, but as Portlander's we don't even consider such things a hassle! It's all a part of the NW adventure!

Marion on Marine Drive

It was difficult to select just 2 shots for this sneak peak, because Marion has so many bright, fun shots to choose from. I pick these two, because of the obvious pop of her blue eyes, picked up by her blue floral dress.

Thanks Alisia Ray for flawless makeup and hair!

Tag Team

Took some shots of two Tween friends of mine last week, Savannah and Nicole. We shot beneath some really great trees in the neighborhood, which looked even more rad because of the low light peaking through. Here are some shots from their shoot:

Back to School!

So, I hate to be the one to break the news, but SUMMER is almost OVER!!

With the bad news out of the way however, I'm excited to jump right into the super long list of of good news. Number one, Fall means back to school shopping! And with back to school shopping comes lots more outfit options including scarves, layering sweaters, jackets and the best part- boots!! (Not that us fashionistas can't bust out the boots with summer dresses though.) My ultimate fave about fall is the streets covered in crispy, orange leaves!

And for those lucky enough to be starting up their Senior Year you've got Senior Portraits to take! Which leads me to my point (yes, I'm getting to that!) which is: don't wait too long to get your Portraits taken. It sucks to miss the opportunity to take photos outside before the weather gets dreary and may I add, a bit depressing! I'm not saying that we simply can't take pictures in winter, but come on now! This is prime picture-taking time right now!

So, I hope to see more emails filling up my in box for September and October booking ( : Look forward to hearing from you!

Week in Hiatus

So sorry for taking a week off, but my cousin was in town for the week and we decided to actually enjoy some non-computer activities! ( : While you may be less interested in our many shopping expeditions and Courtney's newfound love for my enchiladas, I'm sure you'd love to see the final photos from our Portland makeover. I did post one shot of the "mini makeover" last week, but this was more extensive. I gave her the full Senior treatment, with makeup and hair!





The last one is my favorite!

Mini Makeover

With my teenage cousin in town visiting, I simply HAD to do a mini makeover on her. My friends laugh when they come to visit, because I'm always throwing my own clothes or accessories on them as we head out the door. Not to offend of course, but to accent ( :

Anyhow, when Courtney came downstairs in a jean-skirt and way too short leggings, I declared her a fashion emergency and immediately took her into my closet. As you can see below, we found a fabulous, cool-weather ensemble for her first day in Portland!

Only the Best Storage for the Best Equipment!

So, first off I'd like to say that posting on this blog everyday has been more than challenging so far. I have the content, but the time is a another story!

Today my lovely husband and I took on the task of reorganizing our storage room. The reason why decided to do THIS on a Saturday instead of, let's say, eat pizza and watch House reruns, is because we are getting ALL NEW EQUIPMENT!! (That's right! All of my summer clients can begin doing jumping jacks and carwheels knowing that I'll be working with only the best equipment from here on out.) And what better way to greet all our new goods, then with a beautiful, sparkling clean home in our storage room? Does this look like a "hello" to you?



With that in mind, we went work and about 5 hours and whole lot of recycling later, wha la! We had ourselves an actual room worth revealing!!



HELLO all my new, prime lenses. Welcome home! ( :

Makeup: On site Application

One of the most important parts of a fashion shoot is the team. 1 Fantastic team = a million great photos!! That's why I decided to employ only the best, most fun makeup artists to join the Lavenda Seniors team.


My seniors can expect to be made up and most importantly, touched up during the shoot! You won't have to worry about lipgloss smears or cakey make up. Your job will be to have fun, relax and enjoy the shoot.

So don't forget! This is the only place in Portland where you get the fashion expertise + the experience of a supermodel!!

Scouting Locations

One of the essential parts of a photo shoot is location. Location helps you tell a bigger story, especially with portraits, because your usually telling a personal story.
For instance, when I was scouting for this floral inspired editorial, I knew I needed a backdrop with history. Something that felt romantic and would not clash with our pixie concept. When I found this beautiful vineyard, I KNEW I'd found the ideal location.

The most important part about shooting on location, is making sure you get permission to shoot. I like to call ahead if it's iffy. I won't go into the details now, but I was cited at a shoot once for trespassing, which was not clearly marked!
The fun part about location scouting is that it does NOT have to necessarily be penciled in! I find myself checking out fields, buildings and streets no matter where I am! The key is to write down the addresses so that you remember them later.
Here are a couple final shots from the vineyard:

I was recently inspired to get my butt back into blogging. And not just weekly- DAILY. There is something to be said for a dedicated bloggist, like Jasmine Star, who has a carreer, a husband AND a dog. If you just substitute her dog for my Ella... WHA LA! We've got the same formula!

This means some major calendar clean up on my part. Not to mention a fun list of post subjects!! (Which I've already begun on my Macbook sticky note). If you've got a subject in mind, please share!! I'm all ears and ready to be an open book!

Email Issues through Website

Sending an apology out to all of you who tried to email me through my website last month. Apparently, it was routing them to the wrong address. I have updated everything however, so if you still have not heard from me by today, please try it one more time!

Thanks for your patience ( :

xoxo

4th of July

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July! We will be running our first facebook ad starting next week, which will hopefully get the word about Lavenda Seniors into the right hands (and facebook pages)!!

We look forward to a busy August ( :

Skin Retouching

Looks like all of my Senior Reps are doing a fantastic job representing Lavenda Seniors! Our traffic numbers and up on both the blog and the website, which means lot's of browsers and interest in Senior Sessions. Just remember, the sooner you book- the better!

I have had some questions about the different between "editing" and "retouching" and decided to give a few examples of what I do. Most photographers edit their photos to a certain extent, including color correcting and adding a bit of depth and contrast to the shots. Many Senior Photographers end their editing here.

Lavenda Seniors offers professional skin retouching on EVERY photo you order for print! We use the same techniques reserved for fashion and commercial shoots to give our Seniors a BETTER, more authentic product. Our end goal is to give our seniors a truly natural texture, blemish free! (In other words, no glamour shots... less IS more!)

Example one: You can see lighting, color and skin retouching in subtle details.


Example two: You'll notice in the example, that I even fixed her hair afterward.

Example three: Our skin retouching techniques are more obvious in this example.

As you can see, coming to Lavenda Seniors with a break out (or two!) does not mean a canceled shoot ( :

Rompers

I was SOOO excited to see short, rompers become so popular! I remember seeing old polaroids of my mom and aunts wearing them in the 70's. Just one more item to add to our ever-growing closets!!

Anyhow, here a few of my favorites. Price points starting as low as $20! ( sorry, I couldn't find a picture of my own romper, found on sale last month at abercrombie. )

Trend Page: Florals and Leather

It was so much fun shooting the 2010 Rep's and seeing everyone's various fashion statements. From bohemian vintage to preppy conservative, I shot some very distinct styles. I was not surprised to note that several must-have items could swing from one style to another with taste. Say "hello" to florals and leather:

Selena Gomez looks great in exaggerated florals.


And Taylor Swift pulls of florals both on and off the stage.


Here is our teen rocker, Taylor Momsen, who has been seen wearing several leather jackets with everything from plaid to denim.


And Demi Lovato has the perfect blend of florals and leather. (second photo from fashion editorial).


We must never forget about essential accessories...
Jewelry found on Etsy's HotPinkChick (We LOVE to support Etsy's handmade sellers!)
Bag: Versace
Shoes: Hatty and Moo


What is your favorite floral, and/or leather piece???

*Since Lavenda Seniors is a direct creation and inspiration of my fashion background, I would like to establish this blog as reference for current TEEN fashion. So, you'll be seeing LOTS trend pages from now on!

Senior Rep: Maddi

Wooohooo! I am posting our very last 2011 Senior Rep shoot!!! Summer is trying to push through these rainy days and once the sun starts shining, I'm expecting all of you Seniors out there to contact me about your shoot sessions ( :
Remember, we are professionals with a fashion background, here to make you look your best and have a blast doing it!!
Anyhow, Alisia Ray and I made the beautiful drive to Eugene a couple weeks back for Maddi's shoot. We arrived at Ariel's stall (Ariel is the name of her fabulous horse) where we had makeup done via Alisia's awesome traveling kit!
Maddi was definitely in her element and we even got some good shots of Ariel!
Anyhow, take a look for yourself. And be sure to ask about our traveling fees for those of you outside of Portland's metro areas ( :