Salem Oregon Elopement Photographer - surprise proposal and silver falls

I have photographed a few surprise proposals, but this one was the most special, as it was my own son doing the proposing! Karson and India met in high school, through piano lessons, so this was a long time coming. Because India and her sister have modeled for me in the past, it was easy to “trick” her into this.

Karson and I got everyone up to Silver Falls, under the guise of doing a Spring themed photo shoot. We even ordered some vibrant bouquets from Morning Glories Floral! Only, we didn’t realize there would still be snow up there until we arrived! The girls were FREEZING in their spring dresses, so we had to be quick about it. Thankfully, the hike to the spot was short.

Having India’s mom there seemed totally normal, as she’d been to all of the girls’ previous shoots (senior portraits, modeling, etc.). Karson was there to carry everything for me (and I made sure he actually did, of course).

We planned it out so that at one point Karson would walk India’s bouquet over to her, and when he did he gave her a quick kiss and then dropped to one knee. As you can see from her face, she was VERY surprised. Mission accomplished!!

Afterwards, both families met up for dinner and we had a great time celebrating their engagement! I’m so behind on blogging that it has actually been over a year since this happened!

Salem Oregon Photographer - love in a VW bus

My, with my two favorite Gingers…

Salem Oregon Wedding Photographer - vintage trailer engagement session

As you may or may not know, I purchased a 1969 Aloha camping trailer in the summer of 2019. My husband and I spent a little over a year tearing it apart (down to the studs) and then rebuilding it. Instead of a camping trailer (which we already had), we decided to turn it into a functional business space. Initially, my goal was to turn it into a photo booth and/or mobile photo studio, which it worked well for, but in the end I decided to sell it. I had just purchased my VW bus and needed the room, plus I already have a studio and don’t really have time to run a photo booth.

Wanda recently went off to her new home with Wild NW Goods, where she is living her best life as a mobile clothing boutique! My husband and I had so much fun with the project that we plan on doing it again in the near future (I’m hoping for an even smaller trailer!).

Anyway, before I sold the old girl, I manged to set up a few photo shoots with her, including this one with Cylee & Drew. We shot this on the beautiful property of an airbnb that I rented in Scio, OR, as the sun was setting on the most beautiful October day.

Salem Oregon Couples Photographer - casual fall mini session

This beautiful couple was looking extra adorable and cuddly after their boudoir session, so we took a few “PG” rated shots outdoors. They weren’t prepared for “clothed” portraits, but I think their outfits are super cute!

Salem Oregon Engagement Photographer - urban sunset session

Tracy & Jordon booked a family mini session that also served as a last minute engagement session for their elopement. We walked around in downtown Salem late last summer (2019) for this session. It was warm and the sun was setting, which just made it kind of magical.

This was a fun little thing that the kiddo did during the session. The first photo is one that I took of her, as she was taking photos of the bride-and-groom-to-be. The rest of the photos are the ones that she created with a little toy (film) camera I loaned her for the session. I really had no idea if the camera even worked and I think we used expired film. Suffice it to say, I am in LOVE with how they came out…blurriness and all.

These two shots are my favorite from the whole roll that she shot! One has massive blur and the other has a beautiful light leak. Be still, my film loving heart.

Monmouth Engagement Photographer - fall session at WOU

It’s such a small world, I swear. A few years ago I met Justin when he was a student in one of my classes. I noticed one day that he was wearing a baseball hat with my husband’s high school alma mater on it. As soon as I asked him about it, Justin knew who my husband was, based on my last name (very small school back then). Then we figure out that Sandy, Justin’s fiancée, also went to school with my husband (her sister even went to a dance with my hubby!).

Anyway, Justin and Sandy are both graduates of Western Oregon University, so they thought it was fitting to do their engagement session there. How could I argue with a location as beautiful as this?! Oh, and they brought their dog who was hands down the easiest animal I’ve ever worked with.

Salem Engagement Photographer - early morning session with Kasha & Kris

Okay, I know that “early” is defined differently, depending on who you ask. For someone, like me, who is not a morning person, I’d say anything before 9am is an “early morning” shoot. It’s not quite sunrise, but it may as well be for those of us who aren’t fully functioning until almost lunch. LOL! Having said that, I looooove early morning light in the summertime. It’s still cool outside (I avoid the heat at all costs), but sun is all warm and magical.

Kasha and Kris are a very busy couple and the only day they both had off on a regular basis was Monday. With an hour drive, they also didn’t want to have to worry about fighting evening traffic, driving back home, so morning seemed like the best option. We shot this at a park near my home, which I love for two main reasons: proximity to me and variety. The park, with all of it’s glorious trees, changes with the seasons, which means my winter sessions and my summer sessions will look drastically different, despite being at the same location. It also has a lot of little hidden spots for photos and offers a lot of different backdrops.

Salem Oregon Engagement Photographer - fall session at deepwood estates

Amanda and Keegan recently got married in the UK (sadly, I was stuck here in the states) , but I had the pleasure of doing their engagement session last year, while we still had some beautiful fall color. They were happy to drive down to Salem to take advantage of one of my fall mini session days (fall minis aren’t exclusively for families) and I was happy to see Amanda again (I’d photographed the birth of her youngest, five years earlier) and to finally meet Keegan.