Salem Portrait Photographer - holiday self-portrait!

Last month, I rented the Gray Lab (a public use studio, near mine) for some holiday mini sessions. The space works SO much better for families/groups than my own studio, plus they have awesome furniture and I didn’t have to do any Christmas decorating! Since I had some extra time leftover, I decided to do some self-portraits. I’m not a fan of being in front of the camera and I’m even less of a fan of sharing photos of myself, but here we are. I force myself to do this every so often, though, both for the practice and to prove my existence, since nobody else in my family ever seems to take any photos.

Anyway, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

Salem Portrait Photographer - Look what I did (self-portraits)!

This is Wanda, a 1960 Aloha camping trailer. I purchased her in the summer of 2019, with plans to convert her into a mobile photo studio/ photo booth. It took a little over a year to complete, but it turned out every bit as cute as I had imagined!

Before she looked like the above photo, though, she looked like the photos below. Wanda was in BAD shape! Two of the windows were broken, the inside was disgusting, the outside needed a paint job, the door was full of rot, and the whole back end was flapping in the breeze, as we dove it home. We also learned later that the axl, hubs, and wheels all needed to be replaced (cha-ching!). Good thing I only paid $1100 for it!

I should probably make a BIG clarification, before I go any further…. Although my blog post title says to look at what --I-- did, the majority of the work was done by my husband. I helped wit the tear out, the painting, and then the finish work at the end (i.e. making it pretty). Ben, however, did all of the re-building of the walls and ceiling (which were torn down to the studs), as well as the sub-floor. He completely re-wired the entire trailer, installed new lights (inside and out), as well as installed a new power hookup (to plug it in to a generator or an outlet). He even laid the luxury plank vinyl I picked out.

We didn’t waste any time tearing everything out, as we had it done by the next day! As you can see from the photos below, it also got worse, before it got better!

I forgot to take photos during the re-build process, but here she is, all prettied up!

Last fall, I rented an airbnb out in Scio, Oregon. The owners were kind enough to let me park the trailer on their property (and hook it up to power), in order to do some photo shoots with Wanda (the photos right above this were taken at that location). I did a a few boudoir sessions, as well as some family sessions, and an engagement shoot. When all was said and done, I decided to set up my tripod and take some self-portraits.

I’m really glad I took the time to take some photos with the finished trailer, as I ended up selling it a couple of months ago. It was a difficult decision, but I just knew she was destined to do more than sit in my driveway most of the year. Plus, I had just purchased an old VW bus that we are now fixing up (Click HERE to see it!), and we needed the room in our driveway! Wanda is now living her best life with Lexi of Wild NW Goods, which is a mobile boutique based out of Eugene, OR!

Salem Oregon Portrait Photographer - monthly self-portrait project, January 2021

I’ve decided to do a 2021 self-portrait project. I’ll be photographing myself once a month for the next 11 months and posting them here. My goal was two-fold: To get myself in front of the camera more and to do something creative. I have no idea what the next 11 self-portrait sessions will hold, but January was a no-brainer.

I don’t really discuss politics within my business (and I’m not really starting now), BUT regardless of one’s political beliefs, having our first female VP is a really big fucking deal! I’ve liked Kamala Harris from the beginning…and even more so during the debates. I hope we start to hear a lot more of things like, “Excuse me, I’m speaking.”

What would self-portraits be without some outtakes? In the first shot, I was dropping my phone and saying, “shit.” The second was an accidental misfire and the last shot is just a totally out of focus shot of me being a dork. LOL!