Fifth Birthday Session-Newberg/Portland Area Photographer

May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young." -Bob Dylan

I first met Miss E when I photographed her for her 3rd birthday session at the super fun Rocket Fizz (http://www.rocketfizz.com/). At three, she was filled with a playful spirit which was so fun to capture.

 

I also got to photograph her for her fourth birthday session where she got to dress -up as a princess and twirl. At first she was reserved and I knew her silly, playful personality was still there but I enjoyed seeing this other side of Miss E. Some of my favorite photos from this session were where she was showing her quiet, hesitant side. 

Miss E recently celebrated her fifth birthday and I am so honored to be chosen again to document this special time. This time we choose the beautiful Camp Tilikum as our location (http://camptilikum.org/). Miss E showed up ready and excited for her time in front of the camera. This girl is a natural! Her personality just shines. Fun, sweet, silly, smart and playful.  I love how the photos turned out and I love reconnecting with people that I photographed previously. Especially little ones, it's fun to see their personalities flourish.

Happy 5th Miss E!  Go fourth and rock your sixth year!!

Thrasher Family Session- Newberg/Portland, Oregon Photographer

“You don’t raise heroes, you raise sons. And if you treat them like sons, they’ll turn out to be heroes, even if it’s just in your own eyes. ”

— ~Walter M. Schirra, Sr.

Do you remember Nichole? I blogged about her here:

http://www.nanci-staley-vf4u.squarespace.com/new-blog/2015/5/5/photographing-another-photographers-headshots-portland-area-photographer

Nichole owns Lavoie Photography in Newberg. She specializes in High School Senior Portraits, she also photographs newborns, children, families and weddings.

I admire Nichole. She is down-to-earth, friendly, business savvy and a fantastic photographer.  Her eldest son recently graduated from High School and will be heading off this summer for his new life adventure. Therefore, Nichole needed some updated family portraits and she choose me as her photographer. Me. She choose ME! Do you know how special that has me feeling? I am so honored to be chosen by this uber talented photographer.

The day of our session the temp was in the mid 90’s which is really warm for the PNW. Being that I am from Sacramento where the temperature in the summer can get into the 100’s, I get a chuckle when it is in the mid 60’s in Oregon and I feel like I am melting from the heat. So yeah, the 90’s is hot for most of Pacific Northwesterners. Although we were hot, Nichole and her men were awesome. There were no complaints and they are a really photogenic family, which made my job pretty smooth sailing.

Because Nichole is a professional photographer herself, we focused on getting shots of her with her four men. We started with her youngest, Nathan, and oh.my.goodness is he a lovebug! I could eat him up! He loves his momma, is affectionate, has a huge adorable smile and specifically asked for photos of him kissing his momma.  It cannot get better than this! Next was their middle son, Drew, who was quiet, respectful and a total natural in front of the camera, just look at that smile! Then was Sean, their eldest. Sean will be starting a new chapter in his life this summer, he has joined the military and I know his dad and mom are so proud of him! All three of these young men were so respectful, easy to talk to, smart and kind. To be frank, I felt a wee bit blue when I came home. I felt sadness because these three young men had me again realizing how little time we parents really have with our kiddos under our care. When I got home I just wanted to pick them up, shrink them and stuff them into my heart and keep them there forever. Yet my three little boys were all tucked in their beds. My eldest was in bed but not asleep, the other 2 were in dreamland.  I asked my eldest to come to me. I held him. I squeezed him tight and I shed some tears while holding him. I told him repeatedly that I love him, that I am proud of him and that he is special. We can never say this enough.

One of my favorite images from the session is of Nichole and her husband Frank. They are a team. And together they are doing a wonderful job raising these boys into men. Both of them are hard workers, striving to do the best they can for their family and each other. Frank works full time AND is in school. I imagine that he is tired but I would not have known. He is easy to talk with, chill, and seemed to me to be a ‘happy-go-lucky’ guy.

Thank you so much Nichole for choosing me to photograph your family! Seriously, Your family rocks and I will continue to look to you for advice on raising my 3 sons.

Go forth, snap and rock on!