The Barker Family | Lifestyle Family Portraits | Gabriel Park, Portland OR

Posted on May 14, 2015

I get so excited when I get to photograph this sweet family, not only have they been good friends of mine for years but I swear they CANNOT take a bad picture. It’s kind of ridiculous. Needless to say I get all giddy whenever they book a session.

On a sunny afternoon this past March we met up at one of their favorite parks for Zoey’s two year photos. I cannot believe this cute girl is two! I love watching her grow and capturing the love of this family. Gabriel park holds extremely special meaning to Jeff and Nikki, not only is it a place they bring Zoey to play on a regular basis but a beautiful bench in memory of one of their good friends is located here and they explained that they always go to visit “Uncle Phil’s bench.”

I had a seriously difficult time narrowing down which photos to include in this post. I love them all.

The Bailey Family | Lifestyle Family Portraits | Harrisburg, OR

Posted on May 6, 2015

I always look forward to photographing this family. They are so real. So genuine.

I’ve known Robyn for years, having grown up with her sister Traci, and reconnected with her and her husband Andy a few months after their gorgeous twin girls Lily and Emma came home from the NICU after having a rather rough start to their little lives. Actually a rough start is putting it mildly. During Robyn’s pregnancy they were given a less than 1% chance of their girls surviving. Although I was not in direct contact with Robyn at the time, Traci had shared with me what was going on and my heart ached for this family. Along with countless others I prayed daily that these sweet girls would continue to fight, I remember when Traci told me the girls had both come home from the hospital. I cried tears of happiness for the miracle that was these little girls. I immediately told Traci I wanted to gift them a photography session to celebrate this amazing time, the day so many told them would never come. Both of their precious baby girls had come home from the hospital.

We arranged a day to meet for that first session and the rest, as they say, is history. That was in September of 2012. Nearly three years and multiple photo sessions later I have come to know and love this family so very much. Robyn has been an amazing and true friend to me, being there for me in so many countless ways I cannot even begin to count. I love her as my own family and love watching her sweet kiddos grow up! It has seriously been a challenge trying to narrow down which photos to include in this blog post! I look at these photos and I see real life, there is no pretense, there is no posing for the camera.. Just them, being real.

For this session we decided to meet at a play ground connected to an old school along Coburg Rd out by Harrisburg. I knew it would be the perfect place to start, let the kids run some energy out and of course snap some amazing photos. After the playground we headed down the road about a mile to Andy’s cousin’s house where we caught some beautiful late afternoon rays and played in the field. “Wish” flowers were among a favorite of the kiddos that day as well as making sure we got some good photos with a beloved green frog that came along for the session. This family never ceases to keep me on my toes! I love how this fun and crazy session turned out.