Serravision Photography : Portland Oregon Photographer for babies, kids, seniors portraits, head shots, maternity, family, children, newborns, and more! » Nature

Tips For Shooting Rainy Weddings

Serra — Mon, 24 May 2010 23:54:28 +0000

Who says a little rain will ruin your wedding day? This is Oregon! There’s a well known phenomenon that goes like this: Once you get the first drop of mud on your shoes, the rest is history.

At this wedding we saw it all. Glorious sunshine, light drizzle, torrential downpours, and even hail! The bride and groom have got to be some of the most carefree folks and didn’t let anything stand in their way of getting amazing wedding portraits and just plain having a fabulous day. As a result, the wedding and the portraits were a complete success, muddy feet and all. This was the most fun I’ve had photographing a wedding in a long time. It just goes to show that a positive attitude really can shape a situation.

Here’s some advice on how to handle a rainy wedding:

Wear boots! I wore my 100% waterproof Keen hiking boots and, although not the most “professional” choice of footwear, they allowed me to act professional as I ran around doing my normal thing in 3″ of muddy grass. I guarantee people would have noticed more if I’d worn “cute” shoes and tip-toed around everywhere than they noticed this.
Bring a rain shell for your camera! I found an interesting blog post about camera rain coats. In the end, I borrowed a KATA KT E-702 from Craig Mitchelldyer, who does a lot of shooting in the rain. This protective shield was essential for keeping my professional cool and putting the bride and groom before myself when it came to planning shots. I never worried whether I was standing under a tree, bumping into leaves, whether it was starting to sprinkle… I was free to focus on what mattered!
Go with the flow! If you planned to do family formals at 3:30PM and it suddenly starts raining, wait it out. I was able to do the formal shoots during dry periods without a problem just by keeping flexible and seizing the opportunities as they came up.
Keep a positive attitude! No matter what, as a hired professional your confidence level has a lot of influence over the way things pan out. Tell the bride that photos are more dramatic when it’s wet outside and that you love the weather. You’re the pro! Emphasize how much fun it all is, and you’ll have everyone following along with you! I had some of the most fun formal portrait shots in this wedding just because of the exciting and positive attitude that was infused throughout the wedding and photo sessions.

A true Oregon wedding

Going to the Dogs!

Serra — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:07:41 +0000

My Halloween was spent in the park shooting holiday card portraits with this lovely couple and their two gorgeous dogs! These guys were just the nicest clients one could hope for, and I love the outfits they chose. I always say my clients dress better than I ever could have told them to if I’d had the choice and this is a perfect example. Check out those multi-color knit leggings!

I have very little experience photographing dogs, but they worked with me and the portraits we achieved are way cute. Although I do realize I dressed up as myself which is universally considered to be rather lame, I couldn’t have asked for a better Halloween!

Preview portrait of this couple with their two dogs in the park

technorati tags : Portland, PDX, Portland Oregon, Photographer, Portrait, Couples, Pets, Umbrella, Outdoor

Nurture Head Shots

Serra — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:12:12 +0000

I believe that business head shots should really represent an individual, and should say something about their business itself. So when I was asked to take some headshots for my neighbor, who does healing, community building and gardening, it was an obvious choice to go to her garden.

It was such a fun challenge, since I wasn’t sure where the boundaries were for her on the traditional and unconventional ends of things, so I took all kinds of different photos! It turned out that she was down for all kinds of different things and as a result the session was stunningly sucessful! I love the textures and backgrounds that her plants offered. Thanks so much, Molly!

Business head shots can be fun, when you think outside the studio!

technorati tags : Portland, PDX, Portland Oregon, Photographer, Portrait, Headshots

Day at the Park

Serra — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:06:55 +0000

These kids were so much fun! They all have so much personality and I like when the personalities are all unique. Little Michael was so shy, while his big sisters loved the camera. I like to play in these situations and take more traditional shots with everyone smiling and looking at the camera as well as more non-traditional shots that are more like a slice of life and then put them together. I think their personalities really come through in this one, it turned out so cute!

Three siblings are a handful, but makes for some great possibilities!

Fall photo shoot

Serra — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 14:03:00 +0000

I just wanted to archive and share a few photos from a fall shoot with Heather.. The luck we have had with weather and lighting has been remarkable, and I love the warm but still chilly quality that this shoot has…

tags technorati : headsoff, serravision, arnold arboretum, arboretum, autumn, leaves, fall, maple

Autumn in New England

Serra — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 00:54:00 +0000

I went out to do a photo shoot today and the girl I was supposed to shoot with didn’t show up. I had been so excited to shoot the foliage that I wasn’t ready to leave without taking a few photos regardless.

So I convinced Chad to walk around with me…
and slipped in a couple of him.

But hey, it’s not like I’m unreasonable!
To be fair, I let him take some of me too

tags technorati : headsoff, arnold arboretum, arboretum, autumn, leaves, fall, maple