We packed up our new photo booth and headed down to the Oregon Wedding Showcase for the weekend - It was a blast! I love getting to decorate my vendor area, meet all the brides to be, and talk about wedding photography. Seeing the sparkles in their eyes makes me remember how incredibly exciting it felt to be engaged. We even brought along our new favorite make-up artist Jen to help us talk with all of our prospective clients.

Since we’re now renting our Photo Booth for wedding receptions and events in and around the Portland area, we figured that this would be a great way to introduce it. Let me tell you – it was a hit!  There’s something about being behind a photobooth curtain that makes inhibitions disappear. Even the serious and/or grumpy people that stopped by to chat about wedding photography came out of the photobooth with a big grin on their face.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about when I say “photo booth,” think back to the old school booths at the fair that you squeeze into, hit the button, make silly faces, and then step out and wait for the strip of pictures to come out. It’s just like that, only better. Our photobooth is fully customizable with choices of exterior decoration, backdrop, and print-out options. I’ll definitely be posting more about it soon, and eventually it will even have it’s own website, but if you’re reading this and your interested in renting it for your reception or event, just give me a call at the studio and I can go over the details.

I realize it’s not even 10pm yet, and you may think that two days straight of talking is right up my alley (which it is), but I’m pooped and heading to bed. I’ll leave you with a few photo booth related photos from the last couple of days. Goodnight!

I had a blast doing some team pictures with the Tigard High School Volleyball team out at Cook Park a couple weeks back. I was very, very excited to hear that they wanted fun park pictures instead of cheesy team photos lined up in a gym. Among other things, they’re going to be using the photos for the large format business calendar that they’ll be selling around town as a fund-raiser. So, if you live around Tigard keep your eyes peeled for it. Also, shoot me an email if you’re interested in getting one of these calendars yourself, I’ll try and hook you up!

Those of you who know me well won’t be surprised when I say that I am a girl who loves new sparkly things, there’s no denying it.  So when I heard of MiaDonna Diamonds for the first time, my interest was definitely piqued.

I’d like you to meet Anna-Mienke, the inspiration behind these amazing creations. This may sound like an exaggeration, but she is in the process of revolutionizing the jewerly world.

You see, MiaDonna Diamonds are not earth mined, they’re created! I know what you’re thinking, but these things aren’t cubic zirconium or mossanite like the fake rocks at the stores, they’re the real deal. They’re made by fusing real diamond crystals and let me tell you from first hand experience, they are GORGEOUS! They have all the qualities of the very best earth-mined diamonds (to the point of being indistinguishable), but they’re conflict free!

Last December I shot a very fun, but very cold session of Anna-Mienke and the rest of the MiaDonna crew for their website that they’re in the process of revamping. Last week, she came into the studio for some fun fashion-y headshots. We flipped through a few issues of Glamour magazine, set up the big hair-blowing fan, and she threw it down. Lucky for me, she’s just as gorgeous as her diamonds and she made it way too easy for me behind the camera.

Here are a few from her session.

If you are fortunate enough to be chosen for a Schweiger Memorial Scholarship, you will soon discover that you are also being chosen to be part of a family. One night each year, Oregon’s Construction Industry puts work  on hold and comes together for an amazing cause.

The scholarship was formed in honor of Konrad Schweiger and his son Forrest. Konrad  founded  Advanced American Diving, a marine construction company (now Advanced American Construction) in 1983. Ten years ago Forrest died in a tragic construction accident and just three years later his father Konrad passed away as well. The company that both these men had invested so much of themselves in decided  to honor Konrad and Forrest with a memorial scholarship. Let me tell you -  it has been very, very successful.

In the scholarship’s short existence, over a quarter of a million dollars has been awarded to 119 deserving college students pursing construction related educations! It is absolutely amazing to watch the generosity and genuineness of this  group of  competitors, friends, families, owners,  suppliers, managers, and laborers as they take a night out of their lives to remember their lost colleagues while supporting their industry and all the others in it. When I call them a family it’s not an exaggeration!

I look forward to photographing this banquet every year.  At the end of the night, I always leave with a lump in my throat and a happiness in my heart knowing that even the untimely death of two amazing men can be used for such an amazing cause!