Smith Family Session ~ Oregon City Family Photographer

I love it when there is a specific theme or vibe to a session - it really helps us tell a story about a family, couple or individual. When their own personalities or lifestyle are shown throughout the session, we think it really goes a long way to making that experience of their session even more special and memorable, and in turn, making the final product - the photographs - that much more real and truly them.

This family loves horses, cowboy & cowgirl boots, and an overall country feel. And they really let that part of their lifestyle show through their wardrobe choices, location, and personalities.

First Newborn Session ~ Oregon City Newborn Photographer

Here at Raining September Photography, we are so happy to announce our first newborn session AND first indoor session! It was so fun! Mommy brought lots of props and interesting ideas for us to try and we had a blast posing little G in different baskets and blankets with different backdrops and props.

Little G was such a sweet, adorable baby and we loved working with him and his mommy. What a great first experience it was - for everyone!

Little Brother & Big Brother ~ Oregon City Child Photographer

We love photographing families and siblings - especially when they get along as well as these two! Sometimes it really helps to have the other siblings present to help get the best and most natural smiles possible.

In this case, Little Brother loved to watch Big Brother, and Big Brother loved to try to make Little Brother smile and laugh. Big Brother jumped around and made funny noises and faces at Little Brother while I quietly snapped away. It worked wonders! Not to mention it made our job easier so we could focus more on capturing all the little moments and expressions it created.

When it came to Big Brother's turn, we had to find out what made him laugh all on our own. Once again, you never know what's going to make a kid laugh. We found a sandy area to use as a backdrop for a 'beach themed' setup their mommy brought. We were clearing leaves and debris away from the sand, and I found a few cigarette butts lying around. "Eew, gross. A cigarette," I said as I flicked it away. Big Brother asked what it was and I told him it was an "EEW-GROSS-NASTY-CIGARETTE". He cracked up and started giggling.

He also found the thought of Batman in his underwear funny.

So we then started saying things like "I seen batman smoking a cigarette in his underwear!" And "Batman is smoking a gross cigarette inside my camera! Can you see him? Eew, how gross!"

He thought that was hysterical:

Miss D's 3 Year Sesh ~ Oregon City Child Photographer

Being a photographer can be very rewarding and fun. But sometimes it can be hard. Sometimes you get a little one who is camera-shy and wont even look you in the eye when you try to engage them. This can be very frustrating since I try my hardest to get the most natural smiles possible.

I found the best way to help them overcome their shyness is to get down to their level and keep talking to them. Ask them things like "What's your favorite TV show?" or "Who's your favorite super hero?" If that doesn't work, try making funny faces at them and have them try to copy you. Sometimes kids think certain things are funny that you might not expect. That's how we found out what makes little miss D laugh. I went through all the funny, or happy faces I could think of, so I asked her if she could show me her "sad face", and I made a really sad face and pretended to cry. She burst out with laughter; giggling and smiling. So for the next hour and a half, her mommy and her auntie were behind me "crying" and making each other "cry" to get her to laugh,smile and giggle.

I'd say it worked like a charm! Check out her adorable preview:

The Dale Kiddos ~ Oregon City Child Photographer

We LOVE to work with returning clients. It's great to develop a relationship with someone and have that trust with them so they want to come back and work with you in the future. 

Remember these little lovelies from last year?

Their mommy wanted to update her walls with current photos of her kiddos since the little ones change so fast.

We started out in a beautiful orchard, with the afternoon sun filtering beautifully through the trees. Then we headed to a lovely park with rolling hills of summer grass and large oaks for shade. We were able to capture some really wonderful shots of the kiddos at both locations. The august heat was sweltering; hovering around 90o degrees for the entire two and a half hour session. Their mommy was kind enough to take us all out to ice cream before heading home. It was a well-deserved, cold treat for everyone - especially the kiddos - and a great way to end to a fun, although hot, summer session.

Enjoy the preview:

Best Friends ~ Oregon City Teen Photographer

We had the wonderful opportunity to photograph a group of lovely teenage girls. This was probably one of the most fun sessions we've ever done! Great friends sure know how to make each other laugh! I got some really awesome and beautiful individual shots of each of them while the others were all behind me quoting inside jokes, funny movies and TV shows. Such a fun and sweet group of friends, and all gorgeous too - inside, and out!