3 Tips for Getting Better Photos

Capturing great images usually rests firmly in the hands of the photographer, but I have found that the people I photograph who come prepared often capture the best photos. Here are three tips you can do to improve photos of yourself: 1. The “turtle” Kathryn and I have nicknamed a method of removing double-chins in photos as the “turtle”. The “turtle” is a method of elongating your chin towards the camera. Think of it like pushing your face away from your neck then lowering your…

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Photo recreation, Richard Weddle story

Occasionally we get a client who wants to recreate a photo. I especially like the recreations that are funny because of the posing or styling of the original. Today’s post features the photo of two brothers as young children. They contacted us and told us about the photo, saying it was going to be funny to remake and indeed it was. Obviously the brothers were older and the younger wouldn’t even fit in the photo like the original, but we posed them. They brought a…

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Secret Beach Engagement

Have you ever heard about a secret wedding engagement? Sure, oftentimes the person proposing willkeep it a secret until they are ready to pop the question, but in the case of one groom-to-be, he thought ahead. He planned how he was going to propose to his future wife and decided to whisk her away to the Oregon Coast for a vacation where he would propose for her hand in marriage. But that’s not all. He also wanted that memory to be a special surprise for…

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The best weather conditions for portraits

My favorite weather conditions to take portraits in is when it’s cloudy. Can you believe it? Bright sun definitely makes for a boost in morale, but it’s really the days when it’s cloudy that I prefer to take portraits in. Why is that, you ask? When it’s cloudy, the light is spread out better and colors are more even. If you’ve ever been in a photo studio, you might have noticed those large white screens. Those screens are small versions of clouds. Light is bounced…

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3 Posing Tips for Your Portrait Session

Part of the reason why I love photography is because I don’t have to be in front of the camera =-). If that sounds like you too, then I have some important advice for you that I’ve learned from being in front of the camera that can make your portrait session much more rewarding. Be yourself One of the best things you can do to improve your portrait shoot is to be yourself. Really! From behind the camera, it’s very obvious when my subject is…

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3 Things to Know Before Scheduling Your Spring Portraits

Natural light is your friend Have you ever had a photoshoot scheduled and it looks like it’s going to rain shortly before your outdoor-Oregon family photo session? Don’t worry too much about it, call your photographer up and see if they think it’ll still be a good time to take photos. If the weather is like many Spring days in Oregon are, there is likely a chance that that dull gray sky will actually enhance your photos. I like to think of those dull gray…

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What does a typical wedding ceremony look like?

Wedding Ceremony at the Oregon Gardens by Photos By Orion

You’re engaged, planning your wedding, and are super excited to start meeting with vendors. You’ve taken care of everything, right from the kind of venue to the wooden watches you are going to gift. They ask you about your ceremony and you suddenly realize you have no idea how to put together a wedding ceremony! You start to freak out as you add yet another thing to your list of to-do’s that is already a mile long, and things as decoration of a wedding photographers…

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Getting started on your wedding photo “Must Have” list

Your “Must Have” list is a very important part of your wedding planning. It not only determines the amount of time you need for your photography, but it also helps you with your timeline planning, with the order of events, with knowing if you need one or two photographers, and if there are other options like bridal portraits that will help you keep your wedding on track and on budget. The list given below is a general list that I have used to help my…

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Spring portrait opportunity

Child's specialty portrait at Bush Pasture Park under blooming tree

Spring time is nearly here and that means there will be some great opportunities for outdoor photography in Salem. One such location that I really enjoy taking photos of families at is Bush’s Pasture Park. Bush’s Pasture Park is a 90 acre park located just south of downtown Salem. It has several sports fields, including Willamette University’s track and field stadium, a soap box derby track, running trails, open fields and play structures. But that’s not all. It also contains several gardens including a rose…

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After a bridal show: Now what do I do?

So you just got back from a bridal or wedding show. You have tons of materials from all sorts of vendors and you are on wedding overload! You are probably asking now what do I do?!? If you read our previous article Bridal Shows: 5 tips for couples then you are prepared for this moment and I recommend you skip to step 3 and take a week or two off! If you haven’t read that article that is ok, there are a couple steps to…

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