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Sammamish, Washington Senior Portrait Photographer- Meghan- Skyline High School Class of 2016

7/29/2015

I'm so excited to share Meghan's first set of senior pictures with you all! Our original plans for our location needed to be quickly changed on the spot, due to a large festival taking place where we had originally planned to meet. Meghan and her parents were troopers, and we came up with another great location to shoot a first set of Senior Photos- Beaver Lake Park, in Issaquah/Sammamish! When we got there, there was a large wedding taking place, but this didn't stop us from catching some amazing shots! With all the bustle of people around us, Meghan was the perfect model, never failing to present her most beautiful, confident self. As you can see from these photos, her beauty truly sparkles from the inside...

We decided to break her initial picture session into two parts, so that we could still get photos at our originally planned location. This means I will have even more pictures of this beautiful girl to share with you all next month. Meghan, thank you for trusting me to take your senior portraits. You are amazing!

Speaking of next month... August 1st begins a marathon of Senior Sessions, family sessions, and even a wedding! I couldn't be more excited! Look for many more blog posts in the coming weeks!

Tessa

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Sammamish, Washington Senior Portrait Photographer: Blair- Skyline Highschool 2016

7/10/2015

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I can honestly say that Senior Portrait season is close to my favorite time of year! I love getting to know my Seniors, and I get so excited when my camera catches them in some of their most beautiful and confident moments. I was lucky enough to take Blair's Senior photos a couple of weeks ago, and I was thrilled when she chose Gasworks Park in Seattle for her session. It was a HOT day, but the breeze off of Lake Union made our evening a wonderful treat. Gasworks has such a variety of areas to shoot at, and we got so many different looks. Blair was a natural! She has such a fun personality. I seriously didn't want to stop shooting!

Blair, Thank you so much for allowing me to take your Senior Portraits! You are so awesome, both inside and out, and I can't wait to hear about the amazing things you are going to do in life!

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Sisters, friends, and flower crowns...

6/30/2015

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You may have noticed that my sister, Bella, is featured in many of my photos. She is my "go to" model when inspiration hits me between client shoots. And, she has an endless supply of adorable friends who are usually willing to join her. This latest shoot with her friend, Charlie, is one of my favorites yet. It was a last minute plan, the sun was beautiful, and we headed to Sammamish Commons Park to take pictures. These girls are honestly both SO SWEET and SO BEAUTIFUL at the same time. All I can say is watch out world!

Charlie has the most beautiful red hair and the cutest freckles! And she has an amazing personality to match...

And my little sister is not so little anymore. I love you so much, Bella!

I know we will be taking pictures forever and ever <3

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Beautiful Sara

6/28/2015

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This beautiful girl helped me to kick off the 2016 Senior Season! She chose my favorite location, and she even brought her dog, Biscuit. :) I love when pets make it into a Senior session!

She had her make up professionally done before the photo shoot, and WOW! It really helped to highlight her natural beauty in her photos!

Yay for Biscuit! He was happy to make it into the photos, and I'm always happy to include these special family members.

Thank you, Sara, for allowing me the privilege of taking your senior portraits! You did an awesome job!

I'm so looking forward to my upcoming senior sessions!

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Finally! Tessa's # 1 favorite portrait location...

2/13/2015

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I've been busy, busy with school lately, but I couldn't wait to get to my number one favorite portrait location (so far, that is...I'm always looking for new awesome places to shoot!) Right now, may favorites have been: 5. Sammamish Commons Park 4. Bellevue Botanical Gardens 3. Tolt MacDonald Park 2. Gasworks Park and finally...

#1: Juanita Bay Park in Kirkland. I first discovered this location when one of my Seniors asked to have her pictures taken there. It was a beautiful late summer day, and when I arrived at the park, I found photographers all over. It quickly became clear that this park was a favorite for MANY photographers, and I could most definitely see why. The colors were beautiful, and the number of great spots for portrait taking were endless.

After that shoot, I returned time and time again. As the seasons changed, so did the scenery in the park, but each change brought equally beautiful opportunities for amazing pictures.

Families, Seniors, Couples, Kids... This spot is perfect for any kind of portrait!

And of course, it's become a favorite spot for me to photograph some of my very favorite people... a.k.a. my big sister and my baby sister...

So, there you have it... My #1 favorite portrait taking spot for now. I'm headed back there tomorrow to shoot a family session! I expect it will be as beautiful as ever. I can't wait to take pictures there as winter turns to spring, and then spring to summer!

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Tessa's #2 favorite on location site for portraits...

1/24/2015

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So far, I've revealed my favorite places #5- Sammamish Commons Park, #4- Bellevue Botanical Gardens, and #3- Tolt MacDonald Park in Carnation. My next one is in the heart of Seattle. It has an amazing industrial feel, and yet, you can get the Space Needle in the background of some of your amazing portraits overlooking Lake Union. You might even get a Ride the Duck somewhere in your bokeh... ;) . So far, it has been a favorite location for my Senior boys, but I'm itching to take some Senior girls there, or better yet some couples or engagement shots there! My #2 favorite spot for portrait taking is...

#2: Gasworks Park in Seattle- This park offers so many portrait opportunities! It's a public park on the site of the former Seattle Gas Light Company. Gas Works park contains remnants of the sole remaining coal gasification plant in the US. As you walk into the park, there are wonderful cement arches that provide the first great spot to take pictures.

From there, you can move to the undercover old boiler room area. The colors are great there and I've used my reflector to bounce outside light onto the faces of my clients.

After this point, you can walk towards the water, and the opportunities are endless.

Unfortunately, the earth mound with the sun dial at the top is closed off right now for the completion of a play area that will hopefully be done soon. The top of this mound is the greatest vantage point to get the space needle in the back ground. No problem... It will just make me that much more determined to get back and shoot at this park when it opens back up.

So, girls and couples (and obviously Senior boys :) )... I challenge you to an amazing photo shoot at Seattle Gasworks Park!!!

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January 21st, 2015

1/21/2015

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My last blog post revealed my #5 and #4 favorite on location portrait spots for Seattle and the Eastside. They were Sammamish Commons Park and Bellevue Botanical Gardens. Both BEAUTIFUL spots! But, as beautiful as the PNW is, there are obviously more amazing spots for portrait taking, especially when the weather turns to our all too familiar and begrudgingly loved rainy season . My #3 spot is a bit farther east, but it has an amazing suspension bridge, and if you're not spooked by the swaying and shaking, or the height of the bridge, you are assured to get amazing pictures! There is also a river with rocks to traverse. My number three choice is...

#3- Tolt McDonald Park in Carnation, WA. Obviously, my favorite photo spot of this park is the suspension bridge. The lines it creates in the photos are absolutely fantastic.

But, there are other great areas in the park to photograph around as well. I haven't yet explored the yurts, but I bet they are awesome! If you cross the bridge, you can follow the trail down toward the river. You have to climb over rocks and such to reach the river, but when you're there, you feel like you're in a totally different spot.

Finally, back over the shaking bridge, up by the parking lot, there are amazing photo opportunities.

I love this park! Every time I add an entry, I wonder why it's not in the #1 spot! But that is reserved for my absolute favorite.

These are taking longer than I thought. I'll post #2 in the next couple of days!

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Tessa's Top 5 on location spots for portrait taking- Seattle and the Eastside (part one)

1/19/2015

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This has been an amazing year for me photography-wise. I LOVE taking portraits. More importantly, I LOVE taking natural light, on location portraits. I love the natural feel that this type of photography portrays. Photographing people out in our beautiful Pacific Northwest is nothing less than magical. Rain? No big deal. Unless it's absolutely pouring (and sometimes even then...) there is no end to the amazing shots we can get here in the Emerald City. I've settled into my favorite spots that I like to shoot, and I'll list them here. However, I know that there are endless more spots that I have left to discover, and I'm so excited to think of the endless possibilities. Here are my favorites so far:

#5- Sammamish Commons Park: OK, this park is basically in my backyard. But, honestly, it is amazing for portraits! Especially in the late summer, early fall. I took so many Senior portraits here. In the late summer, there is a wonderful P-patch that you can enter (and tread carefully in). Sunflowers, vegetables, cattails... oh my!

There is also a wonderful wooden fence along the bottom edge of the park. This fence has been a wonderful backdrop for many of my portraits.

Even without the fence, there are so many amazing spots for portraits. Some are on the walkway, some on the rock wall, some in the grass...

Ok, you get the picture. I love this spot. Mostly for the summer and fall portraits. As it gets darker and the flowers fade away, I've found myself moving to other spots in our area.

Which brings me to...

#4 Bellevue Botanical Gardens: Like Sammamish Commons Park, this location is AMAZING in the late summer and all of fall. If you can catch it just before sundown on a sunny day, the portraits are just beautiful. I even shot one senior session in the pouring rain here, and the pictures turned out amazing.

That's where I'll stop for today. It's late! I'll move on to #3 in the next couple of days. Wait for it... :)

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Looking back at 2014...

1/17/2015

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As I look back at 2014, I can't believe how lucky I've been. Not only did I get an amazing new camera and some incredible lenses, but I started college and began to study my passion: photography. I am always amazed at how much there is to learn, and I feel that this is the year that I've truly been able to grow as a photographer. Most importantly, I'm incredibly lucky to have been able to work with so many amazing people by taking their portraits. Each one of these people is beautiful, inside and out, and I am so honored to have been there to record their special moments. Now I can't wait to see what 2015 will bring. 2015... let's do this!

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Sammamish, Washington Senior Portrait Photographer- Meghan- Skyline High School Class of 2016

Sammamish, Washington Senior Portrait Photographer: Blair- Skyline Highschool 2016

Sisters, friends, and flower crowns...

Beautiful Sara

Finally! Tessa's # 1 favorite portrait location...

Tessa's #2 favorite on location site for portraits...

January 21st, 2015

Tessa's Top 5 on location spots for portrait taking- Seattle and the Eastside (part one)

Looking back at 2014...

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