Portland Fashion Photographer: La Sirène

Model: Camille C. of Q6 Models
Location: Palm Springs

Portland Fashion Photographer: Lady In Waiting

Portland Fashion Photographer: Powerhouse Series

Muah: Terri Reece, Stylist: Savannah Smith, Ryan Artists Model: Mar Shank

Portland Fashion Photographer: Texas Rain

After flying through record-breaking winds and nearly throwing up on my fellow passengers, I finally arrived in San Antonio, Texas. The city felt grey and beyond the city lights loomed an empty dessert I could only imagine. It felt more or less like Portland until we reached the first country road and then began passing so many deer I lost count. An adventure? Hell yes! The one I expected? Um... definitely not.

Anyhow, I squeezed in a FULL day of shopping at some of my new favorite stores including Barney's New York and Neimen Marcus. I had to remind myself that Christmas is around the corner and I've already got presents under the tree. Still, I was able to get away with a few new outfits that will carry me through the winter and into fall.

Here at the house we have been having fun. I woke up one morning to my brother Sam yelling at me to come see the deer. Oh, it's going to be a couple of cute little domestic deer, I thought, but no. Of course, I stepped outside to an entire COLONY (do they run in colonies?) eating gingerly from Sam's hand. Thank God the tiniest ones were smart enough to dart away. I mean, really? Domestic deer colonies?

Here are some fun shots I took of my beautiful sister, Lorinda (yes, very similar names) one rained-in-day.

Portland Fashion Photographer: American Boy

This editorial has been featured on Image Amplified!













We shot this editorial in model, Ivan Heimbuch's downtown studio. We used the natural light (which was limited) available and really tried to tell a personal story in this series. Wardrobe and hair were both me, but I feel like it came out quite nice.
_______________________
By Portland editorial photographer, Lavenda Memory.

Portland Fashion Photographer: Fun on the Job

God, I love my job! Going into work today (aka a beautiful studio space where our shoot was taking place) I had to shake off some bad energy and get into work mode. It was a teeny bit harder than usual, but seriously- there is almost nothing that can cure a bad day better than an awesome fashion shoot!

First thing first, I checked in with my beautiful model, Meredith Aledaide, and our talented makeup artist, Terri Reece, on the final direction for makeup and hair. I LOVE getting to collaborate on the overall transformation! Afterward, I looked out the designers pieces and we chatted about our inspirations for the shoot. When it was finally time to get behind the camera I was in full fledged work mode and not thinking about anything except directing something super cool and capturing the peak moments.

The cool thing about today was that our wardrobe stylist, Melissa Lechance, (along with our second model of the day, Megan Hodge) didn't arrived until her scheduled 3 hours into the shoot session... which meant that I got to take a break mid-way through the day to play with clothes and the most beautiful Solestruck shoes!

Thanks so much to the designers of all the gorgeous headpieces, Lorri and Denise!

I had an idea after lunch to set up a "photo booth" (aka my macbook) so that we could snap away throughout the day. Here are some out takes documenting our fun day:

Portland Commercial Photographer Lavenda Memory

Portland Fashion Photographer: Katie O'Grady

I first met Katie O'Grady in an acting class where she was teaching. I remember being very surprised by how tiny she is in real life. On film and in print this woman has a lot of presence so I was shocked to see her teeny frame striding through the room.
Star of the movie Rid of Me (now out in theaters), Katie is a strong, determined woman who actually produced and put tons of footwork into her current film. You know all the unglamorous work that runs on and on past the filming? Yep- Katie was there for that!
The first time I shot Katie was for the Cover of About Face Magazine and while I enjoyed shooting her in her home for that feature, I was dying to do an extended session with her. When she contacted me a couple months back about this shoot I was ecstatic! She wanted to capture a timeless quality in the images for a "character" series and I was all IN!













Location courtesy of Holly Stalder
Makeup and Hair: Terri Reece
Portland Celebrity Photographer: Lavenda Memory

Portland Fashion Photographer: Color Story

I am about a week behind with editing, because so much work seems to come in all at once. Winter is motivating for editing, however, because there is no sunshine to tempt me away from my desk.
Every job is a different work load- from head shots to look books- I try and give an accurate estimate for turn arounds.

This series is a fun little set I did with Eclexion Boutique for my book. I would like to get it on some blogs and what not, so I can't post too many of the key shots till I hear back. Besides, I've still got a week to catch up on!

Portland Fashion Photographer: This Girl

I love, love, love to play through photography. It's a relief to step behind my camera and to drop all expectations- to simply observe, interact and then capture. And not to be all cheesy or anything... but it's very nice be inspired by new moments. That's why I like shooting new locations.

The test today was super fun because I had never seen the model, Kara Jean's house. We shot for the first time early summer when there was no need to be indoors. But this time we planned to use her house because of a snapshot I had seen of her bedroom. And her house was perfection!

The house was new to me- the colors, the smells, the sounds- And every interaction I had inside the house was a first, so I felt inspired to simply move things around and play. Thanks goodness she has a terrific sense of style- that certainly doesn't hurt! The walls were bright, the furniture was vintage and spoke of character... It was cool and fun and playful.

Here is a favorite shot inside Kara's bedroom, against a wall decorated with tree bark:



Hair and Makeup: Terri Reece
Styling: Myself
Portland Editorial Photographer Lavenda Memory

Portland Fashion Photographer: Real Life Acting

Just finished up an acting workshop that ran through the entire weekend, Friday-Sunday, totaling up to over 20 hours! I love being an Actress- getting to mix acting with photography and visa versa. Workshops are this incredibly intense environment of... release. Is that a weird word? (Well, whatever then.)
It's totally a communal experience, first of all. Throughout the weekend the spot light was only on me once a day and the rest of my time was spent watching my fellow actors.
Secondly, there is no external pressure to "perform" despite what many think of the vocation. It's simply a safe environment where we get to learn and listen, listen and grow.
As we work through a scene, or go through an exercise it's our jobs as actors to let go of all our preconceived ideas- about ourselves, the situation, the other people in the room- and to simply act and respond truthfully. Basically, we are releasing our stress, our self consciousness and our egos in order to be real for a few moments. And let me tell you- it's freakin awesome!
At the end of a long weekend like this I find myself feeling more sincere about my world view and wanting to be close to those I care about. It affects everything, including my art and/or  photography by clarifying my vision. By pushing me to find truth in others as well.
I have a photo- test scheduled for tomorrow and can't wait to see what kind of photos come out of our play. It's going to be an all-girls-day too! What could be better?!


Me and my girlfriend, Camille, playing at the Solestruck opening:

Portland Fashion Photographer: Haunt Clothing

This little series is from a test I did for Haunt with unrepresented model, Quinn. We were asked to stop trespassing at one point, by a woman who seemed furious that her property lines the public park and trails.  Quinn was such a trooper and quipped "so can we just finish this shoot, then?".


Model: Quinn
Portland Headshot Photographer Lavenda Memory

Portland Fashion Photography: Night Street

Some spontaneous shots from a recent shoot for Isaac Hers, an awesome hi-end boutique in the Pearl. I shoot guest clients wearing Isaac Hers in their own style once a month for their blog. This week I had the opportunity to shoot the new manager for Solestruck, Melissa Lachance.