A FAMILY SESSION – MORNING IN THE BLUE HOUSE – PORTLAND

My trip to Portland was booked, planned, and ready to go when I got an email from Kelly Rae, asking if there was any way I could fit her in. The only spot I had was the morning before my flight home, and gratefully that worked for her, so we planned to meet early that day. The night before the shoot the nerves began ramping up. Kelly Rae is a well known, successful artist. I was intimidated. Anytime I photograph someone in a creative field I feel a little bit of extra pressure to make magic: what if I’m not cool enough, creative enough, imaginative enough, ENOUGH enough? What if they don’t like me? What if I don’t connect to the family? What if what if what if.

After the fact, like every other time, those thoughts were soon forgotten. Once I say goodbye and get into my car after a session, my brain is firing off only one thing: I CAN DO ANYTHING. There is nothing like the high after a shoot is over, that accomplishment after a job well done. I wish I knew how to stop the cycle, and stay with reality. I work on it every day.

With Kelly Rae’s family, it was exactly like that. I was swooped into her beautiful home, and not just beautiful but also so carefully loved and created – every inch and corner full of meaningful treasures and delightful surprises. I knew immediately her home was her sanctuary, an extension of her, and her family fills it with light and laughter, love and joy.

I had nothing to worry about at all.