The Reversed Lens » cute kids

As close to home as it gets

Emma Easley Darden — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 02:42:21 +0000

We’ve been doing a lot of rearranging things in our life lately and that’s included our home. Our little girl is now four and was determined to get a “girly room” instead of the childhood hodgepodge that it had become. I did my best to scour the shops and somehow found a combination of purple and pink bedding designs (those colors are never together so I got to get my creative on) that met with her specifications. We’re now onto the decoration phase and so I’m printing these photographs to go above her bureau. They were taken during trips to our neighborhood park, which is one of our favorite ways to spend a little downtime as a family, and they were too cute not to share. Now I just have to wait to get them back and into the frames…

Our little Pea • Portland Oregon Child Portraits

Emma Easley Darden — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 07:23:30 +0000

You know that old adage about cobblers and their shoes? We take a lot of photos of our daughter. A lot. Maybe too many. But most of them are taken on the fly whilst living our life. They end up on our hard drives and never see the light of day. The other day we were out running errands and we stopped at one of our favorite pubs for lunch. She was being particularly adorable, and looking particularly adorable, and so I decided to give a photo shoot with my own child a go. She’s been raised around the camera; she is often impervious to it and any direction by me. But that day she was a doll. And so here she is, at last, for all the world to see– or at least the little corner that follows our life and love.

Little Miss Olive • Portland Oregon Child Photography

Emma Easley Darden — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:17:13 +0000

I think that names say a lot about a person. If you have a super cute name, full of personality, how can one not be fun? Well, Olive certainly proves my point. She was fun all around within about thirty seconds of walking in the door! This time of year the weather doesn’t always cooperate with our schemes to go out into the neighborhoods of Portland. But that’s ok because our industrial chic studio is always at the ready! Our studio portrait sessions are still fun and whimsical and focused on the moments. We played around with lots of different backdrops and had Olive dancing, twirling, and generally being her adorable little self. We can’t wait to see you again, Olive!

Little Urbanites Halloween • Portland Oregon Photo Booth

Emma Easley Darden — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:50:14 +0000

We love taking the Mini Studio™, the RLPortraits version of an old-style photobooth, to events. So when Little Urbanites, one of our favorite Pearl District kid boutiques, asked us to bring it as part of their celebration for the Pearl’s Halloween Hunt, we were more than game. I have never been able to figure out quite what it is about a photobooth that turns people into an alter ego of themselves. Whether it’s at a wedding or even just a smaller-scale shindig like a birthday party, people will do things in the Mini Studio™ that they just won’t do in front of one of our “normal” photographers. (For instance, at weddings, there’s always someone standing on their head!) The kids at Little Urbanites were just adorable, and I’m so glad that we could provide some memories of a fabulous Halloween extravaganza.

(To view the rest of the images available for download, please visit our photo viewing area.)

The Little Urbanites crew mugging for the camera.

Resnick Family • Portland Oregon Family Photographers

Emma Easley Darden — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:32:07 +0000

We’ve been having a fabulous time working with Holly Resnick and Marni Renison, the faces of Better TV’s “It Moms” segments. Holly & Marni are bringing out a new website and came to us to do some new pictures to match their new look. One of the things that I absolutely love about them is their realness. They are these super chic and fabulous women but they are also moms who get down on the ground and play with their daughter’s toes, or chase their kids down the boardwalk, or swing them until they’re squealing half with glee and half in mock-terror. We spent an afternoon literally chasing them around the Pearl and capturing them in all of their chic momness. I’m featuring Holly and her kids first but I promise Marni and her girls are coming too!

Katz family • Portland Oregon Family Photographers

Emma Easley Darden — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:18:57 +0000

Michelle is a friend of a friend who I have seen in passing oh, about a million times. And one day this summer she said, “You know, we really should do family pictures with you guys.” I was game, of course.

And then we got to their house last week and I saw her boys… and I fell in love. They are two of the sweetest, most adorable children I’ve ever worked with. We played in their yard for a bit and then chased each other down to the park that is near their house. The little one, Levi, never stops moving. Really. Well, unless he’s examining something, and even that only lasts a moment. I’m also pretty sure that I could go swimming in his eyes. His older brother is more thoughtful, and a surprisingly good listener for being such a young one. We had an amazing time with them on what may have been the last truly gorgeous fall days that we’ll have this year (in fact, it started raining later that afternoon). We played in the leaves, ran over and over and over a bridge, rolled in the grass, and then played with their dog, Annie. To get the first shot that’s in this set, I even jumped down on the other side of the bridge, and I’m pretty sure that Jeff thought I’d lost my marbles. But I will do just about anything to get an image that I know will be perfect. And this one definitely was.

Hailey’s Simchat Bat • Portland Oregon Family and Event Photographers

Emma Easley Darden — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:55:19 +0000

Many people are familiar with the Jewish bris, which is performed on the eighth day after a baby boy is born to celebrate his life and give him a name in the Jewish tradition. The tradition that is less well-known is the Simchat Bat, the naming ceremony for little girls. We had the enormous pleasure of celebrating with Hailey and her family for her name and blessing. Friends came from around the nation, all four of her grandparents (and aunts, uncles, and cousins!) were there to celebrate with the family, and the ceremony itself was so beautiful. Hailey’s mom read a special prayer that she had written for her that was so touching that I even found myself tearing up. And her dad presented her names, one of which was after his great-grandmother who had passed away in the concentration camps and the other for her son, his grandfather, who had carried on her legacy. It was a truly joyous day to be a part of and I’m so glad that we could capture all of the moments of celebration with them!

CCA Celebration of Courage • Portland Oregon Photobooth

Emma Easley Darden — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:10:54 +0000

We had the awesome opportunity to bring the Mini Studio™ down to the Children’s Cancer Association Celebration of Courage event last Sunday. CCA is an amazing organization, born from the legacy of a little girl who lost her own battle with cancer but fought bravely to the end. Her family started CCA because, as they so eloquently state on their website, “When seriously ill kids and their families need more than medicine, CCA is there with compassion and innovation creating moments of respite and hope, in the hospital and at home. Managed by a professional staff and powered by volunteers, CCA brings soothing music in a time of crisis, friendship in a time of loneliness, resources in a time of turmoil and vital support in the midst of life-threatening illness. We call it Joy Rx.”

Joy Rx was in full force on Sunday at the Celebration of Courage. Pirate singers joined the party and provided music throughout the event. Face painters, balloon masters, and “tatoo” artists decorated the guests, and craft stations were set up to make all manner of pirate paraphenalia. And when they were full decked out, they joined us in the Mini Studio™ to record the moment. We had an amazing time bringing a little bit of fun into the lives of some people who truly deserve it. (For those who attended, the full gallery can be found at www.rlportraits.com/photocart. Just click on the gallery, scroll through to find your images, and then use the free download option.)

Charlton Family • Portland Oregon Family & Child Photographers

Emma Easley Darden — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:46:01 +0000

We met the Charltons nearly two years ago, and since then all of our lives have taken some interesting twists and detours. But every once in a while we’d be in contact and Dara would say, “I really want you to photograph my family!” And now, at last, we’ve done just that. And oh, what a delight it was. We rendezvoused in one of our favorite spots and had a wonderful time playing with them and just enjoying the joyful simplicity of their family. Their children are absolutely lovely, so much so that by the end, Asher was giving me hugs and asking me to come eat pizza with them. And I wish we could have! (We asked for a rain check, of course.) But until then, I hope that they love their portraits as much as we enjoyed capturing them!

Asher LOVES to kiss, and I knew that if I asked him to kiss his sister…

this would be the result! I love it when my hunches pay off with the perfect shot.

Celebrating Adoption • Portland Oregon Family Photographers

Emma Easley Darden — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:21:46 +0000

I was so thrilled to be able to photograph Heather and Tom and their adorable children a few weeks ago! Their session was our first Celebrating Adoption session; we’re in the process of joining this wonderful national organization, which gifts families who bring a little one into their homes and hearts a complimentary portrait session. Adoption is a cause very near and dear to my heart and the idea of being able to celebrate with these families is something that gives me an amazing amount of joy. And they were such a perfect family to be able to begin with. Their adoration of Lucy is without question, and seeing their family play and cuddle and just be themselves brought me close to tears a few times. I’m so glad that we were able to give them this gift, and I can’t wait to watch them grow together!