The Reversed Lens » lifestyle photography

We Love Weddings

Emma Easley Darden — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:33:15 +0000

I still remember the day that we photographed our first wedding. Looking back, there was so much to learn. Being a wedding photographer means being in five different places and moments, all at the same time, and it’s daunting when you first step into those shoes. But there are moments that seem as though I was in them yesterday– seeing the bride coming down the stairs, dress trailing behind her; the groom’s tears as he spoke his vows; their joyful waves as they speeded away on a boat down the Willamette River. Each wedding has been like that for me. It’s the moments that stay, each of them as individual as the couple that we’re photographing. Each event has it’s own personal stamp. It’s finding those qualities that really thrill me as a photographer. I love seeing them through a different lens than the last and telling each story as a new chapter to our own story of documentation. It’s an incredible privilege to be trusted to tell the story of one of the most important days in one’s life. And it’s not something that I– we, because Will and I still photograph as a team, so that those moments have complementary perspectives– take lightly. I love that this is what I do with my life.

Thinking and reflecting on the past year has brought all of that back. This has been a year of significant change in our life. We welcomed a new child and life took some twists and turns. But through all of that, my love of life’s seminal moments remains. We’ve continued to tell those stories in the lives of some beautiful couples. My mind has traveled over the last several days back in time and so I thought that I’d share a few of my favorite moments with you.

This bride planned her entire color palette on the shoes– aka The Manolo Blahnik shoes worn in the Sex and the City movie by Sarah Jessica Parker. Her mom surprised her with them and I just had to take a stunning shot of them to do them full justice.

When there are little people involved in the wedding I know that there will be some great candid moments.

I love Cathedral ceilings and this particular one, at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Lake Oswego, is one of my
favorites. Will and I both have an art photography background and love finding lines and symmetry in our work.

It’s the little touches, like taffy to guests that reminded this bride of her childhood, that I adore.

The first look is often the most romantic and emotional– and can be the setting for the very best pictures.

One way to ensure a fun-filled evening: make sure that your best man/maid of honor gives a rollicking speech.

I love taking a traditional moment and making it something special. These bridal portraits
(and their first look) were set in the Driftwood Room of the Hotel Deluxe in Northwest Portland.

Choosing a venue with stunning details– like the wedding above at Zenith Vineyards in Oregon’s wine country,
or the bar at the Secret Society Ballroom in NE Portland– guarantees that we’ll have lots of inspiration to draw from.

We’ve photographed everything from low-key green weddings to totally luxe affairs. This wedding for an
intimate twenty-five guests, at a private residence in Lake Oswego, was absolutely stunning.

Taking the moments and crystalizing them for future memory, like this mom and daughter who found quiet and
solace in those few steps, is a really profound experience for me.

I LOVE seeing the reactions of all of the friends and family. Brian’s mom was over the moon during their ceremony
in their hometown in Eastern Washington. The bride literally got married in her childhood backyard. How cool is that?

One of the fun things about photographing a couple immediately after the ceremony is that NOTHING
can stop traffic like a bride and groom, even a MAX train! Passersby are always so excited for them.

This wedding, at the Abernethy Center, is still one of my favorites. The bride and groom nearly missed
the wedding, due to his Army assignment in Germany, when the Icelandic volcanic ash clouded European flights.
Their reception, full of family and military buddies, is still one of the best parties we’ve ever attended.

Crazy crowd dancing shots are one of Will’s specialties. I love seeing what people will do to get in his lens.

Watching the evolution of wedding delicacies has been so fun. We’ve feted with treats from Saint Cupcake and
Cupcake Jones, multi-tiered fondant cake masterpieces from La Jocante, and homemade pie potlucks. This assortment
of confections, macaroons, and chocolates from Pix Patisserie was absolutely brilliant and beautiful.

When we venture out with couples we tell them to pretend that we’re not really there, to just enjoy each
other and their day. Some are overcome with emotion and some? Well, they just can’t stop celebrating.

Weddings on the beach may be my favorite. Whether they’re at the Surfsands Resort in Cannon Beach or
at a destination wedding, they’re so relaxed and beautiful.

Though we photograph primarily in the Northwest, we’ve traveled thousands of miles and abroad. This
wedding in Colorado was one of our favorites. But really? I don’t know that I can choose a favorite
wedding. All of our couples, and their celebrations, have been wonderful to be a part of.

The new Reversed Lens Photography Studios

Emma Easley Darden — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:37:18 +0000

If you’ve followed us at all over the last year or so you’ve noticed some changes in our dynamic. Things are slower, more focused. Life and businesses ebb and flow and so have we. We’re continuing to take portrait commissions but space is limited to a few sessions a month. We’re also working closely with NW Kids Magazine now as the staff photographers which is crazy exciting and fun. And our blog will soon be changing to incorporate the many facets of our studio so that you get a more well rounded picture of what life is like for our studio. It’s been a brilliant evolution, in all respects, and we hope that you’ll enjoy seeing it unfold.

Sara & Brian’s Wedding in the beautiful Yakima Valley

Emma Easley Darden — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 05:55:57 +0000

Sara and Brian found us through the magic of the internet last fall and I am so incredibly grateful that they did! They live in Seattle and we got to meet them a few times throughout the ensuing months, and they were so lovely that we were really excited when it came time to finally photograph their wedding. Sara grew up in Yakima, Washington, most well-known for its abundant fruit growers. Her family– grandparents, parents, and two aunts and uncles– share property and she chose to marry there, on the land where she was raised. The spot lent a sense of intimacy to the proceedings and the friends that came from all over to share in the joining of their lives added crazy amounts of revelry. Sara had put an incredible amount of effort into planning and everything, including her blue and orange color scheme throughout, were perfect down to the last detail. And then, all was left was to party and celebrate the lives of two friends who are making a life as one.

Sara wore an absolutely stunning cream-colored lace linen dress by Priscilla of London.

Her grandmother made this linen handkerchief, and then she gave her bridesmaids all vintage kerchiefs.

Their first look was in a pergola behind her childhood home.

We like to call these “un-formals” because we really try and have fun. And their party was fabulous!

The mariachi band started playing during the first kiss and then led the guests over to the cocktail hour.

Sara’s grandma made an amazingly tasty cake– and after they cut it together he had to have some more!

Perri and Corey at the Crown Ballroom • Portland Oregon Weddings

Emma Easley Darden — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 02:20:07 +0000

Perri and Corey have one of those stories that make me kind of believe in fate: they met in Mexico, on vacation, while they were each with their individual families. They had an instant connection and spent the rest of the time inseparable. But Perri is from Toronto and Corey is from Portland and you’d think that the story would end there. But they had had such an amazing time together that they found ways, over the next year, to rendezvous; by the time Corey proposed, it was a foregone conclusion that they would spend the rest of their lives together. And so their wedding was this amazing celebration of a love that could bring two people together, after chance or fate or something conspired to get them in the right place at the right time. Their families– and friends– were thrilled to be joining with one another and Perri’s dad gave one of the sweetest toasts I think I’ve ever heard. And their wedding itself was beautiful. Perri was absolutely stunning, thanks in part to genetics but also to the always amazing Jennifer of Face Body Beauty. Katie of Fleur Bliss created the most lovely bouquets (and other flower adornments that decked out the ballroom) out of a myriad of purples that were just to die for, and with all of that love behind them, there was just this feeling that the day was blessed. I’m so thrilled for them. Congratulations guys!

This is one of my favorite moments: when the groom sees his bride for the first time.

Their little flower girl needed some diversion during the ceremony, in the form of saltines.

I loved her exquisite dress but I think that I loved her shoes even more!

OK, seriously, how cool is this? The new son and father-in-law doing the chicken dance together!

They literally danced their shoes off that night!

Jason, Angela, Lucy & Lillian • Portland Oregon Portraits

Emma Easley Darden — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 18:56:19 +0000

I know that this commentary has the capability to sound just a little bit redundant but I just have to say it again: the world is SO SMALL when you’ve lived in one town your entire life. Case in point: last fall, I was perusing the wares at our daughter’s school auction when I saw this guy who looked really familiar. We did the “where did you…” game until we realized that we’d actually worked together the inaugural year of The Bus Project. And then his wife said, “Oh, how crazy! We [as in she and Jason] met on the Bus!” Then we realized that our daughters were in the same preschool class and that we’d already been hearing about each other.

The other notable thing about that night was that Angela was nearly due with their second little girl, and we made plans to take pictures of their new addition when she arrived. But sometimes life has other plans. The first three months of Lillian’s life were pretty complicated, not by anything horribly dramatic but just a series of things that made fitting in a photo session fairly low on the priority totem pole. We’d see each other at pick-up and say, “Maybe in a few weeks?” Thankfully, the time arrived right around Lillian’s three-month birthday and just as Lucy was turning three. It was perfect! We spent the morning with them in their NE Portland home playing and documenting their life as a family. I love these relaxed sessions when we are able to capture a really intimate side of family life. Here are just a few of my favorites…

Pat, Laurie and Emma • Portland Family Portraits

Emma Easley Darden — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 15:32:09 +0000

We photographed Pat, Laurie and Emma for the first time about a year and a half ago. Emma was, then, an adorably chubby cheeked baby who I literally couldn’t stop kissing for the entire session. She was just that sweet. We photographed her at home, in her bedroom, and in their backyard in the grass and by their shed and under their gigantic oak tree and… I just loved that session. I especially loved the photograph that ended up being their family Christmas card that year: Pat and Laurie on their front porch, with Emma on their laps, kissing her fat little cheeks as she giggled uproariously.

Well, a few weeks ago Laurie called and asked if I would come photograph them again and I was overjoyed. I LOVE the clients who return to us, year after year. I love sharing in the joy that comes from watching a family grow. And I love being able to record those moments into heirloom-quality art. It means that people trust us on a really personal level. And this session did not disappoint. They’ve since moved to a new home, and Emma is a bundle of energy that needed to be OUT, and so instead of staying inside we moved nearby to their favorite park. I chased her all over the playground (and had so many shots of her that I loved that thinning them down for this post was SO difficult), and then played in the grass with them. We even replicated that first, beloved photo, with similarly amazing results. I just love this family. And I can’t wait to watch them grow and grow and grow!

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…

The many sides of senior portraiture • Portland Oregon Photographers

Emma Easley Darden — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 22:16:21 +0000

One of the things that I love about being a photographer in the Pacific Northwest is the prolific variety of backgrounds that we have to use for our clients. Within literally minutes of the downtown, urban Portland metropolitan area there are fields and forests, and past that is the Oregon Coast and the Cascade Mountains and on and on. It makes it really fun to plan lots of varied looks for whatever they’re searching for. And that’s especially true for our senior high school picture sessions. We discuss in-depth during our pre-portrait consultations what it is that they are wanting to say about themselves with their pictures, and then we find a location (or a few different locations, if they really want to get creative) that can reflect that. The time of year that a session is done can say a lot too– we love summer for all of the gorgeous plants that are blooming and green, but we also love the fall for the foliage. It’s completely up to our clients when the best time for THEM will be.

Last year we did a session in the fall with Haley, one of our seniors from Oregon Episcopal School. We’d known Haley for some time at that point because we’re quite involved with the school and we knew that she’s classic, very artistic, and really, really fun. So we took her out into the fields and orchards in one of our favorite areas, and then back to the studio for a mini in-studio session to cap things off. In all of the fall craziness she made it onto Facebook but never onto the blog, and she’s way to gorgeous to not have been featured. So here’s a little preview of what fall senior sessions can be!

Josh & Emily’s Military Wedding at the Abernethy Center

Emma Easley Darden — Wed, 26 May 2010 04:00:46 +0000

A month and a day ago, RLP Studios photographed what was one of the most fun, lively, emotional, and lovely events of our studio’s history: the wedding of Emily Brock Jones and Josh Jones. We had met them as we do many of our couples, through an online wedding resource, but their situation was a little bit different: the timing of their wedding was of significant importance because Josh is in the Army and would be being deployed shortly after the wedding. We spoke on the phone and they were just so sweet that I knew from the first interactions that it was going to be a really fun event. Because we are a full-lifestyle studio we have decided to take a only a select number of weddings a year, with couples who we just click with and adore, and Emily and Josh certainly fit the bill. But that was just the beginning. As we began hearing about the plans we became more and more excited: it was booked at one of our favorite venues (the Abernethy Center in Oregon City), and they’d also booked our very favorite entertainment team, Event Team Entertainment. (We have several amazing DJs that we work with, a list of which will be on the blog shortly! But Event Team just takes it to a whole new level). Will and I both have considerable military backgrounds in our families and so we loved that component, including that the male members of the bridal party would be in full dress and perform a sabre arch. We were really looking forward to the day for the months in between when we met and the actual event.

But then, the day arrived and the plans played out and it was even more fabulous than we could have even hoped for. After all, it’s not every day that the dad of your bride is a former, and celebrated, member of the NFL. Or that the groom’s father is a decorated colonel and educator at West Point. There were emotional components that made the day sweet in truly profound ways. Their families, without exception, were absolutely lovely to work with. And the party! Oh, the party. Both families love to dance but I have to say that the Brocks take the cake for the funnest family that I have ever worked with– their nearly 10-minute long lip sync sealed that without exception! The day was an expression of joy overflowing from beginning to end and I am so glad that we were able to document it for them.

To view many, many more images from the day, please visit the RLP Studios’ Facebook fan page gallery.

Introducing Lacey • 2011 Southridge High School Senior Rep

Emma Easley Darden — Thu, 13 May 2010 02:50:41 +0000

There is only one word that I can think of that really describes Lacey: she is SASSY. She’s a total fireball, full of energy and also a total crack-up (you just know that there’s a practical joke or witty thought brewing in her head pretty much 24/7). She was the first of our senior representatives this year and so she got to choose the location that would be the backdrop for our 2011 promotional materials for seniors, and she chose a mix of locations near our studio. I love that literally within walking distance, we have the Eastbank Esplanade, the Willamette River, railroad tracks, fun and grungy buildings, parks, and beautiful greenspaces. It makes the possibilities for sessions endless right outside our door! And while a senior session sometimes ends in our contemporary studio space, it always begins out and about. There’s just nothing like the whimsy and fun that you feel while you’re in the open. Lacey was a doll from the word “go” and her energy made for an amazing session.