An Evening In Portland

During my jam-packed trip to Oregon, Ally and I managed to squeeze in an evening photo shoot before I headed home to Colorado. Originally we had in mind a daylight shoot either in an area buzzing with beautiful flowers in Corvallis, or an industrial shoot... but ultimately we ended up with something a little out of both our elements... which led to a gorgeous photo shoot during a Portland evening. Who could ask for anything more? 

Okay, so we -did- attempt something as the sun casted it's final rays of light upon the city, but as the mosquitoes came out to suck us dry like greedy little vampires - we had to come up with a different game plan that involved less itching and more snapping! We grabbed our stuff and strolled back to the original location we met up at... a small area filled with food booths, lights, and locals enjoying the beautiful evening weather. 

I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out. For one, Ally was not used to being photographed in public outside the safety net of a studio. Two, I was still learning how to master shooting in darker, low light conditions. And three, we were both freakin' nervous due to the first two facts but we KNEW we had to make something happen! This quickly became a step into new territory for both of us to throw ourselves into, but it also felt refreshing to know that we weren't alone in being out of our comfort zone. 

Sensing Ally's nervousness about all the possible attention we could draw to ourselves, I went all out on being a little more dramatic and trying to make this a fun adventure for both of us. I slid awfully close to strangers while grinning slyly over my shoulder and during one segment of the shoot, grabbed a white, plastic chair, planted it right in the middle of the walking area, and proceeded to lounge sidewards in it while taking photos. It worked, and in no time we were laughing, making jokes, and not caring one bit about who might be watching or what they thought of our commotion. It honestly felt pretty damn liberating!

I have to say, this was an incredibly fun shoot to do. Not only is Ally blessed with natural beauty, but she was delightful, personable, and a total foodie like me! After we finished our shoot, we proceeded to relax, chat, and munch down on some pesto mayo fries she recommended... which I assure you will have me skipping back to Portland in no time. My lord - they were delish! We cooed over the avocado & sea salt milkshakes that were up on offer, and got roped into a couple of games of Bingo with a group of people who had randomly decided to set up a game on one of the tables. 

Overall great food, great photos, and great company. Thank you so much Ally for a wonderful last night in Portland! Looking forward to catching up when you visit Colorado! <3