HIllsboro High School’s Olivia was unnecessarily apologetic in her first phone call with me. It seems that with her busy high school senior calendar she just wasn’t able to schedule her senior portraits earlier in the fall. So here we were talking just before the Thanksgiving Holiday about how to schedule an outdoor senior portrait session in time to create a great senior yearbook picture in time for her December 13th deadline!

(Click in the images below to see larger versions).

I of course explained that no apology was necessary. And that, while it’s certainly preferable to take senior pictures during the warm summer and fall months, there was no reason we couldn’t capture beautiful senior portraits during the winter in Oregon.

The hardest part about shooting in early winter in Oregon is that you need to keep a constant eye on the weather. While my processional equipment can and has withstood some harsh weather, the rain and wind can take a real toll on a high school senior girl’s hair and makeup. In the end, Olivia and I had to reschedule her portrait session several times. But at last we were blessed by a beautiful sunny, crisp and cold December afternoon.

Olivia was looking for senior pictures with more of an urban feel to them. So, we began Olivia’s senior portrait session in downtown Portland near the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. There we created some beautiful senior pictures using the dark stone walls and bold red doors of the Cathedral as a backdrop.

Then, we took some time to explore the neighborhood around the cathedral where we found some great options for senior portraits including a washed out urban brick wall.

There was just a touch of winter wind, just enough to create some wind blown hair which added a bit of movement to some of Olivia’s high school senior portraits.

Olivia describes herself as outgoing and girly. She confesses her love of pop and that her favorite song is “Nine in the Afternoon” by Panic at the Disco. She wants to pursue a career in nursing. And like a lot of High School girls she enjoys shopping and playing with her puppy. In fact, having some of her senior portraits taken with her Frenc Bulldog named “Tater” was really important to Olivia. And it turns out, Tater is Awesome. I think Tater almost had as good a time taking Olivia’s senior pictures as I did!

Now, Tater likes to run. And there was no way I was going to risk turning this cute little puppy loose near the busy streets of downtown Portland. So, instead, we headed over to southeast Portland’s Laurelhurst Park, Laurelhurst is a popular spot in Portland for dogs and dog lovers as there’s plenty of space for pups and their human friends to run and play.

Also at Laurelshurst park is a small duck pond that to some is large enough to consider a lake. We chased the last bit of December daylight along the shore of the lake and captured a few last frames of Olivia in a blue dress and sweater.