Hello hello everyone!! I hope you’re all doing well! Today I’m going to be talking about golden hour portraits I made last weekend with the lovely Elle! It was a prairie-esque shoot-out on the edge of Portland at Powell Butte Nature Park.


Powell Butte is seriously gorgeous, and I HIGHLY recommend going there if you can!!! The tall grasses, golden sun, and wide, sprawling hills make me miss California, even though I love it here in Portland. I don’t do many golden hour shoots, but this one made me want to shoot more golden hour portraits!! What do you guys think of golden hour shoots? Are you for them, or not quite sure?

GOLDEN HOUR WITH ELLE


Elle and I met through a photographer friend of mine when we shot a styled wedding couple’s shoot together. Elle and her fiancée Sam were the models and they’re SO cute together!!! After that, I really wanted to do another shoot with Elle, and we finally met up for last week’s shoot!! She is a super happy, fun, sweet person who was an absolute joy to work with! It was really seamless, and I think the photos reflect that. The day flowed well and we had fun talking about her company Eucalypso Home and Harry Potter!! Side note: If you’re interested in Harry Potter, check out Potterless!! It’s about an adult man who is reading the series for the first time. His opinions about quidditch are SO ON POINT and fucking hilarious!! 10000% recommend.

For a while, I have been itching to shoot at Powell Butte, and a few weeks ago I drove out to see it before my shoot with Elle. Driving up and cresting the hill that leads into the parking lot just made my heart soar. Like I said before, the golden hills and tall grasses remind me of home, and I just KNEW I had to shoot here and that this was the perfect spot for our shoot!!

THE DAY IS FINALLY HERE!!


When we met in the parking lot of Powell Butte, Elle brought out several beautiful outfits that she had pulled and I showed her a bag of books I packed as props! With those and a set of Eucalypso sheets, we were set!! Elle and I grabbed our bags and started the walk up the hill, and man it was hot out!! We were at the beginning of Portland’s heat wave which has just been brutal and is barely starting. Stay cool this weekend friends!! <3

After walking up for a few, we dropped our bags and Elle started to walk among the serene, beautiful grasses. We made some really lovely photos, and then Elle changed dresses and we spread a sheet out on the grass for her to relax on!! I put out my copy of The Odyssey translated by Emily Wilson and my Nikon FG as Elle pulled out a few books too!! Then, as Elle read I moved around her and worked several different angles. The sheet was placed on the side of a slight hill, so I shot from above and below, creating stunning portraits! After reading for a bit, Elle grabbed my film camera and started playing around with it! She didn’t take any shots of me (note for the next shoot with a film camera as a prop: have the model take some shots of you!!

SOARING ABOVE PORTLAND!


After making the photos of her relaxing on it, Elle shook out the sheet and then started to run and skip back and forth with it! Those photos were so fun to shoot because I could see that she was having just as much fun as I was! We were both moving around a lot in the heat, but it was so worth it! The last thing we did was cross the path and hike up to the fence you see in the background. Elle relaxed on the fence, playing with the bouquet of daisies and soaking up the sun. Then, we walked back to our cars and I told her about Potterless!! (Seriously guys, get on that. It’s a fantastic podcast!!)

I hope you enjoy the photos and can see the joy we experienced while making them!! Check out more of my work by visiting my website and Instagram! If you want to know more about me, read on here!


If you’re curious about Eucalypso Home or Potterless, I’ve linked them above! Definitely check them out, because Eucalypso Home is a fantastic brand that Elle has created and sustained and you’ve read my opinions about Potterless! 😀


I hope you all stay cool and safe this weekend during the brutal heat wave that’s coming to the PNW. Happy weekend y’all!!


xx Taryn