People Again!

June 10, 2021

I have to say, it feels like a breath of fresh air to be able to do some ‘normal-life’ things again. Aside from a handful of professional headshot sessions where I was masked up and using a telephoto lens, I haven’t really been able to do many in-person portraits in the last year—especially creative portraits. So I jumped at the chance to attend my first large-scale photography event since March, 2020 when I got invited to attend a portrait meetup event hosted by Portrait Slam.

The event took place at the Lan Su Chinese Garden in downtown Portland, Oregon. It’s a little gem of a location that had a million possibilities for portraits. The event had a Gods and Goddesses theme, which was a bold way to get back into photographing people again.

Some of the models did their own hair, makeup, and wardrobe. Others were outfitted with wardrobe by N'Kossi Boutique of Portland and makeup by Jonathan Jacob. Regardless, it’s great to photograph people who have put a ton of effort into their look.

This event had a pretty interesting format. Everyone was initially paired (photographers and models) by the event hosts. Pairings were supposed to last about ten minutes at the most. After that, you could pair up with anyone who was free. It was a great way to photograph a lot of people in a very short amount of time. I had more hits than misses during this event, which made me feel pretty good that I didn’t forget how to take a picture!

This was a really fun way to get back into things. I’ve really missed doing creative portraits in the last year and can’t wait to set up some more shoots this summer.

-Chris