Lace and Light

There's a window in the studio space I've been using that faces northwest. In the afternoon, especially in spring, the light that comes through it is almost unreasonably good — diffuse, slightly cool, the kind that makes skin look like skin rather than a photograph of skin.

I shot a session there recently. The subject wore lace — a cream blouse — and the fabric did something I've always loved but never quite got tired of: it filtered the light a second time, casting a faint pattern of shadows on her collarbone. Not dramatic. Just present.

The beginning of a session is always its own thing. There's a settling-in period — getting used to the space, getting used to being looked at. These early frames have a particular quality to them.

What I'm Looking For

When I start a portrait session, I'm not immediately thinking about settings or framing. I'm paying attention to how the person carries themselves in the first five minutes. Everyone enters a shoot with a version of themselves they think I want to see — a little stiff, a little performative. That's normal. My job, before I even lift the camera, is to make that person feel like the version of themselves they are when no one is watching.

It's slow work. We talk. I ask about unremarkable things — what they've been cooking lately, if they have a dog, how the drive was. Nothing useful on paper. But the shoulders come down. The eyes stop preparing for a photo and start just existing in the room.

That's when the light actually matters.

On Location vs. Natural Light

I work mostly with natural light, particularly for personal portrait sessions. I have portable strobes and I know how to use them, but there's something about ambient light — window light, open shade, the soft backlight of an overcast Port Angeles afternoon — that tends to feel more like the person actually looks.

The Pacific Northwest has a reputation for grey skies, and photographers from sunnier climates sometimes treat that as a problem to solve. I've come to think it's one of the better things about shooting here. A flat overcast sky is a giant softbox. It forgives. It makes the whole world feel like a good portrait location.

The Lace Detail

I don't usually direct clients on wardrobe too specifically. A few general notes — avoid heavy logos, think about texture over pattern — but mostly I want people to wear what they feel like themselves in. The lace was her idea.

When I'm editing afterward, there's often one frame that earns longer looking than the others. In this session, it was a moment between the posed frames — she'd glanced toward the window, thinking about something else entirely, and the light hit the fabric just so. The shadow pattern. The look of genuine distraction.

That's the one that made it into the final delivery, and the one that still catches me when I scroll past it in the folder.

Booking a Portrait Session

I offer personal portrait and boudoir sessions out of Port Angeles, and I also travel to locations throughout the Olympic Peninsula and surrounding areas. Sessions are low-key by design — I'd rather you feel comfortable than follow a strict schedule.

If you've been thinking about getting portraits made — of yourself, for yourself — I'm always happy to talk through what a session might look like. The contact page is the easiest place to start.