Latourell Falls Columbia River Gorge Portrait Session | Katie

A few months ago I did a family shoot for Zeina & her husband (view here). We got talking and both expressed the desire to do a stylized shoot in early 2020. Zeina is a very talented hair & make-up artist and I am always down for adventure and collaboration. She developed the perfect plan to surprise her friend (Kaite) with this stylized shoot for her 28th birthday! Zeina then found Natalie and asked if she would do florals for this shoot. After some brainstorming, we landed on the stunning location of Latourell Falls in the Columbia Gorge. It is about 30 minutes outside of Portland, Oregon.

Finally the day has arrived and our vision begins to come alive. I get there early to scout (as I do before every shoot). Granted, this IS in the middle of winter. There are no guarantees of what the weather will be. Driving to the falls it is pouring rain to the point where it was hard to see the lines on the freeway. I kept my optimism high. As I scout, it is cold BUT not raining. I can handle cold. When I am done scouting, I get into my car and read a book while I wait for Zeina and Katie to arrive. THEN it starts pouring again… and HAILING! It kept going for a good few minutes— enough to accumulate so much hail on the ground that it looked like a light snow dusting. I continue to keep my optimism high. It will be fine. And I was right!

By the time Katie & Zeina got to the parking lot, it had completely stopped raining and we could even see blue sky. The photoshoot went super well & I am very very happy with the images.

Thanks Natalie for the absolutely incredible bouquet! Thank you Zeina for collaborating with me and doing such a great job with Katie’s hair & make-up! And thank you Katie, for being the biggest trooper and being our model. Happy Birthday!

Florals: Natalie Parks Floral & Design
Hair & Make-up: Zeina Strizu
Location: Latourell Falls