Natalie + Drew
Oregon
Natalie + Drew Adventure Session
day 1
Cannon Beach, OR
On the first day of Natalie and Drew’s engagement session we began with a sunrise shoot on Cannon Beach. We were met with incredible blues and pinks in the sky and the entire beach to ourselves. The reflection of the sky on the water created an almost Michael Angelo like canvas; setting the tone for an incredible day.
Thirty to forty minutes later the sun began to rise high in the sky and it was time for outfit change number two. It is important when shooting in a single location to make it look like two locations if possible. When Drew and Natalie changed we then scouted for new spots on the beach. With such a diverse area this wasn’t a hard task. Natalie changed into jeans and a white button up top, paired with a tan hat she found on Amazon.com. Drew also changed to jeans providing a more comfortable, explorer feel. I always ask for photos of the outfits before a shoot because this helps me decide which poses to plan for.
The new outfit choices paired perfectly with the large rocks down the beach and more fun poses like “wild piggy back ride” and laying down in the sand. These are some of my favorites because they allow the couple to truly have some moments to themselves and I become more like a fly on the wall to the most romantic and epic date ever.
Following the morning adventures we took a much needed coffee and breakfast break. We stopped at Sleepy Monk Coffee Roasters three minutes down the road and enjoyed yummy and refreshing coffees. We then walked across the street to grab a bagel at Seashore Bagel Deli & Espresso.
Shortly after it was time for outfit change number three and we headed to our second location of the day: Ecola State Park.
Ecola State Park is one of the most diverse parks i’ve ever been to. From gorgeous cliffside views of the coast to tall mossy trees, we had our fill of sensory overload. If you are visiting the Oregon Coast this park is a must.
After we adventured around Ecola and took a fun hike to see more, we still had plenty of daylight left. I had only planned for us to adventure around Cannon Beach but we all decided we may as well see as much as we can while we are here. We decided to all hop into Natalie and Drews rental van and make the four hour trip back through Portland to Mt. Hood. This may be my favorite part of the adventure to tell because it still makes me laugh. As this was all of our first times to Oregon we were really just winging it. I had googled and found that there was a great overlook where you can see Mt Hood. When we got to the overlook, however, the view was incredible but there was absolutely no place to take photos as it was a roadside view. With light quickly fading we all hopped back in the van to try and find a better picture spot. We had driven pretty far up so I wasn’t feeling very hopeful at this point. Thats when Drew whips off the side of the highway and points at a small cliff above us. Determined, he jumps out of the van to see if he can climb the side of this mountain. We all get out with him and at this point i’m ready for whatever. Natalie and I follow him to the side of the cliff and we all start scaling this mountain right on the side of the highway. Yes, try to picture this. You’re taking a casual drive through the Mt. Hood wilderness and you come across 5 strangers scaling the mountain two of which dressed for a cocktail party… SO, long story short Drew saves the day and we end up getting some incredible shots on this random cliffside with a perfect view of Mt. Hood in the back.
Looking back if I could do anything different I would definitely have done more research on the best places to shoot around Mt. Hood but honestly the story and adventure of it all made it worth it to us.
Day 2
“If we were meant to stay in one place we would have roots instead of feet.
”
On our second day of Oregon we decided another sun rise session was absolutely necessary. I knew that Natalie had packed a red dress and I was anxious to see the contrast it would hold against the dark gray sand. We had been right next to Haystack rock all day the first day but the sun was in the wrong spot to get quality shots of it. This time we were determined to get the giant rock in the background for some epic portrait shots. We were not at all disappointed and in-fact I was quickly overwhelmed by the beauty that we were seeing. It almost felt like we were racing against the sun rising and revealing more and more of the rock. Due to our limited time before the sun was too bright I gave Natalie and Drew several prompts to go through one after the other so that we could just snap away. I kinda felt like I was directed a romantic movie scene but this will be a huge time saver if you’re in a crunch! They executed them flawlessly and you would have thought they were professional models but really I think they are just that effortlessly in love.
We were very fortunate that we were met with two sides of Oregon in the time that we were there. The first day the sun was out and the sunrise was filled with explosive pastels. This time we were met with what I am typically more drawn to; moody fog (yes pls).
After our unreal experience with Haystack we all jumped in our cars to make our way up the Oregon/Washington coast. The views alone could last me a life time. The towering evergreens that lined both sides of the highway were mesmerizing. It all reminded me of my childhood growing up in central California and our long car rides up to yosemite. The smell of pines filling the air. I love some nostalgia and this was heavenly. But back to the point… We took a pitstop to eat by the sea. Then we drove through to Olympic National Park. The park does have an entrance fee per vehicle so to save money we all jumped in one car. Pro tip for anyone wanting to shoot in Olympic. We then made our way to the Sol Duc Falls Nature trail which leads you on a two mile hike to the falls. The falls were so powerful and breathtaking. I don’t think any of us were prepared for the intensity of the falls. As amazing they are to take in they are not the most ideal place to take photos. It was almost too dangerous to get more than a few photos. However, if you are into hiking and waterfalls the Sol Duc Falls are an absolute MUST to see.
This concluded our incredible adventure session and I cannot wait to return to the West Coast again. Adventure Sessions are available to anyone and can even be included in your wedding package. It may not seem possible for you to plan a destination wedding or an epic elopement but that doesn’t mean you can’t adventure! Adventure sessions are the opportunity for you to make the most of your engagement season and get breathtaking photos together that you will have forever.
If you are as in love with travel as I am but you still want the big wedding I cannot recommend an adventure session more!
Thank you so much for reading along I look forward to making more blogs about the many adventure I get to go on.
Photography tip: If you are planning a destination session it would be in your best interest to know where the sun will be at all times. I would recommend downloading an app that tells you where the sun rises and sets. I use the app Lumos. This will be instrumental in how you plan your days.
