In typical Portland fashion, it was rainy when I met Liisa and her darling family on Powell Butte. We  first met a few weeks prior at a local tea shop with the smells of fresh tea wafting around us. We‘d met to discuss her doula certification, birth and newborn photography, and how we can work together to better serve expectant mothers in our community.

Liisa recently finished her Doula certification and is launching her new business. She is an amazing woman with some exciting goals for her future. One of the things that struck me most about Liisa was her generosity and how much she genuinely cares about helping others. I love hearing about how others are dedicating their time to help women bring new life into this world. While I don’t yet have any kids of my own, I know for certain that when that day approaches I will absolutely want a Doula by my side. Doula’s have always had a special place in my heart, since I had a few friends go through the certification process in college. I’ve always admired these women who give of themselves to help other women go through pregnancy and birth easily and in the most non-intrusive of ways.

Liisa was such a delight to talk to, the conversation came naturally and the tea seemed bottomless. We ended up chatting for over two hours that day. Liisa and I planned some family portraits of her and her family, I was so excited to see her family walk up in their coordinated color palette. It made this photographer’s heart swoon.

I was hoping we’d get a break in the rain for our session, but it’s Oregon, so it was a good thing I recently went out and grabbed some clear umbrellas. Gosh they were a life-saver and made for some extra cute photos! I think her daughter especially enjoyed carrying one around. I was so excited when she wanted to do a mini-photo session with just her and the umbrella. I love the way these photos turned out of her; she is just absolutely adorable. 

Her son was such a gem too, all it took were a few broad questions about his favorite things to get him talking.  You can see from the photos how much personality he has! 

 

We also played Red Light, Green Light with the kids, and it was a joy documenting it.  Here are some more of my favorites from their session.