Category Archives: Beauty/Glamour

Urban Senior Portraits near Portland Oregon

Rachel started her senior photo shoot experience at my studio where she had her hair and makeup done. Then we headed over to downtown Tigard, OR for her urban senior portraits around Main Street.  

Most of my shoots happen inside my studio, but I do venture out every once in a while for an outdoor shoot. It’s always fun to have the variety! There are a lot of different types of locations we can choose. It just depends on what kind of look you want to go for. Urban senior portraits are great if you like the look of streets and buildings for a city feel.

Urban senior portraits near Portland, Oregon

Urban senior portraits. This is an image of a high school senior girl leaning against a brick wall outdoors, wearing a red lace dress. Photography by Rayleigh. For more info, please visit byRayleigh.com

Rachel chose a great wardrobe for her shoot. I absolutely love lace dresses and shirts for photo shoots. Solid colors always work well for photos and the lace adds interesting texture.

Urban senior portraits. This is an image of a high school senior girl in front of a brick wall outdoors, wearing a red lace dress. She's surrounded by green leaves. Photography by Rayleigh. For more info, please visit byRayleigh.com

This little nook we found was great because it had the brick wall for the urban look but it also had some greenery to add a bit of nature.

Urban senior portraits. This is a black and white image of a high school senior girl sitting on a window ledge of a downtown building. She is outside and wearing shorts and a white shirt. Photography by Rayleigh. For more info, please visit byRayleigh.com

Rachel came to see me from Albany, Oregon.  I have the honor of working with a lot of clients from Albany and Salem, OR because there just aren’t a lot of photographers in that area who offer the luxury experience that you get to have with Photography by Rayleigh.  

Urban senior portraits. This is an image of a high school senior girl leaning off a bridge railing, outdoors, wearing a casual shorts outfit. Photography by Rayleigh. For more info, please visit byRayleigh.com

Want to see more?

I invite you to take a look at my senior portraits gallery to see more indoor and outdoor senior pictures. Do you like the look of urban senior portraits? Or are you more of a studio type of person? Or maybe a nature lover?

If you are looking for a senior portrait photographer near Portland, OR, I’d love to chat. If you want a glamorous experience where you get to feel like a model for the day, please contact me to book your shoot!

Senior Portraits – Old School Glamour Shots Edition

My senior portraits – old school glamour shots

Uh-hem…. Yes….. The embarrassing photos below are portraits of me. As much as I looked like a 40 year old country singer, biker chick, lounge singer I was actually a shy, quiet, 17 year old. These were my senior portraits – old school glamour shots edition.  

Third time’s a charm?

I first had my senior portraits taken at a little studio in the mall and hated my photos. So I made a second attempt and went to a second place in the mall. Unfortunately my results weren’t any more favorable. Somehow I hadn’t learned my lesson, so I headed a little ways down the mall and took advantage of a sale they were having at the old studio called Glamour Shots, hoping to get some better images. I hated them just as much as the others.

Do you remember that place? As far as I know, they don’t exist any more.  Glamour photography, as a genre, fizzled out.  For a while, that is.

Modern glamour photography

Now glamour photography is back in action and has quickly grown as a very popular type of photography. Thank the good Lord that the 90’s style didn’t return with it.  Modern glamour sessions are nothing like the old school versions.  When people hear the phrase “glamour photography” they might still think of the old mall studio which would probably not send them running in that direction to have a shoot for themselves.

Thankfully, photographers like me have been able to bring back the idea of glamour photography but in a modern way. Most of us call it Beauty Photography.

A new experience

I’m thankful that my clients have decided to trust me with their senior portraits and other beauty photography and that I can give them an experience that is so much better than the experience I had in high school.  

The experience in my studio is nothing like what you would find in a mall. Instead you get to enjoy a luxurious experience involving an amazing hair and makeup artist who is awesome at accentuating the beauty that is already there (even if you don’t yet see it). Then a customized photo shoot that brings out your personality.

I don’t just dress you up in whatever costume I have in your size (which was very limited in my high school shoot, as they didn’t cater to the curvy clients).  You will absolutely love your photos and instead of being embarrassed to show them, like I was in high school, you won’t be able to wait to share your photos with your friends and family. 

Please visit by senior portraits - old school glamour shots blog. This image is a modern backlit  senior portrait of a teen girl lying on her tummy wearing light colors. Photography by Rayleigh. Please visit ByRayleigh.com
www.byrayleigh.com

Let’s chat!

Oh, and in case you are wondering, the biker chick photo in the middle is the one I ended up using for my yearbook photo. But I was totally embarrassed when the yearbook came out!   20+ years have gone by and I still feel a void where there should be a great memory of an awesome senior portrait session. Don’t be like me. Invest in portraits that you will love.

If you are ready to book your shoot, please send me an email and we can chat!

But first, you HAVE to look at the glamour shots on  this blog post  at buzzfeed.com because it got me laughing so hard! It’s hilarious!


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