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About Me

I have been writing and posting on this blog since April 2, 2006. Wow. I did not even realize its been that long. I know facebook has taken over a lot of blogging but even with our facebook account I still enjoy making an official blog post. Facebook is fast and gives more instant gratification but I want to be able to share a little more about me, my life, my clients and anything else I find interesting. I know I have clients, friends, family and fellow photographers who have become blog stalkers over the years and I thank everyone for it! I hope you guys continue to check up on me and continue to enjoy learning a little about me and what I do.

In case you dont know me...I am Whitney Stevens and I live in Portland, Oregon with my wonderful husband, Dan Harlacher and our daughter, Lily. Dan and I have been married seven years now and still love every minute of it (yes we are one of those couples!). I have been photographing for about 14 years now and couldn't imagine not having a camera. I still remember being a kid and owning a little camera and not knowing what I was doing with it...but it was a blast. My grandmother bought me my first official camera when I was in High School (it was a pentax k1000...remember those?) and I have been shooting ever since. The digital world has of course opened so many doors and turned photographers into designers as well. I would consider myself as much of a designer as I am a photographer anymore. One of my favorite things to do is design albums! Its such a great way to tell the story of my clients. Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy!

Life out loud...

Whitney

Little Alex…

CUTE. CUTE. CUTE!  And what a HAM!  Alex made my job a piece of cake.  He just looked at me and gave me all the smiles and cuteness I could want.  He either loves me or getting his photo taken? hmm. Maybe both :)  I had such a good time photographing Alex and loved how well he did.  It was also wonderful to see his parents, Ben & Allaire again after photographing their wedding not too long ago!  Its always great to see my bliss couples grow into a family of 3 (or MORE!).  Thanks for coming to see me again.  You guys made a Perfect little man!  Enjoy your sneak peek…

Sanow Twins are ONE!

As I always say the final piece of my baby planners is always both a happy moment and a bittersweet moment.  Its exciting that they reach a year and I can complete their album but at the same time….Im sad…A YEAR! Already? ha ha ha.  And now being a mom I see just how fast it really goes.  Dont worry I really am excited to work on my one year albums.  They are my happy place.  The Sanow Twins had their one year session and I was so excited for it. Their parents found the PERFECT location.  We had chatted about wanting a field of wildflowers for the girls.  Done. Perfect time of year. Perfect little location.  Ill admit I was thrilled that they did the dirty work for me by researching the location first. Made it that much better.  We also had a couple props to finish tying the year together.  Samantha brought an old antique rocking horse (beautiful!) and we had a bouquet of balloons (used balloons in the maternity session!).  Its fun to have a bit of a theme or “look” throughout the sessions so the book is even more complete.

So Ill start by teasing….You know its going to be a GREAT session when this is how you start out…

And it wouldnt be complete without a little nose picking right?

 

Okay I am TOTALLY teasing the girls were actually fabulous for their session.  The top photo of Ellerie crying was too cute to pass up the shot. And really only lasted a minute.  And nose picking Esme? Entirely my fault and I will happily take the blame…cause its HILARIOUS.  I said “Esme…Where’s your nose?” Well she showed me didnt she! ha!

I really have too many great shots…including the silly ones above that I HAD to post. Sometimes things just click. Excuse the pun. But the light was beautiful…the girls were beautiful…the location was beautiful. Makes my job super easy.  Just watch…and shoot. Congrats to the girls for turning one! And congrats to Samantha and Jon for surviving the first year! You both are amazing parents and the girls are so lucky to have you!  Looking forward to working on the book! Hugs and here are a few of my favorites!

Latest Photo Project…

Some of you may have seen that my good friend and fellow photographer, Dave Hutt and I are having little photo projects to keep us constantly looking for photo opportunities.  Its sometimes hard to find time to shoot for yourself and its nice to always have a “project” in the back of my head so that I keep searching for the photo.  The project we are working on now is “Stripes”.  Its taken us both awhile to get a shot not only for the maybe a little more complicated title (harder to figure out what to photograph) but also we have both been busy and haven’t had a lot of time to just shoot.  I cheated a little….well only a little. I didn’t take a day to seek out a photo for this originally. Dan and I were looking for a location to photograph Lily for her one year session that will be happening the beginning of July.  We headed out to Sauvie Island to find a cool farm to go with the Look I am hoping to achieve (you will have to stay tuned to see those photos!).  While farm shopping I came across two “Stripe” photos.  I think the second will be my official challenge entry.  So now…Dave….Let’s see what you got?  You can view Dave’s blog at www.davehuttblog.com! Hopefully he will post his photo(s) soon!

 

Happiness…

Nothing makes me happier than getting THESE boxes delivered all the way from New York…

Getting closer…

Two pieces of my heart delivered and are ready for my clients.  That is IF I can give them up!

My Baby Albums are soooo special to me and I could not be more excited for these beauties to decorate their owners’ homes. Thank you to BOTH families for letting me capture a piece of your lives and document it into a book!

~Whitney

Mr. Teagan

It is time for Teagan’s second session for his baby book!  It was a PERFECT day for photographing outside. I was very excited as the weather the few days before (and even that morning) were not the best.  Teagan was awesome for his session. Giving me smiles and kissy faces. He even reached for me so I could hold him…sooo sweet. I think babies have “mommy sense”.  I mean kids have always liked me but even more so now :)  So I got a little Teagan snuggles before his session.  I used my new chalk board wall for the 1st time in a session. I thought it would be fun to see if it would work. I had Teagan’s mom write on the wall so it would be a little more personal.  Nice touch dont  you think?  Thanks as always to the Richards’ family for making the drive up to ptown! I had a great time during the session and loved seeing you all!  Hope you enjoy your sneak peek…

Brumfield Family

The Brumfield family has grown to a family of 5! So exciting…and ADORABLE kids!  This session was all about Hannah who has turned one!  But of course we snagged a few of the family as well…And one adorable shot of the cousins. Little Sawyer joined us for a couple shots at the very end.  I have been working with the Brumfields since they were married not too many years ago and I have so enjoyed being a part of their lives as the kids have joined in.  I love watching Molly and Yancey as they talk to their kids. You can tell just how amazing these two parents are. There is so much patience and love that it just makes me happy to see!  Thanks to the Brumfield’s for making the drive down to Portland to visit! I had a blast at the session and hope you guys enjoy your sneak peek! Hugs to all of you…See you again soon!

 



Baby Colin…

This little man is SO CUTE!  He was such a sweetie and was perfect for his first photo session. I love the images were able to snag in the vintage box crate I have.  Colin thought it was more fun to stay awake for his session. Of course what I am doing is very interesting!  But we managed to get just a couple beautiful sleeping shots that finished off the session perfectly!  Thanks to Colin and his family for both coming to see my and your patience on this sneak peek!  I will see you guys soon!

Here are a couple of my favorites…

March Contest Winner…

First…Thank you so much for everyone who entered! It was fun looking at all the photos!  Second…I had absolutely NOTHING to do with selecting the winner.  I know all the people that entered so I of course want EVERYONE to win.  So I had a judge choose that does not know any of the entries. Makes it fair :)

THE WINNER IS……

“Charmer” by Allaire R.

 

Please email me (or comment below) your choice …

1. Movie Madness- Surprise Movie Pack put together by me with my favorites

2. Cupcake Basket- Surprise Cupcake basket with my favorite things

3. Bliss Surprise- Bliss Studio Goodies…You never know what this could be.

 

Runner Up:

“Flower” by Debbie M. (receives a $10.00 starbucks gift card)

And I thought I would just share a couple more entries that I liked for the heck of it!  Sorry you guys are not winners…but you are winners in my book! Thanks again for playing!


March Contest…

This months newsletter contained a fun little contest for you guys. In honor of St. Patty’s day we are going GREEN!  Here are the details from the newsletter in case you missed it. Also I will give you until Sunday at midnight so you can gather up those photos you took today! Go GREEN!

MARCH CONTEST

I think we will have some fun this month with a little photo contest. Its March…which to me means GREEN.  The Irish in me likes the GREEN! So I want to see a photo with GREEN. Anything….just has to have something green in it. Can be silly, can be serious, can be people, can be landscape. Whatever you are inspired by. Deadline is March 17th at midnight. I have a panel of judges who will select the winner (not fair for me to judge). You can email as many entries as you like just put MARCH CONTEST in the subject line info@blissstudio.net.  Ill make a blog post on the 18th with the winner and if I get enough entries I might do a couple runners up. Lets see what you guys can come up with. Shoot me over some inspiring photos! Or make me laugh…thats always a good thing! PS…the photo entry MUST be taken by you. No stealing please! :)

Prize….I am going to give the winner a choice of prizes so they may choose the one that best fits them. Each prize is a Whitney themed favorite :)

1. Movie Madness- Surprise Movie Pack put together by me with my favorites

2. Cupcake Basket- Surprise Cupcake basket with my favorite things

3. Bliss Surprise- Bliss Studio Goodies…You never know what this could be.

Each “pack” will be valued at a minimum of $50.00.  But it will be a surprise pack of goodies. Got to enter to win! If you have any questions please pop me an email!

Budd Family

I was so excited to finally have the opportunity to photograph the Budd Family. We were “patiently” awaiting a decent day and after several reschedules we finally got what I was hoping for. In fact it was “almost” warm so it was even better than I was hoping for.  It felt so good to get out and photograph and actually have a little sun.  Although I know I typically hide from the sun when shooting its still nice to feel the warmth.  I photographed this session around the studio. There is a great spot across the street from where I am as well as the path out front of my studio.  I love that I have spots close by :)  Thanks to the Budd family for both your patience on the session as well as your sneak peek. I enjoyed working with you guys and look forward to you seeing them all!

Here are a couple of my favorites…