Vibrant Photography Blog | Salem, Oregon Photographers

December 10th, 2011 - Friend Photos

2012-01-11T18:01:00.000-08:00

There's nothing like a little friendly rivalry to warm up a freezing day :) Stacey won a free session with us by being a Facebook fan and decided to get photos done with her best friend -- one's a Beaver, the other is a Duck.

If you're interested in winning free photos, 'like' us on Facebook. You never know when we'll give away another session :)

September 10th, 2011 - Wedding Photos

2011-12-03T10:55:00.000-08:00

Kellie & Cody got married on one of the hottest days of the year (it was mid 90s) in a very fun backyard wedding. I think everyone was dripping sweat, but that didn't matter one bit! It's obvious how in love these two are and how they always have a blast no matter what they are doing together. It was an honor to photograph their wedding and we wish them many happy years of marriage :)

2011 Photos

2011-11-06T09:30:00.000-08:00

Summer 2011 was a busy time for us because of photos, family trips, and other personal happenings. So we apologize for slacking on the blog and hope no one minds that we're posting a preview of several shoots we did these past several months (including a few photos from our vacation to San Francisco). Now that we are caught up, we hope to start posting full sets of new shoots in the near future :)

April 9th, 2011 - Kid Photos

2011-04-30T18:31:00.000-07:00

As we wrap up one of the wettest Aprils in Oregon history, it should be no surprise that we didn't get a chance to do many photo sessions this month. Luckily, April 9th was dry enough for a fun Easter/18-month-old shoot with the adorable Elly at the Capitol :) Choosing the photos to post here was a challenge as there were so many cute ones!

March 20th, 2011 - Maternity Photos

2011-04-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

We shot our first maternity session last month and had a blast doing it! It was a bit cold (and wet), but we made it work and are so happy with how the photos turned out. Danielle & Nathan are great people and we can't wait to meet little Hayden (and take his photo) in a few short weeks :)

December 20th, 2010 - Wedding Photos

2011-02-21T17:19:00.000-08:00

December 20th was a big day for us last year. I (Shamara) was celebrating my 28th birthday AND the first day at my new job, while Derek was in Albany photographing a wedding! Luckily it was a small courthouse wedding, so he didn't need back up. I think he did a fabulous job, what do y'all think? :)

November 12th, 2010 - Senior Photos

2010-11-21T22:35:00.000-08:00

We recently had a drawing for 2 free photo sessions to celebrate 300 fans on facebook :) One of our winners was a senior from Springfield that made the trek up to Salem for her senior shoot. We lucked out with a gorgeous day and an easy-going, photogenic high schooler. It was the best of both worlds!

We're thrilled with how the photos came out and are happy to give back to the people that support us :) We occasionally have specials and free sessions on our facebook page, so become a fan if you haven't already: Facebook | Vibrant Photography

November 7th, 2010 - Family Photos

2010-11-10T13:52:00.000-08:00

If you read our last blog entry, you saw the amazing red trees and gorgeous color. Well, that was not the case just 11 days later, as witnessed by these photos :) We made the best of it and the kids even got to have a little fun in the leaves.

October 27th, 2010 - Senior Photos

2010-11-09T16:32:00.000-08:00

This was a unique senior session, as we didn't have just one senior -- we had two siblings that both needed senior photos done. The sister is actually a little younger, but is graduating a year early. This was one of our funnest sessions since we've known both seniors since they were much younger and it was fun to see them all grown up :)

The park we choose for this shoot was just gorgeous and chock-full of fall colors. We are so lucky to live in a beautiful state like Oregon. Unfortunately, the colors didn't last long, as we found out 1.5 weeks later at another session at the same park. lol. At least we got one good set of photos out of this place :)

October 20th, 2010 - Senior Photos

2010-11-09T16:02:00.000-08:00

October 20th was a dry day, but started out very cold as well. This poor senior had to endure 40 degree weather first thing in the morning for two hours. But the photos turned out great and he never has to go through that again -- a win-win, no? :)

October 17th, 2010 - Couple Photos

2010-11-06T17:03:00.000-07:00

Nathan was one of three people we randomly selected on facebook to receive a free photo session with us. We've known Nathan and his wife Danielle since high school (long ago! lol) and have gotten to know them a lot better since then. They are great, funny people and we always enjoy hanging out with them.

We headed to a local farm to get some fun fall photos on a sunny October day. It was insanely crowded the day we went, but we managed to find a few spots to take some photos.

A week after our session, Nathan & Danielle announced they were pregnant with their 1st child! Congrats guys, we look forward to meeting your new addition next year :)

October 16th, 2010 - Homecoming Photos

2010-11-06T13:21:00.000-07:00

We can now cross another 1st off our list: we shot a session in Washington for the 1st time last month :) We met up in Vancouver, WA with a group of 8 high schoolers before going to their homecoming dance. It was a little chilly, but dry -- a perfect day to shoot outdoor photos.

October 9th, 2010 - Family Photos

2010-11-06T12:35:00.000-07:00

We recently had a 'cutest kid contest' on our facebook page and little Haylee was our big winner! She won a free photo shoot for her & her family.

We met at Mission Mill and battled the rain throughout the session, but the photos turned out so cute that it was totally worth it :) Shooting groups (especially with young children) is always a challenge, but it also made for some really fun captures.

October 9th, 2010 - Family Mini Sessions

2010-11-06T11:22:00.000-07:00

We offered our first-ever mini sessions in October and we're pleased with the result. Unforunately, it was a rainy day and we had to cancel a few sessions, but we were lucky to have a few hours of dry weather to squeeze two shoots in.

The plus side of shooting on a rainy day is that the park was pretty deserted and we didn't have to worry about people getting in the way :) One of our sessions was with a former co-worker (Judy) and her husband and dog Nemo. The other was with Judy's daughter and her two kids.

September 25th, 2010 - Personal Family Photos

2010-11-06T09:56:00.000-07:00

September 25th is a great day for us; it's our wedding anniversary :) This year we celebrated 6 years of fun & laughter and can't wait to spend 60 more together.

We usually have pretty lowkey anniversaries and typically end up going to dinner and watching movies at home. This year was much of the same. But before the dinner & movies, we took photos of my (Shamara's) little sister. The great thing about having a gorgeous sister is that we get to try out new lens and locations and poses with her. We always have a blast and the photos always turn out so good. Hey, when you are that photogenic, it's hard to get a bad photo :)

September 19th, 2010 - Wedding Photos

2010-11-04T21:08:00.000-07:00

We recently shot our first official wedding, outside of being the backup photographers for family and friends. It was a huge learning experience, but it was also so much fun to witness someone's special day from the very beginning to the very end. The ceremony and reception was filled with laughter and love, and we captured so many great moments that it was hard to narrow down which ones to post.

It's hard not to get attached to every person we take photos of and Tessa & Zach were no expection. They are such fun people and have a great family. We're so happy that they found each other and will live a very happy life together :)

PS. In a weird coincidence, the last wedding we took photos at was exactly a year before this one. Crazy, right?!

Father of the bride and the groom passing time before the ceremony

First look :)

Father of the bride, groom, father of the groom

Maid of honor watching the bride walk down the aisle

Parents of the bride

The rings got stuck in the ring-bearer's pocket. lol

Super cute party favors!

Happily ever after :)

August 24th, 2010 - Senior Photos

2010-09-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

Deepwood Estate is one of our favorite places for our photo sessions, especially for seniors. There's so much greenery and flowers, along with neat benches and buildings. There's endless possibilities for unique photos there :)

We headed back to Deepwood for a senior session a few weeks back and we just loved how the photos turned out! This senior was very comfortable in front of the camera and made our job so easy.

August 9th/11th, 2010 - Couple Photos

2010-09-05T19:49:00.000-07:00

I (Shamara) recently took a trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan to visit my brother and sister-in-law (Richie & Amber). While there, we had a few little photo sessions. I had intended to shoot more and at a few other locations, but the weather wouldn't cooperate for us, so we made do.

Amber & Richie are hilarious people and aren't afraid to do silly stuff for a laugh. They're also very photogenic and make a very cute couple. If they lived closer, you would probably see them on the blog every few weeks :)

August 7th, 2010 - Engagement photos

2010-09-05T19:26:00.000-07:00

Oregon in the summer is just gorgeous and provides the perfect backdrop for engagement photos! We did this session at the waterfront park in Salem and had such a fun time with this couple. They are very much in love and it shows :)

August 4th, 2010 - Model Photos

2010-08-30T14:18:00.000-07:00

In addition to our regular photo shoots, we also like to test out new equipment and locations on friends and family. To give them a much-needed rest, we've been contacting local models in the area to help us break out of the box a little.

Enter Cheyanne. She was dying to do a living doll themed photo shoot, so we met down in Corvallis and made it happen. She was a natural in front of the camera and was so easy to photograph. I think you'll be seeing her on our blog again very soon :)

August 3rd, 2010 - Senior Photos

2010-08-30T12:58:00.000-07:00

We always look forward to summer, not just because of the warm weather, but also because we get to meet so many great seniors. This senior was a lot of fun and now holds the record for most wardrobe changes at a photo session :) (Hint: The more changes of clothes, the better. It provides a great variety of shots)

PS. Our facebook fan page has surpassed the 200 mark and is now up to almost 300. Once we hit that mark, we will be announcing the winners of a free photo shoot with us. We haven't decided how many to give away yet, but be sure to 'like' our page for a chance to win.

July 27th, 2010 - Free Portraits

2010-08-02T10:07:00.000-07:00

When our Facebook fanpage hit 150 fans, we gave away a few free photo shoots. We just shot the first winner last week in Eugene and loved the photos we got!

We'll be giving away more free photo sessions once we reach 200 fans, so be sure to 'like' us if you want a chance to win!

July 23rd, 2010 - Personal Family Photos

2010-07-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

It's not very often that Derek or I have our photo taken. We're almost always the ones taking the photo, so we have very few photos of ourselves.

Last Friday, I was in the mood to take some sunset photos with Derek and my sister Liz, so we headed to a local middle school for some fun :) I didn't get any with the actual sunset, but the lighting was perfect and we all had a fun time during our 45 minute photo shoot.

June 26th, 2010 - Couple/Family photos

2010-07-14T17:59:00.000-07:00

June 26th was a busy day for Vibrant Photography, as we did two photo shoots -- one was an engagement session, the other was a family/married couple session.

The family we photographed was so happy and full of life. They were all naturals in front of the camera as well. They were a lot of fun to take photos of and were up to trying new poses and locations. We always love that!

June 26th, 2010 - Engagement photos

2010-07-08T10:35:00.000-07:00

Oregon finally got the memo that it's summer time :) After months of rain and cloudy weather, we're all thrilled to see the sunshine! It also signals the start of wedding season and with that, engagement photos. We've done lots of couples photos in the past, but this was our first official engagement session. We had a great time and love how the photos turned out :)

June 7th, 2010 - Senior Photos

2010-06-14T13:51:00.000-07:00

Senior photos are always a blast for us! We've been lucky to have great experiences photographing seniors and last week was very much the same. We also got blessed with a non-rainy evening in the midst of some very rain days. So all in all, it was a fantastic day of photos :)

June 4th, 2010 - Graduation photos

2010-06-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

Remember the senior photos we just posted a few weeks back? We were back down in Lowell last week to photograph the same senior on his graduation day. With a graduating class of only 13, not only did the ceremony fly by, but it was a lot more personal compared to most graduations as well. Congratulations to the class of 2010!

It looks like the tiny town of Lowell hasn't seen the last of Vibrant Photography, as Austin and his classmate Sierra (shown in the 4th photo down) were both randomly chosen to receive free photo sessions with us :) Look for their photo shoots sometime in the near future.

May 12th, 2010 - Graduation Photos

2010-05-26T11:17:00.000-07:00

We recently took some photos for a friend at a Head Start graduation. All the little kids looked so adorable in their red cap and gown :)

April 24th, 2010 - Senior Photos

2010-05-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

We headed down to Lowell, Oregon recently for our first senior session of 2010. This athletic senior was up for anything and powered through a 5 hour photo shoot with ease :)

The town is just gorgeous and had so much character. We're really excited to head back there in a few weeks to do graduation photos!

Facebook fans

2010-05-03T10:01:00.000-07:00

We want to increase our fan count on Facebook to 150! Once we reach that goal, we'll pick 1 person at random to receive a free photo shoot with us :) (must be local) So tell all your friends and spread the word about Vibrant Photography!

Vibrant Photography on Facebook

April 16th, 2010 - Portraits

2010-04-19T19:29:00.000-07:00

Now that the weather is getting warmer and the rain is staying away at least a few days a week, we're able to get back to outdoor photos!

Last week, we took photos of some really fun/great kids. You may recognize them from the vow renewal shoot we did last summer, but they've all grown up so much since then :)

New website!

2010-03-21T20:24:00.000-07:00

We're excited to announce that we have a brand new website up! We're also offering some great grand-(re)opening specials:

- Portrait sessions are $25 off through April 15th
- Wedding packages are 10% off through April 15th

Check out our website, pass the link along to your friends and book a session with us today :)

September 19th, 2009 - Wedding Photos

2010-02-16T11:06:00.000-08:00

Going back to September of last year to post another wedding :)

Speaking of weddings... If you refer a friend to Vibrant Photography and they book their wedding with us, you'll receive a free 2-hour photo session! What could be easier than that?! Contact us at photovibrant@gmail.com if you have any questions.

July 24/25th, 2009 - Family Photos/Vow Renewal

2010-02-01T11:29:00.000-08:00

[Another session from summer 2009]

We were asked to photograph a vow renewal last July. We took family photos in the park the day before and did the vow renewal the next day at their beautiful house. The family is a lot of fun and we love hanging out with them as often as we can :)

July 21st, 2009 - Portraits

2010-01-29T11:18:00.001-08:00

More portraits from last summer :)

July 19th, 2009 - Portraits

2010-01-26T12:22:00.000-08:00

More portraits taken at Salem's Riverfront Park, this time in July 2009 :)

Looking at all these photos taken last summer makes us so excited for the warm weather to come back! We are very eager to get out and take more photos!

May 8th, 2009 - Family Photos

2010-01-26T12:08:00.000-08:00

Last May, we decided to take photos of Derek and his brothers as a Mother's Day gift for their mom. It was a beautiful sunny day at Salem's Riverfront Park and the boys all enjoyed themselves :)

September 6th, 2008 - Wedding Photos

2010-01-22T16:10:00.000-08:00

We're going back into our archives again today to bring you a wedding from 2008. Enjoy :)

Project 365 - 2009

2010-01-15T10:38:00.000-08:00

I (Shamara) started a 365 project on December 28th, 2008. If you've never heard of that, it's basically where you take at least 1 photo every single day for a year and post your favorite shot each day as you go. To see all 365 of my photos, check out my flickr set: Project 365 - 2009.

I've again started the project for 2010, but I wanted to post 20 or so of my favorites from 2009 (most of the photos can be viewed larger, so click on the actual photo for more details). Enjoy!

Our yellow lab Maggie is such a good helper :)

Gymnastics has been my favorite sport since 1996 and I try to attend as many Oregon State NCAA meets as I can. This is Kristina Baskett from Utah.

A frosty morning at the dog park.

It's very rare to get snow in our city, but 2009 brought lots of it!

The other 1/2 of Vibrant Photography, with his 50D.

A little birdie on our back fence.

One of my favorites of the year! I made this out of the pink sugar from 'peeps'.

Who knew dandelions were so cute??

Asiatic Lily.

Best buds! Our dog Maggie with our friend's Boxer puppy Trooper.

I took photos of Derek & his 2 brothers for a Mother's Day gift.

We took a trip to Seattle in May and had to visit the Space Needle :)

Squirrels were destorying our flowers/garden, so we set up a live trap to catch and release them in the wild. (Far away from here!)

A tiny little daisy, macro style!

Southern Oregon.

We photographed a vow renewal for one of Derek's co-workers and now we're very close friends :)

Much cooler full size!! One of the best photos I've ever taken :)

A little ladybug on our swimming pool.

This photo I took at the Oregon State Fair won a prize in the Statesman Journal :)

Derek's awesome pumpkin!

Kitty in the window :)

In November, we headed South to CA to visit family. This is Mt. Shasta.

Derek & I on my 27th birthday :)

A snowman cupcake Derek got me.

Day 365! Much love to everyone that took the time to visit my photos throughout the year :)

October 18th, 2008 - Senior Photos

2010-01-12T10:40:00.000-08:00

Let's rewind to October 2008 and our very first senior photos. We had no idea what to expect as it was our first official session, but we were surprised with how well the photos turned out despite that. We also discovered how fun seniors are and we can't wait to do more sessions in 2010!

December 19th, 2009 - Family Photos

2010-01-04T12:55:00.000-08:00

Family photos are one of the most challenging (yet enjoyable) types of photos that we do. It's always tough to capture a big group of people at just the right moment, making sure that everyone has their eyes open and is looking at the camera. It's also one of the funnest since you get to see how families interact and how much they truly love each other :) Enjoy these photos of a fun family of 6!

December 17th, 2009 - Couple Photos

2009-12-31T13:13:00.000-08:00

Oregon is a beautiful state year round, but it does have some disadvantages in the winter. Mainly, it's either pouring rain or freezing cold. That makes it tough to schedule photo shoots around this time since you literally don't know if the weather will cooperate until the last second.

We got lucky on December 17th with a window of dry, mild weather. Yes, it did start to rain less than an hour after we were done, but we had just enough time to get several cute shots in :)

December 25th, 2009 - Personal

2009-12-28T11:11:00.001-08:00

Happy Holidays from Vibrant Photography!! Hope everyone has a fabulous 2010 :)

- Derek & Shamara

December 6th, 2009 - Family Photos

2009-12-21T14:15:00.000-08:00

We took some photos of Shamara's family on a bitterly cold Sunday morning a few weeks back. The skies were clear, but the temperature was hovering around 30 degrees and the wind just made it worse! We were at Deepwood Estates in Salem, which is mostly shade anyways, so the sun didn't help heat us up any.

Everyone was a trooper and we managed to get some cute shots. We'll have to try again in the spring when it's a little warmer :)

November 14th, 2009 - Senior Photos

2009-12-03T11:57:00.000-08:00

We did a second round of photos here in Salem with the same senior that we posted about on November 2nd. The majority of the photos were taken at the train station and the last few were taken at Mission Mill.

We loved her 1940s hair and clothing! It made for a very unique photo shoot. We had a hard time choosing our favorites to showcase here, hence the ton that we did post :)

June 14th, 2008 - Wedding Photos

2009-11-30T13:28:00.000-08:00

We're going back in time a bit to post some previous photos, as we'll do occasionally in the next month or so.

Back in June of last year, we headed to Ontario, Canada for Shamara's brother's wedding at the Royal Ashburn Golf Club. The ceremony was beautiful (unfortunately, we didn't get any photos of it) and the reception was a blast too! It remains the funnest wedding we've ever been to :) Enjoy the photos!

November 11th, 2009 - Family

2009-11-23T09:23:00.000-08:00

Veterans Day this year was not only a day to honor all the amazing military men and women that have fought for us. It also served as the last chance for a fun little photo shoot with my sister Liz and sister-in-law Amber before Amber went back to Canada.

We headed to a local elementary school and took a handful of photos before the rain started coming down. Thank goodness for umbrellas! Not only do they keep us dry, but they're fun props too :) We hung out at the undercover basketball court to wait out the storm, which passed fairly quickly and brought out the blue sky when it was done. We all had a blast during the shoot and have some great family photos to show for it.

November 3rd, 2009 - Personal

2009-11-14T14:07:00.000-08:00

While Amber (my sister-in-law) was in Oregon visiting us, we did our best to show her some of the beauty of the state. We took her to Silver Falls State Park, among other places, and had a great time hiking and enjoying nature. The weather was perfect -- a little chilly, but sunny and dry.

Amber

Derek

Shamara

October 24th, 2009 - Homecoming Photos

2009-11-08T15:41:00.000-08:00

Derek's younger brother had a homecoming dance a few weeks back and asked us to take photos for him. The lighting wasn't ideal, but the photos turned out pretty well despite that.

October 11th, 2009 - Senior Photos

2009-11-02T17:00:00.000-08:00

We had another great portrait session in October, this time down in Eugene. This senior really knew how to work the camera and was open to anything that was suggested. The shoot was a blast and the photos turned out amazing!

October 9th, 2009 - Senior Photos

2009-10-30T15:03:00.000-07:00

Our first senior photos of the season were taken in early October in Salem. Fall is a beautiful time of year here and makes for some great backgrounds. We're very pleased with how these turned out :)

Welcome!

2009-10-30T11:12:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Vibrant Photography's blog :)

We are Derek & Shamara and our passion is photography. You name it, we take photos of it -- people, nature, sports, cars, animals, etc. We're located in Salem, Oregon and we're excited to share our most recent photos with you. We're also looking forward to finding new clients to take photos of :)

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to check out our website VibrantPhoto.net!