Zion’s Birth

Hi everyone. My name is Zion Taylor and I’m new to Portland and the world in general.

It was dark and comfortable, and suddenly a bright light came and surgeons grabbed me and put me on a table outside. I wasn’t too happy about this, but I guess they won’t let me back in, so here I am.

My first few breaths were hard, but I got it eventually. The doctors were cool and they let Daddy play soft music and take pictures in the operating room.

I can’t wait to meet you all as soon as Mommy let’s me out of house. I have a few pictures, but it’s mostly sleeping and crying as that’s all I really like doing right now.

Even though I kept Daddy busy all night caring for me and Mommy after surgery, they found time to got some beautiful shots of me. Mommy, Daddy, Sister and Grandma. They all love me.

We just got out of the hospital to go live in my home in Fairview. And Mommy made a video of me. Happy to be the newest Oregonian and meet you all!

Pregnancy Photos-New Family Member Coming!

We are very excited to tell the world of our new baby coming at the end of April!

Since we’ve been back in Portland, we have been busy moving, dealing with red tape from the move, the cleaning business, immigration, cars, you name it. I’ve been kept busy with my job at the airport and Valeria has been consulting for cleaning services across the country.

We have moved into the Fairview area, which we love. The clean buildings to the park and fishing lakes, as well as being close to the Columbia Gorge.

Some great food too, Fork Food Carts, downtown Gresham, Troutdale, etc. Far enough from the city to get away from the noise, but close enough to civilization for the hospital, stores, etc. Both Valeria and I have found the place we want to call home here.

Bocellis in Downtown Gresham

So though I haven’t kept up on this blog so much, life has been amazing. Our son is going to be named Zion Samuel Taylor. Though we have kids of hers who I am proud to call mine, this is going to be my first baby. I couldn’t be a prouder papa.

In March we took some shots in Zion’s room.

Then went to a school nearby, where cherry blossoms were growing.

Then Multnomah Falls.

And more recently, Chanticleer Point at the Portland Women’s Forum

The baby is due this week. Our lives are about to change for the better. Stay tuned!

Back in Portland!

When Valeria and I got married, we settled on Los Angeles as the place to live. We set up shot as photography and makeup artist and also started a cleaning company and I worked a dayjob as a skycap at LAX.

But I was always a Portlander by heart. My family was there. My friends, my church. And the Columbia Gorge, where I used to hike. Delicious water from the tap, Mount Hood seen on the street, Powell Books, Don Pedros, microbreweries, Blazers, bike paths everywhere, fresh air, the list goes on, right?

Crown Point, a landmark symbol of the Pacific Northwest and the Columbia Gorge.

We agreed that after the kids graduated we could talk about moving back. The kids in the intro picture are Helena and Henrique. My family and roots are in Oregon and the cost of living is significantly lower.

And now it’s time. As of August we have officially moved to Portland in the East Portland, Gresham area.

Looking forward to grabbing a brew with my friends at McMenamins or one of the many great craftbrew places around the area.

Okay, I might have to suffer a bit in the rain. And I’m not looking forward to having to scrape ice off my window in the winter. haha. But it’s home.

I’m available for photography as well, so if you want pictures in the Gorge or the Oregon coast or a venue in Oregon, we can do it. It’s too cold outside, we can do an indoor shoot, no problem.

I do events like parties and weddings, indoors and outdoors. And with Valeria we can do makeup and portraits as we did in Los Angeles for actresses and professionals. I also do small businesses, food photography, etc. So whatever you need I’ll be happy to help you.

I’ll miss you guys and I’m glad to be back!

Hiking at Mount Rubidoux

A Northwesterner by heart, I needed to get out of the city. Mount Rubidoux by Riverside is just the ticket.

Los Angeles is hustle and bustle all the time, but Riverside is more of a peaceful desert like Central Oregon. The mountains around the area are beautiful.

A relatively easy hike up a steady slope. We were fortunate to be right at the golden hour.

At the top is a mission-outpost type thing and a giant cross. Never seen anything like this in Oregon, so very glad to have found this gem.

So if you happen to be in SoCal and, like me, need an outdoor adventure, not crowded like the national parks, this is a great place!

Graduation of Heloisa and Henrique

Since our teenagers Heloisa and Henrique came to America 2 years ago, they came to a brand new school, had to learn English, and had to experience a whole new culture.

When they first came they knew no English at all, but I remember when they started making friends. Henrique would tell everyone, “E ai, Fella!" Lol The other kids loved them.

They then got involved with futbol/soccer, got baptized in the church, and lived the American teenage life.

This year they graduated from West High School in Torrance. We are very proud of what they have accomplished.

This is a milestone for our family. After this they will see the world. Heloisa is traveling in Brazil now and Henrique will come with us to Portland, Oregon.

Here’s to dreams!

Engagement Session at Crystal Cove State Park

Think the days of romanticism have long past? Not at all. In the beautiful Laguna Beach, Bryan Guerra made the most epic engagement proposal session that day at Crystal Cove State Park.

It was a surprise. Bryan’s plan was put into motion as he hired the planner The Dwell Co. to find a place and do the decor, then I was to do the engagement photography session at the beach.

He was supposed to be out-of-town in a different state. Her family was in on it too. They took her out and then took her to Crystal Cove, blindfolding her as they walked to the pinned location.

So once the group was spotted, Bryan said, “Okay, showtime.” I hid off to the side. And we waited…

They approached closer…

When they finally arrived, they removed the blindfold. The expressions of surprise when she saw Bryan was priceless. She suspected, but still was surprised by the whole thing. It was like a movie.

So as inconspicuous as I could be I got shots of their moment together.

She said yes!

The family joined as we celebrated and got some more shots.

As it got dark, we packed up and they went off to celebrate. I took the drive back to LA county, looking forward to seeing my own wife and family.

Wait, one more thing. I got the engagement session on video too.

Congratulation Bryan and Monique!

I no longer live in California, I’ve moved to Portland, Oregon. So if you need an engagement photographer in Gresham, Fairview or even the Columbia Gorge, let me know. If you want to see more event photography photos here’s more. Talk to you soon!

Wedding Photos in Laguna Hills and Aliso Beach

Laguma Hills. A beautiful place outside of LA in Orange County I had the privilege of photoshooting a wedding at.

Ben and Jennifer were married at the Laguna Hills Orange County Clerk Recorder Department.

First look in the parking lot.

After waiting for a little while, the judge came and did the ceremony.

There was a beautiful hallway outside where we took a few more shots.

And afterwards, a photoshoot at Aliso Beach…

Amazing wedding in Laguna Hills!

Since then I’ve moved out of California back to my hometown, Portland, Oregon. If you’re looking for a wedding photographer in Gresham or Portland you can see more of my event portfolio here, portrait page or contact me here or text me at 503-807-3557.

Talk to you later!

Instagram @JoshTaylorPhotographer

4 Tips to Prepare Kids in a Family Photography Session

Remember some of the old portraits of when you were kid?  Many are traumatized by these. haha Sometimes it’s not so much the funny styles, but something doesn’t seem right.  The poses are stiff, the smiles seem fake.  

We take still take these every day with our phones, but sometimes you’ll see a snapshot taken when the family had a good time, and though it’s not “professional”, your family looks amazing, because the smiles look genuine. 

Remember as a kid when the photographer would force you into a pose that feels unnatural? Move your head two inches!  Smile!  And all you wanted to do was get this over with and play.

So remember this for your kids. When you want the pictures and you bring the kids or spouse, remember it’s their day too. 

They need to be having fun.  The worst situation is when the kids don’t want to be there and the parents scold them to behave or smile.

I get it. Kids are troublesome. You have to be firm. If the kids are ornery, it can be a bad situation. But the last thing you want on your wall is pictures with stressful smiles and poses.

So here are some tips to get the best, genuine photos from your kids.

1. Do everything you can to make sure they have fun.  Buy them ice cream.  Be as funny as you can, and do your best to pay attention to them that day.  If you can find a way to relax them especially that day, it will pay off in the photos. This is their day too. 

2. Let them have some ideas for shots.  In one session I let the kids jump and be superheros for the shot.  They loved it.  You can focus on the traditional shots, but just give them a couple minutes for some fun shots.

3. Tell jokes and let them be silly.  To a point, where it can be controlled. I saw one photographer that asked who farted the loudest.  They said Dad, and they including the dad were giving the best smiles ever.  Whatever works.

4. If they like to show affection make sure this is captured.  If they don’t, that’s okay.  Don’t force it.

Caught a great moment in between shots. These end up being the best ones!

One of my favorite pictures was when I wanted my wife to take a photo of me, and then Helena came in a ruined it. haha She made it so much better, wouldn’t you say?

At our New Years Eve party, Helena was being ornery when we were trying to take iphone pictures. So I found a way to make her smile.

Look at Helena’s face! lol

I know just the thing. lol. They say choose your battles with kids. We left this battle for another time.

This phone shot is far from professional. But the smile was genuine.

So basically, my point is, relax during the family photoshoot. Have fun!

For more family portraits, just check out the gallery. If you need a family photographer in the Portland area or Gresham or Fairview just let me know!

9 Restaurant photography tips for i-phone

Take Staff Portraits

People want to know the people behind the food.  The cooks, the baristas, the waiters.  These are your heros. These portraits help tell your story and build trust with your potential clientele.

Your iphone is fine for this. Use portrait mode and stand about 4-6 feet away, and focus mainly on the face. This can be a traditional smiling portrait or a natural snapshot when they’re working or having fun playing around.

If the light is difficult in your restaurant, go outside. Bright cloudy days are these easiest to photograph people, because you won’t have to deal with so many shadows.

Food, drinks and other products.

For the food use regular mode if you want everything to be sharp. Make sure nothing but the plate is on the table. Clean up any distractions like napkins or other things unless you want them to be in the picture. 

Clean up the plate. It's easy to leave little rice kernels, crumbs or sauce on the side where it looks messy, so just wipe down the edges with a paper towel.

Get a small phone tripod This is the only gear suggestion I'll make here. For photographing your food and products, it’s going to make it stable with the sharpest picture you can get even when the light is dim inside.

Try to get different angles.  If you always shoot from above your plate, try from the side.  Try an overhead shot of the table like those fancy chef shows. You might need to stand on a chair, but these shots are worth going the extra mile.

Edit.  Much commercial photography isnt heavily edited, just bright and colorful. Just go very easy on the vibrance and saturation, adjust black control to the right for just a little bit of subtle contrast and then make it a little bit brighter with brilliance and exposure.

The iPhone can give a decent shot in-camera, without a filter, so keep the edits small. It’s easy to get excited on an edit and go too much, so often I go back afterwords and tone down the edits. This is for you to decide, but get opinions of your coworkers if your not sure.

Build trust without too much clutter. Don’t go overboard with prices and shoutouts on the photos.  Showcase the food and build trust on social media, not everything is sell, sell, sell.

But of course you do need to make sales, so this is up to the business to decide.  Gary V has a great resource for this, called Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook.

Practice.  The iPhone is a great, easy-to-use camera, but the user will always benefit from practice.  So the assignment to you is, take a food picture every day.

Taken with an iPhone at El Amigos in the Hawthorne area in West LA. The iPhone did a great job, except one mistake, I left the plastic fork in! lol. Practice to avoid these kind of mistakes. Even if you can clean it up in Photoshop, wouldn’t it be easier to just remove the plastic in the shot?

Yes, shooting all your food might be a little annoying to your family, but how else do you learn?  Take a look and compare it to your favorites on Instagram or wherever else. Find out what you don’t like in the picture and change it improving as you go.

Behind-the-scenes

These are photos and videos about how your restaurant is run, someone grinding coffee, cooking a dramatic stir-fry, or just taking a break and goofing around. This is very interesting to see for people and builds trust on social media.

Last, but not least:

Hire a restaurant photographer. You can get by with just a phone, true enough, but if you want that extra professional look for your website or printed material, I’m happy to help.

Check out my small business portfolio if you want to see more. Good luck!