Our family has never had professional photos taken. With Grady just starting to take his first steps, we thought this would be a perfect time to remedy this. So we were thrilled when Portland-based Tara Bamford of Third Book Photography reached out to PDX Kids Calendar and offered a photo session to us for review.
Tara does on-location shoots – meaning you can go wherever strikes your fancy. We opted to avoid the cat hair in our house and meet up in Sellwood Park. No problem, right – it’s July – and when does it ever rain in July? Well, of course, the weather had different plans. However, thanks to incessant weather.com refreshing and an accommodating Tara, we were able to time the shoot fairly well.
If you haven’t yet clicked over to the Third Book Photography website, you should definitely check out Tara’s portfolio. What we love best about her photos is how natural they are – Tara is excellent at capturing beautiful, authentic real life moments. She does this by creating a relaxed, fun atmosphere in which she encourages families to do what feels comfortable for them. For our family, that meant Grady bee-lining to a massive puddle, covering himself in dirt, and then transferring a good portion of that dirt onto Mommy and Daddy. Ah well, so much for us all looking put-together.
As a mother of two little girls (one 4, and one almost 3), Tara was very understanding. She actually encouraged us to embrace the mess and just go with it. When is life with a toddler ever predictable? She ran around with us from swings, to the slide, back to that darn puddle, to the slide again, and again–all with a smile on her face. She also brought a blanket, allowing us to rough house with Grady on the ground despite the weather having other plans.
And although Grady did melt down a bit after snack (note to self: there is no such thing as too many yogurt drops), Tara’s light attitude and helpful suggestions allowed for a rally, and some great shots of Grady stopping to smell the flowers.
Although the rain and Grady’s energy could have made this a less than ideal experience, we ended up having a fabulous time. Tara made us feel comfortable from the start. She was an unassuming presence, allowing us to just hang out as a family—although she was full of good suggestions on where to go or what to do next when Grady started getting antsy. And of course, we are thrilled with the results. We whole-heartedly recommend Third Book Photography.
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