At the end of March, the Made U Look girls, fresh into Portland after a 14 hour drive from Bakersfield, swung by my house for a pre-game hangout. When it came time to line up a photographer for The Blogcademy, they were at the very top of our list — their style has always stood out to me because the majority of their photos are shot on a variety of film cameras. I love that sense of mystery because really, you never know what you’re going to get and the results are always so varied. I always feel that sense of suspense creeping up, just waiting to see what they captured and it’s always even better than I could imagine.

Made U Look had perfect timing: when they arrived, my entire S.E. Portland neighborhood was full-on in bloom. That week, the usual drizzly Portland weather had decided to part for us and it didn’t rain for a record five days straight (haha).

Only one photography team could convince me to crawl into my grumpy neighbor’s yard and pose in his flowers: Made U Look, of course. As I looked on at Gala, there was a creepy undercurrent…an element of a dark Alice In Wonderland vibe permeated the shoot.

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Before we wandered the streets, I showed Made U Look around my house and we took some snaps.

Gala cozied up to our bear — they were fast friends.

Kat thought our pendant light was perfect for channeling Devo.

Joey and Rocky sat still long enough for us to capture some family shots. Awww.

That perfect golden hour had hit so we walked through my neighborhood, talking and laughing and catching up with the Made U Look girls. Over time they’ve become friends of ours so the interaction is always really natural. Nothing ever feels forced and that really comes through in their images.

It’s funny because I walk by the same houses and flowers every single day and never give anything a second glance! They helped me see my surroundings in a whole new way after this shoot.

I’ll always remember this first time of getting to show Kat and Gala around where I live as a really special one. We crammed so much into those days leading up to our Portland class and all those excursions, from visiting food carts to shopping to just hanging out reminded me of why I love Portland so much.

Photos: Made U Look
I Wore: Ears, Crown and Glory. Dress, Religion.