gwyneth colleen photography » portland, or wedding photographer

about me

clients are always asking me–“did you go to school for photography?” and “how did you get into photography?”

the short answer to the first one is–no. not exactly. i have pursued some photography training in a classroom environment, which was invaluable, but it is by no means my main or best learning environment. wedding photography is like the ocean…it’s always changing, and you never know what you’re going to get. but no matter what the conditions, it’s always beautiful and mesmerizing. so, given the capricious nature of a wedding…the only place to learn wedding photography is…at a wedding! i had the privilege of working with a more established wedding photographer for several months before shooting a wedding on my own, so that when I did “leave the nest”, i was confident that i could truly capture the magic of the most special day in peoples’ lives.

as for the second question…what got me into photography? that is a longer story, and certainly more rambling.

my mother was a photographer in the Navy before I was born…

my grandmother used to send me birthday cards that were photographs she’d taken, developed in her own darkroom, and written special messages on…

art classes were always my favorites in high school and college…

a friend started down the wedding photographer path several years before me, and i was always entranced by the magic and beauty of a bride in her gown…

i worked with children…the most adorable children i’ve ever seen (seriously, i am objective enough to know that my future children just won’t be as cute. it’s not possible.)…they’re the ones that probably pushed me over the edge. i used to dress them up and do their hair and have little photoshoots. when their mother selected one of my photographs for cards to send to friends and family, i thought perhaps other people might also enjoy my images as much as i enjoyed making them. it kind of took on a life of its own from there. it’s been a wild and fantastic ride; i feel truly grateful to make my living doing something i love!

AND…because i am a random kind of girl…a few random facts about me:

*i am a cat person
*i prefer vanilla ice cream
*i love my red chuck taylors. and polka dots. and red.
*i am a navy brat
*i have a New Zealand driver’s license
*i hate capital letters
*i love to travel

email me, and tell me some random facts about you!

(and make sure you check out my portfolio using the handy dandy links just up there /\)

you can reach me at:

gwyn @ gwynethcolleen . com (remove spaces)

207.619.0599

Rebecca Pettigrew12 July 2008 - 10:38

You are so darn cute! And your portfolio rocks my socks off.