Portland Wedding Photographers - Artistique

Our Album Received a Score of 99 at Western States Competition!!

Michelle Stevens — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 21:35:59 +0000

We were BEYOND excited this week to learn that our wedding album scored a 99 at Western States Competition in California!! This competition is our regional one for Professional Photographers of America. It will go on to International Print Competition in the summer but has already secured a merit towards my Master of Photography degree. That, along with two more merits received for wedding images, brings me within one merit of enough needed to complete the requirements for the degree. An amazing photographer, Bill Sorenson, bet me $20 several years ago that I couldn’t earn my masters degree in three years. This is year three. I think I might collect!!

Awards at Professional Photographers of Oregon!!

Michelle Stevens — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 20:35:15 +0000

We are SOOOO excited to be named Wedding Photographer of the Year from Professional Photographers of Oregon for the fifth year!! We were also awarded Best Wedding Album, Best Wedding Portrait, Best of Show (for our wedding album), the Wedding Division trophy and two Judges Choice awards (for the album and a wedding print). Congratulations to all the other winners, it was a great competition! I also had the honor of judging the competition (not my own entries of course!) plus presented a program on Album Design for Competition. Thank goodness I won best album, otherwise that might have been a bit… awkward. In additional to all that excitement, I was awarded my Fellow of Photography degree, which I have been working on for the last couple of years. I was SO excited to have my mom there to present it to me as Justin was out of town. Here are my treasures:

Top 27 from 2012

Michelle Stevens — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 03:58:25 +0000

So I thought I would do a top 12 of our favorite images from 2012, but ended up with 27! Well, actually more, but I cut some down and still couldn’t get past 27. SO, here are (some of!) our favorites from 2012!

Wedding Album Accepted into the International Loan Collection!

Michelle Stevens — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 02:42:30 +0000

We were SO excited to have another of our wedding albums accepted into the International Loan Collection! The Loan Collection is a hand selected group of images and albums that are chosen from those that score the highest at the Professional Photographers of America annual competition. This album scored the highest at the state level (Professional Photographers of Oregon), and second highest at the Regional Level (all of the western United States and Canada). Ironically, the highest scoring album at the regional level was also our album, but it didn’t get selected for the Loan Collection. Go figure!

Thanh and Huan’s wedding was FABULOUS, and we had a blast shooting them. They were natural models and so sweet together. Here is the album layout that we did for the competition.

Erin & Jeff, Azul Sensatori, Riviera Maya, Mexico

Michelle Stevens — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 02:17:19 +0000

We had a great time shooting Erin and Jeff’s fabulous wedding at Azul Sensatori, in the Riviera Maya, Mexico! We had the perfect day for the wedding, then the day after did a sunrise trash the dress shoot, then later in the day headed out to a cenote to do some fun stuff both above and under the water! There aren’t many times Justin can shoot photos in swimwear and snorkel gear, so he took full advantage! I have to say it is a little challenging getting up before dawn for a sunrise shoot the morning after the wedding, but definitely worth it!! Here are a few of the shots from the wedding and day after shoots.

A Wedding at Amadeus Manor, Portland

Michelle Stevens — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 04:57:59 +0000

It was wonderful to be back at Amadeus Manor! Justin and I had our rehearsal dinner here, nearly 6 years ago. It is truly a hidden gem in Portland! It is a historic Portland home that overlooks the Willamette River. Construction began back in 1921, but wasn’t actually finished until 1941. It is currently a fabulous restaurant which also hosts small gatherings such as rehearsal dinners, parties, and of course, weddings! Merrisa and Ben booked us just one week before their wedding as their photographer from Hawaii couldn’t make it at the last minute. They are the sweetest couple (with a little one on the way) and I had a wonderful time photographing their intimate wedding.

Moo! Engagement Session on a Farm with Some Cows…

Michelle Stevens — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 01:26:22 +0000

Cows in the engagement session?!

Why not! We shot Anna & Steve’s engagement session last week at her parents farm in Cornelius. They have 200+ head of dairy cows, and Anna milks 100+ herself, twice a day. This girl was particularly special to Anna. After pursuing her around the field, she led her over to us. Actually, I said to Justin it was more like something out of a “B” cow horror film. The cows SLOOOOWLY and silently approached us, then surrounded us. Yikes! For someone who is not intimately acquainted with cows, it was a bit intimidating. Cows are big! They were very interested in the equipment. I think there was some tentative nibbling going on on my light stand.

This was my favorite one, taken by Justin. I think he caught her best side, and the grass hanging out of her mouth was a really nice touch!

We Won Best Wedding Album 2012 from Professional Photographers of Oregon!

Michelle Stevens — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 06:00:53 +0000

We are so honored to have been awarded the 2012 Best Wedding Album Award from Professional Photographers of Oregon this past weekend! We also won Best Overall Album for the wedding. In addition, we won a Kodak Gallery Award for another album, Amanda & Joe’s Beach Wedding, which we will post soon. All five of our wedding album entries received merits, four of which we have now sent to Professional Photographers of America District Competition, where they will be judged with other entries from the western United States and Canada. Keeping our fingers crossed!

Here is Ariel & Peter’s Best Wedding Album 2012….

Wedding Photography at Azul Sensatori, Iberostar, Barcelo, Secrets Maroma, El Dorado or Anywhere in the Riviera Maya, October or November!

Michelle Stevens — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:41:56 +0000

We are excited to announce that we will be in the Riviera Maya in late October and early November this year!! We will be shooting a wedding at Azul Sensatori on November 4th, and will be available to shoot other weddings from approximately October 18th through November 8th. As we will already be there, we are offering NO AIRFARE travel fees!!

While we are there we will be vacationing at either Barcelo Maya Palace, El Dorado Royale, Secrets Maroma Beach, Iberostar Grand Paraiso, or your resort! (Those are some of our favorites though) We may just spend all our time at Azul too as it is a gorgeous property! Please contact me for a custom package quote on your date. As always, if you book with us and get another bride to book while we are there, you will receive a complimentary 40 page wedding album.

You can see more of our destination photography at Artistique Destinations.

Here’s one from Kathy & AJ’s wedding at Azul:

Art of Weddings, Portland

Michelle Stevens — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:46:27 +0000

We had a great time at the Art of Weddings Bridal Show last week! It was a beautiful event and we met lots of great couples who braved the elements to come to the show. Just a reminder to those who attended that you can still receive your $350 credit for attending.

Here is our booth, which Justin built a few months ago. Linens courtesy of the amazing Jen at Barclay Events! They have the biggest and most gorgeous selections of linens and rental items to choose from for your wedding.

: Artistique Bridal Show Booth at Art of Weddings