Our Story

My wife, Susannah and I both come from big families, and believe deeply in honoring the people who came before. As babies-of-the-family, we wish we could have photographed our great-grandparents and grandparents who have already passed on, but have always been those kids who pore over every old family photo we can get our hands on. Now that we have our own crew of four boys (as wild as you might expect, but also much more wonderful than we could have imagined), we are hurtling along the little years with as much delight as insanity. We never want to forget who they were at this age. Already we can peek the jawline Samson (6) is going to have as a young man, and yes, it makes Susannah weep.

Right before COVID19 hit, I was sitting on my couch looking through pictures of our oldest son Samson (he was two), and realized I didn’t have any single photo that really just showcased him, in that stage of life. Every time we would try and do family pictures or snag a candid of him in action, it was always distracted and the photos we took never seemed that intentional. I knew as a portrait-lover, I’d regret that gap, I set up a simple studio in our basement, found an old red chair from my wife’s grandma, and just started taking some photos. There was something about that red chair that just made him feel special. He opened up and I got some truly amazing photos of my son that have only grown in value each year. I was so excited by the results that for Christmas I decided to photograph my whole wife’s family as a gift to her parents and also as a record to be passed down to our kids and relatives. From there I continued Heirloom Portraits as a complete passion project.

We are typically photographing weddings all summer, and the off-season is when we do most of our Heirloom Portraits. We love hosting large and small intimate gatherings in our 1920’s home just outside of Oregon City, and we would be honored if you would come over and let us document you or your loved one in this special way.