10 Things About Portrait Photographer Evelyn Mae

Left: my senior photo taken in 2010. Right: My self portrait taken in 2023.

Sometimes knowing a little more about the person behind the camera can help being in front of the camera. So for my final post of 2023, here are 10 things about me. 

1. I love editing the photos I take.
   I think I’m the odd one out on this because many photographers I've talked to say that they outsource editing as soon as they are able. Their joy is in the process of taking the photographs. It is for me as well, but editing is a part of the creative process where I review my work and enjoy turning photos into finished keepsakes. I love it.

2. I am obsessed with sunflowers.
   I grow sunflowers every year and so many seeds find their way into my garden soil each season that most of my sunflower gardening consists of weeding and replanting baby sunflowers to spread them out. Oddly enough most of the photos I take of them are simply on my smartphone and not my pro camera. And I've actually never taken a proper portrait in my garden with the sunflowers. Maybe I'll change that next season. I am very much looking forward to next season as I've made my first seed purchase from Sunflower Steve (@sun_flower_steve on Instagram) and I can't wait to see those beauties grow.

3. My first client hired me for maternity photos in 2014.
   When I tell you I was so nervous - I just can't describe. Honestly, I still do feel a bit nervous with each of my clients because I am so I invested in making sure I execute the session well and provide beautiful photos. But as soon as I get photos off the SD card I think, “what was I so worried about these are great!” And to this day I am still proud of those shots from my first ever session given how inexperienced I was. The waterfront in Kirkland at golden hour was simply magic. Flash forward to 2022 I learned studio lighting, taught by the famous Seattle-based photographer Sandra Coan, and in 2023 did my second maternity session but indoors. I’m proud of both. (Pictured below.)

4. A TikTok helped me create a habit of reading more.
   Escaping into a good book is something I really enjoy. But how often I would make time to read was pretty rare. Then one day during my endless scrolling I stumbled upon a flurry of comments and videos that changed my perspective. First, someone has posted about reading 200+ books that year and others reacted in complete doubt and bafflement. So on the next video I saw, another person did some book math and based on averages estimated most people could read 100 books a year if they spent 2 hours a day reading. And 2 hours is a lot less than the average time people spend on their phones daily! I'm a working parent with two toddlers so I’m in a perpetual state of not feeling like I have a lot of time to spare yet this totally inspired me. I decided to start with a achievable goal of one book per month or 12 in the year. And yay me! I've on target to meet this goal. Here is what I’ve completed this year so far, in order of which I would highly recommend.

• Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

• The Black Coast by Mike Brooks

• Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

• Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

• Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

• The Great American Whatever by Tim Federle

• A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

• Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

• The Promise of Stardust by Priscille Sibley

• The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin

UPDATE 12/18: I seem to have left out Orbiting Jupiter by Gary Schmidt. I think I mentally blocked it because it was a tragic story that made me cry a lot. And now that Dec. is underway I have also finished Elevation by Steven King. Very short but interesting and worth the read.

1. The reason why I specialize in senior photos is personal.
   At the end of my junior year in high school the Great Recession hit my family and my dad was one of thousands laid off by a large software company. Going into my senior year things were financially bleak. By the Spring of senior year my parents filed for divorce and our home was in foreclosure. It felt like I was the only one of my peers who couldn't fully celebrate the excitement of senior year in high school. Though now looking back that isn't true. I had peers going through chemo, peers dealing with depression, peers hiding in the closet out of fear of not being accepted. One student lost their mom just weeks before graduation.

   My family couldn't afford to higher a professional photographer to get a special senior photo submitted that Fall for the high school yearbook. I actually lost my yearbook and can't remember what I actually submitted. At that time it sucked. It felt like everyone has these beautiful glamorous photos in the yearbook while mine was just so-so. I graduated that Spring, and the deadline to move out of our home was looming. My mom saw an ad for senior photos and somehow gathered enough money to book me a basic session where we got a few prints. At that time of my life I was extremely shy. Just the year before I didn't get a job because the owner of the store thought I was too quiet!

   The experience was amazing. I wish I remembered this photographers name, because she made me feel so special and beautiful and the photos turned out amazing. Being a teenage girl is hard and the photo session experience gave me a huge self-esteem boost. It also felt a little healing to have an experience that was all about me and celebrated my big moment during this milestone of my life where I felt like so much of what was happening to my family was sucking away the happiness I wanted to enjoy.

   Today, I approach each senior photo session with my own experience in mind in the hope I can make each students experience as positive as mine was regardless of what life is throwing at them.

2. My favorite beverage to order at a coffee shop is a matcha latte with peppermint.
   It's freakin delicious. Five out of five stars I am recommending it.

3. In addition to photography I work full-time.
   I have served in various roles in local school districts actually for as long as Evelyn Mae Photography LLC has been around. I also have a BA in Journalism - Public Relations and feel lucky enough to utilize my knowledge and skills in a variety of ways. As I think most artists are, I am multi-passionate and a lot of things interest me.

4. I’m apart of the Friends of the Foot fan club.
   Switchfoot is my all time favorite band. If you ever want to go to a free concert at the beach, I would recommend checking out the Switchfoot Bro-Am which takes place every June where the band raises money for local youth.

5. I first learned about photography in high school.
   I’m lucky to have taken a few photography electives in high school. Dark room and everything. Those classes taught by Mr. Gibowski was the spark that led me to discover my love to photography.

6. When it comes to my taste in music I am a vampire.
   According to this year’s Spotify Wrap data I am a vampire. Spotify told me, “You like to embrace a little…darkness. You listen to emotional atmospheric music more than most.” If you listen to Spotify, tell me in the comments what Spotify shared in your year-end wrap. I’m so interested in what other labels they are giving out!

Left: Maternity photo taken in 2014 for my first photo session ever. Right: My latest maternity session taken in-studio in 2023.