Light By Iris Photography

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Portland, OR
Light By Iris Photography

Hi, I am an award-winning lifestyle and documentary photographer. I specialize in capturing photos to express the honest moments of love and connections.

If you want to get a friend who genuinely cares about your story and who you are, let’s connect! Portland Family and Newborn photographers. Create meaningful photos and films for your family heirlooms.

05/25/2026

Between Frames registration is officially open. 🤍
Date: September 19, 2026
Location: Portland, Oregon
Light By Iris Photography and Olesya Alferenko Photography are hosting an intimate film-inspired retreat for artists and photographers drawn to atmosphere, emotion, storytelling, and images that feel like they belong inside a film.

Throughout the day, we’ll create the way filmmakers do — slowing down to study the space, notice changing light, observe quiet details, and explore how movement, framing, emotion, and atmosphere shape an image and make it feel alive.
We’ll begin inside a romantic light-filled home with an intimate family session and creative portrait exchange, creating space for open conversations about artistry, inspiration, storytelling, and seeing more intentionally. In the afternoon, we’ll head to the Oregon coast for a cinematic couple session led by Olesya, followed by a slow dinner together in Seaside.
This gathering is intentionally small and designed to feel immersive, thoughtful, personal, and creatively inspiring rather than rushed or overproduced. A space to slow down, create with intention, connect with like-minded artists, and rediscover the feeling behind why you fell in love with creating in the first place.

If this speaks to something in you, we would truly love to have you there. ✨
Seats are very limited.
Registration is now open through the link http://lightbyiris.com/betweenframes

Portland newborn photographer
Portland Family Photographer
Portland photography retreat
PNW photography retrea

05/18/2026

BETWEEN FRAMES — a one-day cinematic creative gathering. ✨
On September 19, Olesya from (Olesya Alferenko Photography) and I are hosting an intimate film-inspired retreat in Portland, OR for artists drawn to cinematic imagery, atmosphere, storytelling, and creating with more feeling.

We’ll begin the day in a romantic and light-filled home, and we’re going to do what filmmakers do — slow down and study the space, notice the light, observe the little details that make photographs feel alive. Together we’ll create through an intimate in-home family session and portrait exchange while openly talking through framing, emotion, and what we notice as we shoot.

Afternoon, we’ll head to the Oregon coast for a styled, romantic and film inspired couple session led by Olesya, followed by a slow dinner at a seaside town to end the day together.
This gathering is intentionally small and designed to feel immersive, thoughtful, inspiring, and deeply personal rather than rushed or overproduced.

If this speaks to something in you, save the date. 🤍

✨We’re also giving away ONE complimentary ticket to the gathering.
To enter on INSTAGRAM:
— follow +
— share this post to your story
— tag a creative soul you’d bring with you
Giveaway winner announced Saturday, May 23.
Registration officially opens May 24.
If you have any questions at all, feel free to DM either of us anytime. ✨

05/16/2026

Don’t post much here anymore. But, some sessions just so speak to my heart. This is a session to document their very first zoo trip as a family of five. 🫶
Three little kids.Tiny hands pointing excitedly through the glass at the otters.Wide eyes searching for jaguars hiding in the shade.Waving at elephants from the slow moving train while the afternoon sun spilled across their faces.
And somewhere in the middle of all that movement…a sleepy 6 month old curled safely in mom’s arms,a twin brother running ahead as fast as he could,a twin sister stopping every few steps just to soak everything in.
The carousel music..Parents carrying babies..So much laughter.So much chaos.So much love quietly woven into the ordinary moments.
The beautiful thing is…years from now, they probably won’t remember every animal they saw.But they’ll remember how it felt.
The warmth of the sun.The excitement of the train ride.The comfort of holding mom and dad’s hands.The feeling of being together in this fleeting little season of life.
These are the kinds of sessions that feel less like photos…and more like scenes from a childhood memory. ✨
Honestly, places like the zoo make the most beautiful backdrop for family photos because kids get to simply be kids.Curious. Wild. Playful. Fully alive.
So grateful this sweet family reached out and trusted me to preserve this little chapter for them. These ordinary days become the most priceless memories later on. 🤍

05/06/2026

Your family photos? I want them to feel like an indie movie. 🎞️Not stiff poses but real moments, held in light.
I don’t force a “look.” I work with what’s already there —
the afternoon sun in your living room,
the quiet rhythm of your city street,
the openness of a field you love.
No two sessions ever feel the same.
Because your story isn’t cookie-cutter. It’s shaped by your home, your people, your light.
You can be anywhere, at any time of day. What matters most isn’t the location — it’s how it feels to be there.
These aren’t just photos.
They are little pieces of your life, held honest and quiet and cinematic.
Let’s turn your everyday moments into something you’d want to watch on a slow Sunday afternoon. 🎥.

Portland Family Photographer
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Pentax67ii

04/01/2026

🌿Most people think family photos have to happen somewhere “special.”But the places that matter usually aren’t.
It’s your backyard.
Your kitchen.
The coffee shop you always go to.
The beach you keep going back to.
A field you didn’t plan for.
The places where your life is already happening.
That’s where your story feels the most like you—
honest, effortless, and real.
My sessions are relaxed and unforced
We can meet anywhere, at any time—
wherever feels natural to you.
I simply work with what’s already there:
the light, the space, the way your life moves.
And I shape it into something that feels like your own film.
Something you can come back to.
Something that feels like a warm hug.
If you’ve been thinking about documenting this season,
this is your sign.
Spring & Summer sessions in Portland are now open.
Local + travel sessions available.
—
Inquire through http://lightbyiris.com/contact ✨

06/04/2025

We just finished another Finding He(art) Workshop, and honestly? My heart’s full.
How do you even pack this past weekend into words and a one minute recap video, just impossible. With an amazing group of talented photographers, together, we dove into storytelling and intentional layering with Light By Iris Photography, and dug deep into personal style and creative voice with Ashley Kaplan Photography. Plus, we leveled up our businesses with SEO from our special guest Becca Jean Photography. Three shoots—a cozy in-home session, the wild beauty of Columbia River Gorge, and the gritty-cool streets of downtown Portland—each pushing us to see light, story, and connection in totally different ways.
We laughed, learned, stayed up late sharing stories, ate delicious food, and—most importantly—built lasting connections with a group of big-hearted, inspiring women. I’m sitting here scrolling through photos and videos, wishing we could do it all over again. Thank you for trusting us, for bringing your whole hearts,
and for reminding me why this work matters.

This is what it’s all about—not just taking pictures, but building something real.

Until next time. 🤍

05/11/2025

Every mom has her own story—beautiful, powerful, and completely unique. 💛

It’s the biggest honor to capture these little moments between mothers and their kids. The way they hold each other, the quiet looks, the bursts of laughter—it’s all so full of love.

No two stories are the same, and that’s what makes this work so special. Different backgrounds, different journeys, but all overflowing with love, fierce and tender.

Today (and every day), I’m grateful to tell these stories through my lens. Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing moms who trust me with these memories. Countless time behind my camera i was stood in awe and being deeply inspired by mothers, their strength, their quiet tenderness, and their love radiate from them, inside and out. Your love is the most poweful story of all.

With love,

Iris

May 11, 2025.

03/15/2025

🌧️ I just noticed I haven’t shared the sessions from the UK trip last year. So just shared all in one here. They ware from Highland, Scotland, to West Sheffield, Cotswolds, and Waddesdon Manor in England. I would love to go back to Edinburgh, absolutely my favorite city. Well, also love York and Cotswolds vibes. Just a memorable trip forever live rent in my heart.🖤

02/11/2025

It’s so cool and honored to have placed 3rd place in the .magazine 2024 Voice Competition.✨With 40,000 submissions, this means so much to me. And three other photos got honorable mentions.
This winning shot was taken at SoHo in Manhattan, with beautiful Katie Davis’s family. 🖤

11/22/2024

DO YOU LONG TO CREATE IMAGERY FULL OF HEART?
ARE YOU LOOKING TO BUILD A BUSINESS WITH CREATIVITY AT ITS CORE?

Join us at Finding He(art) Workshop, an immersive weekend workshop for creatives who want to uplevel their business and creative practice.

Http://lightbyiris.com/findingheartworkshop

Your artistic soul and badass business plan can be aligned. Often, photographers create brilliantly artistic personal work, but their professional work is less inspired. As artists we worry that clients won’t want to book something other than the “traditional” family portraits. And that can bleed into confusion of how to attract the right clients to your business.

Ash and I are passionate about mentoring and supporting other artists to build their own unique version of a thriving and sustainable (uniquely creative) business.

The workshop has 3 live client workshop classes with the option to shoot-along. Each class will be taught by Ash + Iris in 3 distinct settings ( 1.urban 2.outdoorsy 3. in-home) with a focus on creating your compositions intentionally and artistically, storytelling, utilizing a variety of natural lighting technique. There will be a weekend full of creative topic circle time, group mentoring and community building activities. The workshop tickets include 3 nights accommodation (with a group sauna+hot tub on site) at a beautiful private venue; portrait exchange; morning yoga; breakfasts, snacks and refreshments provided; transportation to the 3 client workshops.

Our workshop is about more than photography—it’s about finding your creative heart and connecting with a community of like-minded artists. From guided shoots at unique locations to soulful connections over nourishing meals, this weekend will offer experiences that help you grow both as a photographer and as an artist.

Tickets will go on for sale on Saturday November 30. Mark your calendar, we only have space for 10.✨

Address

Portland, OR
97229

Website

http://lightbyiris.com/

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