Being an Oregon State alum myself, I always love getting the opportunity to photograph fellow OSU beavers as they're wrapping up their time at the university. I got to meet Alyssa in the spring of 2024 to photograph her long overdue grad photos on campus as the magnolia trees bloomed. I'm honored she chose me as her photographer to document this momentous accomplishment! Check out what she has to say, below, about her grad photos at Oregon State University.
"When looking for a photographer, I really wanted someone that I could work with that kept the photos as natural as possible without washing out my skin tone. When I found Molly’s page, I truly was able to envision myself in those photos; I felt that Molly’s style of photography and editing is what matched my personality the best. I loved the style of depth Molly produced in her photos."
Alyssa's gallery below displays a session with my BASIC PACKAGE. Check out the rest of her testimonial at the end of the gallery.
"During the planning stage, Molly was so wonderful with timely responses! I’m guilty of falling behind on replying on time, but Molly was nothing but understanding to my situation. Her introductory email and following emails was absolutely informative and it answered all the questions I had. This to me, showed that Molly was a skilled veteran! I discussed with Molly my vision of having the magnolia trees be one of my focal points and she gave me plenty of options of date(s) to choose from.
One of my main concerns was having a session so early in spring, that there would be an overcast. Molly provided great examples of how the photos could turn out from a previous session she did with overcast. Initially, I wanted to have a sunny golden hour shoot, except, the example photos Molly sent convinced me to change my decision!
Knowing the different locations of where I wanted my photos helped out greatly, I wanted to utilize the areas that scream OSU, so I opted to take photos in front of the MU and Weatherford. Although the OSU sign by Reser was tempting, I really wanted to maximize my time with Molly in getting the best possible photos. So with that, I chose not to do the OSU sign but instead, give light to the building I was in the most, this just so happened to be LINC with the grand orange staircase!
Molly kept watch for the weather and offered to see if I could do my session on a different day than the original date - I’m SO thankful she did! Had we stayed with my original shoot date, all the magnolia petals would have been gone!
The session itself was wonderful. Upon meeting Molly, we did some brief introductions and went straight to shooting. As someone who tends to feel awkward and unsure of what to do in front of the camera, working with Molly dissipated that feeling. Molly’s fantastic with giving prompts of how to make a photo look more natural - I was afraid that I’d look too stiff in front of the camera, yet Molly was hyping me up the entire session! The natural elements of wind, however, posed a challenge with my hair - I was so fortunate that Molly was able to quickly think on the fly to produce photos that I never imagined! Tucked behind Weatherford was a gorgeous flowering tree that I had not known existed, with her fast thinking, she captured some of my favorite photos from the session!
I had my boyfriend helping me during the session to carry my belongings to each location, Molly was so sweet enough to grab some photos of us. I loved that with the session, Molly genuinely wanted to KNOW you and your interests, I felt that this is something so important in building a trusting relationship. Molly not only took the time to get to know me, she also took the time to get to know the people you’re with.
The final results? JAW. DROPPING. My parents? LOVED. Would I recommend? IN A HEARTBEAT!
Molly provided me the opportunity to see myself through a different lens. These photos brought out a different sense of confidence that I had not seen in a long time. Molly exudes the excitement you crave for in a session!! She feeds off of the energy you give! I felt nervous and awkward going in, but left feeling so much more confident! Thank you Molly for all you do!"
~ Alyssa, April 2024