Brielle McClain

From the LA area and then Corvallis Oregon, Brielle McClain is the best portrait photographer I know. Her style is sharp and sleek, natural but inventive. She is true to the moment, whether thats a kiss or a smile, hair blowing in the wind or just a stare. Brielle captures the beautiful little things in life and reminds you just how charming and artistic they are.

Always shooting in natural-light, Brielle knows how to work the sun just as well as any piece of camera equipment. She’ll only shoot at certain hours of the day and won’t click her camera unless she’s checked light first. A lot of portrait photographers like to shoot in a studio because they can control all the lights, Brielle likes to shoot outside because thats where real life happens and thats where the real beauty is. If you look at her favorite shots they’re all elegant and genuine. There’s laughing, there’s happiness, there’s joy. There’s sincerity, there’s earnestness, there’s significance.

“I believe in the reality of a genuine moment” – Brielle McClain

Pictures with Brielle are effortlessly cool like a hipster, precise as a brain surgeon, and as real as your heart beating inside you. Driving around with Brielle on a shoot you’ll probably hear some Beyoncé, smell some coffee, laugh about pop culture, and think about life. If you look at pictures on Brielle’s blog of people smiling, you can tell this isn’t a photographer who says “smile” and then gets a canned shot of you following orders. People laugh and smile in Brielle’s shots because she’s funny and cheerful. They look happy because they actually are. Photo-shoots with Brielle are fun.

I went to high school with Brielle in Corvallis, Oregon, but oddly we never really hung out until after graduation. There was one day I was back in Corvallis to MC the Mr. Spartan Pageant at my high-school and she called me up and we went and got coffee. Brielle said she was looking to collaborate with other young artists, and just be around other passionate, creative people. (A very Brielle thing to do). That summer I second-shot Brielle at a couple of weddings and went on a bunch of portrait sessions with her. I got my first taste of what being a photographer would be like as a profession.

Brielle taught me that the way you approach your own photography is what keeps it fresh and exciting. The way you handle yourself decides how much you enjoy taking photos which in turn decides how well they come out. People don’t hire for the photos, they hire for the photographer, therefore you have to be true to your own style so you attract the types of people you want to take pictures of. Brielle has told me before that she wouldn’t want to do weddings for a multi-millionaire, because she doesn’t enjoy being around those types of people. Instead she brands herself in a way that attracts the kind of people that suit her style better, and in that way is able to continue getting the types of shots she is best at getting at.