Cape Kiwanda Adventure Session | Pacific City, Oregon

This moody Cape Kiwanda adventure session was a special one. Beth and Jake first reached out to us to photograph their post-elopement celebration with their friends and family, but like with so many plans that have been wrecked by COVID-19, their original celebration had to be postponed. Instead of To still celebrate this chapter in their lives, they scheduled an adventure session with us for early summer along the Oregon Coast.

The Coast is one of our favorite places. The views along the hundreds of miles on HWY 101 are what dreams are made of, and Oregon’s sweeping coastline is no exception. Small coastal towns sprinkle the miles and miles of ocean views and towering trees that make you feel like you’ve teleported to a fairytale.

When chatting about doing an adventure session Beth suggested the place where Jake proposed, Cape Kiwanda. SO SWEET!! We love the coast and Cape Kiwanda in particular and were mega pumped to hang with these two lovebirds in a place that had so much meaning for them. The landscape of Cape Kiwanda is like a Pacific Northwest dreamland. Packed with gorgeous views, massive formations carved from warm sandstone, you could spend hours exploring the tidepools and neighboring beaches. It truly is an incredible location for an adventure session.

Prepping for weather

A week before their session, weather reports were predicting some storms during sunrise. Storms are pretty normal for the PNW, and if you’re well prepared can make for some really moody and beautiful moments. We were sure to bring along some clear umbrellas to keep these two lovebirds dry. They were both down to embrace whatever weather was thrown at us. Rain or shine, these two were going to have a great time.

Here are some tips to stay prepared for rain during your Cape Kiwanda adventure session

Bring waterproof layers
Have some clear umbrellas
Pack some towels or keep them in your car
Wear waterproof shoes
Keep a pair of dry socks to change into

It was an absolute downpour when we drove to meet them at sunrise, but as we saw Beth and Jake walk across the street from their campsite right by the beach, the rain stopped and we were blessed with moody, dry skies for the rest of the morning. West Coast sunrises become all the more beautiful when paired with some thick clouds.

Want to plan an adventure session? We know some adventure elopement photographers who would be so down!

Planning your Cape Kiwanda adventure session

When planning with our couples, we take the approach of helping them craft an experience that they’ll love. We firmly believe that beautiful photos don’t mean much if you didn’t enjoy the time you spent taking them. Our approach is rooted in your experience, knowing that gorgeous photos are a guaranteed byproduct of a killer time.

These two knew EXACTLY what kind of day they wanted. They are both morning people and being familiar with Cape Kiwanda, knew exactly how packed the beach can get after 11. Since their session was booked for a Saturday, they wanted to craft a slow and sweet sunrise adventure. We were so stoked to have this gorgeous place to ourselves all morning long.

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We met in the parking lot and started the morning by exploring the epic views from the top of the huge sand dunes. It was windy and chilly, which is pretty on-brand for an early morning on the coast, but these two stayed snuggled up and cozy.

They showed us the spot where Jake proposed and we spent some time looking out and watching the waves before heading down towards the tide pools. This area is mega cool and gives you the opportunity to explore some of the colorful ecosystems, up close.

IMPORTANT: These ecosystems are super fragile and it’s important to just observe them without touching or removing anything.

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Towards the end of our adventure, the sun began to peek out and we were lucky enough to get some of that sweet golden light as these two walked down the shoreline.

These two felt completely at ease during our session and felt like they were able to totally be themselves during their shoot. Nothing makes us happier than to hear “it’s like we’re just on a date and there just happen two paparazzi”! That is always our goal, to make sure that you have the complete freedom to focus on each other and just have a really good time.

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Exploring with these two gems was such an incredible way to spend this moody West Coast morning. It is always such a huge honor to get to witness two amazing humans that are so perfectly matched in a space that is so meaningful to them.