Silver Falls Adventurous Engagement Session

If you're from Oregon and love the Pacific Northwest, you've probably heard of Silver Falls State Park...

Hi, I'm Emma! I'm your local adventurous portrait and couples' photographer based in Salem, Oregon. I love traveling the Pacific Northwest and taking photos in beautiful locations. I have a special place in my heart for Silver Falls State Park, as it has been my family's vacation spot for years. I know most of the falls by name, and can tell you every twist and turn of the trails.

ALSO: if you have never heard of Silver Falls State Park, scroll down to the bottom of this post to learn about fees, amenities, hiking details, and more!

Meraiah and Preston learned about my photography business from one of my previous clients, and decided to book me for their wedding! However, I knew that I wanted to get to know them a little bit better before the big day, so we decided to plan an engagement session. Now, when they mentioned Silver Falls, I assumed they were just a couple who wanted to see a new place that is rumored to be full of beauty.

Little did I know, Upper North Falls was the location of Preston's elaborate proposal, months back. Friends, he went ABOVE AND BEYOND: He (along with friends and family) used glow sticks and photos to light up and decorate the walkway, and even brought out a Christmas tree AND A GENERATOR to the falls so that the tree would light up! It sounds crazy, but he was evidently crazy in love with her. Because of Meraiah's love for Christmas, he even made the ring box a little present under the tree.

Of course, they explained this all to me as we walked towards Upper North Falls.

When we arrived at the falls, Meraiah and Preston explained to me that they had a desire to get into the water. Even though it was a fairly warm summer day, the water was FREEZING! Like absolutely frigid cold. These two braved the cold and the goosebumps to get these epic shots. And, because I had a specific vision in mind for these golden hour photos, I had to get behind them... in between them and the waterfall. Besides, is it really an adventurous engagement if the photographer doesn't get a little wet too???

Even so, I think it was all worth it.

Upper North Falls versus South Falls...

The engagement above and the maternity shoot below were done within two days of one another, both at 6pm. If accessibility is something you are worried about, or you don't want to hike 5 miles, consider selecting between Upper North Falls or South Falls!

Here are some key differences:

Upper North Falls: takes about 0.5 miles to get there, but the walk is even and level most of the way through. It is an extension of the main hike, so people often skip over this waterfall, which makes it likely that there will be less passersby. However, there are only bathrooms in the parking area.

South Falls: if you look at the first photo on the left (below this text), my sweet clients are not very close to the waterfall. We didn't attempt to get any lower because it was a maternity shoot. However, if you can manage stairs and a somewhat steep downhill, you can go behind this waterfall or even the little waterhole in front of it for dramatic waterfall shots.

There are pros and cons to both locations, so if you are unsure about what spot at Silver Falls is the best for you, contact me and I'd love to help you out!