Greenbank photographer offers 15-minute witch shoots on Oct. 31

Halloween traditions on Whidbey Island often involve costumes and candy, but one local photographer is offering a different option. Amber Braxton is hosting mini witch-themed photo shoots on Saturday, Oct. 31, on a trail near Coupeville.

Braxton, a self-taught photographer from Colorado, will take five digital photos for each client during a 15-minute session. She is partnering with Oaklawn Enchantments, a shop in Oak Harbor, to allow participants to create a custom spell jar alongside their images.

The photographer said the short format makes the service accessible to a wider audience. "Portraits are a luxury service," she said. "Not everyone can afford an hour session and I understand that."

Braxton began photographing as a hobby in the spring of 2016 after receiving a camera as a gift from her now-husband. She registered her business in July of that year. By 2019, she had left her job in community mental health to focus on photography full time.

She described her work as an obsession that has changed how she perceives her surroundings. "I do it every single day," she said. "I can’t turn it off. It changed my brain chemistry for sure."

Braxton has lived on Whidbey Island for seven months and finds the local environment better suited to her style than the bright, sunny weather of Colorado. She noted that the island’s forests, farmland, and gray days provide the moody lighting she prefers for her fine art and portrait work.

This is not her first seasonal shoot. She previously hosted sessions featuring bedsheet ghosts and carved pumpkins. She said she enjoys the festive nature of holiday photography and wants to engage her clients creatively.