Sunday, August 28, 2011

Quinnie the Pooh Sneak Peek

I'd like to take credit for the title of this Sneak Peek, but alas I can't. Quinnie the Pooh is this adorable little girl's pet name given to her by her Aunt who happens to be one of my best friends.  I've been so excited to photograph her ever since I saw the first pictures of her not long after she was born! I finally got my chance this past week.



As Quinn's grandpa now resides in a nursing home, the decision was made to do the shoot there. It allowed him to be a part of the family photos and all his kids wanted to capture some time with their dad.  After I arrived, we got Dad/Grandpa all situated and headed out to the courtyard. I wasn't sure how this would go, given that we would be in a courtyard in a nursing home. However, as it turned out, we had the entire place to ourselves for almost the full duration of the shoot and the flowers and surrounding areas were so pretty!  It just goes to show you that you don't need much space or some big fancy place to enjoy a photoshoot and get some great shots!

We started out with family photos which included Grandpa. We wanted him be alert and also not have his dinner delayed too much. Once we got a series of photos with Grandpa, we set Quinn loose and my shutter went crazy!

Dad and his girls

QTP and her Aunt!

Mommy with her cutie pie!

Sisters


  It was a treat to photograph this entire  family, including Dad/Grandpa. I loved the decision to do this at his nursing home to ensure that some great memories were captured and that he was a part of them.  Thank you for asking me to be your photographer for this shoot!  I look forward to watching Quinn grow up - just not too fast!



Sunday, August 21, 2011

The K Family Sneak Peek

This family session was a gift from a good friend of the mom of these 4 beautiful children. I was contacted a few months ago, asking if I sold gift certificates. Why, of course I did!  It was to be a gift in honor of the arrival of the newest little guy in the family!

We met at Cantigny a little over a week ago and the weather was simply beautiful!  The 2 older boys had picked out their outfits (with the help of Mom to make sure they didn't clash) and everyone showed up looking fabulously coordinated!  The kids were very excited to show me their special objects they had brought with them. They were outgoing and friendly and I knew we'd have a fun shoot!

Here is a peek from our time together...

What gorgeous little boys!

 He was such a happy, content little guy. In fact, I'm not sure I heard a peep out of him for the entire shoot!

She is a huge Harry Potter fan!  The special object she brought was a wand. It took us a few tries to find the right spot, but we finally did it!

Love for the newest little guy

The races were fast and furious with lots of laughter!

 I loved how they all gathered around their newest little brother!

The main guest of honor! We put him on his tummy and he used everything he had to get his head up.  For awhile, it was just his tush up in the air, which made everyone giggle.  

Thank you for the opportunity to photograph your family. Everyone was so sweet and easy to work with.  Enjoy the photos!

Friday, August 19, 2011

Our Family Session Sneak Peek

As you saw in my last post, we went down to Kentucky to celebrate our niece's 4th birthday. My sister-in-law asked if, while I was there, i would take the newly turned 4 year old's photo. Of course I agreed. And, since we were all together, I just turned it into a full family session. My mother-in-law had been requesting a photo of her three kids for some time now, so we included that as well. Blue was the agreed upon color, which seemed fairly safe.  Considering how many different shades of blue there are, I'd say we did pretty well.  Here is a quick sneak peek of the images from the day....

The three siblings - at long last!

The birthday girl with Mom and Dad

Happy smiles!

A budding ballerina

Three cousins - oh how they love spending time together!  It's so much fun to watch and I love that they have such a great relationship with each other.

Thank goodness for timers and tripods! I managed to get in our family shot. Yay!

This was taken at the end of the shoot.  The kids spotted a big water mister and asked if they could play in it for a few minutes.  I snapped this quickly before they were completely soaked, which happened only a few moments later.

I'm so glad we were able to pull this family session together!  Thanks for asking me to do this.   I had such a great time and can't wait to have us all together again soon.






Thursday, August 11, 2011

Turning 4!

Last weekend I went to Louisville with my family, to visit my husband's brother and his family.  Our niece was turning 4 and having a birthday celebration.  Our kids all get along beautifully and as I've said before, it's like one big giggle fest.  I was asked if I'd like to take photos during the party and of course, I say yes! (Honestly, I would have been doing it anyway...) :)
The Birthday Girl

The party took place in the backyard and had a plethora of things for the kids to do.  The clock reached 11:30 and pretty soon there were kids everywhere, having a fantastic time!  Three hundred and twenty five images later, the party was over. This is just a samping of some of the photographs and a peek into how much fun everyone had! The theme was a Silly Monster Party, which I just loved!

There were cute balls and masks and little stuffed animal monster.

There was a fun jumpy birthday cake, swimming, swinging, sliding, playing in the sand, balloons animals, cake and ice cream.  I'm pretty sure that no one stopped moving for two hours.

He was the littlest guest.

Even the moms got in the jumpy too! 

We also had lots of musical entertainment!

It was time for cake!
Mommy Smiles

My niece got a little candle blowing prep talk.
The candles were blown out and everyone feasted!
There was hoola hooping, riding on kid motorcycles and lots of happiness!

The party was great and we truly enjoyed our visit with family!  Happy, Happy 4th Birthday!


Monday, August 8, 2011

A Day in the City

One of my most favorite things to do with my munchkins in the summer is to take them downtown to Millennium Park. We take the train downtown, ride the El around to State & Madison.  We play at the Splash Pad, eat ice cream, check out The Bean (aka Cloud Gate) and then head back home. It's a fun full day in the sun and I've gotten quite good at packing efficiently with clothes, swimsuits, towels and other necessities for the day. And, of course, my camera always comes along for the ride!

The year the kids and I went with a fabulous new friend of mine and her two daughters.  We had an absolute blast!  Below are some fun moments and images from the day!
They all did this as soon as we came out of the train station.  Thank goodness I had my camera out!

Squeeze together!  Only the littlest one turned around first. It took some coaxing with the older 3.

Taken on the wall lining the Seas Tower.

What a trip to Chicago without a photo of the Sears Tower?  (and no, I won't call it the Willis Tower. Sorry.)

The kids were a little too fascinated with the pigeons which, of course, were EVERYWHERE.

Some of the best ads I've even seen on the El platform

Her first ride on the EL.

We had a fabulous lunch at Pizano's on the excellent recommendation of my friend!

They all jumped right in and headed straight for the Tower.

Hours and hours of fun!

My daughter is walking away. My son is looking right at me. Caught this just in time!

Our littlest model!

Braving the downfall

A side angle of my girlfriend's photo

Two very happy mommies and new friends! (It took about 10 tries to get this shot...)

At the Bean - you have to take one of these shots every time!  :)

It was such a wonderful day. I can't wait to go on more adventures with these fabulous girls!