The R Family Sneak Peek

I've known this family for quite some time now, through a mutual friend of ours.  I was so pleased to be able to have a photography session with them on a beautiful fall day. I can hardly believe how much time has passed since their daughter was a tiny new baby and I carried her around for several hours at party we were all attending. How time sure does fly!  We met at a local park and had a perfect morning with warm sunshine and gorgeous fall colors!

We finished up our session with some fun playing in the leaves and leaf fights!

Thank you so very much for asking me to be your photographer!  I had a great time hanging out with your family. Enjoy the photos!

The E Family Sneak Peek

What a wonderful fall day for this family's photo shoot! The sun was shining, the colors were vibrant and the little girls were absolutely adorable.  We started out on the front porch of a house on Graue Mill's property. I've been at Graue Mill for a few shoots before but had never noticed this house.  I parked facing a different direction that day when I arrived. It's funny the things you see when you go a different way or look in a different direction. It's always good to change your perspective.  The house we started out at is one of the oldest buildings in DuPage County.  The outside has been rehabbed but the inside is apparently still gutted.  Just a little bit of trivia for you. :)

From there, we moved over to the main area of the Mill with lots of wonderful trees and leaves.  We tossed leaves and there was a game of family tag in the mix as well.  Oh how I love this season!

We finished up with the girls holding their special blankets and did some of just Mom and Dad.  

It was truly wonderful to meet your family and spend a few hours together capturing this point in time.  Enjoy the photos and the rest of the season!

Our second shoot

Oh how I love getting to photograph the same family more than once. It's so much fun to see the kids grow and change. And, when the mom of the group is an old friend from college, well, that makes it even better!  The first shoot with this family was 2 years ago when I was just getting started with my business.  The kids were adorable and we had a great time at Cantigny. Two years later, we met again at Graue Mill and had another fun shoot.  The day was beautiful with great colors and very willing subjects.  I love how this photography bug in me keeps me connected with very special friends that have been on my journey through this life so far!

Look at this gorgeous family!

The kids we so fabulously willing to do whatever I asked of them!

What a sweet, sweet smile.

Pretty in pink!

His smile makes him look exactly like his mom. I love it!

I always forget to try this set up. So glad I remembered this time.

I hope you enjoy the first round of images.  Thank you for asking me to do another shoot. It was wonderful to spend this time with all 5 of you!  

A Dancer's Day

I just realized I'm a bit behind on my blog posts. This one is about a beautiful dancer who won my Senior Photo Shoot Contest a few months back. I was thrilled that she won it, as I knew we could certainly have a  lot of fun both in the ballet studio and then outside.  Most of my shooting is done outside. However, it was drizzling the morning of this shoot and so it was just perfect that we were starting inside.  What a fun time we had!

 I couldn't decide if I liked black and white or color better. So I did both!

Jeans and pointe shoes. Not sure what I love so much about this combination, but I do.

This was our final indoor shot.  Love this one!

After our studio time, the sun came out and we headed to a nearby beautiful park.  The colors couldn't have been any better and my subject was such a fantastic model!

Such a classy girl!

Being a dancer, I knew she'd create a great jump shot!

This was just a cool spot. So glad we worked our way down the path.

I had so much fun with this session! Wishing you a wonderful Senior year. You'll be successful in whatever path you choose!

The W Family Sneak Peek

So, every once in awhile, I talk about how there is very little photographic evidence that I exist in my family.  That's because I'm always the one holding the camera! The same holds true for this Dad, who is a fellow photographer.  We are both always busy taking pictures of other people's families that it's rare we have our own done.  As with my last blog post, this shoot was originally supposed to happen last year.  Life flew by and here we are, one year later.  We got a date set, the weather couldn't have been more perfect, and a shoot was had!  My main focus was to get family shots, as having a photographer for a dad, these kids are beautifully photographed on a regular basis. But, I couldn't resist getting just a few while we were out, spending some time together.

One of our first shots as we got into the groove.

Three sweet munchkins. Oh how I love fall and the colors that come with it!

Little girl secrets!

A moment of distraction - he was swiping leaves from the pile his sisters were building and putting them in his own pile.  It was hilarious to watch.  He's holding out a leaf that "fell into their pile and they could keep" as a way to district from the girls from what he was really doing. It was hilarious to watch!

So much love. One of my favorites from the whole shoot.

A perfect fall day with a beautiful family that is oh so fabulously coordinated.

Thank you, again, for asking me to be your photographer for this family shoot!  I was flattered to be asked and enjoyed getting to know the kids a bit more. Your full gallery will be on its way soon!

Happy Fall!

Family of Three

This shoot was originally supposed to happen a year ago. But, as it often does, life gets in the way and things get postponed.  It's all good though.  I believe everything happens exactly when it's supposed to.

My history with this mom goes way, way, waaaaay back.  We met when we were probably 5.  And no, i'm not going to tell you exactly how long ago that was!  She and I grew up in the same condo complex and went to elementary, junior high and high school together.  Many years passed and only within the last year and a half or so, did we get back in contact.  I love seeing someone again who I've known for that long.

Now, there is a beautiful little girl and a sweet husband who make up this family of three.  The littlest sweet pea is now 3 and has such an adorable personality.  The first shot I took of her was where she was squatting down, trying to look into my camera from the front to see what was going on. I loved the curiosity.  We spent about an hour and  half together, while they enjoyed some fun family time (slightly directed by me).  :)

Daddy tickles - love the giggles

Turns out she's a big Hello Kitty Fan. So am I.

What a sweet, sweet family.

Had she been wiling, I'm pretty sure I could have stayed 

in this spot and photographed her all day long!

Both the furry and non furry kids, being adored by Mom!

Thank you for allowing me to spend such a wonderful morning with you. Enjoy the sneak peek - and the rest of this amazing Fall!

Fall Laughter

What a fun session this was with a truly wonderful family!  We spent the majority of it laughing.  What more could I ask for?  This mom was my little boy's kindergarten teacher a couple of years ago and we simply adored her from the moment we met.  Over time I've enjoyed getting to know the rest of this family.  The littlest one made her entrance about 6 months ago and once she could sit up, it was a perfect time to do a family session. And, we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful weekend or gorgeous colors all around.  Here's a sneak peek of this session.

 Three little sweet peas.

Right before I took this, he said, "I know a cool sit". And he did.

Love her confidence as we stood right out in front in the light.

I laugh every time I see this. Every time.

I just adore this family.

Perhaps one of my all time favorites!  

I hope you enjoy these photos.  More to come soon in your full gallery.  Thank you again for asking me to be your photographer and spend such a perfect fall afternoon together!

Three Times

I'm pretty sure I have the best job in the world. I've been lucky enough to photograph this beautiful family three times!  They were my first "official" referral and shoot with people I didn't know prior to showing up with my camera.  On our first shoot, the little guy was 3 and the little gal was 6 months.  We did a second shoot 6 months later for her first birthday. Another year and a half passed and now they are five and two and a half years old. I knew, heading to this shoot, that I would see huge changes in both kids and I certainly did.  But oh, what a treat to photograph them as they are growing up.

We met at park nearby and had a great time with this session.  The weather was amazing, the setting perfect and the family such a treat to work with again.  I found out after the fact that the little guy told his mom that when he grew up, he wanted to be a photographer like me.  How sweet is that?!

Courtney, these cutie pies' mom, has also been a wonderful word of mouth referrer for me and I would like to take a moment to publicly say thank you!  Enjoy the photos so far. More to come soon in your full gallery.  Happy Autumn!

The K Family Sneak Peek

The fall photo shoots have officially begun!  The colors outside are making me giddy as it's like a painting outside, everywhere I look. This was such a fun shoot!  All of the images here are the full family shots, as we are a bit under the gun for one of these to be chosen as a gift for a very special upcoming anniversary. More photos to come of some of the more spontaneous moments during this shoot.  The last one is my absolute favorite of the entire day!  

Happy Fall!