Thursday, February 16, 2012

A Kick off to 2012!

Last weekend, I had my first session of 2012.  What a perfect way to start the year.  This beautiful girl is the daughter of an amazing woman who was my favorite nurse during 8 of my 11 weeks on bed rest which were spent in the  hospital, as I was bringing my 2 sweet babies into the world. (They are now 7 and a half and fabulously happy and healthy).


I hadn't seen Megan in quite a few years when an email showed up asking if I would photograph her.  This shoot was for a couple of online profile photos, which also inspired me to start offering a new type of photo session. But more on that later.


We met downtown Naperville and had a blast wandering all over taking shots in amongst the activity happening late in the day.  The sunshine was perfect and the temperature wasn't too bad.  Megan was happy and energetic and truly so much fun to photograph. Her sister joined us about halfway though the shoot and kept Megan focused, laughing and made sure she didn't have a hair out of place. She came armed with a brush!  It made me laugh and  I joked that she should join me on all my shoots s a stylist!


Megan inspired me to create a photo session called Connections. I have been asked on several occasions for photos to use for online dating sites or other online sites like Linked In.  A normal full blown shoot isn't necessary for those purposes.  A Connections Session is $100 and includes a phone consultation, 45 minutes of shoot time, 10 final edited images for viewing and 3 final low-res images for your online profile.  I'm so happy to have had the opportunity to start the year off this way.

Thank you for asking me to be your photographer, Megan. It was wonderful to see you after so long.  And, I love still having a connection back to you and your mom from a very important and special time in my life.  It's amazing how photography brings people back into my life after so long.

Enjoy your photos!




Saturday, February 4, 2012

Last Minute Lunch Date

I love those last minute lunch dates.  Spur of the moment doesn't always work out but when it does, it's the best. Jenni and I hadn't seen each other in over a month and  half. We kept trying to get together but life kept getting in the way. Friday morning she texted and said, "I can get out of work early...wanna do lunch?"  YES!  We agreed to meet at Hugo's Frog Bar (after we each vetoed about 5 other options).  I basically accosted her with my camera as she walked up to meet me.  I must admit, I love this photo of her. Happy, relaxed and coming to spend time together with me!


We both had what i consider to be one of my favorite lunches. And we were both good and did not order Coke, even though we both desperately wanted to.  Adding lemon to water makes it a bit more tolerable for me. And yes, that does subtly suggest I'm not a big fan of water...


Next we both started with Wedge Salads - my favorite all time salad. Simple but so yummy!


Next we moved on to a filet slider and potato chips. Honestly, looking at this makes me want to go to Hugo's tomorrow and get the same meal!


Jenni was such a good sport about waiting for me to photograph everything that came to our table before being able to eat it!    Once we finished at Hugo's, we decided we would switch restaurants for dessert.  While Hugo's is fabulous, their desserts are all gigantic and I just can't do that kind.  So, we decided to head to Lou Malnatti's for a cookie pie.  


Our eyes were a bit bigger than our stomachs, sadly. We enjoyed a handful of bites before we had to call it quits.  Next time we'll share an individual sized one.

I'm one lucky girl. A relaxed afternoon, with great food, one of my best friends and photographs all along the way. Can't wait for our next lunch date!