Happy Halloween!

My daughter wanted to be something scary this year. I love how it's so obvious it's her with those little red glasses showing right thru the mask.

Wall-e woke up with a fever this morning, so I am glad I shot this picture last weekend at the park district Halloween party.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Halloween!

Grandparents & Grandkids

It's always fun to capture the relationship between grandparents and grandkids, but even more fun when it's my own family. Here are my awesome in-laws (and no, they are not paying me to say that! LOL), my kids, and all their cousins. I just love this shot so much, I had to share it.

Rapunzel, my new photography assistant

Remember this 3 year old's session? Well now big sis is 5! Over the summer I was suggesting that their mom get in the photos, and this time she did! What a gorgeous family, huh? I am especially thankful for this family because they have been clients of mine since their oldest was a newborn, and they drive over 45 miles to come see me twice a year for the girls' birthday sessions. Thank you for all of your support, for sticking by me as my business grows and matures, and for bringing these gorgeous girls to see me. It's always a blast! Next time maybe we need to get Dad in the pictures too. :)

For this session, Rapunzel was my photography assistant. Rapunzel Barbie, that is. You can see her in one of the photos below.

I tried a little dreamier-looking processing on these last two.

Sneak Peek - Three Little Elves

This might simply be my favorite holiday photo ever. I love these hats, plus the expressions on all three kids is just priceless. I would print this one on a billboard if I could. LOL!

Here are a few more, minus the hats.

Sibling Sneak Peek

I do indeed love all the adorable babies who come to visit me, but it's also fun to work with older kids because they have a lot more patience. Here's a sneak peek from a weekend session. These two should really be rewarded for their patience because they stopped eating breakfast mid-meal to make it to their session on time. B&L, I hope you guys got some extra cinnamon rolls out of that deal!

What to Wear

"What should we wear to our family portrait session?"

Many people think that everyone in the family needs to wear the exact same thing. While I have definitely shot these types of portraits, I would like to challenge you to think outside the box a little bit. One great technique for planning your family’s wardrobe is to imagine that you are dressing one person. If you lay the clothing for everyone out on the bed, does it all work together? Does anything clash?

I picked a brown/beige/red palette to illustrate what I mean below. Notice that nobody is wearing the exact same outfit, yet each item complements everything else in the grouping.

As always, I recommend that we have a clothing consultation before any session!

Edited to add one more example, courtesy of Rachel at Verve Life Portraits:

Kids As Art

This 14x20 is a beautiful canvas art piece in the master bedroom!

Sneak Peek

I can't believe it's been a year since I have seen this little cutie. She's grown so much since last year, and now she's a big sister too!