Brother and Sister Session {Belvidere IL, Roscoe IL family photography}

After a few reschedules I finally got to photograph my friend "K's" son and daughter.  We have been planning this session for a long time and we knew that we definitely wanted to focus on sports since "C" and "A" are both into sports.  "C" even brought along the trophies and medals he won at the State playoffs.   How awesome is that.  "A" plays softball and mom brought along some of her equipment as well and we had fun on the baseball field.  We got some posed shots as well as some action ones too.  We then moved our session to the football field where we took some pics in "C's" jersey.  He had a spare one so we were able to get some pics of both sibs in the jersey.  From there we headed over to a park and took some regular portraits.  It started raining as we wrapped up the session so there are a few pics that did not turn out at the end but with over 600 pics on my memory card I definitely had a lot to choose from.  I had such a hard time narrowing down the best ones.  Now you can see why I am running behind on my editing.  LOL :) Well, here are a few sneak peeks from the session.

"D" is 3 months old!!! {Belvidere IL, Machesney Park IL, baby, milestone photography}

Once again I got to work with a returning client and see how much Ms. "D" has changed in the last 3 months.  It doesn't seem like a long time but at this age they change so quickly.  She was such a trooper for our session.  Mom brought along some cute outfits and overall the session turned out great.  Mom also had some great ideas she came up with for the pics.  She showed me a picture she found online with the baby facts for the current age and wanted to do something similar.  I loved the idea, it will be so cute for the baby book.  This photo summed up a milestone session to the tee. The weather was perfect, not too hot, not too cold what more can you ask for.  So without further delay, here are some previews from "D's" 3 month session.  

"K" turns 6 months old {Belvidere IL, Chicago IL, child, family photography}

Once again I got to photograph beautiful Ms. "K", this time for her 6 month session.  I cannot believe how fast time flies, it is so nice to see the babies that I photographed as newborns grow and develop their personalities.  "K" was so happy during our session, but then again being outside, in the water, beautiful location, who wouldn't be.  She is sitting up so well by herself and had lots of smiles for us.  "J" brought along some nautical props that belong to her dad and they worked so wonderfully.  I enjoyed our session and loved seeing "K", "J" and "B" once again. Here are some previews from the session and I cannot wait to see them again in the fall for the 9 month milestone session.

"N" newborn session {Belvidere IL, DeKalb IL newborn, family photography}

I know it has been a while since I updated the blog but I have not been just sitting around, I have been blessed this year to work on so many sessions with some past clients as well as meeting and working with some wonderful new clients.  I hope I can build long lasting relationships with the new clients and be there to capture those wonderful memories and watch the family grow, expend, graduate, get married.  One of the families that has chosen me for many of their memories so far is the "M" family.  I loved photographing "B's" milestones and watching him grow and now I get to do the same for his beautiful little sister "N".  That is right, "B" is a big brother.  The "M" family has traveled to my studio for the other sessions but I was invited to their home to capture sweet little "N's" pictures.  I love the bedding mom picked out for her nursery and it looks awesome as a backdrop for the pics.  Yellow and gray have been my favorite colors for a while and the picture will match her nursery.  Since the weather was beautiful we headed outside for some family pics as well.  Thank you again "M" family for inviting me to your home and choosing me once again to capture this wonderful time in your life.

On the Farm {Belvidere IL, Stillman Valley IL, first birthday, cake smash photography}

Thank you so much to the "B" family for choosing me to capture "L's" first year photos and for inviting me out to your farm.  I love doing outdoor, on location pictures, especially when it involves a farm.  There are so many different beautiful, natural areas to choose from as a setting for the photos.  The fact that it belongs to the family makes it that much more special.  "L" was such a great model for our session, he smiled almost non stop and when he didn't he definitely gave us some great expressions.  The cake smash was a success as well, "L" loved the cake made especially for this occasion by Ali Beth Bakery (and she rocked it as usual).  I hope mom and dad enjoyed what was left over as well.  We got some wonderful pictures of "L", "A" and "T" around their farm.  Here are previews from their session.

6 day old RJ {Belvidere IL, Elgin IL, newborn, family photography}

It seems like my sessions usually end up being a few of the same type of session in a row.  If I have first birthday session, I usually have at least a couple in a row, then milestone sessions are usually clustered as well as family, etc.  My last newborn shoot was almost 3 months ago and that felt like forever ago as I love newborn sessions so I was going through a little bit of withdrawal.  "R" contacted me a few weeks before her due date and I was so excited for the arrival of this little guy.  He made his appearance and 6 days later I had the pleasure of meeting him during his newborn session.  What a cutie!! He was doing great for family pics (well with the exception of pooping on mom and dad, LOL) but once he woke up he made us work a little bit harder.  In newborn world, being awake means it's time to eat, and that is what RJ did, we did most of the pics in between the feedings.  Once he was sleeping he did really good.  He even woke up towards the end of our session and stayed really content just looking around and trying to take in the world around him.  During that time we were able to get some pictures of him with his eyes open and they turned out great.  There was even one of him smiling while awake.  Thank you guys for choosing me to capture this wonderful moment in your lives.  This stage only lasts for such a short time.  Enjoy your new bundle of joy, can't wait to see him for his 3 month session.  Here is some previews from his session.