Tag Archives: Chicago kids

Deerfield Christmas Tree Shopping

I love the holiday season, but no matter how much I try to stay organized, it always seems so hectic. Between band and choral concerts, cookie baking, decorating and shopping for the holidays, there never seems to be enough time. I really wanted to go to a tree farm this year and cut down our own tree. It sounds like one of those idyllic, Norman Rockwell-style days – taking a hay ride through the forest, picking the perfect tree, sipping steaming hot chocolate by a bonfire while we wait for the tree to be prepared to put on top of the car… Alas, there just wasn’t enough time this year for that leisurely day. So, between photo shoots, tennis classes, Sunday school and a family dinner with cousins, we headed to our Deerfield Home Depot and picked our favorite conifer. A little less romantic than I envisioned, but still so much fun to spend an afternoon with my family. As usual, I love to document these little moments with my family. I cherish my photos of our little adventures together.

Do you have a holiday ritual you would like me to document? Baking cookies? Decorating the tree? I love doing storytelling sessions with families. Please contact me if you are interested in preserving your memories.

Chicago Boys in the Forest Preserve

Can you believe how fast the beautiful fall leaves are quickly falling to the ground? Soon enough, it will be nothing but bare trees staring back at us from the Chicago landscape!

This Saturday, October 25, the weather is supposed to be a gorgeous and sunny. In honor of what might be one of the last nice Saturdays of the fall season, I am offering limited edition mini-shoots for the day. A $75 sitting fee guarantees you a 20 minute shoot. $175 check or cash secures your spot, with $100 in credit going toward purchases of prints, canvases or downloadable images for personal use.

Mini-shoots are for immediate family only. We can do up to three poses for the session. Ten images will be shared in an online gallery. Orders are due within two weeks of images being posted online.

And just to give you a sense of what lovely Chicago family photos look like on a gorgeous, fall day, I would like to share a photo shoot of my nephews from last weekend. Since I have three girls, it is always an exciting adventure to hang out with a family of boys.

Max and Duncan are funny, silly, inquisitive boys. One minute they are chasing each other around, the next they are examining a leaf, the next they are trying to break free to run through the forest.

My problem solver Max was a big helper when it came to coming up with new ideas for photos.

 

 

 

Fall Family Photos

I love getting an opportunity to do family photos at someone’s home. This Chicago family chose to do photos at their house, and then a handful at a forest preserve. It was a great combination! Capturing families doing their every day activities makes for the best photos! I know this family will enjoy seeing photos that capture their amazing connection and fun energy for years to come.

Welcome to My Blog!

While I have enjoyed spending the last few years honing my skills as a “playful posed” photographer, I am so excited to bring lifestyle photography to families in the Chicago area. I have worked as a photographer at the St. Louis Magazine, The Prague Post and The Sunday Tribune in Dublin, Ireland. I have been a director of photography at the Naples Daily News in Florida, assistant director of photography at The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and most recently a photo editor at The Chicago Tribune.

And now, I want to take all that experience and bring you the most amazing, authentic photos of your family at this moment in time. I want to show you how you feel about each other in photos. I want you to look at your storytelling album years from now and remember what your days felt like. I want to capture and crystallize your memories as they are happening.

I had the pleasure of photographing this family right before their oldest left for his first year of college. When I look at these images, I can still hear the kids joking and laughing with each other. I was struck by how sweet all the boys were with their little sister. I loved capturing them hanging out on a gorgeous summer evening in a beautiful forest preserve, enjoying an impromptu game of touch (and occasionally tackle 😉 ) football.