Joliet Family Photographer - Tomasik Family

Being out and about during a family photo shoot is very freeing  for me. I love being outdoors when the weather is right (call me crazy, right?). So when I get the honor of photographing a family I immediately suggest doing the shoot outdoors. Being outside gives us the ability to move around and get several looks in a small space.

Here's a family portrait session I did here in Joliet and the weather was just perfect - hot out in the sun and percent in the shade. So of course all of the photos are in the shade :)

My many thanks to the Tomasik family for inviting me over and allowing me to spend some time with them this beautiful afternoon. Thanks guys!

Lincoln Park Zoo Family Photos - Kanner Family

It's been a really hot and muggy summer in Chicago, but nothing was going to stop the Kanner family from taking their family portraits over at the beautiful Lincoln Park Zoo. You see, they are visiting family here in Chicago ALL the way from Berlin, Germany, where they currently live. I had the absolute pleasure and honor of photographing Kersty and Brian's wedding almost 2 years ago, so this was a very rewarding family shoot for me. I love being able to photograph the wedding of a couple and then continue to document their lives once they start a family - it's really the coolest thing for me to see that family grow! 

Here are a handful of my favorite photos from their Lincoln Park Zoo family photos. I love the little ones eyes, they're so intense and so "German" as Brian would say. Thanks!

Joliet Family Photographer - Villareal Family

It's officially summer time and we're finally able to go out and enjoy the outdoors. I especially enjoy shooting outdoor family portraits because the backgrounds are always colorful and vibrant. And being outside allows the kiddos to run around for a bit before and after the family photo session is done.  This particular family photo was done pretty quickly - the frame was set up and the family started having a fun time. It was a little on the chilly side this particular day, but we were able to get some really fun photos.

Mother's Day Family Portraits

I always get excited around Mother's Day because it means one thing in my mind - family portraits! I get to set-up my light modifiers and strobes and take get all photo-geeked out. I hope that my family has as much fun as I do. This was the 2nd year I've had the opportunity to work with the Vineyard Church of DuPage and take family portraits for members of their church. We had a perfect day this year and were allowed to shoot outdoors. Below are  just a few from that day. My many thanks to Stephanie and the rest of the families for having me. Thanks!

Shorewood Family Portraits - Delaney Family

It's finally starting to feel like summer around here & I couldn't be happier. That means I finally get to play outside with my daughters, run & exercise outside & just be outside enjoying the weather. It also means that I get to take family portraits outside of a studio setting! I love being & working outside, especially when photographing little kids. Being outside allows the kiddos to play and have fun in-between taking pictures.

That's how I was able to get the fun family pictures of the beautiful Delaney family. We met a park near their house in Shorewood & hung out for about 45 minutes in the summer-like weather. The girls played, I chatted with mom & dad then we took a few more photos & called it a day - short & sweet. My many thanks to the Delaney family for spending some time with me. I hope you guys had fun!

Nathan: A Million Dollar Smile - Chicago Toddler Portraits

Can I just say that Nathan rocked! There, done. End of post. Okay, just kidding. This little guy came in ready to be photographed. He smiled and played the entire time he was over. I believe he screeched a couple of times as well. Having Jocelyn (my 2 year old daughter) helped as well as she shared her toys and played with him the entire time.

Toddler photo shoots can go in so many directions. The little one could be cranky due to no nap or hunger. They could come in being really clingy to mom, etc. But this was one of those shoots were it was just a blast to shoot. All of the pieces came together and out came some amazing portraits of this little handsome dude. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the session:

Set-Up

Nikon D700 - shooting in RAW
Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 (studio shots)
Nikon 50mm f/1.4 (natural light shots)
Alien Bee strobe with medium softbox
Pocket Wizards (2)
36" silver reflector for natural light portraits
Adobe Lightroom 2 for editing

My many thanks to Angie for bringing Nathan over and for being such an AMAZING help! Angie, you made sure that your little guy smiled no matter what. Your energy was awesome. Thanks!

By The Way: I have been mixing up my portrait shoots lately. The 1st half is all studio strobe lighting. The 2nd half is all natural light. This way I get to give my clients a more varied session.

I'm So Thankful!

What an amazing 2012 I've had, mostly due to my AMAZING clients! It's been the busiest year for me ever and also one of the most fulfilling. I've had the honor to photograph so many weddings this year, as well as photograph so many families! Thank you to all of my couples and families, you've all been so amazing and fun to work with that I couldn't imagine my life without the experiences that we've created! I'm looking forward to my 2013 weddings and families. Stay tuned to my blog and my Facebook page for more photos and for some fun contests as well - make sure to Like my page to stay up on the latest info. You can also check out some of my photos on Instagram. I am also thankful for the birth of my daughter - Emiliana Christine. We call her Mils and she has been such a joy. Here she is smiling at her sister who was standing behind me as I took this photograph. Emiliana, I love you!

Family Portraits at Jackson Park - Osaka Garden

I love the Osaka Japanese Garden. I was introduced to it by Misuzu and Alvin, an amazing couple of mine, when we did their engagement session last year. It's a small and intimate garden, and it only takes a few minutes to walk through it. But the magic is not speeding through it, but taking the time to enjoy its beauty and design. LaRose and her siblings were only in town for the Memorial Day weekend and wanted to have their family portraits taken. I suggested the Osaka Garden and was encouraged/surprised to hear that LaRose had heard of it - it was pretty easy to schedule the rest of the shoot after that.

I met the family that Monday and quickly connected with them. They were fun and willing to walk around with me as we went from location to location. I had a great time and it looks like they did too, despite the muggy 90 degree weather. You have to love the shade.

Here are a handful of my favorite photos from our Hyde Park family photo shoot:

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Set-Up

Nikon D3 - shooting in RAW

Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8

Nikon 50mm f/1.8

Tokina 12-24mm f/4.0

            

By The Way - It's always a good idea to arrive early to the shoot. I was able to scout the area and find a few places to shoot that I hadn't seen before. The Osaka Japanese Garden is quickly becoming a favorite of mine.

Easter Family Portraits

Here's the annual Easter Family Portrait with all of the grand kids. My daughter and her cousins are growing up so fast and I wanted to capture that older/cooler vibe they're putting out. The exciting part of this portrait is knowing that next year my wife and I will have our newest daughter in the photo. I'm looking forward to that portrait session!

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Family, color, laughter, and a dog

I photographed Jenny's wedding a few years back and that's when I had the privilege to meet the Montgomery family. Jenny had a beautiful ceremony in her parents back yard and that is where these portraits were taken. The Montgomery's love to garden and keep their yard in impeccable shape all year round. So I had to take their portraits outdoors to reflect the color and beauty of their work. There was a lot of laughter and silliness during the shoot, as you can tell by the photos below. It was a hot day last year, so the shade from the trees was a welcome break. Here are a handful of my favorite photos:

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Set-Up

Nikon D700 - shooting in RAW

Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8

Nikon 50mm f/1.4

Photo Mechanic - For culling

Adobe Lightroom 3 for editing

            

By The Way - I really got to know the family by asking about the yard, which told me that they really enjoyed working on it. I find that it's easier to shoot when I know the people I'm working with. I know that sounds simple, but really caring about your clients makes a big difference in how they open up to you.

Baby Hannah's First Portraits

Little Hannah is about two weeks old in these photos. I love working with wee little one's like Hannah because once they fall asleep there is no waking them. Plus they look so cute when they're dressed up. She was asleep for most of the shoot, though she did wiggle around a bit and even cried for a second. My favorite of the bunch is the last one that you see here. She looks so calm and beautiful and will never look like this again - she already looks so much bigger now! Here are a handful of my favorite photos:

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Set-Up

Nikon D3 - shooting in RAW

Nikon 50mm f/1.4

Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8

Nikon SB-800 through a 12" softbox

Photo Mechanic for culling

Adobe Lightroom 3 for editing

            

By The Way - The backdrop you see is actually a vintage rug that I flipped - the front is a lot brighter. I wanted these photos to be dramatic, so I used the darker side of the rug. I'm really digging it.

Travis & TJ

These brothers were great together. I actually don't remember any one of them complaining or arguing, which is kind of a rare thing when photographing children. Kudos to the kids and to the parents of Travis and TJ - you guys rock. I really enjoyed this shoot. The set-up was simple and the kids were great (as previously mentioned) and little TJ is a cutie. I love simple set-ups when taking pictures of kids because it allows me to communicate with them without worrying about lights. Here are a handful of my favorite photos:

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Set-Up

Nikon D3 - shooting in RAW

Nikon 50mm f/1.4

Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8

Photo Mechanic for culling

Adobe Lightroom 3 for editing

            

By The Way - This shoot was kind of a last minute session. That's fine because working with natural light in the studio allows for a quick set-up: the backdrop, the natural light, and a reflector. Simple and effective.

Tristan and the Pugs

Tristan is an amazing little guy - just look at his curls and smile! You add three pugs to the mix and you get some really fun family photos. I always look forward to the annual pug portraits with Tristan. This year the pugs really wanted to be in the pictures. Last year they could care less, so I wasn't expecting them to be so energetic. I love it when the entire family participates in the portrait session - and if you have pets you know that they are a part of the family. I hope you enjoy looking at these photos as much as I did taking them and wrangling 3 pugs and a toddler. Here are a handful of my favorite photos:

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Set-Up

Nikon D700 - shooting in RAW

Nikon 50mm f/1.4

Nikon SB 800 with medium sized umbrella

CyberSync remotes/transmitter

Photo Mechanic - For culling

Adobe Lightroom 3 for editing

            

By The Way - Try to find out as much about the family's house you are about to enter beforehand. I took some allergy medicine before leaving for the shoot because I know that being around three pugs would cause my allergies to go nuts.

Family Portraits at the Morton Arboretum

I've had the pleasure of photographing the Russotiesi family about a year ago, so I was really excited to work with them again. I knew that the little ones would look a lot different and that's something that I was looking forward to seeing. Sure enough the kiddos were so much bigger and were even conversing with me. How cool! We met up at the beautiful Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL. We simply walked around and hung out while I photographed them as a family and then as individuals. There really isn't a bad place to shoot around there - everywhere you turn there is a beautiful location/background. I was also encouraged to see that the Morton Arboretum had their outdoor art series happening that month. We were able to get some really cool shots near some of the installments. You'll see my favorite down below that says "You Are Beautiful." This family is beautiful and we had a great time.

Here are a handful of my favorite photos from our Morton Arboretum family photo shoot:

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Set-Up

Nikon D700 - shooting in RAW

Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8

Nikon 50mm f/1.4

Tokina 12-24mm f/4.0

Photo Mechanic - For culling

Adobe Lightroom 3 for editing

            

By The Way - I always say to stick to your gut when shooting outdoors. I was tempted to end the shoot early due to the kiddos wanting to go home, but I thought that one more location would be great if we could get their cooperation. The last portrait of the family came out of that last little push.

Children's portraits in Joliet

Being a photographer in Joliet (Chicago-land area) means one thing: indoor portraits. It gets really cold out outside and there is no way to pose a kid outdoors when it's super chilly. These are a few recent indoor portraits that I took of Jason and Isabella. I wanted some dramatic images of the kids, so I used a couple of different angles and kept the lighting simple. The light is all natural with a little fill to camera right. I like using natural light with kids because I can focus more on my interaction with them instead of with lights. Here are a few of my favorite photos from this shoot:

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Set-Up

Nikon D3 - shooting in RAW

Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8

Nikon 50mm f/1.4

Photo Mechanic for culling

Adobe Lightroom 3 for editing

            

By The Way: I don't typically shoot a lot. But I changed that up a bit here since I was shooting at a really shallow depth of field. Most of the photos I took were at f/2.0. I may have shot a few at f/2.8. So in order to get enough in-focus photographs of the children I will shoot a ton.

Beverly Family Portraits // The Covington Family

Family portraits are really cool. Why you might ask? Well, I enjoy meeting new people and I also enjoy spending time with families. Seeing them interact with one another is a fun and there is always something to learn from the people I photograph. My family never got together for portraits, so it means a lot when families contact me and want to take portraits. My hope is that they will remember that photo shoot and that the photos I take will help them remember who they are as a family. So fast-forward to a few weeks back and to the Covington family portraits. They found me via a Google search and contacted me right away - gotta' love Google! We were able to schedule the shoot fairly quickly and ended up meeting at Kennedy Park on the cities south side. It was a really beautiful day, a bit on the hot side, but no one seemed to mind the heat and morning sun. It was fun for me to spend an hour or so with them. I just think that it's the coolest for a family to get together and make the portraits happen. So my many thanks to the Covington family!

Here are a handful of my favorite photos:

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Set-Up

Nikon D700 - shooting in RAW

Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8

Tokina 12-24mm f/4.0

Alien Bee 400

Vagabond Battery (portable power)

Pocket Wizards (2)

60" Umbrella

Photo Mechanic - For culling

Adobe Lightroom 3 for editing

            

By The Way - Pretty much any location will work for a family portrait session. This session was in the morning and the sun was starting to get really bright and hot. There was also a good amount of construction going on all around the park, so finding the perfect location was a bit of a challenge. Trust your photographers intuition and shoot away!

I Love These Kids! Chicago Fun Kid Portraits

I really do love these kids. The first two lil' ones I have known since they were newborns and the last is my daughter. These are milestone photos, as the older ones are turning 3 and the little Hatted Cuttie is 6 months old. It has been so cool seeing these kiddos grow up and being there taking their portraits along the way. More pics to come. [gallery columns="1" size="large"]

Set-Up

Nikon D700 - shooting in RAW

Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8

Nikon SB-800

Pocket Wizards (2)

30" Reflector

Lastolite EzyBox Softbox

Adobe Lightroom 3 for editing

The Park District of Forest Park

            

By The Way: Patience is indeed a virtue. Photographing kids is a challenge, but the return on that energy/patience investment is amazing.

Congrats to the 2010 Grads // Graduation Portraits

Graduation season is upon us. It's easy to take this season for granted if you don't know anyone that is graduating. But if you have a family member or friend that is graduating, then it is a big deal. It's such an honor to be graduating, to be done with school, to have completed your studies. And what a perfect time to not only document this time, but to do so with a beautiful portrait! I am so privileged/honored to have spent time with these outstanding graduates and to have taken their portraits. What is even cooler is that they will forever have these photos of themselves on the day they graduated from college. They will be able to show these to their children, and for now can share them on Facebook and show their family and friends, with pride, that they have graduated.

My many thanks to the graduates: Mickey, Edwardo, Maureen, and Dana! Here are a few of my favorite graduation photos:

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By The Way: Shooting in different environments is so much fun. Mickey's portraits were on location at Northeastern University. Edwardo's portraits were in my home-studio. Maureen and Dana's graduation portraits were taken in Forest Park. Different locations bring with them challenging lighting situations and we must be quick on our feet.

Oak Park Family Portraits // The Shannon Family

I received 2 separate emails a few weeks back, on the same day, asking if I was available to do family portraits. Cool. Not a problem. Both emails were asking for the same type of portraits and then were asking if I was available for the same date. That was a little odd. I thought "hey, two family portrait sessions on the same day works for me." I come to find, a few days later, that it is the same family inquiring. Pretty funny stuff indeed. So that is how I met the Shannon family, a beautiful and warm family from Chicago. They were looking for both family portraits and graduation portraits, as both daughters were graduating from college. I was really excited about this shoot as it would take place outdoors and in Oak Park - 2 places I am fond of. The shoot ended up taking place in Forest Park, the park on Harlem Ave. and Lake St. But I digress.

I was finally able to meet Maureen and her family - what a great group of people, and they all looked amazing! This shoot was truly a family event as my wife and daughter hung out with us as we photographed the Shannon family. This had to be one of the most relaxed and fun shoots in a while, and all thanks to the Shannon's. They were just cool, laid back, and fun to be around.

I had my friend, the very talented Nick Wrzesinski, shoot with and assist me on this family session. It was awesome having Nick there to help with lighting and second shooting. He captured some amazing portraits!

Here are a handful of my favorite photos:

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Set-Up

Nikon D700 - shooting in RAW

Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8

Nikon 50mm f/1.4

Alien Bee 400

Pocket Wizards (2)

Medium Softbox

Adobe Lightroom 2 for editing

The Park District of Forest Park

            

Easter Sunday // Family Time & Portraits of the Kiddos

I really enjoyed this years Easter Sunday gathering: my mom-in-laws ham was SO GOOD, the weather was beautiful, and we had a Lamb Cake - yes, a Lamb Cake. It's not a REAL lamb, but it was a real good cake (there's a pic down below). It actually looked more like a cat than a lamb. I'm just sayin'. The family met up at my brother-in-laws house over in Flossmoor, IL. He and his wife recently purchased a really nice place over there. The house was packed and all of our kids made sure that there was not a silent moment all evening long. Seeing the kids dressed up in their Sunday's best was so cool - the girls looked so beautiful in their dresses and the boys were so handsome in their dress pants and shirts. They were all so endearing.

Here are a few pics from the day. I love the portraits of the kids. I had been looking forward to taking these photos all week long:

My many thanks to my family for making Easter so much fun. It was kind of a quick evening, but it was a much needed one.

Kid Portraits Set-Up

Nikon D90 - shooting in RAW

Nikon 50mm f/1.4

Nikon SB-800 fitted with an umbrella - Thank you Gary for helping me out

Pocket Wizards (2)

Adobe Lightroom 2 and Photoshop CS3 for editing

Rock On! info@ottorascon.com | my portfolio | facebook | twitter | 773.430.4785

By The Way: I had pre-visualized where I would be taking the portraits of the kids. I had thought it through and knew what I wanted. But then came the rain. It forced me to rethink my plans and I had to make some quick decisions. I really liked the trees in the background and I figured they would make for a nice background.