I love photographing downtown, especially in the early evening. That's when we get that "magic hour" light - the orange/warm light from the setting sun. It's also pretty sweet when we get 70+ degree weather in early April. That is something that rarely happens in Chicago, but we gladly take it when it does.
I was shooting the engagement session of Jovi & Nedjo with Ray Pryor of Emotia. Jovi & Nedjo are a loving & fun couple, and so easy to photograph too. There were plenty of smiles and laughter going around, even as the crazy wind kept blowing Jovi's hair all around. I know we live in the "Windy City," but it was too literal that day. It seemed that Ray and I kept making sure that Jovi's hair wasn't in her eyes for a good portion of the shoot. She was so cool and calm about the wind. I feel like we made the most of a beautiful evening at the Adler Planetarium and Shedd Aquarium.
Here are a few of my favorite photos from that portrait session:
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My many thanks to Ray Pryor for having me be a part of this engagement shoot. I am looking forward to Jovi & Nedjo's wedding! Thanks guys.
John G. Shedd Aquarium
1200 S. Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60605
312-939-2438
Adler Planetarium
1300 South Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60605-2403
(312) 322-7827
By The Way: This shoot was a blast. Shooting with my friends is something that I am looking forward to this 2010 wedding season. I am blessed to have such talented friends.
It's so cool seeing nature bloom. Gone is the snow and crazy cold Chicago winter - can you say AMEN to that! The colors are amazingly vibrant. The flowers are beautiful. The sun is lasting longer and longer, giving us more of that golden colored sunsets. The sneezing, runny nose, and itchy eyes due to allergies are a pain. But I don't even care about my allergy misery. I am just excited about having a camera in my hand and capturing these spring time moments.
I am also super pumped about all of the weddings and family portraits that I will be a part of this 2010 season. I am excited for my brides and grooms, and I really appreciate the amazing commitment that they are making. I am humbled and honored that they have chose me to photograph their wedding. What an awesome task.
I have some really cool families that I will be taking their portraits. I love it when families make the time and get together for pictures. That is something that my family never did, though I wish we would have.
I am looking forward to the moments and memories that I will capture. I am enjoying the dreaming and planning that it takes before I photograph a wedding. Good times indeed.
Here are just a few nature pics I have taken at Humboldt Park. Nothing award winning per-se. But definitely stuff I have enjoyed shooting:
By The Way: Let's be passionate about all forms of photography. I am a wedding and portrait photographer, sure enough. But I cannot keep my eyes off of the colors that are all around me at this moment, and I cannot stop taking pictures of trees and flowers. I might sound weird saying this stuff, but I can't stop shooting.
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
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.
I had the privilege to second shoot the wedding of David & Crystal with my good friend Steven of Steven Ryne Photography this past weekend.
I met David and the guys over in Vernon Hills at a local bowling alley. Yes - bowling alley. It was so cool hanging out with them and photographing them as they bowled right before the wedding. I could see that these guys really cared for each other, which made my job so much more enjoyable.
The ceremony and reception was at the Byron Colby Barn in Grayslake. That surrounding area was perfect for portraits. I remember driving up to the Barn and thinking "these portraits are going to be AWESOME! Just look at all of this open space." It was almost perfect to shoot in except that it had rained the entire day. No problem! We just made sure that everyone had umbrellas and we were all good to go out for a few portraits.
One thing that really stood out to me were the details. I typically look at the details and shoot away. I might move something to light it better, but that is about all of the interaction that I have with them. But these details stopped me in my tracks and forced me to notice them. I HAD to look at the top of the cake - I HAD to look at the hand written menu board - I HAD to look at the table decoration - I HAD to look and touch the wedding info handout - I HAD to photograph them all. All of these pieces made for a really great experience. I was then blow away to find out that Crystal, the bride, had designed and planned all of these details herself. What a talented bride/designer/wedding planner!
Here are a few of my favorite photos from this wedding:
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I want to thank Steven again for having me shoot this amazing wedding with him. Dude, you rock. I really appreciated your posing ideas. It was also really cool seeing you give and interact with your clients. Way to go!
My thanks to David and Crystal. I hope you guys have an amazing marriage!!!
The Byron Colby Barn
1561 Jones Point Road
Grayslake, IL 60030-3536
(847) 543-1202
By The Way: Shoot at f/1.4 if you need to. I sure did for this wedding. The Byron Colby Barn is a great place to shoot, but it is very dim once the sun sets.
→ Here are a few pics to help me remember all that took place at WPPI:
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There is so much more that I could write about. But it would probably bore you. Plus, I still need to write it all down and make sure that I don't forget all of the great stories and business ideas that I learned. One thing I can share with 100% confidence: I love the wedding/portrait industry! I am so glad I made it to WPPI.
I was so excited to be going to WPPI 2010. I knew that I would be learning a lot about my wedding photography business. I knew that I would meet some amazing people. I knew that I would see some amazing products at the trade show. I also knew that I would go to a few parties. But the one thing that I was really looking forward to was taking pictures! I pretty much had all of my gear - all of it.
So imagine my elation when I saw Feuza Dos Reis photographing Christine and Iaan - a fabulous couple I had just met earlier in the day. You see I was on the 9th floor at The Signature (at MGM Grand) talking to my wife. When I looked down and saw the portrait session in progress. I told my wife I had to leave and RAN downstairs to where the shoot was taking place. I asked Feuza if I can shoot and she said yes. Sweet. I was so excited that I neglected to bring my lens bag. I only had my 80-200mm f/2.8 lens. Good thing that Feuza also shoots Nikon, so I was able to borrow one of her lenses.
Christine Meintjes and Iaan Van Niekerk were an absolute blast to talk to and photograph. They are from Cape Town, South Africa, so I made sure to shut my trap and ask questions that would make them talk. I loved their accents, but ended up loving their warmness even more. I wish that we could have spent more time together.
Here are a few of my favorite photos from that portrait session:
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My many thanks to Feuza for setting this up. She followed her photographers instinct and because of that I have 2 new friends. Christine and Iaan, I hope that our roads cross again. Rock on guys!
The Signature at MGM Grand
145 East Harmon Avenue
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(877) 612-2121
MGM Grand Hotel & Casino
3799 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 891-1111
By The Way: This shoot taught me to follow my instinct and approach people with confidence. There have been a lot of times when I see people that I want to photograph. A simple question to photograph them might turn up into a great time.
I have known David and his family for a handful of years now. We both have toddler-aged daughters that are BFF's and have known each other since infancy. My wife and David's wife are friends as well. You can probably guess that we are pretty close.
David is the kind of person you want to know: extremely loyal, funny, smart, and a huge U2 fan. He also posses an insane amount of movie and music knowledge. He KNOWS this stuff inside and out. I kid you not. I am always more than impressed with his knowledge of directors, producers, actors, plot lines, writers, performances, etc. I always feel like I can learn so much more about movies when I am around him... and I consider myself a "movie person." You can read his movie reviews on his site keeping it reel.
Here are a few portraits my friend David. The original plan was to photograph his daughter, but she was not having it (she's 3 going on 21). The lights were set up and ready to go. He "volunteered" for a few portraits and away we went - I am not one to let a portrait session pass. Here are a few of my favorites from that portrait session:
By The Way: I loved that I was able to just use my strobes modeling light for this shoot. I should have set up a custom white balance though, as my colors were kind of funky out of camera. The high ISO shooting ability of the Nikon D700 allows for this kind of shoot.
My series in dramatic portraiture continues with Mark Brouwer - a model from Chicago with comedy and acting skills.
So imagine this session: photography, laughter, fun conversation, and music - life is really good when these elements come together. Mark was fun to work with - he kept things lively, and I appreciate that. I am typically the one making sure everyone is laughing at my photo shoots. So having Mark contribute to the liveliness that day was really fun.
I wanted to create some dark images with Mark. I asked if he could bring clothing that would work well with the "dark" themed photo shoot, which led to a conversation about what I meant by "dark". He mentioned that he had a dark green trench coat. Perfect. The trench coat ended up looking great on screen. I also wanted the lighting to be more harsh than with my previous dramatic shoots. I made sure to stay away from softboxes and only used gridspots and bare-bulbs on my strobes.
Here are a few of my favorite images from our photo shoot with Mark. The final composite images will be on a new blog post soon:
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Behind The Scenes
My many thanks to Mark for his professionalism and humor! I hope you have an amazing career in modeling and acting. You rock dude! And a super thank you to my amazing wife, Christina, for being so supportive, for doing a great job on Mark's hair, and for rocking out the Flip Mino HD. Thanks babe!
The Set-Up
Nikon D700 - Shooting in RAW
Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 lens
Alien Bee 400ws (5 strobes)
Medium Softbox (2)
22" Beauty Dish
Pocket Wizard (2)
13" MacBook
Sofortbild - For shooting tethered to my MacBook. It's free for Nikon shooters!
My series in dramatic portraiture continues with Ankita Baxi. I was very excited about working with Ankita. She has done a lot of modeling photo shoots here in the States and in India. Her energy and enthusiasm was very encouraging and made for some pretty cool photos. Ankita's communication skills also added to the great experience - she was very prompt and concise in answering all of my questions and even throwing in a few of her own. I love that. She is a pro and it was a lot of fun working with her.
You can see photos from the previous photo shoots with Camille here and with Debra here.
Here are a few of my favorite images from our photo shoot with Ankita. The final composite images will be on a new blog post soon:
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Behind The Scenes
My many thanks to Ankita! I hope you have an amazing and long career in this industry. Have a great time in Los Angeles. You rock! I also want to thank Gary Middendorf for his assistance, video skills, and ideas. And of course a super thank you to my wife, Christina, for being so supportive and for doing a great job on Ankita's hair. Thanks guys!
By The Way: Talking about the shoot in advance with Ankita was HUGE. I felt like Ankita and I were on the same page before she showed up at my home-studio. That was great because I was able to communicate better and express some ideas a lot clearer.
I love the work of Joe McNally, specifically his work with professional dancers. I love how he captures the dancers' grace, elegance, and expressions. Dancers poses a control over their body that most of us just don't have any idea about, self totally included.
I was honored to photograph Divine Expression Ministries graduation ceremony a few weeks back at the beautiful North Park College. I was very excited to work with DEM for many reasons, one being that I would be able to capture their dancers in action. I was also very encouraged by the type of organization DEM is and I appreciate what they are about. It was great being able to walk around and capture the tension and nervousness that comes with such an important event. All went very well and ended up being a lot of fun being there and meeting so many great people. The band they had performing that night was AMAZING!
Here are a few of my favorite photos from the DEM graduation at North Park College:
By The Way: Be ready for challenging shooting situations. Get your exposures down before the performances begin and get a good feel for the room you are about to shoot in. Knowing the best ISO, shutter speed, and f/stop combo before the action starts is huge.
So my series in dramatic portraits continues with Debra Lopez, a very talented model and actress from Madison, Wisconsin. Working with Debra (and her husband - pics coming soon) was great for many reasons: she is a very talented and professional model, she was very enthusiastic about this shoot (which pumped me up), and she had a great sense of wardrobe and looks that made photographing her a lot of fun.
We ended up capturing some really fun and amazing frames during our 2 hours photo shoot. I love these kind of shoots because we get so many ideas going that it is hard to stop shooting. My wife set out some snacks and drinks, which we ended up maxing out! Pedro (Deb's husband), Gary, and I even chatted a bit about football and Peyton Manning. Photography, beautiful models, food, and sports - does life get any better than that? The answer is NO.
Hey, you can check out a very funny short film called "Spin Cycle" Debra starred in here. Her character is so mean :)
Here are a few of my favorite images from our photo shoot. The final composite images will be on a new blog post soon:
My many thanks to Debra! You and Pedro made this shoot a blast, and I appreciate your willingness to travel into Chicago. You rock! I also want to thank Gary Middendorf for his assistance and ideas. It is always so cool working with a fellow photographer. And of course a super thank you to my wife, Christina, for being so supportive and for doing a great job on Deb's hair. Thanks guys!
The Set-Up
Nikon D700 - Shooting in RAW
Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 lens
Alien Bee 400ws (5 strobes)
Medium Softbox (2)
22" Beauty Dish
Pocket Wizard (2)
Lightroom 2 - For exposure and color adjustments
Photoshop CS4 - For all major retouching and background removal
13" MacBook
Sofortbild - For shooting tethered to my MacBook. It's free for Nikon shooters!
By The Way: Talking with Debra about her wardrobe was key. Not having the right wardrobe would have made this shoot boring and flat. It's all about communication.
My daughter is a part of every photo shoot that I do. She is a) either entertainment for the models, b) a testing "assistant" while I adjust my lights, or c) just a innocent bystander while I shoot. Whatever she is, I am glad that she is there to watch me work.
These portraits came after my model was done with her Dramatic Portraits. Jocelyn came in with her tutu ready to be photographed, and I am not to shy away from a portrait session opportunity. Plus, I love photographing children, especially when it is my kid.
Here are a few of my favorites from Jocelyn's impromptu portrait session:
By The Way: Be ready for impromptu shoots. I was getting ready to pack up my gear when Jocelyn came in dancing and wanting to be photographed. I was tired and ready to stop, but I could not pass up taking a few frames of what I knew would be a memorable portrait session with my daughter.
I was really excited about Camille's photo shoot. She is a very professional, beautiful, and enthusiastic model and I am very grateful to have worked with her. She came in ready to deliver a great performance and that she did. It is always such a treat to work with others that are just as passionate about this art form as I am.
This photo shoot was going to be a bit different than what I am used to. First: it is the first shoot in a series (yes, more photos coming very soon) of dramatic portraits and model headshots. I have never done a series like this before, so this was new ground for me. Second: it was going to involve a lot of post-production (Photoshop) work, of which I am used to. The end result of this shoot is to create a composite image with a completely new background and a more dramatic feel. I will be posting the final images soon.
This headshot/portrait session was intended to be more artistic in nature and so all of the pieces had to work well together: a great model, a specific type of lighting set-up, great hair and make-up, energy, and me not messing it up :)
It was great having my amazing hairstylist wife there and my talented brother-in-law (a very talented sports photographer) there to assist.
Here are a few images from our shoot. The final composite images will be on a new blog post soon:
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Behind The Scenes
My many thanks to Camille! You made this shoot so much fun. I also want to thank Gary Middendorf for his assistance and ideas. And a super thank you to my wife, Christina, for being so supportive and for doing a great job on Camille's hair. Thanks guys!
The Set-Up
Nikon D700 - Shooting in RAW
Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 lens
Tokina 14-24mm f/4 lens
Alien Bee 400ws (5 strobes)
Medium Softbox (2)
22" Beauty Dish
Pocket Wizard (2)
Lightroom 2 - For exposure and color adjustments
Photoshop CS4 - For all major retouching and background removal
13" MacBook
Sofortbild - For shooting tethered to my MacBook. It's free for Nikon shooters!
By The Way: It was great sketching out pose ideas and lighting ideas before the shoot. I was also able to do some test shots before Camille ever came over.
The Help-Portrait experience was truly amazing. I am so grateful to Jeremy Cowart and his crew for having an idea about giving and making it happen. Because of the them a great community of photographers banded together to bring smiles to people that otherwise might not have smiled the day they were photographed.
I am not posting images of the families that we served on Sunday (12.20.09), as that is not the reason to participate in Help-Portrait. We all helped out to give back and not to promote our work. But I do want to show off all of the other photographers, make-up artist, and hair stylists that helped out. They were all amazing and brought their unique talents to the Help-Portrait photo shoot. What an amazing group of people!
I want to thank everyone that made this day so memorable and special:
Hinojosa Photography - Veronica, you made so much happen that it is hard to imagine this event going so smoothly without you. I am so glad that Milo and your kiddos were there to help. They were amazing!
Jaclyn Simpson - Jaclyn, your awesome Lightroom editing and printing skills were impressive. Thanks for being so giving and such a joy to work with.
EB Creative Photography - Elisa, your studio set-up and knowledge was so rocking. The images you, Jaclyn, and Veronica made were so cool. It was awesome working together. And many thanks to your clients for their donations. Thanks!
Todd James Photography - Todd, my many thanks for making sure that the photos were edited and printed properly. It was a joy working with you. I hope we work together again soon!
Delack Media Group - Nathan, your video skills are impressive to say the least. You were so cool to be around and to work with. Thanks for the final video and the frames!!!
Emotia - Ray, thanks for your support and for your video skills. I look forward to seeing what you shot that day. Having you around was such an encouragement.
Starlight Makeup - Lillian, you were the star of the show in my humble opinion. You were the sole makeup artist and you made EVERYONE look so beautiful. So truly ROCK!
Tanya, Mona, Angela and Sam: you were all so great and made everyones hair look amazing. I was so surprised/impressed to see you all giving actual haircuts! Such great hearts. Angela and Sam, Please pass along my "thanks" to the Paul Mitchell School.
I love baby Sam for many reasons. One is that he is just so darn cute (his head makes a perfect circle)! Another reason is that he was such a pleasure to photograph (I love baby photos). He also has this very cool and calming attitude about him that makes him even more lovable. But the main reason I love him is that he is my nephew, my youngest baby nephew. I love photographing my family, even if it means traveling to Huntley, Orland Park, or Merrionette Park. I do my best and make sure that my nieces and nephews are photographed because they will never look the same. They grow up so darn fast.
Here are a few of my favorite Sam portraits:
By The Way: Always be careful when shooting babies. I always have the parent sit right next to the child as I photograph them. The final image you see is a composite of 2 images. The one with the baby originally had the mother right next to him. Then I photographed the background without the baby and then combined them in Photoshop.
So what the heck is a wedding and family portrait photographer doing shooting the Chicago Polar Bear Swim of 2010? The only answer I can think of is that I am both a lover of photography and a little bit crazy.
This polar swim is becoming a yearly ritual for me. It all started last year when I went down to North Ave Beach on March of 2009. I was not sure why I was there. It was cold. I was without friends. I had no coffee. All I had was my camera and a crazy idea that I would get some cool photos of a few brave and shivering people. I ended up having a blast and vowed to return this year.
This time I was warm and ready with some coffee and a few of my photog friends. I was also there cheering on my best friend David Fowlie. What a brave and cold soul. I had a blast and cannot wait to do it again in March. You can get more info about the Chicago Polar Plunge here. You can check out some of Gary Middendorf's (my brother-in-law) photos here.
Here are a handful of my favorite shots from the 2010 Polar Swim. Please remember, it was 19 degrees outside:
By The Way: It would have been nice to have had my 400mm lens today. I then could have captured more facial expressions. Lesson learned: bring my lenses!!!
"All is quiet on New Year's Day - A world in white gets underway - I want to be with you - Be with you night and dayNothing changes on New Year's Day - On New Year's Day"
Yeah, I am a U2 geek. I know it and embrace it. But here we are on another new years day. It is a quite morning so far, which is weird considering I have a 2 year old. I am getting ready to photograph a cool event I will be posting later and I also find myself in a very relaxed mood. I also find myself in a reflective mood.
I hope that you and I have a fantastic year. I need some time to dream it up and put on paper. I encourage you to do the same so that we can see our dreams and goals written out before us. I know that I need that this year. Here is to a ROCKIN' YEAR!
Well 2009 is just about done. Can you believe I just said that?! This year flew by at the speed of light, maybe even quicker. There was a lot of stuff going on, a lot of stuff was experienced and a lot of growth occurred this year. Overall I am very glad that this year is over. That sounded very negative... but I assure you it is not. It has been one of the most humbling and amazing years of my short life. But I am looking forward to the new year and to the new decade.
Year-End Review for 2009
I love reading "top" lists and year-end reviews. They are a quick read into someones life, a quick glimpse into who someone is. They can be funny and quite shocking at times, but always revealing. So here goes my "top" list for 2009 - goodbye crazy decade!
Top Movie
- Revolutionary Road: Awesome acting, very deep issues and a realistic story. Leo and Kate are awesome!
Top Song:
- All The Things That I Have Done - The Killers: I know this is an older tune, but I just came to know it this year.
Best Concert
- U2 at Soldiers Field. You can see more pics on my Facebook album: U2 360 Tour
Most Read Photo Blogs
- Zack Arias: Atlanta based editorial music photographer that ROCKS!
- Digital Pro Talk with David Ziser: Great blog on business and shooting.
- Jasmine Star: Fabulous wedding photographer whose blog is a breathe of fresh air. She keeps it real.
- Joe McNally: Awesome lighting guru that started my LOVE for off camera flash.
Most Read Non-Photo Blogs
- engadget.com - This blog keeps my inner geek informed on all things technical and gadgets.
- smashingmagazine.com - THE best blog for design, dev, and free stuff. A must if you are a visual creative.
- Seth Godin: A great blog for marketing, branding, and just all around great advice.
My Favorite Blog Reader
- Google Reader: Simple, amazing and oh so easy to use!
Favorite New Restaurant
- Big Bowl: Amazing food at non-scary prices. Try their passion fruit ginger ale. My many thanks to my sis-in-law for recommending this place.
Favorite App
- Things: An easy and powerful Get-Things-Done app for the Mac and iPhone or iTouch. Now I wish I had an iPhone so I could sink it with my MacBook...
Favorite Wedding Venue
- University Club Chicago - Here is an image from the beautiful top level dining hall. You can see a few more from a previous post here.
Favorite Portrait Photo of My Daughter- My Daughters Cute Froggy Boots
Favorite Model Photos
Favorite Personal Works- 2009 Polar Plunge
Favorite Personal Works - "Tree By The Lake" (inspiration for my logo)
Favorite Face Melting Solo
- Tom Morello with The Boss on "Ghost of Tom Joad"
Best Investment (monetary and emotional)
- Dane Sanders Roadshop Workshop
This was an amazing workshop taught by an amazing person, Dane Sanders. I learned more about myself in this short 3 day workshop than I have in any other workshop I have EVER attended. Do yourself a huge favor and attend his workshop if you can make it. Just do it!
And In The End... of the year
So there you have it. A few of my favorite things for 2009. I am looking forward to next year and I have a lot of ideas that I want to put into practice, some good ole' life changing ideas. I hope you have a great year and I look forward to blogging more and putting more of me into these pages. My most sincere Thank You to all that read this blog. Here's to a great New Year celebration!!!
Happy holidays guys! I know we are all getting ready to celebrate with friends and family, so thanks for stopping by my blog. What are some things you are all doing for the holidays?
I am look forward to a few things like hanging out with my family and watching some movies. I am just about done with my Family DVD slide-show I do every year. So I am pretty darn excited about finishing that and giving it to my family on Christmas. I also just got a Play Station 3, so there will be some HD viewing this holiday season at my house.
I hope that you all have a fun time and make some amazing memories over the next week. Peace and see you soon!
I LOVE it when families make the time to take portraits. I guess I feel that way because my family never made the time to do so. I cannot look back at a time when my family was together and when my siblings and I were younger. That's kind of a bummer. As a parent I now understand how it can be difficult, and even frustrating, to make the time and get everyone ready to go out and take family pictures.
But family portraits are important to our lives, they are an important part in our histories. Think about this: never again will this couple (whose photos you are about to see) look the same, nor will their children. Their likeness have been captured in time. They can look at these photos later in their lives and reminisce about how young everyone was and how beautiful they all looked. That is pretty cool and almost magical.
Here are a few of my favorites from this session:
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My HUGE thanks to the Espinoza family for coming in all the way from Rogers Park. They looked great and were so much fun to spend time with. Their little ones are SO cute! You guys rock!
By The Way: Make sure that only one parent is communicating with the kids during the session, or even just your assistant. Having both parents talk and make noises can be too much, both for the kids and for the photographer :)