A & A at the beach with Aunty N

Every child needs an occasional day at the beach!  As a parent, the thought of sand and bugs everywhere makes me cringe, but once I'm at the beach and see the excitement in my son's eyes, I forget all about the mess.  Other than beach time being fun, the beach provides a great backdrop for photos.  Learning how to deal with shadows and people around you is a learning curve, and I'm on my way to master it.  Here's a peek into my latest session.

And we can't forget about the little sandy details:

I had a blast hanging out with this family!  Looking at these is a little bittersweet, being it's past Labor Day and all Chicago area beaches are closed until next year.  I'm already looking forward to some beach time in 2016!

Outdoor family session

Summer is a BUSY time in the photography world!  Especially in Chicago, where we only get so many days filled with beautiful weather.  These two sisters wanted to give their parents an anniversary present that they can cherish for years to come, so they decided to arrange an outdoor photo session.  I suggested this little gem of a spot, and the photos came out beautiful!  Take a look for yourself.

Let's start with the anniversary couple:

 

And then bring in the grandkids:

And here's the rest of the family:

 

Of course, I couldn't help but capture the kiddos having some good ole summer fun:

And thanks to these two beautiful ladies for planning the session!  Hope you guys had some fun during it all!

Welcome to the world Baby Izma

I had the pleasure of meeting Izma when she was just 4 weeks new, and boy is she adorable!  Something about being around a newborn just puts a smile on my face; it's partially their innocence, partially their reliance on those around them, and more than partially their tiny little bodies and adorableness.  Izma's Mommy wanted to wait until she was about a month old so we could capture some pictures of her awake, and some of her in dreamland.  Usually around two weeks new, babies are less likely to sleep through a photo session and are not as open to being shaped into poses.  Izma however, was quite the trooper! Here are some of the results from our session together:

 

 

And here's big brother Kais.  Kais had his mind set for days on not wanting to be in any pictures.  With some convincing from his Dad, Kais let him know that he might be interested in participating if the photographer was nice.  So we made conversation about toddler things and Kais watched me work, showing a lot of interest in what I was doing.  Kais became my little helper by reading to Izma and making sure she was okay.  With every pose he came closer and closer to her.  By the end of the session, he was holding Izma close and saying how he wanted to be a photographer one day!  

 

 

And lastly, we have Kais' first picture taken with a DSLR.  Welcome to the Nikon family kiddo!

One year old Diya with big sister Zoya

Oh fall, how I miss thee!  We had a couple weeks of gorgeous fall weather in the Chicagoland area this year, and then we were soon struck with winter.  So here I am, re-living that weather with this session.  The two sisters are so adorable together.  I love how they had coordinating outfits throughout the whole session, including matching dresses at the end!  Here's a peek of this little family:

Zoya was so happy at the end when we told her we were all done, that she took the opportunity to run around us in circles.  This picture captures the excitement in her smile!  Hope the sunshine in these photos warmed up your day!