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:

Set-Up

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.

It was really a blast spending some time with Sarah and Allie a few weeks back. We were in downtown Joliet taking some engagement photos, though because of the cold I was afraid that we would have to reschedule the shoot. But they were great about facing the cold and were amazing to work with. They just got married on December 30th and I’m sure you couldn’t find a more loving couple out there.

Having just moved to Joliet I had been wanting to shoot in the downtown area near the Rialto Square Theater. I was also hoping to shoot inside of Jitters Coffee Shop, but we wrapped up the shoot a little sooner due to the cold. Here are a few of my favorite images from the shoot:

Being a wedding photographer has a lot of perks. I love having complete access to my brides as they get ready for their wedding. This allows me to take some very warm/intimate pictures between the bride and her friends and family. There’s also seeing the groom tear up as he sees his bride walk down the aisle. Those moments are truly special. But there are other things that I get to see/experience that maybe most people wouldn’t think about.

Here you’ll see some of the visual perks I get to experience at every wedding: the details of the church. These aren’t even the details you’d expect, like the flowers and decorations. The inside of most churches are works of art, and I have always enjoyed photographing them. Here are a few of my favorites taken at St. Aldabert’s Church on 17th & Ashland in Chicago.

I loved shooting Misuzu and Alvin’s wedding earlier this year. They are such a wonderful couple – full of love for each other and for their family/friends. I’m looking forward to sharing more of their wedding photos. You can see photos from their engagement session in the meantime. Stay tuned.

Here is one of my favorite photos of Misuzu and from the entire 2011 wedding season:

Maureen and Matt’s wedding was a blast to be a part of. Here is just one photo from the wedding taken at Valley Lo Club in Glenview. There will be a full post coming soon with a ton more photos, along with new (and some older) weddings. I’m also going to be blogging more family shoots, as well as some other works. Stay tuned.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the wedding:

If you live in Joliet, Romeoville, or Crest Hill, then you can check out my wedding photography service page from a cool site I’ve been using called Thumbtack. You can also see more of my photos there.

Misuzu and Alvin will be tying the know in a few short weeks and I had the privilege of hanging out it with them for their engagement session. It was Misuzu’s idea of shooting their engagement photos at the Osaka Japanese Garden – I later found out that Alvin proposed to her in the garden. So it made a lot of sense to go back there and take a few photos of them before their wedding.

Shooting in a new location is always a blast and allows for new ideas to flow. I felt like a kid in a candy store the moment I entered The Osaka Japanese Garden. The colors were beautiful and there was a peacefulness to that area that I was not expecting. I couldn’t even tell that we were in the backyard of the Museum of Science and Industry. Misuzu and Alvin definitely compliment each other – she is the heart and he the reason. It’s was very obvious to me that they really care and love each other and I cannot wait to see what they do once they are married.

I already told them that I’m looking forward to their wedding. See you guys soon! Here are a few of my favorite images from the shoot:

My many thanks to AnnMarie Gilmore for assisting and shooting with me. Her passion for photography is very evident and I look forward to having her assist me at Misuzu and Alvin’s wedding. Stay tuned for those photos!

I love Sam and Rigo. That’s all that needs to be said, but I’ll continue for the sake of detail. I photographed their engagement session last year and had a blast hanging out with them. It seemed that the laughter and joy didn’t stop the entire evening – a sign of a fun wedding ahead.

Sam got ready at her place in University-Village / Little Italy, along with her bridesmaids. The day was rolling and Sam was cool and calm – she stayed this way the entire day. Good for you Sam. After preparations we took off to the beautiful Assumption Catholic Church. It was a great ceremony and it was even better seeing Rigo and Sam smiling the entire time. These guys are so into each other!

The bridal party portraits took place at the North Avenue Beach House. It was a perfect day to be outdoors shooting near the lake. I was hoping for a lot of sun, and that’s what we got that day. I love the photos of Rigo with the red background – he was living it up. I sure hope they had a ton of fun that day – I know I did.

The reception took place at the Hyatt Regency Woodfield – Schaumburg. The lobby to this place is really cool, very retro/modern. The floral design was done by Liz Middendorf of Specialties by Liz – she did a great job as the reception area was beautiful.

Here are a few pics from the wedding – one I’ll remember for a long time:

Thank you again Sam and Rigo. I’m so honored to have shared such an important/awesome day in your lives. My many thanks to my friend and second shooter Steven Ryne. It’s always great working together with you!

Info on the venues:

Assumption Catholic Church
323 West Illinois Street
Chicago, IL 60654

North Avenue Beach House
1600 N Lake Shore Dr
Chicago, Illinois 60614
312.742.7529

Hyatt Regency Woodfield – Schaumburg
1800 East Golf Road
Schaumburg, Illinois 60173
847.605.1234

By The Way: Use off-camera flash even in the brightest of days. I know it might sound a little counterintuitive, but it rocks!

Christmas Day is tomorrow, and in a flash it will all be over. The older I get the more I see Christmas as a time to spend with my family and friends. It’s really fun and cool seeing my daughter open up gifts and dress up in her “fancy dress” as she calls it. It’s also fun to see her in a Santa Hat… I couldn’t resist the urge to take a bunch of photos of her in that hat.

But this time of year can’t just be about shopping and buying stuff for the people in my life. I hope to raise my daughter in such a way that she knows that this time of year is about giving to others and about spending time with the people that she loves.

I can’t believe that 2010 is just about done! Have a great Christmas everyone!

Set-Up

By The Way: Christmas is also a time to make cool photos like this outdoors. Don’t be afraid to step outside in the cold and make some photos.

My approach towards children’s portraits has changed this year. I’m still tempted to take really cute photos of babies and kids wearing funny/furry hats, and the like – I have done that in the past and really dig it. But kids are small adults in the making so I want to light them and photograph them in such a way.

The idea has always been to clutter the scene with either a chair, a bunny rabbit, etc, in order to get the kids to laugh or smile and look cute. But with this photo shoot I wanted a totally minimalistic look, and so I photographed them on a white seamless background. I wanted the kids to be the center of attention and to stand out. I didn’t want any visual distractions – just their expressions, either sad or happy, or whatever in-between expression they could give me. Plus, I really dig the timeless look that the white background gives.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from this shoot. A few have been composited for the blog:

Set-Up

By The Way: A lot of patience is needed when photographing kids. And patience is needed when shooting on a white seamless background. There is a lot to juggle on this type of shoot: kids, tough background, lighting, and interaction with the kids and the parents. Be ready for an exhausting time, but a fun time nonetheless.

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:

Set-Up

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!