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!

Misuzu and Alvin quickly became one of my favorite couples. We had a blast at their engagement session, which was a great indicator to how their wedding day was going to be.

The ceremony took place at the amazing Alice Millar Chapel in Evanston. I had shot at this church before, but had forgotten just how colorful and awesome it truly is. You can see the amazing architecture and colors in the photos below. It was great seeing the range of emotions shared while they shared their vows. I could tell how much Misuzu and Alvin care for each other.

The bridal party portraits were taken near the Northwestern Sailing Center and the Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. There was a great point in the park where we could see the entire city of Chicago – so we decided to take the portraits around there. It was really sunny that day, so I had to find some shade for the remainder of the photos. I was having a really fun time with the entire bridal party at this point and was looking forward to the reception.

The reception was at Via Veneto in Chicago. My brother had his reception at the same location a few years back, so it was pretty cool being there again. The festivities kicked off shortly after we arrived from taking photos at nearby Hollywood park near Peterson and Lincoln Ave. This is when Robert, a friend of Misuzu’s, gave one of THE best toasts I’ve ever heard. He was hilarious and his delivery was unmatched. He had the entire place laughing! I was glad I didn’t have to follow him. The rest of the evening was fun and energetic and all I remember was plenty of dancing and laughter.

Here are a few of my favorite images from Misuzu and Alvin’s wedding:

My many thanks to AnnMarie Gilmore for assisting and shooting with me again. I look forward to working with her again.

The Princess Closet is a great organization created by Maria Davalos. Princess Closet has donated thousands of prom dresses to Chicago area high school girls since 2010. I had the honor to cover an event this past Saturday over at the Gads Hill Center.

This particular Day Dream Event had over 100 girls attend – each walked away with a prom dress and a pair of shoes. Prom gets very expensive, so anyone that’s attended a high school prom knows just how huge this is. The girls were also treated to a fashion show (first photo below) as well as beauty tips and life tips from some pretty amazing volunteers. I could go on about this amazing organization and about all of the smiling faces I had a chance to photograph, but we’ll just let the photos do some talking. Please take a moment and check out the Princess Closet when you have a moment. Thanks!

Jen and Terry are getting married at the end of April and I’m really excited for them. They are a fun couple and I enjoy reading Terry’s Facebook updates – he’s a die hard Brown’s fan and he isn’t afraid of showing it.

This engagement session was so relaxed, fun, and full of great conversation/laughs. Homerding Park is a great find for me: it has beautiful trees, it next to a gold course, it has a pretty large pond, and it has a couple of sweet bridges. The funny thing is that it’s really hard to see if your driving down Harlem as it’s sort of covered up by a few sandy hills. But once you’re there it’s pretty amazing – having 70 degree weather in March added to that amazing feel! It’s also near Orland Park (which I’m around that area a lot), so taking photos at that park was a win-win situation. Thanks to Jen for thinking of that place.

Here are a few of my favorite images from the Jen and Terry’s engagement session. I’m looking forward to seeing them again soon:

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:

Set-Up

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.

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:

Set-Up

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.

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:

Set-Up

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.

We continue my series of “the perks of a wedding photographer” with: The Chicago Skyline. Part one was all about the interior beauty of churches. Now I’ll share a few photographs that focus on the external beauty of the Chicago skyline. Chicago really is a beautiful city – just look around and you’ll be amazed by the architecture and personality of this city. These pictures were taken while either the bride was away putting her dress on, or as I waited for the elevator to take me up to her room, etc. I really enjoy looking at the amazing details of the city I get to be in, and I hope you enjoy looking at some of the photos.

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:

Set-Up

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.

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:

Set-Up

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.