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.

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.

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.

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!

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