By the time we finished here, the rain had nearly stopped, so we headed out to try our original location again. But, on the way back, we passed this area of Urbana that had been under construction for quite a while and is now nearly finished. It provided several very cool back drops. It will be even more amazing when the grass comes in.

By the time we finished here, it was starting to get back and I figured our original location was now a no go, because it was bordering on too dark when we first stopped there. Now as for sure going to be a no go. So, we headed more into down town Urbana and checked out Crane Alley. Because of how dark it was getting, I knew I had to pull out my flash. This was the first time I’d ever done anything like this and I have to say, I’m quite wowed by the results. I’ve done lots of reading and studying, so I had the basic knowledge in my head, and I’ve used my flash in “safer” ways before. But, since this was my own daughter and she’s been right beside me on my photography journey, I knew she was open to me experimenting and was going to be patient with me, so we played. This next shot is one of my top three favorites from the night. First, I happen to think she’s beautiful and she’s such a natural in front of the camera. But I also just love some many elements about this image. The rain drops, frozen in the air. The lights strung across the alley behind. The light flare from my flash. I just love it.

She had one more dress she wanted to wear for her pictures, so we changed and headed to a parking garage again. This time, one that was decently lit. Not enough to use those lights, but we had fun again, using the flash. That’s the first one here below. All elements came together perfectly. A nice breeze lifted her hair just so, the city lights in the back ground. Just perfect. Then, as we were headed home, we made a last minute decision to try our original location again. Now that we had the flash out, we would have no problem with it being dark. And it was. Pitch black out. It was 9 p.m. and totally dark. In fact, we had to use the van head lights to even see what we were doing once we got there. But, it was totally worth it. This shot is amazing.

This session is special to me in many ways. It’s my own daughter. I got to try new things and learned a ton, and best of all, created some really fun memories with my girl before I send her off to college. I love you, Emily, and I just know you are going to totally jump in with both feet and make a huge difference in thousands of lives. You’re amazing!

I think, to celebrate our newest arrival, I want to offer something special to you! Book your senior session for the month of October, and I’ll cut your session fee in half! Plus, I’ll throw in a free set of wallets. Can’t beat that deal. Call today!

So, these aren’t her official Senior Portraits. She wanted a new picture for her Facebook profile. And really, she needed one. The one she was using was a mobile phone pic. Ick. So we went out last night and shot in the setting sun. Can’t wait for those braces to come off so we can go out and do her “real” senior session!

This is number seven, cooking away! I’m getting close enough to the end to start planning my maternity time off. This means a great deal for you! To celebrate, and to give me something to do after I stop doing sessions, and am just sitting around waiting for labor to begin, I am offering a great deal to fill my last few weeks of shooting time.

The first three people to schedule and pay the session fee will receive 7 desk/gift prints as a gift from me! That includes 8×10, 5×7, and wallet sets of 16. Session must be scheduled to be done by August 31st, my last day of shooting.  You can contact me to schedule by commenting on this blog, leave me a comment on Facebook, or send me a call or email. This offer expires July 28th.

But wait! There’s more!! My generosity is not limited to just those lucky three people. Anyone who books a session, including paying the session fee, and schedules their session to be done by Aug. 31st, will receive 21% off their entire purchase. Why 21%? Well, because that’s my due date! But don’t hold me to it. I’m quite comfortable going a couple of weeks late. Babies come when babies are ready! This offer expires Aug. 21st or when session times are filled. That’s right. They are limited, so schedule soon!

The middle girl is sporting a scratch given to her by the boy on top. And, if you can believe it, the bottom two boys are actually twins! Fraternal, obviously. Well, here’s my crew…. or most of it.

Outside pictures will be taken at Crystal Lake at the boathouse. I took my family’s fall pictures there last October and loved how they turned out, so that’s where we’ll go. Here are some samples of those portraits.

If you prefer that studio look, and many people do and that’s fine, here are some samples of what you can hope to see of your student. At this time, I have white, brown, gray and black background available. You’ll have to choose ahead of time, so be sure to take a good look to help you decide.

And just because he’s so stinkin’ cute (yes, I admit, I may be a little bit biased), I had to include this picture of my Ian. He walked in just as I finished doing a quick shot of Hannah so you could see a brown sample. He’d just gotten up from his nap, but wanted me to take his picture. So I did.

Now that you’ve read through all my jabber, and had a good look at my sweetie, here are the important details. Portraits dates will be May 6th and 7th. The 6th will be the outside sessions and the 7th will be the studio sessions. After I get an idea of how many people want which type of session, I will announce times. You’ll get those by email.

If you are interested in having spring portraits done of your home schooled child, and their siblings, fill out the form below and I’ll get you added to the schedule. If you are not a home school family but are interested in something like this, let me know and I’ll add you to my mailing list and let you know when I’m doing mini-sessions that will include you.

Click Here to download the price list for packages.

[contact-form 3 "School Portrait Survey"]

Can’t wait to get the prom pictures!

These are the shots I took for our Christmas card this year. Well, I didn’t take all of them. Hubby helped out. He took the shots of me. I was very excited to learn how to make my youngest give me a real smile instead of one like this:

Yep. That is his smile when I say, “smile.” I even tried it his way. When he pretends to take a picture he says, “pile.” That doesn’t work either. I had to go way traditional and tell him to say, “cheese” and it worked. I really love his goofy smile. In fact, this is the picture I printed big and chose to display in my home last year. I guess I should have told him to smile for his goofy picture. But, he has this thing he likes to do called “see my ew.” His “ew” is what you see when he pulls his face down from his eyes like that. So, I decided I needed to memorialize his “ew” and share it with my entire Christmas card list and now you, my blog reader.

Anyway, we have a great card that I’m very happy with. It’s too late for this year, but never too early to plan for next year! Custom photo holiday cards are great and people love to receive them. However, they aren’t just for Christmas. Birthdays, just moved, birth announcements are all great times to use custom photo cards. Let me know next time you have a special event you need to announce!

I decided I needed to show a few more of her from that session.

OK. And I couldn’t resist one more totally cute one of her with her boyfriend.