Sweet Pea Photography – Allyson does a fantastic job with children and families. She has a lifestyle approach to portraits that is just gorgeous. She does fill up quickly, though, so you’ll want to contact her early or be prepared for a waiting list.

Holly Birch Photography - Holly specializes in weddings and also enjoys shooting Illini sports. But, she does other stuff, too.

Jeremy Fenelon – He’s a wedding guy. I’ve never done weddings, but I do periodically get calls for weddings, so I thought I’d include Jemermy.

Carrie Bodznick – Carrie is just starting out, but does some nice work. She specializes in families and children, so is worth checking out.

I’m really looking forward to being able to fully focus on high school seniors. By specializing in this one area, I’ll be able to become the best I can and I’d rather be fantastic at one thing than just good at several.

Even without seeing her face, she is stunning. Thanks, Becky, for coming out to play in the sunset with me.

Angie was so much fun. She is so easy going and up for anything. And she’s so gorgeous! She has the most amazing green eyes. Thanks for coming out and I hope you have a great senior year!

To view the winning photo, click here.

Now, for the winner of the mini session collection: Comment number 17, Rachel. Contact me soon to schedule your mini session.

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!

As an RN working with laboring women and brand new moms and babies, I did learn that it’s just not as easy for lots of other moms as it had always been for me. I learned how to help moms and get stubborn babies to latch on. I learned the special circumstances that come with special needs babies, like premature born and those with development issues that affect breast feeding, like cleft lip/palette or Down Syndrome. I learned that anyone who says they are going to “try” to breast feed will not likely last more than 2 weeks. Breast feeding success is as much, if not more, based on the mental attitude going in, as it is on the physiology of the matter. I learned the next biggest factor in success, is support for the mom, from Dad, her parents, hospital staff, the pediatrician. I also learned that as much as some women may truly want to breast feed, some simply can not. I learned to not jump to conclusions about any woman I saw bottle feeding a baby in the mall, even though I could tell the difference in the contents of the bottle between expressed breast milk and formula. She could be completely devastated that she’s even having to give that bottle and my judgement may do nothing less than send her into tears of regret. On the flip side, I learned to give positive reinforcement to any mom who is breast feeding in public because they often receive negative comments and reactions and need encouragement to keep doing what they feel is right for them and their baby.

Phew! Hard to believe, but that just scratches the surface of all I have learned about and through breast feeding. But all that I’ve posted and the tons more that I have not, lead me to this project. I had so many beautiful volunteers for this and it just touches me that so many are so willing to share something so special so publicly. In October, my first breast feeding images calendar will be available for sale. These will retail for $20. A portion of ever sale will be donated to support Baby Friendly hospitals locally. I believe getting these babies off to a good start goes a long way in a successful nursing relationship and that start happens in the hospitals where babies are born. If you are a retailer who would like to pre-order a bulk amount of calendars to sell in your location, please contact me for details.

Now, here is where I need your help. I want you to choose the cover image for the calendar. Please click the link below to take you to the page where the images are located. Pick your top three and scroll to the bottom and cast your vote! The winner will be featured on the cover of the calendar and will also receive a surprise gift from me! You can only vote once, but you can certainly rally all your friends and family to help make your favorite image the winner. After you vote, leave me a comment telling me you voted and you will be entered into a drawing for a free calendar and a complimentary mini session collection!

Go vote now!!

And just for fun, here is the first nursing picture I remember having had taken of myself. This is 8 years ago, me nursing my twins.

World Breastfeeding Week starts Sunday, August 1. I have something fun planned for that week. Check back!

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!

And just for fun, here are a couple of turtle shots. The first one was bigger than a dinner plate! The second was just a regular sized turtle, of which there were dozens.

Then, six months later, this:

So cute!! Then, just the other day, this. Without even realizing, we created a nearly identical copy of that first image, only with Dad this time rather than Mom.

But now, Emilio has a baby sister. Meet Emma.

And here’s a new shot of Emilio. He’s definitely developed an ornery streak!

And for two reasons: 1. I think outtakes are fun, and 2. Just to prove my comments from above….

You can thank me for sparing you from seeing Little M spitting up all over her Maw Maw (that’s grandmother for the uninitiated).

Jessica, your girls give me a workout, but they are adorable and so much fun!! Can’t wait to see them again.

…punches a whole in your seamless paper with that train….

I love canvases. They are beautiful pieces of art to hang on your walls. This is Maggie. She’s a doll. This canvas is hanging in her mom’s office at McCabe Chiropractic in Champaign. It hangs along side a picture of her cute baby sister. I happen to have seven of these hanging in my living room – one of each of my children and a large, 20×40 inch canvas family portrait over our fire place. They are stunning and I get comments from every person who visits my home. If you want to add some gorgeous art work of your own to your home, give me a call and let’s set up a session.

This is a photo of my own teen with her boyfriend. They are so sweet together. They’ve been involved in a long distance relationship for 2 years and at this point, are planning to get married in a year or two (the one or two will depend on who has the stronger will, I think, him or her). I know a lot of people scoff at young love, but since these two make Jesus a primary focus of their relationship, if they want it to work, it will. I have no doubt about that.

Just getting started on this session, and saw this and fell in love. I just could not resist putting this up immediately for Mom to see! Such a sweet, sweet baby! Can’t wait to get through the rest of the images!

Ok, so I had to come back and add this one. Look at how strong this little lady is! She was holding up her head like she was months old rather than days. She’s just so dang cute!

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.

Thanks, ladies for showing me your beautiful faces!

If you want to schedule your own mommy head shot session, let me know! You can see pricing at the bottom of my pricing page, under Little Sessions.

I came to this little guy’s house to photograph him nursing for my nursing project. However, Mom wasn’t ready yet and I just couldn’t resist this face. Can you blame me? You won’t recognize him, but he last graced the blog here as a newborn. He’s 6 months old now, and has changed quite a bit. I just couldn’t stop giggling as I was taking these pictures. He’s just so dang cute! I hope you enjoy looking at these as much as I enjoyed taking them!