The "D" family

What fun I had with these three energetic kids! Because they were so full of energy, I felt like showing some of the more fun shots. I always love photographing this age - their personalities really come out, and we can have some fun. So, thank you! You all did great, and hope you enjoyed your ice cream!

Sneak Peek for the "H" Family

Here's a sneak peak from a recent session. I just have to say how much fun it was to photograph these adorable girls. They were so incredibly cooperative did a wonderful job. I love the outfits the mom picked. Perfect for a fall day in Chicago. And, I'm glad that our original location was closed (due to hunting!). I'd been wanting to come to this site and now I can't wait to go back. Here are 3 from the session. There are so many good ones to choose from!

PhotoPlus EXPO in NY

I'm back from New York. I can honestly say it was one of the best weekends I've ever had! The EXPO was really just an excuse to meet up with some of my favorite photographer friends. Though we'd never met before this weekend, we got along fabulously. We're part of an online group called the "pixelchicks", and we've been emailing daily for over a year. We had a ball chatting, and going out taking photos and seeing how everyone else does it. I'm so honored to be part of such a talented and creative group.

One of the highlights of the trip was meeting Kevin Kubota in person. We felt like groupies at a rock concert, and he was so very nice and genuine. He was kind enough to pose for a photo with us. His actions are fabulous (I bought version 2) and it'd be really super to go to his workshop someday. Here we are (from left to right: Megan Peck, Laura Stetser, Denise Snyder, Kevin Kubota, Candy Avera, and me). Too bad Alli Gaulin was not in this photo. :(

The Expo was also great for seeing all the vendors and making sure that the products I'm offering are the best quality and the best value. Keep your eye out for some new products I'll be offering soon!

Off to New York!

I should be packing, but it's hard to decide what to wear and what camera gear to bring. I'm leaving tomorrow on a 6:40 am flight for New York. The destination is the PhotoPLUS Expo, but most importantly, I'm meeting up with some of my favorite photographer friends: Alli Gaulin, Megan Peck, Denise Snyder, Candy Avera, and Laura Stetser. They all have amazing talent and style that I can't wait to see how they do it. As excited as I am for that, I'm not looking forward to the alarm going off at 3:30 am. Better get back to packing!

Sneak Peek for the "K" Family

Here's a sneak peak from a session this morning. I had so much fun with this family - an 11 year old, twin 7 year olds, and mom and dad. Everyone was great, but I think I need to learn some new jokes. :) I hope the "K" family likes these as much as I do. I'll be busy working on the others, but wanted to share a few right away. Enjoy!

The GRAND PRIZE!!!!

I spent this weekend at the Better Photo Summit in Chicago. It was a great two days of seeing presentations from fabulous photographers and talking to them at breaks. They were all so kind and so helpful. I learned so much and am incredibly inspired to make some amazing portraits. Although it's always been important to me, I'm going to focus even more on really connecting with each person. This connection allows the emotion and personality to really come through, and makes each session more relaxed and more fun for everyone.

Yesterday they announced the winners for the summit contest. I was hopeful I'd receive some recognition, and I was thrilled to have 3 finalists. I wasn't expecting to actually place, and so I was absolutely STUNNED when in a room full of 150 people, for the grand prize, my name popped up on the slideshow, followed by one of my favorite photos of a sweet baby I photographed this spring. It still doesn't seem real because there were so many amazing entries. The prize for this award is a free trip, including airfare, to the summit. Since I'm local to Chicago, Jim (the president) is so nice to work something out, so I may get to go to next years summit as my prize. Hurray!

Here's my Grand Prize photo:





Here are my finalists:

Here I am with Jim Moitke, founder and president of Better Photo.