A Birthday Parade in a Pandemic {Chicago Birthday Photographer}

Turning three is a big deal! It’s usually when kids start to get excited about and understand their birthdays, and looking forward to birthday parties. Miss E turned three in a pandemic and instead of a birthday party this year, she got a birthday parade! And it was dinosaur themed, which made me smile so much, especially in the photos where she’s pretending to be a dinosaur! This girl is so full of joy and life and I want to carry her around in my pocket to have her sunshine with me all the time!

I think birthday parades might be one of the best things to come out of 2020! Humans: making the most out of whatever life throws at us.

Autumn - Class of 2021 {Chicago, IL and Port Washington, WI high school senior session}

I will be the first to admit that this pandemic has made me cry almost on-the-daily, but when I stop and think about how I haven’t had any of my own big life plans completely uprooted by it, I feel bad for feeling sad when so many others have had it worse. All of the people who had planned on getting married this year, all the babies born whose moms weren’t able to have the newborn photos they’d dreamt of. And high school seniors not getting to walk down that aisle for the biggest accomplishment they’d worked their entire lives thus far for. I live by Lane Tech High School here in Chicago, and happened to be walking by the school on the day of their drive-through graduation ceremony this summer. I’m so thankful I was wearing sunglasses and a mask so that the students and families I was passing couldn’t see my blubbery face behind it. They were still all smiles and so happy, and said Thank You when I would tell them Congratulations, but my heart was sad for them but also happy that they were still celebrating in this very strange way. I was proud of them and didn’t know a single one of them! It’s not at all the graduation they had planned, but they were making the most of it. This year is a doozy, folks. Oof.

I feel for all the students right now. And all the teachers. All of the unknowns are scary. Whether it be in-person or e-learning, this year is not going to be easy for anyone. I can only hope that the class of 2021 will get to have their graduation ceremonies by then.

I got to spend two afternoons in two different cities recently with this lovely grad-to-be! Autumn is the youngest of my 15 cousins and I was in my early 20’s and not living at home anymore when she was born. So I didn’t really see her except at Christmas time and I didn’t really know her that well. But I’m so glad I got to photograph her senior photos and really get the chance to know more about her. She loves reading and is an incredible bowler on the bowling team & she’s so excited for college! We spent an afternoon exploring ALL over Chicago - West Loop, Union Station, Lincoln Park Zoo Nature Boardwalk, Old Town and Bucktown. We found all the great murals! I’ve been dying to photograph at the “Make No Little Plans” mural and the “You Are Beautiful” Chicago sticker mural for forever and we made it happen! A few days later I went to her favorite town in Wisconsin - Port Washington. Being a Wisconsin native, this was shockingly my first time in Port and it surprised me! The little downtown area is adorable and the marina is beautiful. We were there just in time for some sunset photos and it did not disappoint! Best of luck to you on your final year of high school, sweet Autumn :)

Here are just a few of my favorites from Autumn’s session!

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West Loop

Union Station

Nature Boardwalk - Lincoln Park Zoo

Make No Little Plans - Lincoln Park

I’m still booking seniors for the rest of the year! Come have some fun with me!

You Are Beautiful Chicago Sticker Mural - Bucktown

Downtown Port Washington - Wisconsin

Port Washington Harbor - Wisconsin

Aliya & Jake - Downtown Chicago Engagement Session {Lincoln Park, Lincoln Park Zoo Nature Boardwalk, North Avenue Beach}

I know that to do a blog post well, for all reasons but especially SEO, words need to help tell the story. For this session, I really am speechless and feel like the photos just need to do the talking. But I’ll still talk about how much I am in love love love with every photo from this session and how I adore Aliya & Jake, and love how they adore one another. Aliya is full of joy and light & the way she looks at Jake makes my heart so happy. The way Jake just randomly kisses her and snuggles her in close is straight out of a rom-com. Not gonna’ lie, I usually have to direct most guys to kiss their bride-to-be but Jake made it a breeze for me. These two balance each other out in all the ways and I’m SO happy for them. I’m also so honored they chose me to document this exciting (albeit weird pandemic time to be engaged!) time in their journey.

We started near their home in Lincoln Park with their two silly pups and then headed to Lincoln Park Zoo to the Nature Boardwalk & then across the street to North Avenue Beach. A big rain storm was expected to pass through Chicago just as we were supposed to start that evening so we started a bit sooner to at least get the part in with their dogs. Then the beautiful sunlight disappeared - Thanks, Mother Nature! We accomplished the photos with the pups and it still wasn’t raining & it appeared that the big storm was going to dodge Chicago so we headed to the Zoo! Thanks for real this time, Mother Nature!

While there, that storm did come through after all but it was only a light rain. Ok, Mother Nature, what is going on?! Luckily we were near an area where we could take cover. We waited it out for a bit under the Honeycomb structure because we were waiting for a wedding party to finish their photos anyway and then the sun magically came out while it was still raining! The light was BEAUTIFUL and Aliya & Jake were up for some rain photos so we went for it. It was hard to pick a favorite from this session, but the rain dancing ones are probably the most romantic photos I’ve ever made and I LOVE them! But I also love every single photo from their session… ;)

I also really owe Mother Nature a big apology for all the back-and-forth I’d been doing in my head. Turned out to be the most perfect evening!

Lincoln Park

A&J live in Lincoln Park so we started there and Jake proposed at North Avenue Beach so we finished there! I’ve known Aliya for a few years from back in my PAWS days, but North Avenue Beach has always reminded me of her so it was fitting that that’s where they got engaged! So happy for you, friends!

Lincoln Park Zoo Nature Boardwalk

North Avenue Beach

I’ve started to really reflect on why I love couple sessions so much and this session was the perfect example of why. I love love. I love watching people interact naturally. I strive for genuine emotion and to tell your story in a way that captures you. All I really do is put you in poses together that flatter you and then I watch what you do naturally and go with it! Sounds kind of creepy when I type it out, haha, but it’s how the magic happens! I promise all you need to do is relax and have a ton of fun. Bonus points if you’re willing to dance in the rain :)

Recently engaged?!

Make your session all about you and what you love to do together. Bring your pup(s) for a part of your session if you have any. Stay at home and have a cocktail or cook some dinner. Or head to your favorite patio for a beer. Grab coffee from your neighborhood go-to. Swing by your first date spot, or the spot where you were proposed to. Like ice cream?! Let’s get some! Have a unique car? Bring it along?! You’re into skydiving? Let’s go! Yes, Chicago has a ton of iconic locations for your photo session, but you will make the most of your session when you have fun with it and make it your own & trust your photographer.