Miriam | Senior Portraits: Preview

Barns, hay lofts, horses, stone, and libraries... I got to shoot in and with all of it for this gorgeous girl's senior pictures. More to come!

The Cutest Cupcake

Our friend Grace, whose delightful confections have made it on the blog before, brought these delicious  chocolate raspberry cupcakes with her when she visited and her visit coincided with my Oma's birthday. She had to finish them off here with chocolate ganache and Ghirardelli chunks, and when I saw the mounds of frosting in this particularly adorable and photogenic shade of pink... well, let's just say a photo shoot was inevitable.

And yes... they tasted just as good as they look. I pity all of you that you can only imagine biting into these things. Grace, I think we need to strategically plan your visits around birthdays...

Babiak Kids | Portraits: Preview

Sneak peek from this fun sibling group shoot - come back soon for more!

Meow!

Since I know you all must be dying for more pictures of my cat (sarcasm intended)...

This is what she looks like in her crazy mood... wild and fearsome!

But she switches back to innocent and angelic with amazing rapidity!

I took my drawer out of my dresser for some reason (can't remember) and left the room for two seconds.

Came back to find Miss Fluffball comfortably ensconced in the empty space.

Possibly my favorite thing about this cat... she blinks her eyes when she meows. :-)

Now Offering Professional Prints!

I did it.

I took the plunge. I signed up with a professional photo lab, so that I can offer you professional prints! I have needed to do this for a while, but I finally did it.

And I have decided: prints are addicting.

I got my samples back from the lab, and it was just soooo fun to hold my pictures in my hands! It's really great to look at them on the computer, but there's something about a physical product that is really thrilling. I've printed out photos once in a while for personal use on our little home printer, and they turn out fine, and that's fun, but these are 8x10s, gorgeous and EXCITING! :-)

So... hop over to the Packages page where I have updated the print options (toward the end of the page). To all my existing clients, you should have gotten an email from me with a nice introductory special just for you! :-)

You might be wondering, "What's the difference between professional prints and cheaper prints I can get at Walmart or Walgreens?"

I'm glad you asked!

Department store printers generally use inkjet printers, which essentially spray the ink on to the paper. Most photo departments will over-saturate the colors, resulting in an image that doesn't match the image you saw on the computer! The printers are just push-button run, not carefully monitored like a professional lab. One of my clients experienced this first hand; he got pictures at Walgreens, Walmart, Jewel, and a few other department store printers, and the colors were washed out and not true to the original image. The saying, "You get what you pay for," is really true!

Professional prints are printed at a professional, dedicated photo lab, using professional quality papers, and high-end printers that print using light-sensitive paper and chemical processes, resulting in actual photographs, not just inkjet prints. The colors are accurate and will last longer. They are a correct reproduction of the original picture!

Justin & Jessica | Engagement

I can't tell you how happy these pictures make me. :-D I've known Jessica for many years now, and she has always stood out to me as an exemplary woman. I appreciated her as a role model when I was younger, but as I have grown up I have come to appreciate her even more as a close friend. I know I'm not the only person who has been praying for a godly man to come along for her... and this past year, we got a loud and clear answer. :-)

Justin's name has been familiar to me about as long as I've known Jessica, though the two of them have known each other since early childhood. He's been around at least once a year in the past for our church's annual softball game, until he moved up and joined Jessica's brother-in-law's law firm. Jessica started going to the law office regularly as an assistant, and... well, the rest is history. ;-)

It is ridiculously fun to see how hopelessly in love they are. They're so happy it is seeping out of their pores. We had a great time traipsing around downtown Chicago and capturing that love on camera. Lots of new favorites here...

We started the day off at Wrigley Field. I felt that it was kind of a pity I am not a sports gal, since everyone else seemed to really get a kick out of being inside the park. All I saw were a lot of seats, some grass and some dirt... no big thrill. :-) Also ironic that, even though I am not a baseball fan, my dad and sister are... but for the Sox. And it was my dad's birthday (thus I was branded a traitor). They tried to convince me to wear a Sox hat, but there was no way I was ruining a perfectly good outfit with a baseball cap.
Ok... all that aside. Here we go! Many thanks to Wendy for her invaluable assistance on this shoot!

Then we were off to the city! I've thought it would be fun to do a shoot in downtown Chicago, and I got my opportunity!