I’ve photographed this little guy a few other times and I think he gets cuter every time!

This beautiful woman is the photographer for All Smiles Photography in Tampico, Illinois (she’s very talented–check out her site HERE). She was smart and hired someone else to take her family portraits, instead of using a self-timer and racing back and forth like I always try to do. They are such a sweet little family, and I was honored to take their family portraits!

Catch-up day 2…another stunning family at Rockwood State Park!

It was recently requested on a professional photographer’s forum that everyone share their favorite 20 images. I went back through my favorites of the last three years and came up with the following images. They are not all technically perfect, but they are images that stand out to me. Most of them I’ve shared here before. I know I only have 19 here, but these are the ones I came up with!

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I shared one of these images a week or two ago, but here are the rest. They are a gorgeous family of three, becoming a family of four shortly!

You will recognize these two as I’ve photographed them twice before. I love it when couples document their relationship with portraits! These are their anniversary portraits, although I forget how many years. Maybe 8? They are so much fun to work with.

Favorite:

I do a lot of extended family pictures. And what I mean by this is the grandparents, children, spouses, and grandchildren. Sometimes great-grandmas and great-grandchildren, too. I love doing these sessions because I know they are photographs that will be treasured for years to come. Given that it typically takes a lot of effort to get everyone in the same place at the same time, these sessions often do not take place more than once every few years. Sometimes not for 10 or 15 years, especially if the adult children have moved away.

Since are talking about a portrait that is a once-every-few-years or every once-every-ten-years, it’s important to get it right. One way to do this is the wardrobe. Dressing one person for a photograph can be a struggle, and the struggle multiples every time you add another person to the mix. So, dressing thirteen people so they all coordinate is like dressing one person to the thirteenth power. Or something like that. And then, you must consider that the group will be broken down and families must also still look coordinated, individual children’s outfits must look good in their solo portraits, and so on. It’s more like dressing to the 26th power. Or maybe the 169th power.

The point of this ramble is that this family got it all right. They selected a coordinating color palette. All are solids except one shirt (grandpa) and the flower pattern on the littlest girl’s dress. A bunch of patterns don’t work, but these two added in tie the other colors together and make the large-group portrait more interesting. Bottoms are important, too–some are wearing pants, some shorts, some capris, and they are either khaki, white, or denim. This variety also makes the portrait more interesting, as you don’t have a sea of denim on the bottom half of the image. Enough of my chatter. Let’s get to what you want to see–the family photos!

p.s. If you feel like you’ve seen a very similar post from me before, it’s because I wrote this a few weeks ago and it disappeared after two days because my website switched servers and I wrote it during that switcharoo (my fault for not listening to my ISP’s warning that could happen). So, I had to start over!

I love toddlers and apples. It may be the perfect mix for pictures.

I love it when the “adult kids” come home for a session with their parents! These full family shots are such keepsakes. I love looking back at shots of my own family from when I was a kid. When I’m out and about, people often tell me, “I’m going to call you for a session after I _____” (insert: lose weight, get a tan, get a haircut, etc.). Here’s my advice: don’t wait! Take a picture of YOU, NOW. If you become even more amazing in a year, we’ll do the session again!

Last summer, Morrison started a community garden. I do a lot of jogging and walking on the path along the park, and I always enjoy looking at everyone’s gardens. The other day I had the camera in the bike trailer and stopped by for a few shots on the way home from a bike ride.

Little zinnia face

Zinnias with a Photoshop filter

Sunflowers always looks so…sunny. Go figure.

Coneflower

I only photographed a small area of the garden. If you’d like to see it, it is located on the edge of French Creek Park on the south side of Morrison (along Rt. 78).