As a photographer I am fairly spoiled in the profession I have chosen. A wedding is really just a big party. Yes, that means I am at parties every weekend. My weeks are filled with playing with my wife and boys, and often scattered with babies and young kids portrait sessions. Yes there is a lot of computer work that is far less glamorous, but we don’t need to get into that. What’s the point you ask? I love my job and I love all of the people it allows me to meet. I photographed Kate and Ted’s wedding about a year ago and last month I was able to photograph their new baby, James. Weddings and baby shoots are complete opposites. Wedding days are a little crazy. Okay a lot crazy, but fun. Baby shoot are much calmer and almost relaxing. Looking through the camera and seeing a happy little face like this makes everyday seem pretty special.

Okay, my 3 month quasi vacation is over. It’s time to start shooting and blogging again. It’s usually pretty quiet around here in the winter. This is partially by design and due to the fact that most people don’t leave their homes in the winter in Chicago. I try to spend first quarter decompressing a bit from the craziness that comes in the prior nine months. I did pretty well, but I couldn’t completely stay away from shooting. Now that the sun is coming out and it’s a bit warmer I’m itching to start shooting again. March and April will be full of babies, kids, and engagements sessions. If you’re thinking about scheduling something this spring now is the time to call!

Here’s the front of a birth announcement that I did for Sue’s cousin. More kids and baby pics to come in the next few weeks. <br>

The first half of our family shoot was at the end of Fullerton at Lake Michigan. Ty and Ryan entertained most of the people on the benches with a leaf fight while we waited for the sun to set. You’ll see at some point I had to come to Ryan’s rescue due to Ty treating him more like a crash test dummy than a baby.

During wedding season it is almost impossible for us to spend time together on the weekends. Sue brought the boys in the city in October in between a few of my engagement shoots. So you all know, we started the session like all family sessions start. Ryan was drooling from a starburst that Sue had just given him and Ty was pouting because he didn’t want to wear his nice new shirt. I hope these images brighten your day. I can’t stop laughing when I look at them.

At 18 months Ty had only slightly less energy than he does now at 4. I was preparing a postcard for my new children site and came across this image. Whenever I see this I stop and remember how small he was. I can’t wait to get the canvas print out of storage and hanging in my new office.

Sheena and Rob were married in September of 2008. I love this shot from Medinah Country Club. As photographers we are lucky to be a part of so many major moments. I can’t really put into words what it is like to be part of a wedding then photographing a couple with their first child. I say it all the time, but this really is a rewarding job!

What’s better than cupcakes in a box? Cupcakes in a box delivered to your door. Foiled Cupcakes is a gourmet cupcake bakery that delivers to Chicago and the West suburbs. Luckily I live in one of the West burbs! I found Mari @foiledcupcakes on Twitter. For you social media fans out there she knows what she is doing, check her out on Twitter. For the cupcakes lovers…place an order! The cupcakes are unbelievable. After sampling a few cupcakes we did a shoot for Daily Candy Kids.

As some of you know Sue and I have 2 crazy little boys. Our world is full of constant laughs, critter camps, dirt, hitting, broken bones, soccer, broken windshields, and a lot more craziness. As I type this the boys are treating me like a jungle gym. Admittedly, walking in to Alex’s closet full of dresses is a completely foreign world to me. Leslie, (mom) has impeccable taste. We easily moved from room to room finding spots for Alex’s different outfits.

I met Kyle and Lanna about 2 years ago when they brought Jocelyn in for her 6 month portrait session. They are a great couple and they LOVE pictures. I got to photograph Jocelyn every 3 months until 15 months. It really has been fun to watch her personality develop. Look at her now at 2. We only shot for about 20 minutes, and she definitely gave me a workout. She’s pretty quick for having such short legs!

Kennedy just turned 6 months in the beginning of May. Look at those eyes! They just jump out of the pictures. Thanks for having me over to the house Lesley.
A lot of people think their home is not made for great photography backgrounds. All of these images were taken on a small Chicago front porch!

I had a few shoots in the city yesterday so I crashed at Cali’s (sister-in-law) house the night before. I took a few shots of Sam and Luke before I started the day. Sammy is 7 days old in these and Luke is a little over 2!