First Fall Family Session of 2014

So this should come as a surprise to exactly... nobody... but I have been sorely lacking in my blog posting yet again. I will start with my most recent session and post some highlights from previous sessions soon!

The L family has been one of my longest returning clients. I first met them when little K was just 3 months old, and she is now in kindergarten! It is truly an honor that this family is willing to make the drive from Naperville south to meet up with me each fall. I have greatly enjoyed watching the kids grow, and love catching up on all the new and exciting things that are going on in their lives!

Here are a couple shots from last weekend's session... we really did capture some great moments again this year!

 A big thank you to the L and B for allowing me to record your beautiful family's memories once again :)

Enter the "I Need a New Family Photo" contest by September 9!

Enter a photo in this contest for a chance to win a FREE Family photo session with Heidi Kreitz Photography!

Stay tuned for a family photo contest!!!

I have a fun family photo contest in the works... submit photos of your family (the more awkward, unfortunate, or just plain bad the better!) to show why YOU would benefit from a free family photo session from Heidi Kreitz Photography!! Keep your eyes out for details later today...

Do you think you can top any of these Awkward Family Photos??
www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com

Do your best (or should I say... worst)??! And if you don't have any awkward photos, that's fine too. Just submit a photo of your family, and it if gets the most votes, you win!

HOT day... HOT special!

Holy cow is it going to be hot today!! In honor of today's high, 100 degrees (!!), I'm hosting a "Hot 100" special. For $100, you get a 20-minute session and 5 images on disk. The "Hot 100" can be scheduled for whenever you like, but must be booked today. *Not valid for multiple-family or large groups.

What happens when you're in the park at closing time?

They sic the law on you!!! Lesson #1... When the "hours" sign posted at this particular park says 5 pm, they mean 5 pm!! This was the first time I had done a session here so close to closing during the park's winter hours, and we weren't sure what would happen at 5pm.

We had been shooting for over an hour, and the kids had about had it with me and my camera, when we heard a siren coming towards us and stop at the top of the (VERY STEEP) hill... and then a voice coming over a loudspeaker telling us all to return to our vehicles!!



I was rather mortified, but luckily I have known the client for a few years, so she and her family just laughed as we sprinted (OK, speed walked) up the hill (note to self: excercise would be helpful)... Then the officer "escorted" all our vehicles out of the park with his lights on, no less!!!



Not to worry...we did get some good shots in before being so rudely chased away!! I love this one of T and C... T is a good friend of my daughter's, and I know I can always count on these two to be laughing and smiling!

This was their cousin, Miss P... isn't she a cutie! She was trying to add some fiber to her diet by eating as many leaves as possible :)

Here's a shot of all the cousins together... look at Miss P laughing... I love it!

And the last shot of the day... a bit of an outtake!! You can see that little Mr. K had had enough, and the other boys are all looking away trying to figure out what that siren was all about... You can't get a clearer sign that it's time to end the photo session!!

Hope you enjoy your sneak peek... I'll have the full session to come soon!

Kindergarten is a fun age...

I like working with kids that are in kindergarten... they usually have such fun stories to tell and give me some of the best smiles! Of course, I get my fair share of shy looks and goofy faces mixed in, but that's all part of the fun!

I did this session with Miss E, M and M last week at one of my favorite outdoor locations. We weren't sure if we would see any hunters now that pheasant season has started, but thankfully it was all clear! The weather was beautiful, I loved the brown and red colors they chose... all in all it was a really good session!

Here are a few of the ones I liked the best...

And one last one of E by herself... she wasn't so sure about standing by the tree, but I'm so glad she did, because this is so sweet!

Thanks so much for coming down to Wilmington, and it was so nice to meet all of you! I hope you enjoy your quick peek!

A family session in studio...

Well, this was my first chance to use my new smoke grey seamless paper (LOVE IT!!) and it was for a special family... my mother-, father-, and sister-in-law! They haven't had photos taken in many, many years, and asked me to do the honors. Luckily, they were willing to brave the chaos that is my garage studio in the midst of painting and other remodeling,

Here is one of my sister-in-law, who made me laugh with her crazy expressions and poses - she was quite the model :) We did get some nice ones though, including this one...

My kids were happy to see such a nice photo of "Nana and Papa"...

And one of the three of them together...

Thanks for coming to my studio (and the kids' soccer games!) and I hope you're happy with your photos!!!

Three brothers = one wild 'n' crazy photo session!

So Sunday I had a session that was rescheduled from the previous week - Mom really wanted me to photograph her three boys at the waterfall location, but after all the rain it was more of a raging rapids! This week was much better, so we set out to get some great photos!!

First, we have Mr. A - the oldest of the three, who was bound and determined to be on his very best behavior for this session in order to earn a Brownie Sundae at DQ afterwards (and he did) :)

Next, Mr. M, who was 7 and usually gave me a closed-mouth smile, not wanting to show off his missing tooth... but I did sneak a few from him!

And finally, Mr. N, who was 4 and just full of giggles and crazy faces most of the time!

They seem so innocent alone, don't they?! But put the three together, and it was a whole new ballgame!! They had me laughing so hard - between little N and his crazy faces, some strange noises coming from one or more of them (we never did get anyone to admit to it!), and their general confusion about how/where I wanted them to go (you want me to sit HOW?? I have to TOUCH him?? I have to act like I LIKE my brothers??)...

I did end up with a rather large number of shots that were some variation or another of this... (this was N insisting on putting his arm around M, who promptly removed it... about 8 times. And poor A was either shooing away one of the million mosquitoes that were feasting on us or else just shaking his head in disgust)...

But we really did manage to get some great shots... including my absolute fave, which alone is worth all the mosquito bites and wet clothes these boys went through...

Isn't that great?! I just adore it :) K, I truly had a great time working with you and your boys, and I hope you enjoy this little preview! I promise there are other great photos to come!

Mr. "A" Turns Two!

Does anyone remember this cute little guy? "A" was one of my first clients last year - I photographed him when he was nine months old. He was such a ham at that age - so quick to smile and lots of fun!

Fast forward to 2008... "A" is now two!! I was so excited that his mom wanted me to come back and do another session with them. She had such wonderful things to say about the photos from last year... I feel like she really "gets" my style and that's such a great feeling!

"A" was even more fun (and funny!) now that he's talking a bit. We had a great time at the state park with these - we spent some time on the trails, in the "jungle," and on the rocks, then he and I took off together to pick some flowers for mom.

Finally we ended up down by the marina for some fishing!

And one more, just to show that this little guy still has those amazing eyes...

I hope I'm lucky enough to continue creating memories for this family as they grow through the years :)

Double Trouble... in the form of identical 4-yr old boys!!

I had my work cut out for me with these twins... thankfully they were dressed in different color pants! As it was, I barely stood a chance at telling them apart - I kept calling them the wrong names and the poor kids didn't know who I was talking to!

Luckily, we started with the family pics at the lake and then moved over to the waterfall, because by the end these boys were both soaked head to toe!! While "N" splashed nicely in the water, "A" just about scared us all half to death because he kept running and skidding to a halt right at the top of the waterfall... Mom and Dad are going to have their hands full with that little daredevil!

And finally, my new fave ... I *heart* this shot! Now if I could only choose between color and b&w...

A quick glance at last Sunday's sessions...

Last Sunday I had two family sessions at my favorite location... the waterfall! The two moms were sisters, so that was fun!

Here are a couple shots from the first family... these are actually from the lake in the conservation area, which is very nice too.

And this is probably my fave from the session... once we moved under the tree and the kids weren't staring into the bright sky, this pose turned out great!

And here are a couple from the second family at the waterfall...

And I love this one :) The kids had fun splashing in the water, even if it was a little chilly!