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 :)

Spring Mini-Session Special!

Looking for an idea for Mother's Day or Father's Day? Have a graduate looking for some last-minute photos? Maybe you'd like some outdoor photos in your prom dress, or to commemorate a First Holy Communion? Maybe it's just been a while since you had some family photos taken! Whatever the occasion, spring mini-sessions are a perfect way to get some fantastic photos taken at a great price!

These mini-sessions will book up quickly, so call 815-354-7408 or email heidi@heidikreitzphotography.com to reserve yours now!

Sneak Peek for the L and R families!

I have to confess that I have neglected this blog... big surprise, if you look at the frequency of posts on here. I tend to post most things on Facebook and kind of forget about this place!

So, that said, I have a couple previews to post from 2 families that have been with me for quite some time! I started photographing the L family when little K was just 3 months old, and in a few weeks we'll be doing her 4-yr session! I have also been photographing N for the past 4 years, and she has certainly grown into a lovely young lady. Amazing how time flies...

First, the L family... love the fall setting!

Next up, N, looking beautiful as usual:)

Thanks for checking in, and I'll try to post some sneak peeks from other sessions in the next few days:)

Cute family session in the park!

Oops... just realized a month has gone by with no activity on the blog! Sorry, I tend to forget... but I do have a few shots from a fun family session to share:)

This family was so sweet... Dad arranged it for Mom to have some family photos taken on her birthday. Extra points for being thoughtful... :)

Here is one of the whole family...

And the two little guys, Mr. J and Mr. L, were too cute!!

Finally, one last family shot... isn't this adorable?!

Hope you enjoy your preview, K and R!! Thanks so much for letting me be part of your birthday and capture these special memories for you!

It's all about the accessories...

I had a session recently with this just-turned-1 year old little sweetie, and we had so much fun! Mom and I absolutely clicked with our ideas... she brought a pettiskirt, leg warmers, cute bows, necklaces and adorable little silver shoes. How could I ask for more?! And she just LOVED the damask backdrop I've been dying to use again. Yay!!

Put it all together, and you get Miss A all decked out and ready to go!

Here is an adorable shot of the family... I just love Miss A's little expression here. She was so excited to be getting all the attention and sit on mom and dad's shoulders!!

So thank you, E and R, for allowing me to capture these adorable shots of Miss A and your family! I hope you enjoy your sneak peek :)

Last Sneak Peek for 2010!

Sunday's session in Naperville (just down the street from my husband's childhood home - how's that for coincidence!) was Round 2! We tried a session with this 2-yr old at the end of October, but Miss K really wasn't having anything to do with pictures that day, so we decided to try again at a later date in her own surroundings.

Sunday, she still wasn't all that into a photo session, but we did get some nice shots anyway!

I really love this one, she looks so delicate and thoughtful.

Look at this adorable shot of Dad with the older sibs!

And finally, one of the (very few) smiles we got from her that day... isn't she a cutie?! Love that little wrinkled nose :)

So, L & B, I hope you enjoy your sneak peek! Even though Miss K wasn't as cooperative as we would have hoped, we really did get some cute photos. And like you said, you'll be able to look back at these pics as a memory of how she was at age 2... and she just wasn't into smiling big for the camera at that age :)

I'm loving this fall family session...

We wanted to do a session like this last year, but the leaves all fell and the fall colors disappeared too quickly, so we ended up in studio. This year, we were in luck! I went to their gorgeous home and found some amazing spots for photos!

Look at these two handsome boys...

... and this is what I got when I told them to give me "serious" faces. Hmmm.... may need to work on that for next time!! :)

What a beautiful family... love this one!

And my fave... love these two together! This may have been when I told them to give each other a great big smooch... they gave me an "are you crazy????" look and then burst out laughing. You've got to treasure that special bond between brothers :)

So thanks very much to the H family for inviting me out to your lovely home to photograph your family! I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I have editing them so far...

Sneak Peek for the L family!

I apologize to the L family... I just now realized I hadn't blogged this earlier in the week like I thought I did!! This is a family I have photographed a few times so far, and I was happy to get to see them all again. The two older kids are so polite and sweet, and little K has grown so much in the past year!

Isn't this family photo adorable?

They were all such good sports, considering it was a cloudy, cold and windy day. They faked it well, don't you think?

And this is probably my favorite... I just LOVE this one!!

So I am sorry this preview took me so long, but the good news is your whole gallery will be ready in the next day or two! Hope you enjoyed these for now :)

Adorable Family at Cantigny!

Sunday afternoon I had a long-awaited session... this was with a family that I hadn't seen in nearly 2 years, when I took their youngest son E's newborn pics! This session was supposed to take place last fall, and then in the spring, and then earlier in the summer... but sick children, uncooperative weather, and life in general just seemed to get in the way. So FINALLY we were able to meet up at Cantigny Gardens in Wheaton. What a fantastic location!

We found so many wonderful spots for family photos... look at this fabulous reflecting pond with a little dock. The boys would have stayed there all day if they could.

Here's one of T&E just hanging out together... love how big brother is so sweet to the little guy. He was so cute, leading him around by the hand and chasing him through the flowers to make him laugh!

I love this family shot... too cute for words!!

Thanks so much, J&P, for letting me capture your family memories! The boys are just adorable, and it was great to see how quickly they have grown. Hope you enjoy your sneak peek :)

A Mom and her Boys...

This family lives a few houses down from me, and the boys are both going away to school this fall, so Mom wanted some portraits done together before they leave. Let's just say that with their somewhat... offbeat... personalities, this was NOT your typical session!

Here are the two handsome guys.... awwwww....

Then we tried to recreate a photo that was taken of the three of them when the boys were young... they couldn't hang onto and hug Mom quite the same as they did when they were little, but we gave it a shot :)

Then things got a little strange... LOL

But, look at this beautiful photo!! Just love it:)

This Newborn Rocks!!

And so does his Mom for coming up with this idea!! I first met this family in November of 2008, when I did newborn photos for their middle son, M, and now we're doing photos of Mr. R, boy #3!!

Isn't this photo with Dad's guitar just the best? Seriously, who can resist a baby with a mohawk and a guitar tie? :)

And Grandma made him this little bear hat before our session... isn't it just adorable?

Finally, Mom asked if we could try a family shot in their bedroom on their bed. Heck yeah!! I loved the idea, and love the way it turned out!! Look at Mom and all her men... Testosterone City :)

Thanks to the K family for letting me capture these memories of your newest family member! You certainly have 3 handsome boys... congrats!

Lovely family session!

Before we went on vacation (some fun vacation photos to come when I get to them!!), I had a chance to take a few quick family photos. Isn't this family gorgeous?! I may be biased, because they are my brother-in-law and his family, but I honestly think they are great :) They came up to IL to visit for a few days from TN, and I was really excited we were able to squeeze in a few photos amongst all the family craziness!!

Here is one of B&A together... love it!!

Here is one of the whole family together... you'd never guess by their smiles that we were all in the middle of one of the largest swarms of mosquitoes you've ever seen...

And one of the kids alone... tried a little different feel on the processing here, and I think I like it! See how nicely they smile for their favorite (well, at least I like to think so!!) Aunt Heidi :)

And finally, one of my adorable niece M and her American Girl Doll - what trip to visit Chicago is complete without a stop at the American Girl Store?!

If only I could let you all (or should I say "Ya'll") hear them speak... they have the cutest little southern accents ever!!!

Tiny Dancer...

I had the privilege to meet 1-yr old Miss A and her family this past Sunday... what a little sweetie she was!! She was quite serious at first... not quite sure what to make of me and my big flashy lights. We started out with a few family pics - having Mom and Dad there with her kind of helped ease into things.

We did a few pics of Miss A by herself, then decided it was time to take a little break and get some fresh air. We went out into the front yard to sing a few songs and laugh at a mysterious leaf-eating creature (was it a goat? or was it Daddy? we'll never tell)... then Miss A had to show us that she is "SOOOO big"!!!

Finally, back into the studio for a change of scenery and outfit. Miss A was the cutest little ballerina you could imagine...

I love everything about this photo... her expression, those chubby little ankle rolls, how she is placing her little toe down oh-so carefully... I just adore it all!!

I hope you enjoy your sneak peek, J and J, and thank you for letting me capture Miss A's 1-yr memories for you!

FUN February... Day 6!

This was a picture I took as a test shot when getting my lights ready for the Daddy/Daughter Dance... they had fun, and I ADORE this shot!!

The Newest Members of the Kreitz Family :)

Some of you may know that we lost our longtime family member, Duffy, this summer at the age of 15. It was a very hard time for all of us.

Recently, we decided that our house was just a little too lonely without some canine feet running around. We went to the Humane Society to see if we could find a dog that would fit into our family. Well, big surprise!! We found TWO puppies in need of a home, and just couldn't leave one behind.

So I am proud to introduce Milo and Zoey, the two newest members of our family!!

Here is a quick snap of Ben with the pups on their first night home...

Last week we took the kids and puppies out to the forest preserve to get some photos of them together before sunset... the puppies weren't exactly interested in spending much time taking pics, as there was so much to explore! But I grabbed a few quick shots while I could...

And one of the two babies together :) We just love Zoey's little "beard" and her adorable spotted paws, and Milo's little flopped-over ear is too cute!!

Since I'm pretty much done with photo sessions for the year (unless anyone has a maternity or newborn they need to squeeze in), I just wanted to show off my new babies a bit :)

Little K is Turning 1...

I was very happy to get to see Miss K and her family again... we had just done an outdoor family session the week before, so I knew just how cute she was going to be!

How can you not smile when you see that little face... not to mention her ponytail!!

Who doesn't just LOVE a baby in a basket?! I even got to try out my newest blanket, which I thought worked lovely here :)

And finally a shot with her parents... I just love how happy they all look here!

Thanks so much for making the drive to my studio from Naperville... it was so much fun to see all of you again, and capture these moments as K turns one!

Fall family session... lots of girls!

As I mentioned, this unpredictable fall weather has forced me to reschedule a few sessions... this was one of them. Luckily, Sunday was a beautiful day and we got some great outdoor family photos!

I thought this one turned out great, and I'm so happy we convinced dad to get in here too...

And here is one of the four girls... I like this one a lot!!!

So here are a couple from Sunday.... hope you enjoy them!! The ones with the girls fighting and making faces are coming later (haha)!!

An Anniversary Session!

I had the opportunity to take photos of this extended family this past weekend while they were celebrating their parents' 25th Anniversary! I know how hard it is to get the entire family together, much less all in a photo at the same time. We got some really nice shots of each family individually that day...

Isn't their Boston Terrier pup the cutest ever?!

And finally, the whole group together :)

Anyone who knows me or has followed my blog at all knows that I couldn't do an entire post without at least ONE black and white! Isn't this sweet... an anniversary kiss :)

I hope everyone enjoyed their preview, and I'll be sending you all a password for your completed gallery before too much longer!