WARNING!

This post will contain lots and lots of images...and just when you think there could be no more, alas there will be.

I just couldn't help myself. I loved SOOOO many pictures from our time together that I had a difficult time deciding what to share and what not to share. So, bear with me during the image overload. I swear I narrowed them down QUITE a bit.;-)

So here's the deal....if you've read my blog before you know that my awesome friend Brianne (http://www.essenceportraits.com/) flew me up to Chicago for a little bit of fun and A LOT of picture taking! Being a photographer, I can tell you that it's a darn near an impossible task to get a decent family picture without someone else taking it. Yeah, you have a tripod and you have the timer on the camera....but where's the spontaneity and fun in that? Where are those REAL moments that are shared between each other? And the likelihood of getting more than one decent image out of 20 tries of running back and forth to the camera to reset it are slim to none. Try to pull that off without looking frazzled in the picture! So...I agreed to fly up there and hang out with them for a few days and photograph this gorgeous and FUN family. We had such a blast!!! I'm so glad I went....and I absolutely LOVE the pictures!

So we went shopping at local thrift stores to try and find an old couch to use for our session but we came up empty handed. Oddly enough, when we strolled down this alley, Brianne spotted the beauty below and excitedly screamed two words "TIFF.....COUCH!" There was a couch sitting next to a dumpster that was getting thrown out. So we were in heaven. And those pictures were so meant to be...they are some of my all time faves. And yeah, the vacuum was getting thrown out as well. She couldn't resist this one....

These were taken outside a gas station bathroom where she had to change. Loved the milk crates...

Thanks Brianne and family! You guys were awesome!!!!

Man oh Man...

have I been busy! I haven't had a chance to update in quite a while....I've got LOTS to share! I'm gonna start this sharing spree off by posting some images from a bridal session that I did a few weeks ago. I wasn't allowed to post these until after the wedding day just in case the "husband to be" happened to be check out my blog. So, here we are two days after the wedding and I'm posting them.;-) I can't WAIT to share some from their wedding day as well but those will have to wait a bit longer. As for the bridals though, there were too many awesome ones to choose from so just I'll just have to show lots!

The Performance

A while back I told you guys about a performance by the dance company called, "Charisma" that I photographed. Well, we finally narrowed those images down so I just now finished editing them for their new site, so I've got some to share! I tell you, this was by FAR the hardest shooting experience I've ever had! I know I mentioned that before, but I can't stress it enough! It's hard enough to photograph dancers but when we're talking stage lighting that's going in and out depending on where they are on the stage, it's a whole new ball game! So there I was, sitting in the audience constantly switching settings on my camera as the dancers were moving into the light and out of the light. And all of this was done IN THE DARK! Note to self...next time I shoot something like this, I need to bring a little flash light of some sort. Thank goodness I know my camera like the back of my hand.;-)

So here's a little taste of what their performance is like...