| Beckman Family Portraits & Graduation/Going Away Party | Forsyth IL |

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Today, I get to share the Beckman family with you. Though I hadn’t had a chance to meet them more than a couple times in passing over our almost decade here I can tell you that these folks (Chris in particular) are a huge part of our story and life/business trajectory. How/why?!? Well, Chris is the man who hired my husband right out of college. That job brought him (and my extension, myself and SJP) to Decatur and we are both so thankful for that. We’ve found so much here including a wonderful community, friends, success in both our careers and it’s amazing to think about how much that one little yes that Chris gave my husband (who was not the first or last person he’s hired over the years I’m sure) effected the story we’ve written so far. But, this post is NOT about us or our story (just had to give the appreciation we feel while we had the chance!), instead today’s post is really about them and their family and their journey here in Decatur and their next chapter as well.

I was honored when Donna called me to be a part of creating their last family portraits in their home. The home where they’ve raised their children, celebrated milestones and invited friends to share in them for years. This last milestone was both a graduation and a going away part and the place was packed with their friends and family here to celebrate them! 

With our busy schedules it makes sense to combine occasions like these when everyone’s coming together already with a family portrait session to create images for everyone too. We not only did a session for the Beckman’s but also were there for their guests and extended family to get portraits too, plus to photograph candids of the guests enjoying themselves and it was an absolute blast. 

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| Oladipupo Family | Beautiful Winter Sunset Family Portrait Session |

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With kids that don’t all live at home any longer scheduling family sessions can get complicated. We had a small window of time to get in the Oladipupo’s family portraits and with that window being in the first week of January we knew we were gambling on the weather… was it going to be a blizzard? Negative 12* outside? Windy? Well, honestly it could not have been any better! I’m not sure how we lucked out into the unseasonably warm sunny day we got but it was absolutely perfect!

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We just had Kolapo’s senior session earlier this year on their property and having the family session there was a no brainer. I always encourage families to think about having their sessions at home. The backyard, front porch, heck even the driveway can be perfect for your images and best of all it’s personal. It’s the place that’s a part of your family right now (or from the beginning, or forever!).

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And, of course, when we have everyone dressed up and together we always take a few minutes to photograph everyone solo (and mom and dad together too!).

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Don’t worry if it’s been a few years or a decade since your last family portrait. I know scheduling will be tough (I joke that it’s about 80% of my job!)… but finding the perfect time to photograph your whole family and working hard to take any and all stress out of the process is absolutely my job.

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| Rick Family Winter Snow Maternity Session |

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Today I get to share with you one of my favorite families who I’m so excited to be spending the next TWO years with watching this new little man grow up! I had the pleasure of photographing their beautiful wedding day and close to a year later celebrated their upcoming anniversary with them with a perfect maternity session. There may have been snow but the sunset couldn’t have been better.

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This week is all about this family because coming up on Thursday I get to show off Hudson’s newborn portraits, you wont want to miss that!

| Kolapo | Senior Guy Portraits | Class of 2019 | Decatur IL |

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It’s Kolapo’s day in the spotlight on the blog! One fun things about senior guy sessions is that their wardrobe changes are typically a little quicker than our senior gals, so we tend to be able to fit a LOT of work into a single session! We kicked things off with Kolapo at his home (they have some gorgeous land with a fun red barn) and that’s always a great plan for the family pets so they are comfortable in their own space. And can I just tell you I fell in love with Winston.

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