Decatur IL – Page 23

September 21, 2017September 22, 2017

| Kaitlyn | Warrensburg-Latham High School Senior Model Portraits | Decatur, IL |

Today I get to show, Kaitlyn! She’s our class of 2018 Warrensburg-Latham High School senior model and I cannot tell you how much I LOVE her style! She’s so eclectic that each outfit change gave us a brand new look and style to play with. Everything from casual and edgy to pretty and girly, it was so much fun and kept me on my creative toes.

After her first look session I knew Kaitlyn was someone I wanted to work with. She’s so sweet and was 100% comfortable in front of the camera and even in her 5 minute first look session she was able to work in two outfit variations with a cool jacket. I also loved her take on ‘little black dress’ look for our group model session. She found a way to work her personality into every theme session we had and really let that style shine during her own senior session (including a personal location)!

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We kicked off Kaitlyn’s senior session at the always beautiful Allerton Park and we had the perfect day and most fun of all is that Kaitlyn’s mom and dad joined in on the fun of session day and I always love that – it makes it such a fun experience!

To finish out her senior session we had a more local shoot-day including some time in the studio to create a few more classic looks (I love sports portraits in the studio) and then finished out that session at Millie & Bo’s Barkery because this gal bakes and decorates their adorable doggie cookies! And, of course, we had to get her very own adorable pooch in on the action. I just love his stoic look amongst all the toys, he’s not tempted folks!

See what Kaitlyn thought of her session:

Tell us about your experience about SJP. What did you like best? *	The great, creative ideas that Sarah has.
What would you tell a friend who was considering coming to SJP for their portraits? *	It is fun!! Sarah makes you feel like a model.
What made you choose SJP for your portraits?	I saw her work. We loved her creative, different portraits.
What could we have done differently to improve your portrait experience? *	Nothing to improve. It has been a great experience!
Please rate your Session Experience *	Perfectly Happy
Please rate the Product Selection & Quality *	Perfect
Please rate the Product Value *	Great Deal

September 14, 2017September 22, 2017

| Shelby | Argenta-Oreana High School Senior Model Portraits | Class of 2018 | Decatur, IL |

Today I get to show off all Shelby’s favorite images with you today. This lovely gal is one of our class of 2017 senior models and will be graduating from Argenta-Oreana High School this spring. She’s been a blast to have as part of our senior model program and I loved working with her to create her senior portraits.

We had some fun exploring a few new little pockets of the downtown area and though it was a little gusty we got some fun hair blowing images along with our usuals too!

Here’s what Shelby herself had to say about her SJP portrait experience:

Tell us about your experience about SJP. What did you like best? *	i loved all the options i got to have with my senior pictures. even though we got the shorter session i still loved it and i know the pictures will turn out great!
What would you tell a friend who was considering coming to SJP for their portraits? *	not to be upset about gettin he cheaper package (like i was) because it seems like no time at all, but the time was well used and it seems longer than it says it lasts.
What made you choose SJP for your portraits?	i loved the other pictures she had taken for families i know and other people i knew.
What could we have done differently to improve your portrait experience? *	i don’t think i would change anything! i loved everything. sarah is very sweet and very polite and patient.
Please rate your Session Experience *	Perfectly Happy
Please rate the Product Selection & Quality *	Perfect
Please rate the Product Value *	Great Deal

September 12, 2017September 8, 2017

| Allen Family | Annual Family Portraits | Summer Decatur, IL |

family portraits, family photography, family photographer, decatur il, decatur, illinois, photographer, central il photographer, central illinois photographer, family, siblings, siblings portraits, annual portraits, Look who’s up on the blog today! I’m so excited to share this beautiful family with you. I’ve had the privilege to photograph Melanie and her girls a few times over the past few years (you can check out last year’s session HERE) and this year we welcomed Chuck and Ethan into the fun.

I’ll be missing Melanie this year as we’ve worked together for the Warrensburg-Latham High School yearbook images for years now but she’s taken a great Librarian job in another district so I won’t be seeing as much of her as usual but wish her good luck in the new job.

I have had so much fun watching Savannah and Sophie grow up so much over the last few years. They have such unique personalities and I always look forward to what we create for them both individually and together. I sort of get excited to think about them flipping through these photos a decade or two from now seeing how much they changed every year.

And these three were SO sweet together. This may have been the first session I jumped WHILE shooting to get that smile on the left (thank God for image stabilization!). We knew going into the session we’d have to watch for forced smiles on Ethan so I had to up the silliness just a bit and worked perfectly!

And, of course, we had to round out the session with some individual combinations. Every family relationship is unique and I love to show not only the whole family but all the little micro relationships too.

I know this will be an exciting year for this family and I cannot wait to see them even more grown up next year!

August 31, 2017March 23, 2018

| Styles & Smiles | Consignment Boutique Mt. Zion, IL | Small Business Features |

The Details: Styles & Smiles Length of time in business: 2 Years

Hours: Tuesday – Friday: 10:00am-5:00pm Saturday: 10:00am-4:00pm | Location: 205 Debby Drive, Mt. Zion, Illinois

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Tell us about your business….what do you do? Styles & Smiles is an upscale clothing boutique featuring new and gently loved apparel, shoes, purses, and accessories for men, women, and children.

What makes your business unique/special? Styles & Smiles is not just another resale shop. We take pride in making the client experience one they will not forget. We personally assist you with all of your fashion needs and will help you find the perfect outfit for any occasion. We provide style with a smile!

What item/service on your menu or in your shop do you just love and think everyone needs? Name brand clothing at an affordable price and top notch customer service.

In what way have you gone above /beyond in the past for a customer? We appreciate our client’s demanding lives and never hesitate to come in early or stay late to help accommodate their schedules. On occasion, we have even delivered! We also work closely with local charities and donate a great deal of clothing to help support causes such as the Cinderella Project and Northeast Community Fund.

What was the coolest thing you’ve ever had a client do for you? My clients are amazing. One of our special clients, Shirley, brought me an amazing gift one day, a guardian angel. It sits right in front of my store.

What tool/equipment/or other vendor could you not imagine doing business without? Why? I can’t imagine business without our customers. THEY are our most important vendor! Without them, we would not have the awesome styles and great inventory that we do!

What other local businesses do you love? Why? I can’t imagine a day without Krave or the Black Iron. We love our iced coffee drinks and sweet treats! They keep us energized and help keep a smile on our faces!

Introduce us to your STAFF: Lori McDaniel is our styling and marketing expert. Lori is a Decatur native and a student at Millikin University. She has extensive background in sales and marketing and flair for design… AND… Lori is an energizer bunny!

Tell us about you? Why did you choose to do what you do? I am recently retired after years in the world of finance. I Love style, I love to shop, and I love to make people happy. I have always wanted to own my own business, so when the opportunity came up to buy Styles & Smiles, I thought it would be a great way to fulfill my dream, so here I am.

What are you passionate about outside of your business? My three grandchildren, Avery, Piper, and Jace, and my children, Clint and Nicole are the loves of my life. When I am not at the store I am enjoying time with them.

Describe your perfect day… My perfect day would be waking up around 7am to a beautiful sunny day, enjoying a cup of coffee, and chatting with my daughter and grandkids about what we should do for fun. I would bop into the store and see that it was in great hands with my staff, so if I wanted to check out and go fishing or to the zoo or park, I would. About 6pm, settle back at home and hang out with the kiddos, enjoy all the love and the laughter, then sit back and say, “yes, life is good.”

See the latest news and items available from Styles & Smiles HERE.

See our other past small business features to connect with more businesses in our area:

See more on our Facebook Page and follow us on Twitter @sjanephotog, Instagram @sjanephotograhy, and Snapchat @sjanephotog

If you’d like to have YOUR small business featured for FREE on the SJP blog (or know a small business we should feature) you can find details HERE! These features are 100% free and we’d love to feature you next.

August 29, 2017

| Morgan | Illinois Festival Junior Miss 2016 | Pageant Photography | Decatur, IL |

Today I’m excited to show off the lovely and talented Illinois Festival Junior Miss 2016, Morgan! I got to meet Morgan when she came along to Payton’s BFF session day this year and was thrilled when she was so excited about that image and experience that she wanted me to create her pageant images right at the end of the reign.

For pageant gals we usually want to accomplish a few things at their session. We need to create a beautiful headshot image first.And while it often has strict specifications for sizing, posing and backdrop for uniform appearance in programs, it should also capture and show off each girl’s unique personality… that’s not always an easy task with a simple head and shoulders shot but I love the challenge. For morgan, beauty lighting was a MUST – look how flawless she is! This let her eyes and smile SHINE brightly while keeping everything else soft and simple and I love our final result.

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Next, we often want to show off they lady’s talents, philanthropies or crowns! We managed to do all three in a few combinations with Morgan here. Clearly her talent is dance and I swear I was giddy and impressed every time she went up on point (in a variety of different poses).

And finally it wouldn’t be a pageant session if we didn’t show off crown, sash and dress! How gorgeous is that royal blue dress on her. It was such a perfect look we had to do a few more headshots with it too.

My favorite part of Morgan’s Premiere (when we showed her all her images on our movie screen) was both her and her mom’s reactions to everything and their excitement about, not only these images, but working with me again when it’s time for her senior images soon. I had a blast with her for this little session so I know we will have so much fun on her full senior session (something epic for that dance talent will be needed don’t you think?!?!).