| McCoy Family Annual Portraits | Just the Kids | Decatur IL

I’m so excited to show off this year’s annual portraits of the McCoy Family kiddos! Doing annual family portraits is seriously no joke (trust me, I know we do them too). Every year it feels like you JUST did these and it’s time again to plan for new outfits (that don’t look too much like the past ones but are still your style). Do that for 3-5 years in a row and it just gets exponentially tougher to keep things looking new and fresh.

But is it worth it? YES!!! I absolutely think so but why? For one, your kiddos do change quite a bit from year to year and it’s hard to know just when those big changes will hit and annual family portraits make sure we don’t miss a thing. We’ll catch the year your kiddo hits that big growth spurt. The year the boys finally catch up in height to the girls. The year he lost both front teeth. The awkward haircut year. The year they all of a sudden go from looking like little kids to little adults still doing Squadcopters activities (seriously it happens all of a sudden!).

I’ve been lucky enough to photograph this beautiful family annually for the past few years since Cruz was just a baby and it’s AMAZING to see how much they’ve grown. And I have to give a major shout out to Lori their momma who always makes sure to make time for this session and never fails to come up with the BEST outfit combinations.

Take a look at some of their past sessions:

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2016: http://blog.sjanephotography.com/?p=18265

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Chloe even got her own moment in the spotlight a couple years ago HERE.

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More from their Fall 2014 Family Session HERE. 

In 2013 we actually did two sessions since Cruz was so little and changing so fast. And ironically the first session was in the spring and freakishly freezing cold and their second session was in the fall and crazy warm but these guys did great despite their wardrobe and weather clashing.

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See more from their 2013 Family Sessions HERE. 

One thing that keeps me on my toes with annual sessions is the constant effort to create dynamic poses since you don’t want your portraits each year to look exactly the same. It’s fun to try to challenge myself to create new and interesting poses for these families every year.

This year, with busy schedule of very active kiddos we decided to have just the kids (plus Maverick) in the session to make things easier on mom and dad.

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| Kaylee | Eisenhower High School Senior Model Portraits | Class of 2018 |

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I’m so excited to show off Kaylee with you all today. I’ve had a blast working with her as one of our Class of 2018 Senior Models she’s so fun and full of energy! We’ve had a few sessions over the past few months starting with our group model session …

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Then we got some nature in with her first senior session at Rock Springs…

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And I love the Kaylee also wanted to have some images at her high school which was the perfect way to show off her cheerleading too.

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And we got to finish out that session at the Decatur lake (a little nice warm sunshine for you guys on this cold cloudy week!!).

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Be sure to check us out on Instagram (@sjanephotography) and Facebook to see even MORE favorites from her session.

| Lisa + AJ | Limited Edition Family Session | Lake Decatur |

Today I get to share the lovely Ms. Lisa and her man A.J. along with their adorable fur baby June. Lisa is a fellow photographer and helps out around here a bit when things get really hectic. On the day of their session she even spent a LONG day with me road tripping up to Chicago to assist with a beautiful wedding and still managed to be fabulous on session!

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Lisa not only wanted to capture their family but also who they are and what they do which I love!

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| McKinnley | Mt. Zion High School Senior Model | Class of 2018 |

I have another lovely senior to show off to you today! McKinnley is one of our Mt. Zion High School class of 2018 senior models and has been so much fun to photograph. McKinnley’s been friends with Jasmyn, another of our 2018 senior models, FOREVER (seriously the images of these girls as little kids are adorable) so the girls were so excited to go through our model experience together, which as an added bonus meant we got to create a few images of the girls together on our group session days!

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Isn’t she lovely (and I’m crazy jealous of that thick long hair which I swear was perfect in every image!).

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Our fair group session was fun and the ice cream cones (in nearly 100 degree heat) was an interesting experiment in racing the clock on melting ice cream which proved ultimately more messy than cute but we learned that next time we’ll fake it with foam cones of some sort.

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It’s hard to pic a favorite from her session but I’m loving the patriotic look with this flag scarf.

 

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After our time around downtown Decatur we headed over to McKinnley’s grandparents house on lake Decatur for a beautiful sunset. And my favorite part of working in this personalized location is that McKinnley’s parents got married right under that tree by the lake and now we’ve added another milestone to remember there!

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Be sure to head over to McKinnley’s facebook album to give her some love and take a look at what she had to say about her SJP experience:

Tell us about your experience about SJP. What did you like best? *

I absolutely LOVE the pop-up sessions. They are so fun and a great opportunity to meet other people your age from different schools. They are quick and easy and who doesn’t love a little extra opportunity to get dressed up 😉

What would you tell a friend who was considering coming to SJP for their portraits? *

I would tell them that Sarah Jane is the ONLY photographer for them. She is so fun and easy to talk to and work with. They will not be disappointed by choosing her over any other photographer.

What made you choose SJP for your portraits?

I chose SJP because my bestfriend Jasmyn became a senior model and told me that I should do it too. We have been bestfriends since we were 3 years old and I couldn’t resist doing one last thing with her before we graduate and have to part ways for college.

What could we have done differently to improve your portrait experience? *

I have not yet done my actual senior picture session but from what I have seen from the photos of myself so far, I love them!

Please rate your Session Experience *

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Please rate the Product Selection & Quality *

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Please rate the Product Value *

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| 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!

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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!

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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