Sweet and sassy Miss A turned two – seems like it was just yesterday we did her one year session. My favorite part of the session was when she started calling me “lady”. “Hey Lady, come over here…hey lady, watch this” As you see, she is a little princess into proper tea service so it seemed only fitting that she referred to me as a lady…
Oh the Gribble family – I just love them! I’ve had the pleasure of photographing them since their oldest Charlie was just a tiny little guy and have so enjoyed watching him grow and change (to see last year’s session, click here). I started with him as a little, smiley chunky monkey and now he’s three and posing in his driving mocs with his hand in his pocket for me – it’s crazy how quickly they grow up. Charlie is even more mature now that he’s a big brother to sweet little Leo. It’s only been a few months since Leo’s arrival from China and it’s like he’s always been a part of the family. It was really sweet to watch the two boys together – Charlie protective of Leo and Leo idolizing Charlie. These two boys will have quite the life together filled with love, laughter and adventure.
March has been busy! I again participated in Janie & Jack’s in-store portrait promotion, doing not one but TWO stores for the spring promotion – Orland Square and Northbrook.
Four days shooting anything can be tiring, but four days of photographing little ones was exhausting. A ton of fun, but exhausting. For eight hours a day I danced, sang, mooed and fake farted in an attempt to keep these kids attention. I needed them to sit relatively still and smile, but right where the light was optimal on my white backdrop. And that sweet space of light on a studio set up is all of about 2 feet. Some kids did this no problem, but many had a hard time, not wanting anything to do with sitting still.
The fun comes in figuring out what works for different kids. After two and half years of capturing little ones of all ages, I have developed a pretty good repertoire of attention gaining and interest retaining tricks. Some kids didn’t require any, some took up my whole arsenal of stunts and then some. I had several parents who thought their session was a complete diaster because their child was not in the cooperating mood, but I assured them that I always manage to get a few shots. At the viewing and sales appointments, I had a couple of parents who were absolutely blown away but what we managed to get after such a challenging shoot. I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction from amazing parents with beautiful images of their children that they will treasure for a lifetime – love it!
I met so many beautiful kids and wonderful parents over my four days – I truly enjoyed (most 
) every exhausting moment. Here are some of my favorite images ~ be ready for some extreme cuteness…
Some of my favorite images from Janie & Jack’s in-store portrait promotion at their Orland Square location. Be sure to check out images from the Northbrook Janie & Jack shoot too!
previous post: Chicago Dance Marathon
next post: Janie & Jack Northbrook
I spent two days in October capturing holiday portraits at the upscale children’s clothing store Janie & Jack and oh my was it fun. Completely and utterly exhausting, but so much fun! It was an honor to shoot for Janie & Jack and an absolute pleasure to meet all the kids and their parents. Here are some of my favorite images – enjoy the uber cuteness!
At the beginning of our session, Nina’s mommy informed me that Nina was a little shy and hoped she would do ok. Umm, yeah – not shy at all. Miss Nina and I totally hit it off and we captured so many awesome images. After we were done with our shoot, Nina’s mom had her try on a few items she was considering buying and Nina grabbed her mom’s sunglasses. Had to capture her in the impromptu outfit too – I mean just look at her!!
This sweet little brother and sister duo just melted my heart. Absolutely adorable and super sweet kids. And check out their sweet Janie & Jack outfits. That little velvet purse, love it!
Little blonde sweeties – those curls and big blue eyes!
Little miss M – where do I even start?
Yep, each new client was cuter than the last, it was ridiculous! This little guy – so incredibly sweet and adorable and he did such a great job, looking right at me. So much fun to capture him!
The little sweater vest and cap – such a sweet boy!
I know, stop it – you can’t stand it right?! Yes, that is a little camel blazer and plaid tie & suspenders he is wearing and his sister issporting a gorgeous red velvet dress with matching plaid accents.
This little guy and I became fast friends.
Sweet and sassy little Miss E!
Argyle vest + corduroy cap + sweet baby = happy photographer
This little guy has the thickest head of hair – such a sweetheart
And this is his big brother, who absolutely refused to have his picture taken with his baby brother. We begged, pleaded and tried to bribe him into sitting with his brother for a few shots with no luck. And he was leaving he turned and said to me “sorry Tracy, maybe next time”. It made me laugh so hard, it was classic!
Big brother and his baby sister – too cute.
Mr. O did such an amazing job getting his portraits taken – he just sat there and looked at me. I was dying, he is the sweetest little guy with the most gorgeous big brown eyes!
Another one of my little buddies who absolutely rocked it for the camera.
This seven year old was an absolute champ handling his little twin brother and sister.
This sister and brother duo are the bestest of friends. Or maybe they were bribed to act that way prior to portrait time? Regardless, they were so much fun to capture.
previous post: gabriel ~ newborn photography
next post: katherine & jonathan ~ wedding photography
This is Charlie – one of my favorite little subjects ever! I’ve photographed him since he was just six months old and while our shoots have become a bit more challenging since then now that he’s mobile, he is an absolute joy to capture. My camera and I both absolutely love him.
One of my “tricks” is to tell my little guys that I need to get some photos of their favorite toy. So Charlie set up Elmo and posed him for me. I just love how Charlie looks all proud and excited that Elmo is getting his portrait done too.
This absolutely melts my heart.
Hey Charlie, how old are you? He’s still working on getting two fingers up.
A run down the sidewalk doesn’t end so well. But mom is there to make it all better.
Charlie’s pugs Stella and Norm. I know, the cutest family ever right?
We also did a shoot downtown and captured these around Millenium Park.
His dad just cracks him up!
Anatomy of a melt down. Aaaannnndd, that’s a wrap!
Charlie, Charlie, Charlie – I just love you to pieces and am already looking forward to our three year old shoot. Can’t wait to see what you’re up to next year!
♥,
tracy
Being a photographer gives me the chance to meet so many people, but in this case it gave me the opportunity to reconnect with an old co-worker. Kristen (Helena’s mommy) and I worked together many years ago, back when I was the CFO (icccckkkkk!!!) for a small branding firm. We had the CRAZIEST bosses ever who created a very chaotic but often times comical work environment. But we also had a really great group of hardworking women and many friendships were formed. It’s kinda like we share the bonds of war, surviving that whack-a-do place. It had been ages since I had seen Kristen when she contacted me to capture her daughter’s two year old portraits so I was very excited about our session.
And then when I met Helena, I knew we were going to get some great images. She is the sweetest little girl, but also has a little sass to her! She warmed up to me very quickly as we played and was very interested in showing me all of her toys. I make my photo sessions more like play dates than a portrait session. There is very little to no posing. It doesn’t work very long anyway so I usually don’t even bother. One of my “tricks” is to tell my little subjects that I need to get pictures of their little stuffed animals, dolls, etc. She was so good about lining them all up just perfectly.
Here’s a brief attempt to pose Helena on her little bench. I like the goofy ones leading up to it just as much if not more than the serious one. I think they show more of her personality.
This one is my favorite. Sweet and sassy!
I love how she is so engaged here.
Isn’t Kristen gorgeous??
Thanks so much for having me Kristen – it was so great to catch up and to meet your sweet, beautiful Helena! She was an absolute joy to capture!
♥,
tracy
I swear I have the most gorgeous little clients, this little guy is going to melt your heart! Sweet Julian turned the big 1 and I was the lucky girl who to capture his big milestone.
He was still in his jammies when I arrived our session so I just HAD to snap a few of him in them while he warmed up to me.
Which took all of about five minutes and then he started showing off and flirting with me. Isn’t he just the cutest?
But not only did I get to do his one year old portraits – I was also there to capture some of his very first steps, it was so exciting!!
We tried to get some more walking shots, this time with clothes on, but he gave only one more performance that I captured from behind. He was so proud of himself!
Happy birthday sweet boy! I hope you look back on these images many years from now and can feel how loved and adored you are by your mom & dad. It was a joy to capture them!
♥ tracy