Levi's Senior Shoot - Mattoon, IL Senior Photographer

I love doing Senior shoots especially when the subject is a young man I have known his whole life!  Yup, my nephew was home visiting from Florida and we went to an old abandoned building to do a cool urban type shoot!  I cannot believe he is a Senior!!  Wow, I am feeling old!!  LOL!

More Seniors on the way soon including my very own Moody Teen who will be a Senior in the fall!

The Lake Family - Mattoon, IL Children and Family Photographer

I love this family!  OK, I have know mom for years because she is the artist behind my wonderful hair!  I like her so much that when we moved to Ft. Campbell, KY I would make the 4 hour trek home once a month so she could do my hair!  Now that is what I call dedication!  Back then she was a Miss and not a Mrs and her cute little guys were not even thought of!  Anyway, here is what happens when beautiful people marry!!  LOL!

The Last Bachelor Gets Hitched - Mattoon, IL Wedding Photographer

Tim was officially holding out, that is until Amanda caught his heart!  Let me tell you, they are a match made in heaven!  They are literally perfect for each other!!

This wedding was 100% outside and given out weather as of late, I was afraid for the worst!  The heat was oppressive (heat index of 105)!  My lenses fogged over when transitioning from indoors to out and yes it did rain but not until the ceremony ended!  In fact, it started to rain as the were walking back up the isle!  People just grabbed their chairs and headed for the tents!  This couple took it all in stride and moved the reception to the pole building and continued on!

I have to give a shout out to JR, who was my right hand man!  Amanda appointed him to be my people wrangler for pictures!  All I had to do was tell him which group of people I needed next and viola', there they were!  Every wedding needs a JR!!

OK, now to the photos!!

And with that kiss, his fate was sealed!  Congrats to Tim and Amanda!  You guys were tons of fun to hang out with!!

And Baby Makes 3 - Mattoon, IL Family Photographer

These are threepeat clients!  I did mom's maternity shoot, then baby T's newborn shoot and now a family shoot!  Are they not the cutest?

Lots of shoots coming in the next week!  Right now I am editing a wedding but this week I have a family shoot and I will be doing my nephew's Senior shoot while he is here visiting from Florida!  Lots of good things coming down the pipe so come back soon!

One FUN Family - Arcola, IL Engagement Photographer

OK, so I had already been booked to photograph this lovely couples wedding but she called me to ask if I would do and engagement/family session.  Of course, I said yes and that led me to a fire station and a lake to spend time getting to know this fun family!  They are from my hometown but they are MUCH younger than me!!  Ha!  Can you guess which team they root for?

The following photos are a surprise for their dad for Father's Day!  He is the fire chief in Arcola so we started out at the fire station!!

Then there is this little guy who is trying to fill grandpa's boots!  Pretty big boots to fill if you ask me!  He was so adorable!!

Bringing You up to Speed!

I have been a tad bit lax in my blogging lately so here is one big blog post to bring you up to speed with what has been going on behind the scenes here!!  First, Baby W, we started a session and then he was not feeling well so we tried again after his nap but he was having NONE of it so we finally rescheduled for another day and finally got some results!!

Then came the final Pictures In The Park fundraiser for my friends who are going on a missions trip to Jamaica next month and I am proud to say that we raised $350 for them to go toward expenses!!  Here are some shots of the two final families!

This family was so cute!  Big Brother J was great with high energy and was a true joy to work with!  Little Brother T, however, wanted NO part of any of it so he was one tough customer!!

Then there was this adorable family!!  When dad got out of the car he said "Do you remember me?"  I had to look for a moment but YES I did remember him!!  We worked together more than 10 years ago at the local phone company!!  He is not a fire fighter!!  Wow, what a career change!

Anyway, that gets you up to speed on this end!  Tonight I have an engagement/family session in my hometown!!  Tomorrow I will photograph the Ordination of Jaret, whom I did fund raising for and then Monday will bring a family session!  Later this week I will be doing some more Senior portraits!  Let's just say that I am keeping busy!!  I promise to update you more often!!