too cool for school (photos)? studio portrait session booking is live... {oak park, il photographer}

“There are no bad pictures; that’s just how your face looks sometimes” – Abraham Lincoln 

School picture day…the day when kids are forced into awkward poses, wear clothes they'd never choose, and smile as if they're being tortured. I suppose it’s a right of passage but if you find yourself wondering why they never quite look “normal”, maybe a studio session is the answer.

Skip the school picture order & bring your kiddos into the studio for a quick, updated yearly portrait. I promise not to force anyone to smile & I can almost guarantee that the photos will actually look like your kid. Wild, right?

There are 2 types of sessions to choose from: Tiny Studio Sessions and Fine Art Portrait Sessions.

Tiny Sessions

Fine Art Portrait Sessions: 1 Child | Fine Art Portrait Sessions: Up to 3 Children

What is the best session for you? So happy you asked… as always, if you have further questions or concerns, send me a message! joey@littlebittyproductions.com

wrapping up 2020...{oak park, il photographer}

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

I really try to wake up each day without the heaviness of past missteps on my shoulders. I fail quite often but life goes on, as the saying goes.

I know that we won’t wake up to a problem-free world on January 1, 2021, but something about a new beginning feels very different than it has in past years. I would actually love to skip past all the holiday hubbub and go straight to 2021.

2020 has tested me in ways I never could have imagined. I know I’m not alone in this.

As a small business owner, the uncertainty of what lies ahead has been a lot to manage. Trying to plan for tomorrow when tomorrows limitations are not known can feel impossible. There are a lot of “what ifs” and “maybes” but the truth is, I’m not sure when I’ll be able to work again in any “normal” capacity.

So I take it day by day. What option do I have? Every day is a new day.

I’m grateful for the health of my family and friends.

I’m grateful for a business that will crawl across the finish line this year. It isn’t the year I expected but I’m sure I’m not alone in that.

So…as I wrap up the year and prepare to take some time off, I just want to say thanks.

Thank you to everyone who supported my small business. I am so grateful to all of you!

I look forward to better days in 2021!

october...{oak park, il family photo session}

“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
― L. M. Montgomery

We are past the halfway mark for October and in the past few days, the colors have finally been poppin’! Do you have a favorite autumn ritual? Is it apple orchards or pumpkin farms or…just enjoying all the wonderful changes that take the world from bright green to warm reds, oranges, and yellows?

For me, it’s really about watching the green disappear. I’m just going to say it…photographing super green environments makes me bananas. I need a little variety to break it up…flowers, prairie grass…something besides ALL THE BRIGHT GREEN!

Don’t get me wrong, I love when everything is blooming and green. But I prefer to photograph in more urban environments when the world is blanketed in lush, green grass. Give me sidewalks & brick walls & pops of green…I could keep going but I won’t bore you with more color talk.

Instead, I’ll share a few images from tonight’s session.

Those colors though…amiright?

studio portrait sessions...book your session now {oak park, il fine art portrait sessions}

“If I had a photograph of you
It's something to remind me
I wouldn't spend my life just wishing” - A Flock of Seagulls

Remember when I mentioned that I was planning to offer studio portrait sessions beginning in September?

Well…September is just around the corner and as promised, I’m ready to get this party started!

These sessions will be quick and casual and will capture your kids as they are: silly or serious (and everything in between).

To book a time, there will be a $100 session fee. This fee is non-refundable and books and holds your session time.

No digital files, prints, or print products are included in the session fee. Your edited images will be delivered via online gallery and you will be able to purchase the images you love a la carte or as a collection.

Print pricing starts at $25.

Find and book your session: Studio Sessions

Need more info? Send me an email!

Sessions will be held at my Oak Park studio, located at 38 Lake Street.

a month of mamas: day 22 {oak park family photo sessions}

“The best way to keep children at home is to make the home atmosphere pleasant, and let the air out of the tires.” 
― Dorothy Parker

To the mamas who know the days are long but the years are short…

catching my breath {oak park fall photos}

“Everything turns, rotates, spins, circles, loops, pulsates, resonates, and repeats.” 
― Suzy Kassem

October is the busiest month for most family photographers. It can feel a bit overwhelming, at times, but when you finally reach the (almost) end, the relief is EPIC.

I have 3 more sessions to finish up the month and MANY sessions to edit, so I’ll keep this brief.

If you haven’t already scheduled your session for fall, I have bad news…you may have missed it. This week, the colors are finally bursting & in a few days, they will all be on the ground (sad trombone), plus…I am booked until December.

So, maybe you can schedule a winter session?

Enjoy the beautiful day!

wrapping up september sessions...{chicago family photo session, humboldt park}

Now that I’m knee deep in fall photo sessions, it feels calming to look back to a less hectic time…I mean, it was only about a month ago that I shot this beautiful family, but it seems like longer!

(October feels like a steamroller, so I’m trying to take my moments when I can.)

This session was led by an adorable 2 year old. It was a beautiful, warm, summer-like day in mid-September…these are the best days…the little breaks before the weather changes & we all need our coats & boots.

Enjoy these sunny, warm family photos!

is it autumn yet? {oak park, il photographer}

“Autumn...the year's last, loveliest smile."

[Indian Summer]” 
― John Howard Bryant

Forgive me for overusing that quote, but it is so, so true…

We haven’t quite hit that autumnal feeling, unless you count several days without the sun, but it’s here. Now we wait for everything to change colors…tick tock.

In the meantime, I’m wrapping up the last of the warm shooting days.

In the past couple of weeks, I’ve reunited with several families. As much as I enjoy & appreciate getting new clients, I love my returning families. Over time, clients feel more like friends…some even become best friends and feel more like family.

There’s a certain comfort in that and I am so grateful for all the amazing people that I meet & who like me enough to put their trust in me, time and again.

So, thank you! Here’s a sampling of September and some of my amazing clients!

twins! {n. family...oak park, il lifestyle session}

“Even twins have their differences.” -Mokokoma Mokhonoana

Last April, a client reached out to schedule a newborn session. She was expecting twins & her due date was early August. We both, her especially, expected they would make their debut sometime in July.

Throughout the summer, I would check in to see how things were going. Namely, how the babies were? Should we plan a session sooner than August? By late July, it seemed the target date was still August.

On August 8, we made our yearly pilgrimage to Texas & when we returned, I got to spend a couple of hours documenting this sweet family & their 2 newest members. Did I mention they also have a 3 year old?

Enjoy a few shots from this in-home session!

summertime...{oak park, il photographer}

"We know that in September, we will wander through the warm winds of summer's wreckage. We will welcome summer's ghost."

-Henry Rollins
 

19 family sessions, 11 headshot sessions, 220 hours of editing (this is part time, summer hours, by the way), about 70 hours spent at a swimming pool, various hours exploring our city, 1 camping trip, road trip to for weekend trip to Iowa, road trip for weeklong visit to Texas...how did you spend your summer "vacation"?

Now that it's September, it seems like a good time to post some snippets of summer. I wish that I was better about blogging as I go, but apparently this is who I am. I have the best of intentions but my execution is typically lacking. 

For me, summer is not the easy, laid back affair that I remember it being when I was a child. It's a struggle to fit in any & all fun things for my kids, while still working full time, from home. It's a rush to the finish line...and I always breath a deep sigh of relief when it's over. 

So, now that school is back in session (holla!), here's what I've been doing all summer (client-wise)...

Enjoy! And...happy end of summer!

fall photo session booking is now open! {oak park, il family photographer}

“There is a subtle magic in the falling of old leaves.” 
― Avijeet Das

It always feels strange to think about autumn when summer has barely begun, but here we are...

If you're a planner, like I am, this is the time to secure & book a fall photo session. My fall dates are now available for booking and once they fill up, there's no guarantee that additional dates will be added.

If this fall is anything like last fall, the rainy weekends made it almost impossible to squeeze in any last minute bookings. 

So, now is the time...don't wait until it's too late!

Find your session time: Booking Calendar