TO THE BLOG
WELCOME
Hello everyone, happy fall! It feels like we are inching closer and closer to brisker weather and glorious foliage! I keep thinking about my cousin’s family session from last fall. She always waits until my busiest schedule clears so she gets great color with her outdoor photos! The longer into the season, the better mix of red, orange and gold tones.
My cousin Maria is like another sister! I feel lucky to have her. She has twins too, Kyle and Mia, so she is a great resource for kid questions! (I am a twin momma if you are new here)! It is fun to be able to raise your kids together, and reminisce about our old family memories. Not everyone can relate to first generation, strick, Italian parents!
Maria loves her family with all her heart, she is an amazing mother and wife plus she always has a good outlook on life! The Mizutowich family is always fun to shoot. Her husband Tim is one of my favorite people. He is so funny and and kind! His energy is the best around. Here are a few more from this lovely session in Wheaton.
They are a real picture perfect family! I have been shooting them for many years. And when I look back at their family pics, it is hard to believe how fast time goes. Next year, the twins will be freshman in high school! Cue the tears….
And just for fun, a few photos from sessions past…and a real reminder that family will stick around while you learn photography! LOL! They were one of my very first families to be behind my lens.
Cherish each season, even when the season is tough. Your kids will never this be young again. You will never have this time back.
Cheers to a fantastic fall to you and your family. Hope you get to create some great memories!
Take Care-
Renée
Hey friend, welcome back to the blog! This blog will definitely date my work and my relationship with a great friend. I’d like to introduce, Evelyn. She is a real estate broker at BHHS Chicago. The moment I met Evelyn, I would we would connect. She has killer style, a tell it like it is personality that I admire, and she is a great listener! We’ve been friends for some time and she trusted to me to take some photos of her back when I started to dabble in photography in 2019. She was so sweet to trust me, still learning the ins and outs of a DSLR camera!
I remember the date we booked for our session. It had rained a bit, it was not exactly a sunshiny kind of day, but we walked around Oak Park and made the best of what we could (with the light and humidity!)
So here are some of the images from that session…it makes me realize, there is growth with each session, each year, every new gadget and technology you invest in too!
Four years later, Evelyn was ready to update her headshot. We were able to use a fancy condo building that was for sale by BHHS at the time. A change up from her previous location. Again a rainy and dreary day. I remember raindrops on the windows and NO LIGHT coming in the unit…of course. Again, we made the best of this high end location. Evelyn looking all so fancy as all we really needed anyhow!
This year, Evelyn was once again looking to update her headshot. We were brainstorming on location ideas. An idea came to me, there is an adorable new cafe/lounge in Westchester called Aviator. I always admired those Pinterest cafe photo shoots and would love an opportunity to actually create one! Luckily, Aviator agreed to host us! We picked a good time in between serving cappuccinos and espresso martinis- there was a break in customers.
Told ya, she has killer style. Thinking back on the sessions with my friend, I think about growth. How much you can you improve at something without even really noticing. Practice, fine tuning, retrying and trying again. We are all improving, growing, learning something new each day, each year. Evelyn, too, has grown in real estate. I watched her, from new to the business, to now helping repeat clients buy and sell homes. I know she loves helping them achieve their real estate dreams. She gives good advice and will not beat around the bush just to get a sale. A friend, a realtor you can trust!
Until next time!
Renée
Hello all, here again with a new blog post.
It was just an average day when my phone pinged. It was a new lead from Facebook. I get excited when I get those. But there is a lot to prove before a client agrees to work with you. Also internet leads do not always go as planned. BUT this lead was different. It was Francisca on the other end. She was a new mom and very excited about the birth of their new daughter, Elena! I was so excited to work with them!
Once I arrived, I could see how much thought and love Francisca put into her session. This was her first born and she was so excited! These photos meant so much to her. I hope she knows, it meant so much to me too. I was the photographer she selected for these beloved images. I did not want to let her down!
Baby Elena was so darling, as you can clearly see!
I was so excited about the last element Francisca wanted to add…her wedding veil! A great idea she found on Pinterest and I was ecstatic!! So we played around with the look a bit, but then it happened, the most beautiful and magnificent moment. Elena, wrapped in her mother’s veil – she looked so precious, so innocent and I was truly in awe!
The veil was unique, the moment was special. The vision will last a lifetime for Francisca and her family.
It is an honor to be invited into your client’s home and make these memories. I love my job!
In December of 2023, I had the privilege of photographing a beautiful mother-to-be named Sandra. Expecting her second child, she was excited to complete her family with the arrival of their new baby!
Sandra and her adorable family were such a pleasure to work with. They had a lot going on, a new home and soon their second child! Once our session began, we had a really fun time together! Sandra was glowing in all white and I was so honored to capture this memory for them. Big sister was the happiest baby, she was smiling the entire session Considering it was December, mother nature was in a good mood herself, it was a pleasant day and we were able to shoot some images outside at one of my favorite Elmhurst locations!
I was ecstatic to hear from Sandra once baby Edson was born, she wanted me to shoot her newborn pictures! It is always an honor to hear back from my clients, knowing the experience met their expectations and they wanted to repeat it again! And to be invited into a clients’ home, an even bigger honor.
Those first few weeks home with new baby are filled with a thousand different emotions. It can be a blur, we have to think about so many things, how many hours since the last feeding, is big sister getting what she needs, maternity leave. Hard to be in the moment the entire time. I hope when Sandra and her family look back at these images, they can relive the experience, one that seems to fly.
If they look back at the photos and feel the joy all over again, then I did my job. Baby Edson was just adorable, he put up with our outfit changes and basket swaps! Welcome to the world Edson!
Thanks for reading! Until next time,
R e n é e
And I got to photograph their engagement!
Hi! Renée here! Welcome to my first blog page! I am so excited to be launching my website and creating a fun blog alongside it that will narrate what it is like to be a photographer! Photography is my creative outlet and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to put my passion into great use! Photographing your best memories in life is one of my greatest joys.
I am the oldest of three, I have a younger brother and sister. From the moment they entered my life, I was so honored to be their big sis! And by the time my youngest sibling was born, I was almost a 2nd grader and I was determined he was all mine to love and care for! Watching back on old family videos he was always in my arms, no need for baby dolls, he was everything to me. Melissa and I are much closer in age so we usually were playing Barbies, house and school. A built in best friend, for life! So lucky to have them both. And now they are the best aunt & uncle to my three kids!
Some old photos to go with the story!
See why photos are so important! They tell your family’s story!
So as the story continues, flash forward to August of 2023, my little sister got engaged! Whoa, what a feeling! The excitement I have for the both of them is indescribable! I was so honored to take their engagement photos! A real honor. Melissa wanted sunset, dreamy and romantic! I hope I captured everything she hoped for.
There was one moment as I looked through my viewfinder, at my beautiful sister, that I saw her as a child once again. I had to hold back tears, my baby sister is grown up and starting the next chapter of her life. But our lives as sisters kind of flashed before my eyes, thru my viewfinder! What an experience.
This was the little face I saw (that is Melissa on the left)!
Well if you made it this far, thank you for reading. Here are some of images from their engagement session last fall. I cannot wait to celebrate them on their wedding day!
