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This handsome little man stole my heart this past fall. And lucky me, we got to hang out again this morning.

And lucky me, his mom brought along another fun hat (and that tie?!). Love.

Peoria is lucky enough to have a cute little riverfront downtown. On Saturdays in the summer there is a great farmers market, there are constantly bands playing in the little pavilions, tons of great restaurants, and of course, the awesome water fountain, there is always something going on!

I love taking my clients down there, just walking around and seeing what we see. It seems like the scenery is constantly evolving, and every time we go there we find something new. This session was no different. Lucky for me, these guys were totally up for exploring.

I had so much fun and just might have to hook Hailey up with this handsome little blond-haired, blue-eyed charmer .

Don’t let those cute little pigtails fool you…

See this look right here? This look means she is up to no good…

This one right here means ‘Hey mom, I’m going to grab your camera and pretend to take a picture even though I’m soaking wet! K?’

Even when I retaliate with crazy swings in the air, she still has that sneaky little look on her face! She is definitely a little stinker, this one. But we love her anyway ;)

…than being a kid in the summer? I think not.

Oh folks…I am soooo late on this! I’m behind on a lot of things lately though…please forgive me . So I promised I would hold out until the end of June to announce our second Father’s Day winner of a free AMP session! Yay! After a ton of really great notes from dads, the randomly chosen winner is…drumroll please…………………..

Dan Cook! Here’s what Dan had to say:

Well finally someone givings some props to the dads! In our experience, the day we met Stacy was just another day for us to hang out as a family. Nobody felt pressured or stressed, it was very laid back and I actually had a great time! Thanks Stacy!

Congrats Dan! I’ll be in touch soon to chat about the details. And because, as they say, every post is better with a picture, here’s one from one of my favorite recent sessions!

Seems bubbles are trend at my sessions lately! What *is* it about kiddos and bubbles? They LOVE the things! Well, I loved finally getting to play with this family the other night. After a handful of reschedules, it was worth it!

Last night was *perfect* weather for blowing bubbles! So that’s what we did . Jenn ~ I had a great time wandering around downtown with you and the kiddos!

 Last night’s session was perfect. Rain hung around all morning and threatened the evening, so Cindy and I agreed it would be best to reschedule her daughter’s special 2nd birthday shoot. However, we were both a bit confused when we looked out the window around 3:00 and saw blue skies as far as we could see. Literally not a cloud in sight. So I jumped on weather.com and wouldn’t you know the rain was entirely out of the forecast. How can it change that much in an hour?

Anyway, game back on! So we rushed to get ready for the session and I am so glad we did! We ended up with the perfect summer evening light. You know the kind with that beautiful gold glow that just hugs everything it touches? Yeah…that kind. But all that rain made for some hot, sticky temps. And by the end, this little girl was just ready to get into some good old air conditioning (me too!). And what makes a girl feel better than her lovie? Or Lambie in this case . She got some much deserved Lambie love at the end of the session.

Cindy and Brian ~ thanks for putting up with the crazy weather and schedule changes and cancelling of the schedule changes! I’m so glad we ended up getting together last night. Happy Birthday sweet girl!!

Tonight I am short on words. So I’ll just give you lots of pictures. How’s that?

I got the honor of playing with these two handsome brothers a while ago and I couldn’t be more in love with them! They are the most charming little guys . Big brother took a little bit longer to warm up to me and my big black camera, but eventually he did (as they all do!).

Well, this has been on my ‘to do’ list since…oohh….I don’t know…January-ish? Which is why it is the Spring What to Wear guide…even though its May. Sigh…

Anyway, its finally up and that’s all that matters. Probably one of the most frequently asked question from clients is “what should we wear?!” Here ya go! Here are some great examples of beautifully coordinated outfits. I want my sessions to capture the essence of your family. And I know there is SO much more to you than kakhis and white button downs! It’s a great idea to bring 2 sets of outfits to your session. One can be more dressy, and the other one can be more comfy/casual.

So…right behind comfort comes the next most important factor in your session wardrobe ~ layers!! Layer layer layer! Layers add so much fun and oomph to an outfit! This also lets us change up the look of your family/kiddos quickly by just adding or removing a layer. Layers can be jackets, vests, ties, hats, leggings, fun funky jewelry, etc.) Layering also lets you add lots of texture and interest to your clothing! And that always makes for a good photo .

Another thing I encourage is COLOR! Don’t shy away from it! Color adds so much interest and fun to your photos! Notice how the images below have a color “theme”…everything goes together, but they’re not all the same shade of red tshirts/polos/button downs.

The final touch needs to be something that screams YOU! Something fun and interesting. Think cool shoes, boots, sunglasses, hats, or a fun tshirt under a jacket.

Now, I do want to add that there is  a way to choose white as your main color, and not look like something out of awkward family photos. You just need to make sure you add another color to make things pop. For isntance, if you’ve got mom and little sister in cute summery white dresses, add some fun turqois jewelry or shoes!

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