The Menke Family | WEDDING, FAMILY, & CHILDREN'S PHOTOGRAPHER | EFFINGHAM, ILLINOIS

A couple of months ago I got the most flattering email from someone that enjoyed my photography. She was wondering if she could bring her family up to our neck of the woods for an updated family picture...from St. Louis! I felt SO big-time! Maybe it was because she complimented my images...maybe it was because over the course of emailing I felt she 'got' me...in any case, I started thinking about the fact that I wanted to get to St. Louis sometime in the fall to photograph one of my best friends' kids, and so I decided to make a weekend of it and come to her instead!

We talked back and forth over email about clothes, locations, etc, and when I arrived Saturday morning I was greeted by a group of four beautiful, doe-eyed kids. We started out at the park where the lighting was great and the fall foliage was even better, and then we headed to a downtown old brick building so that the older kids could have a bit of a more modern scene for a few fo their images! No matter where we were, I had a fabulous time...and I hope I get the chance to see them again!

Angie, thank you so much for sharing your family with me! You have beautiful, well-mannered, and VERY photogenic kids! I enjoyed getting to meet your whole family and can't wait to see you again in the future!

As always, a few of my favorites are below...and you can click here for a few more!

Kelly

First, I just want to say how great the older sibs Jake and Hailey are with the twins. They herded...they chased...the cracked jokes to get them to smile. I would watch and it reminded me a lot of me and my younger sisters growing up. As soon as they get their driver's licenses, I'm going to start asking them to make the long drive up to babysit Colby! :)

It was hard to get Owen to stand still for just one second...there was SO MUCH to discover and explore at the park!



I love this picture of Abby! The unprompted little kid facial expressions are my favorites!



However, I love this one of her too....beautiful, slight smile...it's so simple and yet so sweet.



I think Angie is not going to be very happy with me over this image. Angie, you're going to have to watch Jake when he gets older! He is so darn handsome!!!!



And then there's beautiful Hailey. She has the most stunning eyes, and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her funky purple glasses!!! I want her funky style!

Thanks for checking in!

Kelly

Life Just Isn't Fair....the "B" family | WEDDING, FAMILY, & CHILDREN'S PHOTOGRAPHER | EFFINGHAM, ILLINOIS

A few weeks ago, I met up with a new family in Altamont at the Ballard Nature Center for a beautiful fall photo shoot. I hadn't met them before...they had been referred to me by another client (Thank you, Andrea!!).

Everything was perfect...the weather...the colors on the trees...and the family itself. I cannot even tell you how much the camera loved this beautiful family!!! So much so that it took me a week longer then I'd hoped to get this session edited because I was honestly dealing with over 200 images that I loved.

This past weekend I was heading to Chicago for a workshop, and I honestly had the person sitting next to me on the train help me pick which ones to edit! "Which one do you like better....this one or that one?" I'd ask the young Asian student. "That one," she'd respond. "Her eyes are open slightly wider making them even bluer." "Good call," I'd reply.

So, between me and the college student, we finally pared it down. Life just isn't fair when you're beautiful AND so darn photogenic!

A few of my favorites are below...and a few more can be seen here!

J, J, A, and C, it was such a pleasure getting to meet all of you. Honestly, I can't even remember such an easy session! C & A were PROS!!! I hope you love the images HALF as much as I enjoyed meeting you!!!

Blessings! Kelly

I

C's eyes are unbelievable. They are crystal blue. The camera LOVES her eyes, and I love, love, love her beautiful red hair.

Big brother "A" got the whole posing thing. Each frame had a slightly different tilt of the head and look in the eyes. I started telling him he was ready for GQ. Sweetly, his dad explained to him what being "GQ" meant.

Ahhh...the ornery look. The look I love.

You can tell "C" and "A" really adore each other. All of these looks at each other were totally unprompted. I have a feeling, though, that in another five or ten years, it's not going to be the same story!

And, then you see the parents and you realize where the kids get their good looks!!! :)

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year | WEDDING, FAMILY, & CHILDREN'S PHOTOGRAPHER | EFFINGHAM, ILLINOIS

Yes, the holidays are coming up fast....especially for my family. We celebrate my immediate family's Christmas at Thanksgiving...we call it "Thanks-Christmas"...with five kids in the family, holidays started to really get hectic as one by one we got married, moved out of state, etc. So, we decided to have our Christmas at Thanksgiving, which means I've been Christmas shopping now for over a month.



That also means that things like Christmas cards have been on my mind. But, I'm lucky in that department. Each year, I call my sister Kim, explain to her what I want my Christmas card to look like, say, etc., and she designs it and prints it for me. She's been doing this for several years, and now she does wedding invitations, custom birthday invites, and more.





So, this year, as we started talking about what I wanted my Christmas card to look like this year, she told me that she had designed a bunch of them ahead of time. I told her she should upload them to my site so that people like me (i.e. too busy/lazy to go to Walmart and look through their options and also too picky/snobby to have a card like everyone elses!) could order them from her.



So, if you'd like to take a gander at some of Kim's designs, go to my site and use the password "Christmas"....or email her at kimberlyrankin@hotmail.com if you have a custom idea that you would like her to design. She'll work with you on your design, print them, and ship them to you....heck...she'll even print the addresses on the envelopes for you too! As an added bonus, she keeps track of who in what areas have ordered what card so that the two families don't end up with similar cards.


Also, I know there are a few people out there who still need to get their family portrait orders in! I'll be following up with you this week so that we can get those on the walls of your home prior to Thanksgiving! :) AND, I've been working my poor computer mouse to the bone the last two weeks editing pictures. To those that had family pictures taken in the last few weeks, your emails are coming to you in the next several days with your proofing galleries. Which also means, the blog has a lot to be posted!


And, because a post isn't as much fun without a few pictures, here are a few of my two favorite people. I'm up in Chicago at a workshop right now, but I'm excited to see these two tonight when I get home!

My Two New Boyfriends | WEDDING, FAMILY, & CHILDREN'S PHOTOGRAPHER | EFFINGHAM, ILLINOIS

A few weeks ago I met up with my good friend Del Rae to photograph her two little boys, Colton and Ben. After three years of toy tractors and tonka trucks, their world is going to change this winter with the addition of a little girl.

So, to celebrate their 'boyness' Del Rae gave me only one direction for their new portraits: "I want them to be playing...playing in the dirt and mud...just like my boys like to do."

So, three Saturdays ago, we met up and I had the perfect place for Ben and Colton to display their boyness. We met at a beautiful, babbling little brook (shoot...that description sounds girly!...but it was!!)...ok, let's call it a great stream that someday a young man would want to hunt at....and the boys did what they do best. They played, got dirty, and had a grand ol' time.

I heard through another of our friends that Del Rae was joking later that the boys couldn't stop talking about how I took them to play in the water...and that she was pretty sure they were now my boyfriends! ;)

Below are a few of my favorites. Click here to see a few more!

Thanks for checking in!

At this point, Ben hadn't quite warmed up yet, but I love the look on his face. It kind of says, "Mom, are you SURE it's OK for us to play here and get all dirty?" Plus, I LOVE the colors in the background of this picture.

Orneriness incarnate. Colton and I like to play a little game where I yell, "John Deere is the best!" And, he yells back, "John Deere is acky, Kelly!"

Ben has warmed up...and is having a great time.

I loved the boys' wellies! But, again, I was corrected that they're only wellies on girls...on boys they're boots! I still love them!

Too much darn fun.

One of my favorites of the two boys together.