Decatur Illinois Families | Summer Portrait Sessions with Sarah Jane

Well SJP summers are usually chock full of the latest senior class (hey class of 2022, we see you!), but whew boy is summer 2021 all about these stunning Central Illinois (and Missouri…. yes, even though I said I wasn’t staring work in Missouri until 2022, oooops… I did!) families!

I’ve gotten to celebrate not one, but TWO, 50th wedding anniversaries this summer by creating brand new family portraits for these lovely couples and the generations they’ve grown. Plus, I created my first ever 4th of July ‘Christmas’ cards for a brand new SJP family.

First up, to share today are a few of my favorites from the Kuhn family. I am just so grateful and thankful for them trusting me over the years. They have two seriously great kids, who are I guess really not ‘kids’ anymore now! And they are always such a pleasure to work with and create for. We just put the finishing touches on their family album which we selected to match Alex & Lindy’s senior albums. Plus, I cannot wait to see their final canvas selection above their mantle soon.

I’m so excited for the three image collection we designed for this next family’s wall. My favorite part is the little surprise in the palm of the littest’s hand…. a daddy long leg she found got to join them for the session. Dad says she loves them so it was a perfect little dose of personality that only a knowing eye could find! And we ended up with almost perfectly mirrored images of both girls that worked perfectly on either side of the main family portrait.

Last up today I get to share the Anderson/Jones family! These guys were all laughs on session and their energy was infectious. I’m excited to get their whole family portrait framed up in the next week so it can make it to it’s home on their walls.

| Kaufman + Saffer Summer 2019 Family Portraits |

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I’m excited to show you some favorites from another family session this week! I got to meet these guys for the first time at their recent Limited Edition session day and I have to say these boys were some of the most photogenic I’ve ever had on session.

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This might shock you, but not every guy (no matter their age) I have on session wants to be there. It’s not always their favorite way to spend their time, but you’d have never guessed that with these boys. They were full of great smiles and personality and just so much fun to work with and I so hope to have the chance to work with this gorgeous family again in the future.

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| DeVico-Stalets Family Portraits | Decatur IL Family Photographer |

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It can often be hard to get the family all together when you aren’t close but one wonderful thing about us being located in central Illinois and easy to access from Bloomington, Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Peoria, Springfield, Champaign, etc is that we can be your central meeting location and coordinate with you and your family to bring everyone together for a whole family portrait!

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That’s exactly what we did for this beautiful family. And it was wonderful to meet them on session and create images that can bring them all together even when they are afar.

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| Willa | 2 Year Old Portraits | Decatur IL |

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I have such a soft spot in my heart (and a HUGE burst of gratitude) for the families that have been with me for years. I’m thrilled to say that I’ve been working with Myra since before this little lady existed! It’s been a treat to watch her grow (check out her first birthday session here) and we had such fun on her session this year playing in the dandelions.

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| Beckman Family Portraits & Graduation/Going Away Party | Forsyth IL |

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Today, I get to share the Beckman family with you. Though I hadn’t had a chance to meet them more than a couple times in passing over our almost decade here I can tell you that these folks (Chris in particular) are a huge part of our story and life/business trajectory. How/why?!? Well, Chris is the man who hired my husband right out of college. That job brought him (and my extension, myself and SJP) to Decatur and we are both so thankful for that. We’ve found so much here including a wonderful community, friends, success in both our careers and it’s amazing to think about how much that one little yes that Chris gave my husband (who was not the first or last person he’s hired over the years I’m sure) effected the story we’ve written so far. But, this post is NOT about us or our story (just had to give the appreciation we feel while we had the chance!), instead today’s post is really about them and their family and their journey here in Decatur and their next chapter as well.

I was honored when Donna called me to be a part of creating their last family portraits in their home. The home where they’ve raised their children, celebrated milestones and invited friends to share in them for years. This last milestone was both a graduation and a going away part and the place was packed with their friends and family here to celebrate them! 

With our busy schedules it makes sense to combine occasions like these when everyone’s coming together already with a family portrait session to create images for everyone too. We not only did a session for the Beckman’s but also were there for their guests and extended family to get portraits too, plus to photograph candids of the guests enjoying themselves and it was an absolute blast. 

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