| Allen Family | Annual Family Portraits | Summer Decatur, IL |

family portraits, family photography, family photographer, decatur il, decatur, illinois, photographer, central il photographer, central illinois photographer, family, siblings, siblings portraits, annual portraits, Look who’s up on the blog today! I’m so excited to share this beautiful family with you. I’ve had the privilege to photograph Melanie and her girls a few times over the past few years (you can check out last year’s session HERE) and this year we welcomed Chuck and Ethan into the fun.

I’ll be missing Melanie this year as we’ve worked together for the Warrensburg-Latham High School yearbook images for years now but she’s taken a great Librarian job in another district so I won’t be seeing as much of her as usual but wish her good luck in the new job.

family portraits, family photography, family photographer, decatur il, decatur, illinois, photographer, central il photographer, central illinois photographer, family, siblings, siblings portraits, annual portraits

I have had so much fun watching Savannah and Sophie grow up so much over the last few years. They have such unique personalities and I always look forward to what we create for them both individually and together. I sort of get excited to think about them flipping through these photos a decade or two from now seeing how much they changed every year.

family portraits, family photography, family photographer, decatur il, decatur, illinois, photographer, central il photographer, central illinois photographer, family, siblings, siblings portraits, annual portraits

And these three were SO sweet together. This may have been the first session I jumped WHILE shooting to get that smile on the left (thank God for image stabilization!). We knew going into the session we’d have to watch for forced smiles on Ethan so I had to up the silliness just a bit and worked perfectly!

 family portraits, family photography, family photographer, decatur il, decatur, illinois, photographer, central il photographer, central illinois photographer, family, siblings, siblings portraits, annual portraits

And, of course, we had to round out the session with some individual combinations. Every family relationship is unique and I love to show not only the whole family but all the little micro relationships too.

I know this will be an exciting year for this family and I cannot wait to see them even more grown up next year!

| Ashley + Nathan | SURPRISE We’re Married! |

I’m so excited today to share a little secret I’ve been holding onto! These two Decatur love birds are not only engaged but as of this past weekend they are MARRIED! While it will be just a bit before all their wedding images are ready to share with you (check our facebook/instagram for a sneak peek).

These two planned an intimate ceremony in Chicago (on a boat!) and a couple months ago contacted me about creating some engagement images to celebrate this milestone. I’ve known and worked with Ashley through my work with the Avon Theater creating their annual staff portraits and I was thrilled when she called me to share the news and invite me to create their portraits. And you all know I was even more excited knowing Huck would be on session (I love people, but DOGS… well that’s just next level).

ashley petty engaged huck dog avon theater, engaged, engagement, couples, photographer, wedding photographer, family photographer, sarah jane photography, sjp, sjp couples, sarah jane, decatur il, illinois photographer, decatur, ashley petty engaged huck dog avon theater, engaged, engagement, couples, photographer, wedding photographer, family photographer, sarah jane photography, sjp, sjp couples, sarah jane, decatur il, illinois photographer, decatur, ashley petty engaged huck dog avon theater, engaged, engagement, couples, photographer, wedding photographer, family photographer, sarah jane photography, sjp, sjp couples, sarah jane, decatur il, illinois photographer, decatur, decatur il engagement session ashley petty engaged huck dog avon theater, engaged, engagement, couples, photographer, wedding photographer, family photographer, sarah jane photography, sjp, sjp couples, sarah jane, decatur il, illinois photographer, decatur, fort daniel conservation engagement session

Be sure to stay tuned in the coming weeks for a closer look at their big day too…. just a peek for now!

chicago cruise wedding, skyline, chicago wedding, couple, wedding on the water, boat wedding, ship wedding, cruise ship wedding,

| Alyssa + Corey | Engaged! |

I’m so excited to show off Alyssa and Corey’s engagement session today! This week’s blog post is a bit late due to us taking a little family vacation time for the fourth but it’s worth the wait because these two are just adorable and so sweet. I was lucky enough to meet Alyssa a year or so ago and was thrilled when she called me to tell me she was engaged and to setup a time to bring Corey by to chat about having me as a part of her wedding day.

rock springs, engagement portraits, couples, family photographer, decatur il, illinois, wedding photographer, sarah jane photography, sjp, sjanephotography, love, engagement ideas, engaged, engagement session, best photographer, central illinois, best photographers decatur il, nature, outdoor portraitsrock springs, engagement portraits, couples, family photographer, decatur il, illinois, wedding photographer, sarah jane photography, sjp, sjanephotography, love, engagement ideas, engaged, engagement session, best photographer, central illinois, best photographers decatur il, nature, outdoor portraits

Choosing a wedding photographer can be overwhelming (just like choosing every other piece of your wedding day!) because it’s such a big event and your photographer is not only there with you all day (like right there, so you better like them) but they are also creating the images you have left from the day once everything else is over. So though Alyssa had worked with me before I encouraged her to explore the others she’d heard about too just to make sure I was the perfect fit for their day and we were both SO excited when she came up to my booth at the Decatur Bridal Expo to tell me to pull out the contract they were ready! Of course, I’m thrilled to be a part of their day and honored that, after doing some looking, they chose me and SJP. Now it’s game-on to make their wedding day and images as perfect as possible.

rock springs, engagement portraits, couples, family photographer, decatur il, illinois, wedding photographer, sarah jane photography, sjp, sjanephotography, love, engagement ideas, engaged, engagement session, best photographer, central illinois, best photographers decatur il, nature, outdoor portraitsrock springs, engagement portraits, couples, family photographer, decatur il, illinois, wedding photographer, sarah jane photography, sjp, sjanephotography, love, engagement ideas, engaged, engagement session, best photographer, central illinois, best photographers decatur il, nature, outdoor portraits

I was really excited when she told me they wanted to personalize their engagement session a bit by bringing along Corey’s stunning el camino and to add a little of their personality with a campfire feel (and luckily our fire pit fit in my car!).

rock springs, engagement portraits, couples, family photographer, decatur il, illinois, wedding photographer, sarah jane photography, sjp, sjanephotography, love, engagement ideas, engaged, engagement session, best photographer, central illinois, best photographers decatur il, nature, outdoor portraitsrock springs, engagement portraits, couples, family photographer, decatur il, illinois, wedding photographer, sarah jane photography, sjp, sjanephotography, love, engagement ideas, engaged, engagement session, best photographer, central illinois, best photographers decatur il, nature, outdoor portraitsrock springs, engagement portraits, couples, family photographer, decatur il, illinois, wedding photographer, sarah jane photography, sjp, sjanephotography, love, engagement ideas, engaged, engagement session, best photographer, central illinois, best photographers decatur il, nature, outdoor portraitsrock springs, engagement portraits, couples, family photographer, decatur il, illinois, wedding photographer, sarah jane photography, sjp, sjanephotography, love, engagement ideas, engaged, engagement session, best photographer, central illinois, best photographers decatur il, nature, outdoor portraitsrock springs, engagement portraits, couples, family photographer, decatur il, illinois, wedding photographer, sarah jane photography, sjp, sjanephotography, love, engagement ideas, engaged, engagement session, best photographer, central illinois, best photographers decatur il, nature, outdoor portraitsrock springs, engagement portraits, couples, family photographer, decatur il, illinois, wedding photographer, sarah jane photography, sjp, sjanephotography, love, engagement ideas, engaged, engagement session, best photographer, central illinois, best photographers decatur il, nature, outdoor portraitsrock springs, engagement portraits, couples, family photographer, decatur il, illinois, wedding photographer, sarah jane photography, sjp, sjanephotography, love, engagement ideas, engaged, engagement session, best photographer, central illinois, best photographers decatur il, nature, outdoor portraitsrock springs, engagement portraits, couples, family photographer, decatur il, illinois, wedding photographer, sarah jane photography, sjp, sjanephotography, love, engagement ideas, engaged, engagement session, best photographer, central illinois, best photographers decatur il, nature, outdoor portraits

Be sure to stay tuned for a look at their big day this fall. <3

| Bauer Siblings Portraits | Mother’s Day Gift | Decatur IL Family Photographer |

Earlier this month I got to help Rachel and her brother surprise their mom with new portraits of themselves! It can often be logistically challenging to pull off a portrait surprise since there are a lot of things to explain (like why you’re dressed up, matching outfits, gone for an hour, etc) but we were able to time this perfectly so that we completed the session when their parents were away on an anniversary trip. Then came time for the surprise reveal. I often suggest using the Premiere day as the reveal for surprise sessions. This way not only do we get to make the unveiling a bit of an event in itself but this also gave their mother a chance to select what she wanted most.

Though she was convinced initially they were surprising her with a session she had to be in which ladies you can imagine how stressful that can be (wondering if your hair looks good, makeup is done well and if you wore something you’d want to be photographed in!).

I was so happy to get to be a part of creating this unique surprise to celebrate and appreciate their momma and now I’m excited to be able to share the images with you all too!

siblings photos, mothers day portraits, family photos, rock springs nature center, decatur il, family photographer, surprise session, surprise photo session, siblings, brother sister portraits, best mothers day photos, sarah jane photography, sjanephotography, sjp, family,
siblings photos, mothers day portraits, family photos, rock springs nature center, decatur il, family photographer, surprise session, surprise photo session, siblings, brother sister portraits, best mothers day photos, sarah jane photography, sjanephotography, sjp, family, siblings photos, mothers day portraits, family photos, rock springs nature center, decatur il, family photographer, surprise session, surprise photo session, siblings, brother sister portraits, best mothers day photos, sarah jane photography, sjanephotography, sjp, family, siblings photos, mothers day portraits, family photos, rock springs nature center, decatur il, family photographer, surprise session, surprise photo session, siblings, brother sister portraits, best mothers day photos, sarah jane photography, sjanephotography, sjp, family,

| Samuel | ONE Year Old Children’s Session | Jefferson City, MO |

Guys, one of the itty bitty babies I’ve photographed from birth is a whole year old now! And he’s a heartbreaker ladies. I swear, he had me giving him candy and stickers and balloons all just by batting those eyes and grinning. Samuel’s momma and I went to high school together and I’m so honored she’s shared so many of her big life events with me from engagement to wedding and now her and her sweet husband’s first year dive into parenthood (and they’re stellar parents who make SUPER cute babies). And the best part? I’ve got a date with this dude for his 2nd birthday and I know it’s going to be here before we know it!

one year old session, studio photography, one year old, children's portraits, child photography, sarah jane photography, decatur il, central illinois family photographer, portrait studio, photography studio, sjp,one year old session, studio photography, one year old, children's portraits, child photography, sarah jane photography, decatur il, central illinois family photographer, portrait studio, photography studio, sjp,one year old session, studio photography, one year old, children's portraits, child photography, sarah jane photography, decatur il, central illinois family photographer, portrait studio, photography studio, sjp,one year old session, studio photography, one year old, children's portraits, child photography, sarah jane photography, decatur il, central illinois family photographer, portrait studio, photography studio, sjp,one year old session, studio photography, one year old, children's portraits, child photography, sarah jane photography, decatur il, central illinois family photographer, portrait studio, photography studio, sjp,

^^^ Look’s like he’s pretty excited to be ONE too don’t you think. Be sure to stop by their Facebook Album to give Sam your birthday wishes and some love (and see if you have a cute caption idea for one of my favorite images).