| Phillips Fall Family Portraits | Limited Edition Sessions by Sarah Jane Photography |

I’ve been working with Emily basically since we moved to the area in 2010. She’s been a big part of much of the SJP PR/advertising strategies over the past (almost) decade so, of course, I was excited to create some extended family portraits for her and in-laws this fall. Believe it or not ALL this was done in less than 30 minutes (I mean you have to work pretty fast with a handful of little ones on session!). We had PERFECT color this week and aren’t their outfits just adorable?!?!

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I figured it was a good time to throw back to this fall session now that we are stuck in the middle of the ice age again… remember that better seasons will come again ya’ll.

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Believe it or not we’re already booking FALL 2019 sessions so if this is the look you’d like for your family portraits this year, whether your family is just you and your love, a fur baby or two, or the full shebang like the Phillips family, we can create something perfect for you!

| Parker Fall Family Portraits | Decatur IL Photographer | Sarah Jane |

Well after prepping this post to go live Friday a very sick toddler threw off my plans and I didn’t even realized until today that I hadn’t actually clicked ‘publish’ so we have a bonus post this week (aka late post from last week, but better late than never ya’ll and it’s going to be a great way to START your week!)……

Today I get to share with you a family that’s become an important one to our little family. Three years ago we faced the daunting task of finding a babysitter for our little lady “baby B” … Though we’ve been in the Decatur area for nearly 9 years now, times like these you realize that there are not a lot of people you really know personally so we reached out to our wonderful neighbors and on facebook to trust in the word of those in our circle to help us find someone we could trust with our brand new baby.

That one choice is so huge and being new parents we didn’t even know what to look for or what questions to ask or how this whole thing even worked. Well Jinny was the first and only sitter we went to visit with… we knew we’d be taking essentially a blind leap of faith and just hoping for the best and we could not have made a better choice. Not only is she super flexible with us with a not so set schedule that is the life of an entrepreneur but my kid feels just as much a part of their family as she does ours (like no joke she introduced herself as “B Parker” for like a year before we convinced her that no she was actually a Shorthose just like us).

Even having a sitter is something that I think many working moms struggle with but when your kiddo gets excited and runs to the door when Ms. Jinny comes (yes this awesome lady even comes to pick up my kid from here often) and when she asks at least once a weekend if she’s going to Ms. Jinny’s today it makes it 100% easier to let her go. She’s somewhere she loves and is loved and that warms my heart so so much.

Ok now if you’ve stuck in here this long through the ramblings of a super grateful momma I guess it’s time to show you some images we created this fall for Jinny and her brother to gift to their momma for Christmas. I was so happy to be able to create these for them and give each of these kiddos a bit of their own time in the spotlight as we know these moments don’t last long. I hope you join me in showering these beautiful people with love!

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If 2019 is the year for YOU to update your family portraits (whether it’s been a year or a decade since the last one) we’d love to talk with you and design something special for the personalities in your house!

| Christian Family | Decatur IL Family Portrait Session |

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Happy New Year ya’ll! It’s the first SJP blog post of 2020… new year, new decade! Does it feel like a fresh start for you? Does it feel like just another day? I’m a big fan of the ‘blank page’ feeling of the new year. And after busy busy busy season here with fall-Christmas sessions with all you beautiful people I enjoy the solo time in the office to catch my breath and work on the back end of things as well.

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I’m excited today to kick things off sharing one of our beautiful class of 2020 models, Alleson’s, family with you! They joined us for our ‘fall’ Limited Edition session this year (you know in the fall that never came, thanks 2019… hence all the beautiful greenery). I will seriously never forget this season when October started at 94* and looked/felt nothing like fall and then we got our first snow before Thanksgiving! #crazy

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We’ve had so many of you request early booking this year that I’ve just set our 2020 Limited Edition dates and booking is open now HERE. Our LE sessions are 15 or 30 minutes starting at just $45 and are available 4x a year:

  • Saturday, February 15th – Morning/Mid-Day In-Studio
  • Sunday, May 17th – Afternoon On-Location
  • Saturday, September 12th – Morning/Mid-Day On-Location
  • Saturday, October 17th – FALL Prime Date (Only 6 Sessions Available)

And coming soon we’ll have a bonus Christmas weekend with both Santa Experience sessions (we have a very special experience planned with Santa this year that’s far more than just a photo session!) as well as themed indoor and outdoor Christmas sets.

| Miller Annual Family Portraits | Fall Limited Edition Sessions | Decatur IL |

Today is the day for me to share this beautiful family with you! Each year I test my patience by keeping their photos underwraps until after the holidays so I don’t ruin any mailbox surprises for their friends and family. So now it’s time that I get to show off their updated images and I swear they just get cuter and cuter every single year. Believe it or not, I’ve photographed this family since Grant was a tiny little baby (ahhhhh they are SO big!).

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As you can imagine with years of sessions in Illinois they’ve had their fair share of interesting weather conditions but this year was a first for us having their session scheduled on a day where RAIN was on the menu. Becky totally put her faith in me to move forward with the session even with the dodgy forecast and though I got to look amazing in a huge poncho I’m so glad we went ahead with their session as I love the location and the unique look we got for them. Giving my annual families something different each year is something I really challenge myself to do and I think we were successful this year for sure!

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| Conn Family Portraits | Limited Edition Christmas Card Session | Decatur IL |

It seemed fitting today to share this beautiful family’s Christmas Cards with you! I had the honor to photograph Justin and Elizabeth’s wedding and have now created their Christmas cards for a couple years and I so love getting to see them again year after year. Our Limited Edition sessions were created for just this type of annual session. Often you may not need a full 45 minute – 2 hour session every single year. But your family is still growing, and changing and we want to highlight all those in-between years with you too. Those years between weddings, and graduations and family additions are just as important to us and to your family story. In just 15 minutes we can create a mix of images to showcase your family right now, in this moment.

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We have 3 of our 4 limited edition session dates set for 2019, and one is coming up QUICK: Saturday 1/12, Saturday 1/14 and Saturday 11/16. Booking is available online at www.sjanephotography.com > BOOK NOW. It’s so easy to put off our sessions to tomorrow which turns into next year which I see turn into 5 or even 10 years. We’re here to help you make sure you don’t miss a moment.

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