A question on everyone's mind when planning a photo session...

The one question that everyone asks me is answered today...

WHAT DO WE WEAR? I can see how it might seem like an impossible task of dressing all your family members in coordinating clothing for photos, but still remain fashionable. I have your answers right here! I plan on doing these for each season, so be sure to subscribe to my blog to receive updates via email.

I must say these were a BLAST to come up with! I chose a fun combo of colors that go really well together as a group, and individually/smaller groups. For this particular grouping, I chose a navy, grey, orange/coral and white. For the older daughter, I picked a totally fun necklace (which she'd love to wear to feel a little more grown up), navy polo shirt paired with a  jean jacket, floral leggings and navy sandals with flowers up the center to compliment those in the pants.

Next, we have a baby boy in a striped onesie with a navy cardigan to go over and tiny little jeans. Top that off with white sneakers with a navy strip and he's all set!

For dad, we have a white and orange/coral striped tshirt, dark grey chinos and a nice, basic but stylish, pair of shoes. Casual yet classic.

And we have mom dressed in a pair of navy linen pants (totally comfortable here), a pale pink lightweight sweater, chunky pearl layered necklace and super cute black wedges. Perfect for spring.

For our other gentlemen in this family grouping, I've taken a pair of darker orange shorts with a long sleeved white cotton shirt layered under a grey sweater. I just loved those adorable grey sneakers!

And finally, for baby girl, this super cute romper with a cream angora sweater allows movement, keeping her a tad warm if it's a chilly spring day, and navy sandals.

I found every one of these items at http://www.hm.com/us and I love that they are affordable. That's key in my book. And the fashions are practical and that you'd wear them over and over.

For our second look, I chose a more basic color palette where you might have some of these pieces in your own closet. Sometimes it takes a visual to say, aha, I have this and this and THIS and it all goes together. 

On the far left, I have a waist-length cap sleeve shirt that ties at the bottom in a simple black and white polka dotted print, paired with boot cut jeans and a color pop of red with the stylish sandals. Perfect for an older daughter!

For the littlest girl in the family, I have a simple red long sleeved onesie with dark jeans, white floral sandals and a fun black tulle headband. 

What boy doesn't love to wear a hat?? I LOVE these beanies for boys. It's a red and black striped beanie that starts the hip look for a young man. A simple white, short sleeved button down shirt with whisker washed jeans. And finally, a stylish shoe for boys that's still "cool" for them. These are a darker brown sneaker. But totally mom-approved!

On dad, I have taken a plaid button down, stuck a basic white cotton shirt underneath and paired that with a darker relaxed fit jean with a brown belt. Another stylish shoe for a guy are these brown casual shoes. Wife-approved!

And lastly, on mom, we have a boyfriend jean which are totally comfy, but fit great! The white ruffle front sleeveless shirt with the black jean jacket are definitely family photo material. Add a pop of color to this outfit with a brown belt, and that gorgeous red layered necklace and matching earring set (those are from Charming Charlie-GREAT store when you're looking for affordable accessories or clothing in a specific color). How amazing are those wedge sandals??? The whole reason I chose brown for this particular grouping! Isn't it always about the shoes? :)

I found the fashions below at:

Charming Charlie

H&M

Payless

Crazy8

Vault 

DSW

I hope this helps you plan your family's outfits for your spring photo sessions with me. And I will always offer suggestions if you ask!

As you can see, you CAN mix and match simple patterns and complimentary colors without it looking too busy and completely put together.

Stay tuned for summer fashions. Be sure to sign up to receive email updates so you don't miss a thing!!

Welcome Home Little One!

I had the pleasure of coming into this family's gorgeous home filled with laughter, boys, and love. Seriously, this family was so amazing in so many ways. I was welcomed as soon as I got there by their oldest. He introduced himself (Hudson) and promptly asked me to come see all his cool toys in his room. So excited! I loved that he was so accepting of me taking photos IMMEDIATELY. Photographers dream right there.

And then I got to meet the middle guy, Davis. Those cheeks and those BRIGHT blue eyes surely got me. Adorbs. 

And meet the littlest of this blue eyed household-Nolan. Oh was he alert and soooooo calm for a fresh, new baby! Go ahead, ooh and aah. I did. :)

 We then moved upstairs after some photos of the baby were done to read a book as a family like they do every night. The kids had memorized parts of the book and kissed Bucky at the end. Too. Cute.

And here are some others that I had to share. 

And I'll end on this note. I LOVE lifestyle sessions and being able to capture a small slice of my client's lives in a couple hours. I truly am passionate about it, and it makes me so over the moon about what I do. 

Maternity Session - Baby Etienne

We all know that everyone in the Chicagoland area goes crazy when it's slightly warm outside (40+ is cause for a celebration), so we took to the outdoors for a quick maternity session. The weather was nice, though the wind was pretty cold, but we made the most of it and I think got some great shots.

Meet Baby Etienne. He's super loved already.

Big-sister-to-be was very into being with mom and "baby" during the session. 

This mama has just 9 weeks left until their little bundle is here in person to cuddle. She's a dear friend to me and I was thrilled to be able to give these images to her and hubby. I hope you guys love them and I cannot wait to meet this little man.

Meet Easton

I had the absolute pleasure of providing this amazing family with a lifestyle session. Last Thanksgiving, as a way of giving thanks to my clients, I offered to give away a free session to a family that was deserving of a photography session. I received quite a few nominations and I actually ended up giving away three sessions total because I read these different circumstances that these families were going through, and, simply-my heart's too big. I couldn't say no to them. 

Meet Easton.

This little guy was a total doll :) Here are some images that I just adored that I'd love to share with you to get you to also know Easton. He's one miraculous little spirit. I asked his dad to write a little piece to explain his story. Here's the story...grab a tissue.

Our son Easton was born July 11, 2011, and we could not be more blessed with a smart, determined and beautiful child.  While Kristin had the perfect pregnancy, all vitals and measurements were where they should be, it all came down to the last half an hour of being pregnant. 

When we found out Kristin was pregnant, we were so happy, excited and nervous as most people are.  We had stopped trying to stop trying to have a baby, so it was not so much a surprise when she was pregnant.  Of course my beautiful bride bought all the books and tried to educate herself on “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” but you never expect the unexpected.

While Kristin had a near perfect pregnancy with her and Easton’s health being perfect the entire time, the entire process was flipped upside down when she was 5cm dilated. Easton’s heart rate fell off the charts, and no one knows why.  

After an emergency c-section, and what seemed like countless minutes of nurses and doctors trying to resuscitate what appeared to me like a dead baby, they said they were able to stabilize him...to a point.  They were able to stabilize his heart rate, but he continued to have seizures, and little to no brain activity.  His APGAR scores were 0 and 1’s across the board. While we sat there with hopeless doctors that had no idea what to do, we waiting for a team to be airlifted from Rockford Memorial Hospital, so they can then transfer our baby to a hospital that could help with this situation.The morning Easton was born, a very damaging storm ripped through the county.  Causing power outages everywhere, down trees, wind and hail damage and even flooding in some areas.  Specifically, this storm reached it peak while Easton was being removed surgically from my wife. The storm caused complications, like how our highly educated OBGYN could not figure out how to get out of her garage when there was no power.  The storm was in a way of things to come.  Destruction, dark days, rebuilding and sunshine.

While the storm was here, we had to wait it out, and find out what was left when the skies cleared.  Kristin and Easton were both transferred to Rockford, where Easton was placed on a cooling mattress. Therapeutic hypothermia, also known as protective hypothermia, is a medical treatment that lowers a patient's body temperature in order to help reduce the risk of the ischemic injury to tissue following a period of insufficient blood flow.

After 4 days of being on the cooling mattress, and the touch of his body being cold as ice, they started to slowly warm his body up to normal body temperature.  He was no longer having physical or clinical seizures.  During this entire process, the nurses and doctors has to, almost continuously, suction out any saliva or fluids from his nose and mouth, because he was not swallowing at all. During this time, he was being fed through his umbilical cord, then through a nasal cannula, a PICC was then inserted to his head to provide nutrients into the bloodstream, and then before we brought him home he underwent surgery to install a G-Tube.

An entire week went by, with countless hours standing by his bedside, and watching the monitors, hoping for a small sign of life, or that he was going to wake from his coma. While I was writing to family and friends updating them on the status of Easton, my wife walks up behind me and asks me “Do you want to hold your son?”  I could not believe it, we have been standing next to him, holding his hands, feet and head, but never got to hold him.  We were at the point where his life was not so fragile anymore and we finally got to hold him.  The first thing I did was take a nap with him on my chest.  Something I had waited for far too long. The following day he was taken off the respirator and CPAP machine completely because he was doing it on his own, yet still not awake.

Finally on the 6th day, this wonderful boy opened his eyes and started ‘talking’ to us.  He was totally out of it, but he was awake!  He had his eyes open and was making noises!  Things started to look up at this point.  We thought we had lost him, but he was telling us he was not going anywhere.

There was still so much left that we didn’t even know we didn’t know… 

Easton still was not taking any milk orally, and really had a very small to nonexistent suck reflex.  While he continued to recover the entire month he was in the hospital, we had to make a decision to have the G-tube installed, or leave him at the hospital until he learned how to eat.  Sounds crazy right?  Well, we were lead to believe that they could get him to eat quickly, but they never really said a time frame.  Kristin and I made the decision to have the tube installed, and we would work with him to get him to eat.  While we (including our families) work with Easton daily to get him to eat, he is now 2.5 years old and still requires the feeding tube.  While it seemed like an option at the time to keep him in the hospital until the eating problem was resolved, we really had no idea what we were really to expect.  Thank goodness we made the decision to bring him home.

Easton continues to prove the nurses and doctors wrong.  Before he was transferred to Rockford, I was told to consider looking into a ‘home for him’, and to say goodbye.  Guess what? We are not giving up on him, and never did.  I would be a liar if I did not have my doubts in the beginning, but those are mere thoughts now.  
Easton was home for about 2-3 weeks, and we started to get him into therapy.  The therapy included, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, and Developmental Therapy.  I never knew that a baby could use so much therapy.  I thought it was a lot, but it was the best thing we ever did.  

Easton now continues to get the therapy in-home, but now also has the Center For Independence as additional therapy.  We were introduced to ‘the center’ by our primary care physician, and we were unsure.  The center does a type of therapy called Conductive Education, and it has proven itself to be the most valuable therapy we have him in to date.  While all the therapy, and information is priceless, we have seen the most improvement in Easton in all aspects since he has been enrolled in the center.

While they teach him to do what we most consider to be simple things, like how to tie your shoe, that is what they teach him, but it is different than just tying your shoe.  They will teach him how to tie his shoes in a manner that works for him, and his physical restrictions.

Easton has very high muscle tone in his arms, and had it in his legs in the early stages, but thankfully we were able to break the tone in his legs with therapy.  The tone in his arms causes his arms to typically be in a straightened position and twisted outwards.  This used a be a big problem, and scary because his muscles were so tight, that while his bones were still developing, we were afraid this would cause distortion to the bones, that was not reversible.

Since Easton has been going to the center, we can tell him “Easton, fix your arm.” and he places his arm in the ‘correct’ position because he was taught the correct position to keep his posture.  The center is also the place where he took his first unassisted steps in a gait trainer. This is where Eason learned how to sit at a table, while holding on to a bar to help with balance and placement. This is the place that is teaching him how to crawl, how to feed himself, how to use the potty, how to communicate and anything else you could possibly think of.

While therapist do their best to help their patient, the most effective method is to continue doing what they, or you have learned in therapy.  We are so thankful that Kristin’s mom is able to take him, twice weekly to the center along with the other 4-5 therapy sessions he has a week, now including swimming.  Yes you did the math right, 2 at the center, and an additional 4-5 therapy sessions a week.

The center has continued to provide results, and support through their conductive education program.  They have been able to provide equipment to us, that we would not be able to afford whatsoever. The therapist and board members of this organization are extremely personable, and truly want to help.  You can tell each one of them are passionate about helping these children lead as ‘normal’ and independent life as they can.  I personally have seen them with tears of joy in their eyes, as Easton takes his first steps in a gait trainer, and the love they have for my son while they hold him, talk to him, calm him lovingly when he is upset, and take the time to understand him, yet push him to his potential.  As a newer father, I never understood what this love was, until I had my own son to love.  The love these wonderful people have for Easton is so much like the love I have for him, it is truly a beautiful sight.  We will never be able to thank the center and our families for the work and results they have helped Easton provide.

From our family, and our hearts, we thank you for reading our story, and we hope you can find this story inspirational, because Easton has inspired me to be a better person, and the best dad I can ever be.

 
Please show your support for Easton by visiting the Facebook page, Every Breath is a Second Chance-Easton Green.  This little man is such a miracle. Thank you for stopping by to read his story and see the photographs I've had the honor of giving this deserving family. I look forward to photographing Easton in the future! High five little buddy.

Welcome to New Leaf Photography

Welcome to my brand new venture...New Leaf Photography. I'm Roxanne and I'll be your photographer :) I want to thank you for popping by to read my very first blog post.

I am extremely excited to be starting on my new adventure. I have a blast with my clients and I love, love, LOVE capturing all of life's moments for them. I've listed below what areas I photograph.

The name I chose is very symbolic to me for a variety of reasons. First, this was turning over a new leaf for me-to put my clients and my creative ability together. I was a graphic designer so I have a love for all things clean and simple in design, hence my logo! It's just that. Very clean and simple. I love nature and consider my shooting style organic in that it's not overly fussy, I tend to use natural elements for the scene/backdrop and minimal props. I feel the most important part of the image are the subjects I'm photographing and I believe that really makes my images stand out. I use nature to help with the beauty of the scene, the innocence of your son, or the love between a couple. I'm a natural light fanatic and I try to shoot without any flash or studio lighting whenever possible. I do offer in-home studio session for newborn (although in the right weather, they CAN be done outdoors and would be beautiful) and small children, cake smashes, and maternity as well.

A session I'm crazy about is lifestyle. It's just as it sounds. I come to your home (or even backyard, or picnic, camping, think outside the box too!) to photograph your life. Your furnishings and living space become the studio. Perfection is not required. I want to capture your life as it is daily-toys, artwork hanging on the doors or walls, children playing without a care, everything. What's imperfect to you is perfect to my eye. I guarantee that when you see the images, you won't see dust bunnies you forgot or that stack of books you meant to move. You'll see your life. And that's truly amazing for me to give you that gift. On the outside looking in. Sticky kisses. Crumbs under the chairs. Laundry piling up. Those are all signs of a well loved family going on right there. I offer little black books for these sessions especially. You'll want that for when your children are grown to reflect on your life as it was :) I better stop. I am getting teary eyed thinking about that! (My boys are 4 and 8 right now...)

The colors are very soft yet inviting, and the imagery is simple yet bold. A friend pointed out that there are four leaves, just like there are four in my little family. I laughed because I saw it from afar and it looked to me like a four leaf clover. Showing how lucky I am that I have this gift to give. To you. What do you see?

On to what I photograph! Here is a small listing of sessions I love to capture:
- Maternity
- Newborn
- Children
- Cake Smash
- Family (large families are fun!)
- Couples/Engagement
- Boudoir

I will try to at least blog once a week and when I have sessions, I will post those as I get them complete for my clients!

Please leave your comments below as I'll read each and every one of them. Your feedback means the world to me! If you have an idea, you can always email that to me with a subject of "blog post ideas" too.

And now, I'll leave you with a photo that I truly adore. It captures the essence of family, love, togetherness, and most of all parenthood.