I’ve been shooting photos of little Caroline since she was a newborn. So, I was very happy to visit the family for Caroline’s 5 (1/2) year old photos!

It’s so funny to watch how the reaction to the camera changes with age. This year, Caroline was part ham and part shy little snail. As usual, we let her determine the course of the shoot, always asking where she wanted to go and what she wanted to do. So, sometimes that meant climbing the stairs.

And sometimes that meant showing me where she’d recently loss a tooth.

Or just being adorable.

Or riding bikes with Dad.

Or–with the promise of a baseball game later in the afternoon–taking one last family photo. Regardless, I hope all of these photos perfectly depict what it means to be 5 (1/2!) year old Caroline.

Five years ago, I has the immense pleasure of photographing Bob and Meredith’s wedding at the Newberry Library. Today, I had an even bigger pleasure: I got to photograph their newborn son, Andrew.

I was elated when Meredith contacted me about shooting newborn photos of Andrew. We started planning the shoot while she was still pregnant–which is important when parents want to capture photos of their little beans in their first weeks of life. Because she started planning so early, we got to shoot today–just 6 days after Andrew was born!

As I’m sure any new parents will attest, those first few weeks with your first baby are a wild ride. So, I was happy to hear that Meredith and Bob wanted to forgo any super structured portraits and instead wanted to capture more candid moments with Andrew. Although Andrew gave us a run for our money–resisting sleep and wanting to eat constantly–we still managed to capture some shots that, hopefully, really epitomize what it is like to have a little one at home.

I’m so happy to have followed this family as they’ve grown, and I hope to get to follow Andrew as he grows up! Welcome to the world, little guy.

Andrew was happiest when he was in his mom’s arms–like any newborn!

Love the serious look Andrew is giving his dad here.

“Hey, mom–you are awesome!”

And–literally–one second later: “Now feed me!”

Gas? Happy thoughts? Who cares–look how cute he is!

Oh, Chicago. Lately, you’ve been trying the patience of those of us who love you. This has, by far, been the worst winter I’ve experienced in my 10 years in the city.

So, as you might imagine, I haven’t been shooting too many portrait/engagement sessions. Shelby and Zack contacted me a few months ago and, in our blissful ignorance about the winter to come, we chose February 1st as the date for their engagement session.

About a week ago, I started trying to talk them out of it. I’m not going to lie: I was completely happy with rescheduling. The forecast called for a bit of snow and a high of 25 degrees, and I knew that these two wanted to shoot right next to the lake. I was panicking.

We woke up yesterday morning to find not one, but five, inches of snow on the ground. However, it was warmer and less windy than we had suspected it might be. So, we did what any crazy photographer/soon-to-be-married couple would do: we went for it!

I’m SO glad that we did. This is one of my favorite engagement sessions I’ve shot in a long time. Yes–we all lost feeling in our fingers. Yes–we grew quickly accustomed to our noses running nonstop. Yes–Shelby somehow walked through several inches of snow IN HEELS. But the end result was SO worth it.

Did I mention that Shelby and Zack never complained even once? Thanks, you two, for challenging me to do something new and for being unbelievably good sports about it all!

Take a gander at these sneak peeks, and see for yourself what fun shooting in a winter storm can be!

I’ve got to say: there’s something super romantic about getting cuddly in the snow!

Though I told her that we’d need lots of color to make the shoot work, this blanket was all Shelby’s idea. I love the pop of red!

On to location #2…