My Irish Dancer

My 5-year old daughter Clara has wanted to be an Irish dancer since she first saw a performance when she was one.  Every year around St. Patrick's Day we would see at least one dance performance, and she would be mesmerized.  She couldn't wait until she was 4 and would be old enough for lessons.  I did a tiny bit of Irish dancing for fun and exercise when I was an adult, and I always wished that I had begun dancing at a younger age.

Clara dances with Trinity Irish Dancers, and I can't say enough great stuff about Trinity.  We've made some friends already who I think will be wonderful friends for a long, long time!  Here are a couple favorite photos that I've taken over the past year and wanted to share.  I'm a really proud mama for all that she's accomplished this year!

PS: If your child is interested in trying an Irish dance class, feel free to contact me!  There is a free class session in mid-May.


Watching the big girls dance:

 Winter Weekend festivities:

 Clara's first dance medal:

 Trinity Founder Mark Howard gets his dance on:

 Aboard a float during the Chicago Southside parade.  This photo was taken with an iPhone, but I love it!

 Performing at a local school:

 Friends:

 She looks so grown up!

CarLeigh and William Engaged! | Bartlett, IL Engagement Photography

I have known CarLeigh's family for several years through videotaping community theater performances that they've either directed or starred in (or both), and last year I also videotaped CarLeigh's big brother's beach wedding. I was thrilled when her mom contacted me again to say there would be another wedding coming up soon! I mentioned that we recently expanded into wedding photography as well, so Images to Adore will be both photographing AND videotaping their wedding next month!

We met at Cantigny park in Wheaton on a hot sunny day in July, and kept cool by taking photos in the shade and exploring the park's beautiful grounds! William is a sweet guy and totally in love with his fiance. It's so fun to watch young love; it reminds me of way back in the day when Mike and I couldn't take our eyes off each other.

Here are a couple of my favorite photos from their e-session. Congratulations, CarLeigh and Will; we'll see you next month! :)

Baby Everett | Bartlett, IL Newborn Photography

One of my high school BFF's recently gave birth to her second son, and I did a mini session while visiting the latest addition to our growing playgroup.

Meet Everett. He's beautiful, tiny and strong all at the same time! He wanted to be wide awake the entire session, so no scrunched up newborn shots for this guy! Well...except for this one. The pose lasted about 30 seconds...

(PS: how do you like the Very Hungry Caterpillar cocoon my mother-in-law made?

We did, however, capture him finding and sucking his thumb for the first time....

...And his resulting surprised reaction. Too cute!

Brotherly love :)

And a little candid of the proud big brother!

Toddler J | 18-month photo Session

I love the inquisitive nature of toddlers, and my favorite part of photographing the 1-2 year-old crowd is to try to capture the wonder and excitement in their eyes. I think J has some of the most gorgeous, expressive and soulful eyes, don't you think?

Peek-a-boo!

And a huge thank you to J's parents! We've already booked both a fall and winter photo session for later this year, and they are earning print credits by telling their friends and family about our services. Want to earn free prints also? Find out more about our Referral Rewards when you book a session with us!

Tacy and Zach | Chicago Wedding Videography by Images to Adore

Tacy and Zach were married in a gorgeous downtown reception at the River East Arts Center. In eight years of videotaping weddings, I have NEVER been rained out of a post-ceremony photo/video shoot. NEVER. I actually boasted about this to brides who were worried about the forecast a few days before their wedding. "No worries, I never get rained out!" I must have gotten a little too cocky because I was eating my words at this wedding.

It was cloudy after their ceremony as we walked towards the beach, but then out of nowhere there was a torrential downpour to deal with. And I do mean torrential. We dove for cover at a hot dog stand, but the rain was so strong it was coming in sideways and even hid the camera under my shirt to protect it :) Then we ran to an underpass and waited out the rain until we could grab a cab and go back to the Arts Center for the reception. Luckily there was beautiful galleries that the curators opened up to us to catch some shots before dinner.

The weather cleared up shortly afterwards, and we ventured outside that evening to enjoy the downtown fireworks display.

All in all, a gorgeous wedding. And even though we didn't get the beach shots we were hoping for, it was still one of the most gorgeous and stylish weddings I've ever had the privilege to capture.

Congrats Zach and Tacy! And may the downpour on your wedding day be the worst that your marriage ever has to weather!

Annabelle | Bartlett, IL Newborn Photography

I have to admit, I was mighty nervous driving to this session. You see, Annabelle's mom is a professional photographer. We're from the same town and I videotaped her wedding several years ago. But to photograph another photographer's new baby when she has much more experience than I did? I won't lie; nails were gnawed on the way over as I reviewed my mental checklist for the gazillionth time. I did not want to screw this one up!

And then I saw Annabelle:

Cutest. Baby. Ever. The only way I could screw these photos up is if I dropped my camera and it stopped working. (I didn't).

So then I became very humbled and simply had fun with the session!

Mom Kelly now has as much as a newborn prop/accessory addiction as myself, so we had fun pairing my pink chair with her crocheted diaper cover and hat.

I saw a great antiqued white table with their engagement portrait in the background (photographed by the magnificent Jeff & Julia Woods) so I wanted to try a shot with Annabelle and these elements together.

I have to give a shout out to Kelly. Three weeks post partum, and she's wearing the same dress as in her engagement pictures. Doesn't she look fabulous?!

I'm a sucker for damask, so when I saw Kelly and Mike's chair we had to pair it with the pettiskirt and cutest headband ever!

And then we took a couple candids in Annabelle's beautiful nursery. Besides being a fantastic photographer, Kelly could also be an interior designer in her spare time! I think Annabelle will keep her busy for a while, though :)

It was hard to narrow down the images for this session! Kelly and Mike, I hope you enjoy the photos, and thanks for the honor of having me capture your little blessing! :)

If anyone is interested in a newborn session, please contact me at info@adorevideoproductions.com for a quote and scheduling. We also offer Baby Story newborn videos as well.

Here is a slideshow of some of my favorite shots from the session:

McNamara Family Sneak Peek | Schaumburg Family Photography

Wow, time flies. It seems like only yesterday that I was pregnant with Clara and videotaping Anne and Tom's wedding. Fast-forward a couple years, and now they have two adorable kids of their own, and they are still as cute and in love as can be!

Wow, time flies. It seems like only yesterday that I was pregnant with Clara and videotaping Anne and Tom's wedding. Fast-forward a couple years, and now they have two adorable kids of their own, and they are still as cute and in love as can be!