Session Site -- Indian Chase Meadows Park, Bolingbrook, IL

I'm back!  (Forced blogging break.)  I promise I've been busy.  I have so much to share, but so little time.  "Busy" entails life + everything:  photography (a really big project!), home stuff, homeschooling, college stuff for the guys, an upcoming convention (planning and all that).  Fit life in there somewhere--but actually, all of that has been my life.  Now on to some good stuff.  :)

Since one of my big photography projects this spring was located here, I scouted out the site beforehand (always a good thing to do!).  The day was sunny with just a touch of warmth--perfect for hubby and I to explore this fun park and find some spots that would work for portraits.

Indian Chase Meadows Park

This is a large neighborhood park, complete with pond, footbridge (great portrait location!), gazebo, playgrounds, basketball courts, etc.  Homes surround the park on three sides, and a school takes up the huge fourth side.  So, it has its challenges as far as what's in the image background, but I've become quite adept at getting around that.

I found a good spot right at the entrance to the park, with evergreens in the background.  I love winter trees; they have such unique shapes and look so pretty against the sky.  I asked Fernando to pose here.  So he did.  The goofball.

And another nearby spot afforded a pretty portrait location.

Here's part of the playground, which I used in the actual portrait session.  With the students standing on the bridge here, I got some great lines while blocking out the school building in the background.

Even through you can see houses way back there in the below image, I love the trees, sky, grass, and clouds.  What a pretty day!  Of course I was almost guaranteed that the actual portrait session day wouldn't be as pretty as this one--it was the rainiest April in Chicago history!  But we made it work anyway.

See the water in the above image?  It's not normally there; we had a mini flood the week before, which was the whole reason I was scouting out a park on this particular day--the park where we were going to meet was completely under water!

Here's part of the pond, taken from the gazebo with the footbridge (and houses) in the background.  I love the reflection in the pond!

I had Fernando pose along the wall at the gazebo, and decided this would work, too.

Then I thought again:  Right after I took the above shot, a mama duck flapped/flew her way out from right behind Fernando!  She startled us, but then we saw the reason for the fuss.  I decided to stay away from the gazebo so Mama could take care of her eggs.

We strolled over to inspect the footbridge.  Shooting straight on, there were obviously some background houses which would have to be dealt with.

But, when I got up a little higher, I knew the houses wouldn't be a problem, as long as I stayed tighter in my framing.  I love the bridge pattern, and also the railing shadows along the bridge.

I took the below just because I loved the sun sparkling on the water, and we had had such a long winter, and it finally seemed like spring, and it made me happy.

If all my clients were as tall as Fernando (six feet), I'd pose them here.  I love how the birch tree frames him, and you can barely see the school in the background.

Another nice spot, with a little of the school building on the right.  I will simply hide it with clients!

I absolutely loved this willow tree!  But, with all the houses in the background, I wasn't sure I could get the location to work.  Fernando was such a big help in finding just the right spot, though.  I'm so glad I brought my man along!

His expression says to me, "Would you just take the picture already?"  But he's really just squinting a little.  He was happy to pose for me wherever I put him.  See the willow branches above his head?  You'll see those again once I get the chance to post about the actual portrait session we had here!

This park works perfectly for a mini portrait session.  These are short and sweet sessions, with a smaller number of poses and images, but work for my clients who don't want to sift through a ton of images.  Plus, the images will be pretty tight--meaning no wide-angle shots with lots of background--due to the surrounding neighborhood houses and school.

I can't wait to show you the images I took for my clients at this park!  This location worked perfectly for what our portrait goals.  If you'd like to come here for your own portrait session, I'd love to work with you!!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine
630.399.4430

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Session Site -- Greene Valley North, Woodridge, IL

I had a group session (more on that soon!) at a playground, and I was concerned that I would be able to take only head-and-shoulders shots.  The playground was surrounded by tennis courts, a parking lot, fences, streets, and houses.  Plus a few other urban sights.  Getting in tight was okay, but I wanted to be able to take shots without having to worry about the angle, or the background.

I visited Google maps to see what was close by, a mile or so around, and found Greene Valley Forest Preserve.  At the north entrance, there was a parking lot, some walking trails, and a dog run area.  I figured I'd better scope it out beforehand and decide the best locations for taking pictures.

And, this past Sunday, with brightened skies and warming spring air, afforded the opportunity for Fernando and me to check out the park, specifically the North Gate.  Here's what greeted our eyes at the very first parking area:

Oh, this was going to be great!  What a beautiful location.  I love that tree, especially pre-leaf.  Its lines were beautiful.

My honey makes a good portrait subject, even if he doesn't look like a high school senior any more.  ;)

Yeah, here's that tree again.

If it's sunny on the photo shoot (postscript--it wasn't), we could hop out of our cars and shoot right here!

Across from the parking lot was a wide open grassy area, with walking paths and a dog run area.  Ooh--an S curve!

That'd make a nice area to shoot in if we have overcast weather (postscript--it was way more than overcast).

What a pretty sky!

I started noticing the shadows in the afternoon sun.  Pretty cool, huh?

Looking west toward the walking paths.

The road led northward to more parking and more grassy areas.

The trees were shorter, and a little more dense.  It was a pretty area to wander, but I don't think I'll shoot there.  Well, except for overcast conditions.

Tree branch shadows were cast all over my "test subject!"

Almost back at our starting point, I noticed a little brook.

The brook is down in there among the prairie grasses.

Time for another head-and-shoulders of my test subject.

This tree is pretty even backlit!

Yeah, I kept a goofy one of him.

Same tree, really cool shadow.  On the right side, the guys saw a woodpecker shape, and I saw a pregnant ballerina, lol.  What do you see?

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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New Outdoor Session Location! | Chicagoland Portrait Photographer

All my clients are great.  I have loved working with every one of them.  Honest.

Sometimes, clients have some great suggestions.  For instance, a new client suggested a park she wanted to use for her family's mini portrait session.  This park was only a few miles from my home--and I didn't know about it!  The session occurred several days after the phone call, so I knew I'd better get over there and scope things out.

I picked a warm, windy Wednesday, three days before the session.  It was supposed to turn much colder later that day, so I figured I'd be warm for at least the scouting session, if not the actual portrait session.

This is the scene that greeted me just steps from my car door, on a little footbridge:

Well, that looked promising!  Then I crossed the footbridge, and saw another bridge.

Another great place to take a picture.  I could just see a family on that bridge, framed by trees--whether green in spring and summer, or multi-colored in autumn--smiling and happy.  Beautiful!

I explored the little park area on this side of the bridge, and the trees were amazing--so many neat shapes and textures.  Look at the branches!

The steps in the photo above--on the lower right--lead to the bridge over the river.  Even the steps would be a great place to shoot.

I love the natural frames that these trees created.  I was definitely going to love this portrait session!

On the bridge, I got lost in the early autumn scenery.  Although it was breezy, the river looked calm and peaceful, with beautiful reflections.

Back in the first park area, I spotted a fallen log--perfect for sitting on.  Perfect for portraits!

What a beautiful frame with the branch overhead!

And the below tree--the lowest limb could be a great place to sit on!  It was about shoulder height on me, but I'm short.  I'm sure kids could scramble up there, or Dad could hoist them up there.

The squirrel in the image below thought this park was great, too!  Well, at least for gathering food for the winter, anyway.  :)

This may very well be my park of choice, if clients would like to shoot close to my home.  The shady park affords a great place to shoot during the day, from late morning to mid-afternoon (no harsh sun!).  And late afternoon would afford some beautiful light streaming into the park--perfect for any kind of portraits.

So, what are you waiting for?  Give me a call!

(630) 399-4430


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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