be well {oak park, il family photographer}

“A good half of the art of living is resilience.”
― Alain de Botton

Good morning, friends!

I've had several people reach out to ask how they could help during this uncertain time of social distancing and I'm so grateful to every one of you! I know that so many people are dealing with drastic changes to their daily life right now & we will all need to do everything we can to power through... together❤️

So...how can you help?

1. Continue to be the amazing and concerned clients and friends that you are! This is more than enough right now. We are all blindly navigating this “new normal." This is huge & gives me hope that you will be here when life gets back to "normal"(whatever that may be...).

If you haven’t previously, this would be a great time to leave a great Google review for my business.

2. Book a session! (you can book & hold your session by paying only the deposit or full session fee, whatever is most comfortable for you).
I've added a handful of sessions to my booking calendar, including much-coveted October sidewalk session dates that usually aren't released until late summer & typically sell out pretty quickly. I've also added a week of discounted sunset mini sessions in July.
For the next 2 weeks, any booked non-commercial sessions will receive a $75 print credit.
To receive the credit, enter promo code SOCIAL when filling in your online questionnaire at booking.

Summer Mini Sessions: http://bit.ly/summersunsetmini
October Sidewalk Sessions: http://bit.ly/sidewalksessions
Full Sessions, including October dates: http://bit.ly/photosession2019lbp

2. Purchase gift cards for future print or session use.
http://bit.ly/2020gclbp

3. Place print orders. Maybe you plan to spend some of this quarantined time cleaning out your house or organizing things. Now would be a great time to organize photo files and order those prints you've been meaning to purchase.
I am happy to re-load past galleries if you'd like to place print orders.

Being a small business owner is tough under the best of circumstances so when the shit actually hits the fan...let's just say that things get real...and it happens pretty quickly.

As previously posted, I'm postponing all sessions/events until at least April 1. As this situation changes by the minute, plans will very possibly change. All I can do is watch and wait. It's a very uneasy holding pattern to be in but I will remain optimistic and hopeful.

Thank you for your continued support. Be well!

new beginnings {oak park, il studio portrait sessions}

“A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense and is thereby a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety.”
― Ansel Adams

As most of you have figured out by now, I’ve recently moved into a shared studio space. With this new dedicated space, new opportunities present themselves and I’m excited to share a little of what I’m up to.

It has never been my desire to spend my days in a traditional studio, churning out posed family photos. I’m happy to do them but I will always be better at allowing moments to unfold while I document and catch the candid moments.

These are the moments that bring me joy. They are the images that my clients love.

Beginning in September, I’ll be offering in-studio portrait sessions. Not headshots (though, I continue to shoot tons of headshots in studio and on location), but simple and beautiful portraits.

These portraits sessions will vary from single sittings to families and will still feel very much like the images that my clients expect from me: fun and modern.

So, without much chit-chat and blathering on from me, I’ll share a few images from recent studio sessions…

fall booking is going, going...{oak park and chicagoland fall photo sessions}

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”
― Albert Camus

Fall booking is underway!

If you haven’t already booked your session, now is the time…Many of the weekend options have been booked but a few have been added.

As usual, mini sessions are limited and there are only 3 fall days with mini sessions remaining.

Find your session here (hover and click on the session you’d like more info about)…

Outdoor Sunset Session

In-home/Indoor Session

Mini Photo Session

If you’re interested in booking other types of sessions and don’t see a link for booking here, send me an email and let’s chat! joey@littlebittyproductions.com

family road trip from wyoming...not me, my client! {elmwood park, il baptism photo session}

“I love these little people; and it is not a slight thing when they, who are so fresh from God, love us.”
― Charles Dickens

Today I met with new clients who drove a little over a 1000 miles to have their sweet 11 month old baptized. The ceremony was intimate and sweet, followed by a fun dinner at a German beer hall…

Are all baptisms this fun? If so, sign me up…

a month of mamas: days 28-31 {oak park photographer interrupted!}

“There are invisible lines
connecting everything together,
and I am particularly fond of
the one that connects me to you.” -Brian Andreas

I realize that it’s June 3 and May is behind us…

Speaking of being behind, I dropped the ball in keeping up with my “month of mamas”, which is not surprising as I’ve been killing it over here, doing all the momming! LOL, as they say…

So, today I will talk about something that I don’t enjoy talking about: myself.

I’m a woman. I’m a photographer. I’m a creative. I’m a mom. I’m a daughter. I’m a wife. I’m a friend.

I try to do all these things and I don’t always do them well. Every day, my goal is to do better than the day before.

I have good days and great days and bad days and sad days.

My motivation to create is sometimes off the charts. Some days though, it is barely noticable.

The struggle is real…every day and in every way. But I wouldn’t change a thing…

Today, I celebrate the fact that I made it through the weekend on barely any sleep, shot a 10 hour wedding on Saturday, spent all day Sunday (11am-7pm) watching my boys play their sports ball of choice: T-ball & Baseball, respectively.

I celebrate the fact that, after that weekend, my entire family woke up at 7:45am (in a full blown panic) but I still made breakfasts (to go), lunches, and managed to send them out the door fully clothed and ready to kick ass (not literally, I hope).

After the morning chaos, I met with 1 of my partners at our new space and went over floor plans and general business stuff and I had tacos for lunch. #winning

How about you? Are you celebrating yourself today?

going to the chapel, part 1...{holzer-hall wedding, oak park, river forest, il}

"Some day, when I'm awfully low

When the world is cold

I will feel a glow just thinking of you

And the way you look tonight” -Frank Sinatra

Yesterday, I spent the day documenting the wedding of Anna & Matt. These 2 could not have been sweeter or more gracious from the beginning of our talks of working together until we said our goodbyes last night. What an honor to witness such a lovely day!

I have a lot of photos to pore over, so I will share a little at a time…relax & enjoy the slow roll out of their day.

Huge thanks go out to:

Tina Harle Photography, who second shot for me and captured the groom & groomsmen while I was with the bridal party!

Hair and makeup by the fantabulous Sara Jean Stevens!

a month of mamas: days 25, 26, and 27 {oak park photographer, oak park photo sessions}

“You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.
What mood is that?
Last-minute panic.”
― Bill Watterson

So. My goal of posting a month of mamas has gone pretty smoothly. There have been a couple of late entries & some combining of days, but all in all…I’m feeling pretty good about mostly keeping up with it.

This year has been my busiest and for that, I thank you kindly! Blogging has never been something that I have consistently kept up with because I am a photographer first and all of the other stuff gets done when I am able to manage it.

In a perfect world, I am able to do all the things: shoot an amazing session, edit the session in record time, post a blog that is engaging and witty and maybe brings a tear to one’s eye…lather, rinse, repeat. All while being the best mom, wife, and friend that I hope to be.

In the world I currently inhabit, aka “the real world”, I work full time running my business and have 2 young boys, a husband, and a dog who all need my attention. At this very moment, my 6 year old is telling me about his Beyblades (is that how you spell it?) and I’ve had to stop typing multiple times and re-read the same sentence at least 20 times.

Since the end of April/beginning of May, we’ve also added T-ball/baseball to our rotation. This consists of 2 kids in 2 different locations (sometimes on the same day) for 2-5 days a week.

Let us not forget the end of school chaos. It feels like a years worth of activities and celebrations are stuffed into the month of May. I know that this must be a survival tactic for teachers, but it is A LOT for parents, working or otherwise.

This is my life. Sometimes stuff falls through the cracks. I would probably call myself an “okay-ish” mom, wife, and friend…but I try. I really do.

All of this to say…I’m “cheating” a little but I want to continue my month of celebrating mamas!

So, here’s to the mamas who are doing their best everyday! I salute you! I am you! We are the same!

a month of mamas: day 20 {oak park family photo sessions}

“Mothers are all slightly insane.”
― J. D. Salinger

To the mamas who are warriors…holding it all together…

a month of mamas: day 19 {oak park family photo sessions}

“Motherhood brings you to your knees in a way that doesn't leave room for you to judge others. It makes you see that there's no ideal - a constant struggle, constantly compromising, but ultimate love.”

- Maggie Gyllenhaal

To the beautiful mamas with smart mouths and a wicked sense of humor…(my favorite kind!)

a month of mamas: day 18 {oak park family photo sessions}

“Becoming a mom to me means that you have accepted that for the next 16 years of your life, you will have a sticky purse.”

-Nia Vardalos

To the mamas who carry their sticky purses with style and grace…

a month of mamas: days 11 & 12 {oak park, il photo sessions}

“When you feel neglected, think of the female salmon, who lays 3,000,000 eggs but no one remembers her on Mother's Day”
― Sam Ewing

This quote makes me laugh out loud…or LOL, as the kids say (geez…I’m old).

Today is the 1 day of the year when we are to celebrate moms. They are the people who literally bring us into the world…givers of life. They are usually the first to wipe our asses, wipe our tears, clean up all our messes, and then eventually teach us to do these things for ourselves.

Looking back, I don’t know how good of a job I did to celebrate my own mom. I probably made cards or crappy gifts, but I don’t recall it being a big to-do in our home. My memory is shit though, so hopefully I’m just misremembering. My mom would probably say that I’m misremembering, but that’s because she is too nice to say that we were self-centered assholes (to our faces, at least).

Because I’m surrounded by amazing mamas, I know that too often this day is a disappointment. I hear so many stories and they can all be summed up by this:

We don’t feel special. We don’t feel thought of or appreciated. We hope for a magical or, at the very least, semi-planned day.

Year after year, we feel let down by it all. Our feelings are hurt because it wasn’t what we expected it to be.

There are tons of places where you can read about the mental load that mother’s carry and so we hope that on this one day…JUST FOR TODAY…that we won’t have to plan & help execute the day to celebrate ourselves.

I’m going to propose a radical idea.

Ask for what your want and BE SPECIFIC…I know this loosely falls under “planning our day” but hear me out…

Even though my family has always had cards, flowers, and gifts for me, I’m often left feeling underappreciated. I’ve struggled with this and found myself feeling all the things from anger to sadness to guilt.

This year, I decided to go a different direction. I actually told my husband what I wanted and I was very specific:

let me sleep in. anything past 7am is considered a win.
make breakfast tacos & please do so before 10am so I don’t get hangry. PS: clean up your kitchen mess…
no obligatory gifts that feel forced. I can tell when you went out the night before & panic shopped.
if you must gift me something, a gift of experience is preferred. A massage, pedicure, or even a couple of hours alone would be delightful. Bonus: that last one doesn’t cost a thing!

So far he has stayed the course. I slept in and then I had delicious breakfast tacos. I got a few handmade cards and a beautiful handmade gift from Oliver (a ceramic replica of our home), and a gift card for a spa day.
And now all 3 of them are leaving the house…

To all the mamas, caregivers, and aunties out there…may you feel appreciated and loved today and ALL THE DAYS ❤️

a month of mamas: day 9 {oak park, il photo sessions}

“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.”
― Robert A. Heinlein

To the mamas adding to their stories…

and then there were 5...{in home family photo session, oak park, il}

“[Kids] don't remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are.”
― Jim Henson

We live in a world full of “perfect” Facebook families, Instagram worthy photos of siblings who never fight and only ever get along in their perfectly curated, camera ready homes, and holiday cards that rival the royal family/Kardashians (take your pick).

Sorry, but nobody is buying your picture perfect life! We’re onto you!

I don’t know about you, but I’m always relieved to see photos of shit getting real.

I like to see messy, chaotic, funny, silly, sad, happy, frustrated, skinned knees, real tears…all of the things that come with life.

When I look through old photo albums, I prefer the candid moments over the curated moments because it helps me remember that moment. It transports me to another time and that is a beautiful thing.

That’s something that never happens when I look at the “fantasy” version of family photos: Everyone dressed impeccably. No hair out of place. Not a blemish to be found. All eyes on the camera and pained smiles across everyone’s lips (especially mom, because she has been threatening everyone within an inch of their lives).

My hope for all of the amazing people who hire me is that they are able to relax & enjoy the ride. I want them to know that we will get that “perfect” photo, but that they need to be flexible in what their definition of "perfect” is.

Also, bribes are a perfectly legit tool to keep in your bag of tricks! ( I almost always have lollipops to offer up)

Will everyone be looking at the camera? Maybe, but I can’t guarantee it. Will everyone have a smile on their face? Possibly, but I never force people to smile. I have tricks & sometimes they work, but not always!

What I will promise you: I will be there to document your family in this moment. When you look back on the images, they will make you smile, laugh, cry, or maybe all 3.

If this isn’t the reaction you have, I may not be the photographer for you…but, I hope I am.

I love being invited into the chaos and being part of these milestones.

I’d love to tell your story too…(you can book sessions here)

a month of mamas: day 5 {oak park, il lifestyle photographer}

“Through the blur, I wondered if I was alone or if other parents felt the same way I did - that everything involving our children was painful in some way. The emotions, whether they were joy, sorrow, love or pride, were so deep and sharp that in the end they left you raw, exposed and yes, in pain. The human heart was not designed to beat outside the human body and yet, each child represented just that - a parent's heart bared, beating forever outside its chest.”
― Debra Ginsberg

To all the Super Moms, doing all the things…

Photo sessions make great gifts… or treat yo self!

Book your session now: Find My Session!

preparing for your perfect photo session {oak park, il family photos}

“The best stories are like the best burgers: big, juicy, and messy.”
― A.D. Posey

Photo sessions can be hard for little people.

Let’s be honest...they can be hard for big people!
The most important thing that I want to tell my clients is: Relax. It’s only photos. We will make it through and everything will be fine. We may not get the “perfect” smile, but we will get what’s real and that is worth so much more than “perfection”.

I would argue that the real stuff IS perfection.

When we look back on our photos, we should have a sense of being there. We should be transported to that time and remember how hard or funny or sad or chaotic it was. It should fill us up and help us see how far we’ve come.

This is the real stuff. This is the good stuff.

click on an image to enlarge & scroll through entire gallery