It's Friday! {Elgin Engagement Photographer}

Here's hoping you find something to smile about today. Have a great weekend, friends!

My Crafty Afternoon :: Elgin Newborn and Family Photographer

My camera and I have a date with two week old Alaina tomorrow morning, so I'm spending my afternoon getting my gear together. Batteries charged. Memory cards packed. Fabrics and props packed and ready. And I have to say, I'm pretty excited to be using some new fabric backgrounds tomorrow. Look at this bit of lovely...

But I needed something more to really make it special... a matching headband! With my trusty hot glue gun and some felt scraps from my sewing bin, I whipped this up:

I can't wait to see sweet baby girl sleeping peacefully in all this tomorrow. Here's hoping she's ready to take a good long nap when I arrive. :)

Elgin newborn photographer :: Sneak Peek of baby I

I can't help myself! I really don't want to ruin the surprise of Christmas cards and birth announcements for this family, but this little boy is too sweet not to share!

McHenry family and child photographer :: The Ebel Family

Oh, the weather! These November days can be so unpredictable, but we've been blessed with some GORGEOUS weather lately. I'm so thankful for that!!

I met the Ebel family at the McHenry Dam, where they love to hike with their children. It was a little on the chilly side, but Mama had stashed thermoses of hot chocolate in her bag, so the kiddos were sipping sweet warmth in between setups. I loved wiping their chocolate mustaches off over and over. :)

Can you tell how much FUN we had during this session? I sincerely hope that every family feels relaxed and enjoys the process of creating their family portraits - and I want those fun feelings to show in the images we make together.

Ebel family, you're fantastic! I'm so excited to meet your third little bundle this winter and watch your family love keep growing. 

To see more of the Ebel's, visit their gallery here, or watch their slideshow.

Fun Fabric Backgrounds

I have a stack of fabric sitting by my sewing machine, waiting for me to turn it into something new. But today I was hit by the inspiration bug, and decided to put that fabric to use while it waited for me to get to my sewing machine. Fun, right?

As usual, my firstborn was totally into the photo experience (especially when there was a lollypop to be earned!) and my youngest was not into it at all. While these images of her aren't "perfect," I do love that they capture so much of her independent, strong-willed personality.

I'm pretty sure I'll be making a trip to the fabric store this week to find some fabrics perfect for more portraits. I'll take any excuse I can get to visit the fabric store! ;-)

Elgin family photographer :: The Hartford-Hoon Family

I'm sure my opinion is biased, but I think giving a photo session as a gift is a really great idea! Deb's parents were celebrating 40 years of marriage, and I can't think of a more personal, special gift she could have given than a photograph with all three generations of family together.

This is a family that I love a lot. We go to the same church, and their youngest son is in the same preschool class as my son, Aaron. So to get the chance to create a family keepsake for them was a special treat! I often get a little nervous working for people I know well. I worry that if they don't love their images as much as I do, they might not love me. It's silly and insecure, I know. But this kind family has a way of putting people at ease, and there wasn't one moment during our time together that I felt anxious. Just one more reason to love 'em!

I got to test out my new Shutter Buddies on these boys, and the smiles that happened totally blew me away! Who knew that a silly loop of fabric on the end of my lens would be so entertaining? If you take a lot of photos of your kids, I HIGHLY recommend grabbing one!

Thanks, Hartfords and Hoons for spending the evening with me and my camera! 

To see more of their family session, pay a visit to their gallery.

Or watch their slideshow.

Do you have a special event coming up? Family portraits are a GREAT way to celebrate special birthdays, anniversarys, graduations, and more. Call me (847.697.1606) or zip me an email (sarah@imagesbysharp.com) to set up your celebration session.

Elgin baby photographer :: Three-month-old Everett

My family and I are back from our rather long (and long overdue!) vacation, and we're settling into our fall routine. Our oldest just started preschool, so that's adding a whole new set of activities to our weekly schedule.

While on vacation, I had the privilege to photograph sweet baby Everett. What an adorable boy he is!! As I put the finishing touches on his images, my husband looked over my shoulder and proclaimed,"Man, he is one CUTE boy!" And I have to agree. That shock of dark hair and big saucer eyes will just melt your heart.

Could he be any more precious? I feel like my own baby boy was just this small, but this week I watched him put on his backpack and skip into a classroom. Where does the time go?

You can see more of Everett by visiting his gallery.

Or watch a slideshow of this adorable boy.

From photograph to Work Of Art!

Look what the FedEx driver brought to my door yesterday....

A Gallery Wrap from the Ebel family session!!

It's always exciting to see images in print, but it's even more exciting when I get to see them transformed into a beautiful product like this. Gallery wraps are a fantastic way to turn your photograph into an original work of art. With a deep 2" edge wrap, these are ready to hang, with or without a frame. They even come complete with hanging hardware installed.

What's your favorite way to display your portraits? Do you love to group a lot of smaller prints together, or do you prefer the look of one big image that really makes a statement?

The Ebel Family : Crystal Lake Family Photography

Hello, spring! We've had a lot of wacky weather here in the Midwest, but I'm hoping we've finally turned a corner and are into warmer and dryer weather. And I can't think of anything I'd rather do in warm, dry weather than take some family portraits, especially when it's one of my favorite families to photograph. If you've been following my blog for any length of time, these faces are surely familiar to you. 

We decided to mix it up a little during this session, and headed downtown Crystal Lake for a more urban look. Look how gorgeous this family is! And can you believe how big these kiddos are getting???

But an Ebel family session just wouldn't be right without a trip to one of our favorite nearby parks. "Let's just take a walk through the park, and I'll happen to bring my camera," I joked. I really love creating images of families just being a family together, and that's exactly what we got. 

 

Watch this slideshow to see more of the Ebel family (be patient if it loads slowly), or check out their gallery here.

Do you want to take a walk in the park with me and my camera? Call me to make a play date - I'd love to capture your family doing whatever makes you unique. 

The Campus Family: Elgin Family Photography

The Campus family was all together for the Thanksgiving holiday, so with pies in the oven and the table set, we took some time to create these fun images. It was a very brisk morning (snow was on the way!), but O'm so glad they braved the cold and headed outdoors with me.

To see more, check out their SLIDESHOW
or visit their PROOF GALLERY

Thanks, Campus family, for inviting me over. I had a lot of fun!!

Crystal Lake family portrait :: The Ebels

October 17th must be "picture day" for this family. I realized as I was loading their images onto my hard drive that I've photographed them twice on that day, exactly two years apart. Of course, I had to go back and look at their 2008 session, and it made me smile to see how their family has grown and their lives have changed.

Here's a blast from the past:

And here are a few from this year's session:

They're so darn cute aren't they? This family is just so full of love!

Thanks, Ebels, for letting me into your lives. It's beautiful to watch your family grow.

You can watch their slideshow HERE.

Or see their previews HERE.

In their own West Dundee backyard :: The Stoll family

"This might be the last family portrait of just the four of us," this mama said as she and I talked over ideas for her family portrait. Before one of her boys moves away or adds a daughter-in-law to the family, she wanted one more remembrance of their foursome.

Thank you, Stoll family, for inviting me to preserve this very unique time in your family's life. 

To see more images from their session, click HERE to watch a slideshow.

Or go HERE to see their proof gallery.

In my Elgin studio :: the Busch children

Oh, my! These kiddos are BEE-You-TEE-Ful! I just love how their blond hair and freckles looked in all that white. Their mama has been dreaming about having these images made for a long time, and she and I both got excited as we saw here dreams turn into a reality on picture day. The very next day brought a trip to the dentist to get braces on for big brother, so this was one last opportunity to capture his pearly whites pre-metal-mouth. :-)

Have you ever seen a better looking trio?

One very handsome big brother...

and his sweet little sisters!

This one is my very favorite from the session. Mom says they agreed ahead of time that reading was something they all like to do, so we worked that into a portrait.

They just look so angelic! See more of their session HERE.

Thanks, Busch family, for spending an afternoon with me. Hope you had as much fun as I did!!

Wheaton Engagement session :: Erin + Paul

I'm playing catch-up a bit after a super busy July 4th holiday weekend, but didn't want to pass up the chance to share this beautiful session with you. I met Erin and Paul on the grounds of Cantigny in Wheaton,  as the sun was just beginning to dip below the tree line. Combine that perfect light and the gorgeous gardens with this loving (and lovely!) couple, and it was a recipe for FAB-U-LOUS.

From Sharp Images Custom Photography

From Sharp Images Custom Photography

From Sharp Images Custom Photography

From Sharp Images Custom Photography

Erin and Paul, I'm REALLY looking forward to your upcoming wedding. Thanks for making these beautiful images with me!!

To see more, CLICK HERE to see the slideshow.
And see the entire session HERE.