I’ve been working with this family for several years and have heard them talk on several occasions about the vintage car they own.  Imagine my delight when they arrived for their session in said car!  I knew immediately I needed to incorporate this incredible car that the dad has spent so much time working on into their family photos.  We headed out for their shoot and had such a fun time together.  The girls are always so full of life and have the sweetest personalities.  I only see these girls once a year but the oldest one always remembers my name and doesn’t miss a beat when we start shooting.  This year was certainly no exception!  After we finished shooting family pictures she grabbed my hand and led me off to another shooting spot that was all her own. When it was her little sister’s turn for individual photos my little helper didn’t leave my side serving as quite the apprentice.   It’s crazy the bond that develops between myself and the kids when we work together time and time again…which of course means I like to spoil the kiddos after a session.   We wrapped up this shoot by stopping off at our locally owned candy store where I let the girls pick out a special treat (or two).  It’s so fun for me to think that these girls will likely remember our photo sessions together for many years to come.

Oh, the excitement!!!!

Mom and Dad agreed to let each of the girls have an ice cream cone before they left.  We went outside and I watched the following scene play out right in front of me!

Big sister offered little sister a taste of ice cream, but turned at the very last minute deciding it might be better to keep it for herself.  Little sister thought this was HILARIOUS.  Big sister offered, quite convincingly, again to share her ice cream and BAM!  Right when little sister went in for a taste she flipped her head and all little sister got was a mouth full of hair.  HA!!

Eventually they both decided to share a taste of their cones with one another.

And then all was well with the sisters again!

Up here in the north woods we try to be prepared for any kind of weather…sleet, snow, rain, you name it.  I thought I’d shot in just about every kind of weather, but on the day of Maddie’s high school senior session we were met with an entirely new challenge which was WIND.  Not just a little wind either!  We were dealing with gusts up to 50 mph at times.  Luckily, Maddie had a great sense of humor about it and we found a little area tucked between some buildings that helped protect us just a bit.  Throughout the session we just had to laugh as we were yelling back and forth just to hear each other over the wind.  It must have been quite the scene to say the least.  Maddie was such an easy subject to photograph…even with the unusual windy weather.  Maddie, have a great senior year at Hudson High School!  I had a blast working with you!

Every year for the past 4 1/2 years I’ve had the pleasure of working with this beautiful family.  My first session started with them was a maternity session just before they welcomed their first child into the world.  What a treat it’s been for me to work with them year after year as they welcome new babies into the world and every Fall to capture images of their family.  The kids have grown to know me and are pretty darn comfortable in front of the camera.  Here are a few of my favorite images from this year’s session:

In the hustle and bustle of life I find it far too easy to set down my camera when I’m not working…I’m sure any professional photographers reading this can relate!  It’s nice every now and again to pick up my camera and shoot *just because* without any pressure or expectations attached to the images.  As my kids get older it’s also become increasingly important to me to capture details and memories so that someday my boys can look at these images and remember the story of their childhood.  So, I made it a personal goal to be more intentional with capturing images that tell our family story and spending more time working on personal photography projects.  In her book, “The Sound of Paper”, Julia Cameron writes that working on such projects can inspire change in the way you approach your art form and transform your end result.   I can safely say that this has been the case for me and as a result I’ve fallen in love with photography all over again.

Below are some images from just one of the photo projects I’ve completed this summer.   My goal with this project was to capture my grandpa (a.k.a. “Popo”) working in his garden.  I have so many memories from my childhood of working along side Popo in his garden and at 90 years old he still has his garden growing strong.  I wrote about it on This Lunch Rox if you’d like to read more, but I thought I’d share the images here as well.  I’m so happy to have these images of Popo and I know that years from now I’ll appreciate that I took the time to capture him doing what he loves most…gardening.

Well, well, well…what an adventure this little man has been on for the past few months.  It all started when he decided to try to come into the world at only 27 weeks.  With a lot of determination and some wonderful care from the hospital staff his mom was able to carry him nearly full-term (not an easy task when you have a 12 month old at home).   While he arrived safely and was able to go home with his parents, he was admitted to the NICU just a few short days later for jaundice and a few other health scares.  As if that wasn’t enough excitement for one family they learned during the NICU stay that their family would be moving to San Jose, California in just a few short weeks for his dad’s job!  When I arrived for his first photo session my heart immediately went out to his mom as I tried to imagine what it must be like to have 13 month old, a newborn and the task of packing up and moving my family across the country in a matter of weeks.  She had such an amazing attitude about the entire situation and expressed over and over again that they were just grateful to have two healthy kids no matter where it is they call home…what a great perspective!

This little champ was such a trooper throughout the session.  Despite all the happenings going on around him he settled in and let me do my thing while he caught some rest.  His dad’s gloves from his new team arrived the day of the session and he wanted nothing more than to break them in by holding his son in them…something tells me this little guy is going to be daddy’s boy!

I’m sad to see this family go, but I know they are going to love California!

As some of you know, I love all things paper.  I recently had the opportunity to photograph one of the most talented paper artists I know, Jennifer Norman, of Mara Mi studios.  There really aren’t enough words in the English language to describe just how incredible her creations are but detailed, elegant & timeless are just a few words that define her work.  Jennifer is branching out on her own to accomplish some projects she has long dreamed of doing.  I couldn’t have been more excited when she asked me to take some promotional shots for one of her upcoming projects.  I’m so incredibly excited for her as I know big things are coming her way.  I’m still in the process of going through the files but wanted to throw up a few sneak peeks for her.  We Thanks again, Jennifer, for trusting me to capture your vision.  I wish you the very best in the coming months!

So I just have to ask…who is ready for all this snow to melt?! I know I am! Spring fever has officially set in and I’m afraid it might be a few more weeks before we start to feel some spring-like temps around here. The good news is that this snowy season has provided me an opportunity to get so many long-standing projects crossed off my list…FINALLY! One of which is my new bento box lunch box blog. This is something I’ve been talking about for quite some time and I have to thank my wonderful clients who encouraged me to move forward with it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve fallen into a conversations about child nutrition with my clients over the past year and how many of my clients were following my lunch box posts on Facebook. So, I decided to take a chance and make a blog devoted to nutritious lunch boxes. Here’s a link for anyone interested: http://thislunchrox.com/

Now onto studio news! Dana, a performing arts major at Columbia College in Chicago, came to the studio for some promotional shots for an upcoming role she landed. (Congrats again, Dana!) She is so incredibly talented and has such a great head on her shoulders. She was such a joy to photograph and I’m so excited for what the future holds for her!

One thing I rely heavily on during a typical photo session is my ability to communicate with my subjects.  It’s something I’ve really come to love about my job.  However, when this little tyke came into the studio for his one year photos I was presented with a bit of a challenge…he only speaks Finnish.  Some of you may remember him from his newborn session last year where I explained that both of his parents are from Finland, but moved here where Antti (Dad) could pursue his career.  As I started the session I quickly realized that my usual tactics of engaging a child were going to be tough.   I had to think fast so I found a camera and showed him the ropes for a few minutes.  It didn’t take him long to put two and two together and he turned on the charm.  Regardless of the language barrier, we had a great time working together and I got a kick out of his reactions to some of my antics.  Happy Birthday, little man!

What a year it has been here at Jamie Schultz Photography!   I want to take a moment to express a sincere thank you to my clients who have entrusted me to capture their families throughout the year.  It is truly an honor to work with each and every one of you.  From all of us at Jamie Schultz Photography we wish you the very best in the coming year.

Below are a few holiday projects that left our studio over the past few weeks…oh, what fun we had pulling these together!

I recently had the incredible opportunity to shoot an international ad campaign for Mpix Photography Lab.  The icing on the cake was that the assignment was to shoot one of the most talented photographers I know!  Shelley Paulson and I met years ago at a workshop and since then I have watched her style and techniques evolve into something simply amazing.  She has been an inspiration to me and it was truly an honor to be asked to do this project.  Congratulations to you, Shelley, for being chosen for this ad campaign!