New Year's Resolution...again!

The beginning of the year is a quiet time for most photographers. The craziness of the fall season, followed quickly by the stress of Christmas, is finally behind us. People have not yet begun to think about Senior Portraits or getting booked for summer while the cold, miserable weather of January is hanging around. So naturally this is the time for me to reflect on my business of the previous year as well as plan for the upcoming year.

With the extra time on my hands and needing a creative outlet, I look back to my blogs. I can't even believe it has been over a year since I have posted here. That is an entire year + of interacting with potential clients as well as allowing a place to brag on my awesome clients from 2015. That makes me sad so my resolution this year is to do better. Heck, with exactly 0 posts in 2015, I'm already ahead of the game!

This year is a year of growth for Erin Reed Photography. I have many goals for myself and my business and I'm looking forward to learning and pushing my limits. I already have two weddings booked, one in May and one in September (Yikes!) and am looking to go further in my HS Senior Portraiture to really set myself apart from the others in my area. I hope you will join me and watch me grow!

Sincerely,

Erin

Heineman 8th Grade Dance 2014

I went to Catholic School. School dances were a big no-no and my school only had one the entire time I went there, when I was in 7th grade and I didn't even go. Once I became a teacher in a middle school in Elmhurst, I realized how big of a deal the 8th grade dance really was! At that school, a note had to go home informing parents that formal dress, tuxedos, and limousines were prohibited from the dance. What?!?!?! As a 23 year old newlywed, I couldn't even imagine a parent making that big of a deal about an 8th grade dance.  Fast forward 17 years to my very own 8th grader getting ready for his big night.

I had been drafted by a friend to be part of the photography area of the dance, as well as the photographer for the night. Gee, thanks Toni! ;)  Lots of planning and work went into it for weeks before the dance just for our little area. The other committees really had their hands full. As we were decorating our areas, I just couldn't imagine how it would all come together but lo and behold, it did. I was blown away by the creativity of these parents and the sheer will power to get it done in the 5 hours we had to decorate. 

The kids all seemed to have a great time and I really hope they enjoyed their night. Here is just a sampling of some of the great pictures the kids were taking all night!

I'm looking forward to next year when its my daughter's turn at the dance!

Hanna (John) | Newborn

So in the spirit of full disclosure, this next little guy is actually my nephew! My baby sister has become a mom! It is definitely surreal to me but it was a ton of fun to photograph him because I could do whatever I wanted. The bad part of it was that because he was so new (4 days) there was a houseful of people clamoring to see him including 7 adults, 7 kids, 2 dogs plus a couple of visitors that stopped by for a bit mid shoot.  Just typical Pannaralla (my maiden name) craziness!

Here are a couple of my favorite shots of the day:

I am such a sucker for Chevron!

John's full name is Hanna Yousef Akroush. His dad's family is Jordanian and Hanna is a family name. This little guy's grandfather to be specific. It is their tradition to name boys after the grandfather. Hanna translates to John in English so that's what all of us Irish folks call him!

 

My whole family, especially my sister and mom, are huge Chicago White Sox fans so there was no question about whether or not we were getting some baseball shots in!

Nothing beats a good Black and White. 

This was one of the last shots of the day and I was afraid I didn't get it! We were losing light fast so my older sister was being "the light from heaven" as she named herself and was using my reflector to get me a little light. There was absolute madness going on as my 3 year old nephew really wanted to love on his new cousin and my dogs wanted in on the action too. Suddenly, John falls asleep and then lets out this adorable little newborn smirk. Swoon.  I was completely in love! <3

Since he is now almost 5 months old (I'm only a little behind on my blog!) there will be some updated pics coming soon!

Parker | 6 Months

I first met little Parker when he was just a newborn. I was thrilled when mom called me up and asked if I could do his 6 month pictures! I love getting to see how these little guys grow so much so fast. When I got to their new home in downtown Chicago, I barely recognized him! He was huge!

We started his session with some simple shots.

Then, since his 6 month birthday fell so close to Christmas, we changed it up and did some Christmas pictures.

Gotta get some jammie pics for Christmas, right?

And last but not least, his brother and sister wanted in on the action too!

I can't wait to head back downtown once this awful winter is over and take some new family pictures outside. Parker should be walking by then! Time goes by so fast. Enjoy him while he's small!

Goldstein Family|Northern Illinois Family Photographer|Erin Reed Photography

Love this family! They are personal family friends of the Reed's and I couldn't be happier mom decided to take the plunge and get their new family portraits taken! After more than one trip to the store to find outfits with yours truly working as fashion consultant, as well as mom stealing the scarf off my neck as I got out of the car, I think the look is perfect. Stylish, colorful, comfortable, just like the family. The boys weren't so sure at first if they really wanted me to be doing this but finally warmed up to the idea. I don't know if it helped that they already knew me or made it a little more awkward for them...

How sweet are they???

We had to do some of just mom and dad. Without them, the rest wouldn't be here, right?

Lucas was being too cool for mom! I love the look she's giving him.

Griffin chose this pose all on his own so mom just jumped in!

Griff was my little model all day! He rocked the session!

Jordan wasn't so thrilled with me being there. 14 year olds are too cool for pictures but I won and got some really great shots of him anyway!

And we can't forget about Lucas! Such a cutie pie!

It was an awesome afternoon and I think they would all agree, relatively painless even if it was freezing! Thanks Goldsteins!