April 2022

This is my first time posting one of my monthly update blogs in quite awhile. There’s no sense in trying to give an update on everything that has happened in the mean time. Plus if I’m being frank I feel like there might not even have been all that much that happened since then either. So instead I’m just narrow this post down to writing about last month and what’s coming in the month ahead.

The beginning of the month started off with a busy weekend as I kicked off the month with taking some portraits of family over at Bowen Park on April Fool’s Day. Then the next day I had my first wedding of the year as I photographed the wedding of Ana and Abraham at a community center in Gurnee. However after the rush of photography of those couple of days to begin the month, business slowed down significantly the rest of the way. The next time I had some photography work was Easter weekend when I photographed the courthouse wedding of Lluvia and Heberto.

The other thing that I have started this month is offering free mini portrait sessions on select weekends at some of my favorite Waukegan and other surrounding area locations. The availability of these sessions was limited this last month since I came up with this idea late in the month. Also, the weather plays a factor as well because these sessions are mostly going to be outdoors. My sole attempt to do this was April 23rd when I was out at Bowen Park wandering to do some of my nature photography and was ready to get photos of people with the Siberian squill if people were interested.

Currently for the month of May I potentially could be offering free mini portrait sessions a couple weekends in the middle of this month. So if you are interested in the opportunity to have a free mini portrait session, follow me on my social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram. On weeks that I plan on offering free mini portrait sessions, I’m going to try to post to my story on my social media accounts which day(s) I plan on having sessions on a weekend. Then the day(s) of I will post a story about what my location will be on that given day.

This coming weekend I am doing prom photos for my nephew, Gabriel, and his girlfriend so that’s why I’m opting against any additional portrait sessions this coming weekend. Then the last weekend of the I’m taking off since it’s Memorial Day weekend and also I’m planning on going to Summer Camp Music Festival on that Sunday. That’s pretty much the only set plans for this month so there could be some chances to meet up with me for a portrait session. 

The main thing I’m going to be working on this month is completely rebuilding my website. It has been a very long since I have made any sort of update to my website so it’s much overdue for some changes. Over the last week or so I’ve been doing a little research and come up with some ideas of how to improve my site and I’m looking forward to starting to institute them in the coming weeks. Hopefully when I post my next monthly update blog, my visitors will be greeted by a much different site.

Shari & her children

This is from the other half of the portrait session at Bowen Park from the beginning of April. During this part of the session we got a lot of great photos of my sister, Shari, and her children. Also had some photos where my folks, Dominisha, and Jordan jumped in as well.

Lluvia & Heberto | Wedding

Originally Lluvia and Heberto's courthouse wedding was supposed to take place on Good Friday. However, when we arrived at the courthouse this past Friday, we found out that they were not doing marriages on that day due to the holiday. Luckily my schedule was fairly open this weekend and I was able to make it Saturday morning when they got married by a judge.

Dominisha & Jordan

The first day of April I went over to Bowen Park for a couple portrait sessions with my a couple of my sisters, their children, and my parents. The first part of the session was Dominisha and her son, Jordan. Also, my parents jumped in for a few photos as well.

Ana & Abraham | Wedding

When you think of April showers, you normally think of rain showers. However, this past weekend during Ana and Abraham’s wedding we ended up getting showered with some snow flurries instead. They had their ceremony and reception at Stoney Brook Cambridge Rec Center in Gurnee. We took most of the photos indoors for obvious reasons, but we also made sure to get outside for a moment to capture a few photos on the balcony with the snow coming down in the background.

Yumi

Back in early January I had my first and only photo session so far this year. This was my second time doing pet photography as I met up with Yumi and her owner over at Hinkston Park to get some photos in the snow.

Katy & Jaimie | Reception Party

I photographed Katy and Jaimie's scaled back wedding ceremony and reception in October 2020. So the following year, in October 2021, when they could have a bigger celebration with a reception party at Glen Flora Country Club, they hired me yet again to be their photographer.

Abria

Back in December, my niece, Abria, stopped by the studio for a little portrait session in her cheerleading uniform.

Mimi & Ben | Wedding

The wedding of Mimi and Ben marked an interesting first for me as it was the first time that I’ve been at the navy base. They had a small ceremony on base with a few family members and friends in attendance. After the ceremony we went on over to Artesian Park in Lake Bluff to get some photos with their friends and family as well as just the newlyweds together.

Murphy Family

I had this session with my aunt, uncle, and two cousins back in late December. We really lucked out with getting some good weather for this outdoor session at Lyons Woods.