IPS || portraiture and lighting class & gorgeous friend

Hello lovelies! 

This next week I am taking a photography class to further my knowledge in portraiture and studio lighting.

I will be posting pictures of assignments over this next week. 

So..... this is my first post from Colorado!

These are pics of me and my new awesomely gorgeously wonderful friend, Madey!

We visited Garden of the Gods, and had a ton of fun. :)

Have a good day and....... be awesome! <3

~Stephanie  <3

Valentines Day & Valentine Baby || chicago il baby & graduate photographer

Hello lovelies. February went by so quickly! Spring is right around the corner! At least...that's what I'm telling myself. I feel slightly jipped. Our winter wasn't much of a winter. Yes, we had cold days. But what good is cold winter weather without snow! Yeah, we had some snow, but not normal Illinois winter wonderland snow! 

So now I'm totally done with winter. I want spring. I want to wear flip-flops, sundresses, drink sweet tea by the garden, bask in the sun, etc. etc..  

Well, back to February. I hope everyone had a wonderful month! I want to share this Cuties valentine photo shoot. You might remember little Esther from a few months ago. SO adorable! This was her 5 month session. We had a lot of fun putting it together. :) <3

Valentines day was extra special this year. I actually have a valentine! :) 

He took me to a lovely restaurant, the food was so good! He even bought me italian ice! :P 

It was a wonderful evening. A Valentines Day that this girl could only dream of... :)

The Boy, (aka Michael ;) bought me lovely flowers. He said they reminded him of me. :)

I even got roses!! :*)

:)

I hope you had a wonderful Valentines day too!

~Stephanie 

p.s. After I wrote this post it started snowing very heavily. Sooo. I can't complain too much. It was all snowy for several days! Twas lovely.... *sigh*  

Even though I ran off the road twice, I was still enjoying the beautiful snowfall. :)  

p.p.s. This week..... was warm again. Shocking for Illinois weather, I know. ;)

<3

Jesse: senior || chicago il graduate & baby photographer

Hellooo all!  Here are some graduation pictures I took of a friend of mine.....a super handsome dude.......drum roll please.......and......tah dah!

Jesse!

He is a super funny guy. Always ready with some smart alack remark. I would know..... he is ALWAYS pulling one over on me. He thinks I'm super gullible.....I don't know where in the world he got that idea! ;)

Have a phenomenal day! :)

~Stephanie

Indianapolis Trip || Chicago Wedding & Baby Photographer

Hello lovelies. How is life treating you this winter? <3 Are you ready for spring yet? ;)

My life is very full at the moment. :) Full of busyness, fun and laughter. :) 

This past October I interned at a photography school, Institute of Photographic Studies, http://ipsphoto.co/. I was SO blessed by this trip and the wonderful experiences! My bestie and I made the trip to Indianapolis to spend an entire week with many wonderful people. We were the photo critique instructors.

Road trips with your best friend are always going to be a win! Singing to the radio (very loudly, and I'm sure off key only occasionally...), munching on snacks (that are only legal cuz it's a road trip ;) ), ending up in China Town on the way home because we somehow turned on the wrong road..., Starbucks, film cameras, awesome friends, meeting new awesome friends, beautiful fall weather. Yes, this was a good trip.

:)

My beautiful, awesome, inspiring instructors. Thank you Rowan and Jocelyn for the wonderful opportunities you have given me. <3

Photo credit to Jocelyn. <3

All of these pictures are taken with a film camera, except the group photo. I have decided that I love film. And I hope to use it more and more in the years to come. In someways, since I used old film and had no idea as to the condition of the film, I didn't know what would come out. I found this extremely intriguing. Having no idea what was being captured. It could be all black, or all white. Or a work of art that takes your breath away. If you have an old camera laying around, get it out and snap a few. The beauty of it will capture your attention. Have fun with it. Be daring! If it doesn't come out, oh well! The fun you will have trying something new and adventurous will be what you will remember! And then next time buy new film as well as use the old. ;)  

Be joyful. :)

~Stephanie <3