It’s the middle of summer and a lot of people are starting to think about their Fall pictures – so like every year I am putting all my booking information and links in this blog post.
But first we need to talk about the obvious – the COVID-19 pandemic is still raging across our country and none of us know how the next few months will look like. Here is what I will do to ensure your and my safety and conform to state set regulations:
Now for booking :
Before you decide on when to book – every month has it’s advantages. August and September have warm weather and beautiful flowers but may not be great if you’re afraid of sweat or if your hair gets frizzy in humid weather.
Mid to late October usually has the best Fall foliage but it also rains more, so if you’re looking for a golden sunset you may want to book in September instead.
November has gorgeous colors – a mix of Fall colors with beautiful long wild grass and usually empty parks for photos – but it can be cold (make sure to dress yourself and the kids accordingly) – if you have little kids under 4, I recommend booking in the warmer months.
$340 in September/October or $290 in August
Do you need an updated family picture? Do you just want some nice pictures of you and your kids but you don’t want anything time consuming? Then the Mini may be a good option for you.
Outdoor Mini sessions are 20 to 30 minutes long. I shoot most of my outdoor Mini sessions at Winnemac Park. It’s the perfect place for Minis because we can get a good variety of pictures in a short amount of time and the foliage there is gorgeous. I sometimes shoot Minis in other places if I have a Full session before or after.
Included in the price of a Mini are ten edited photos in both color and black-and-white. You may purchase extra pictures for $25 or upgrade to a full gallery. You will receive an online gallery with your photos to download as high-resolution files and an option to order prints.
I am only offering one mini session a week right now. I know these are popular sessions and I may decide to offer more in October but currently this is all I am going to offer.
$490 on weekdays $550 on weekends
In the Full sessions we take our time and try to capture moments and emotion. We spend 40 to 60 minutes together. We start out with the sort of pictures we’d do during a Mini session – smile in the camera, the perfect family portrait. After we get those shots, we play, we laugh, we run around. I’m going to make this experience as relaxed and positive and fun as possible for you and your kids. My goal is to get everybody out of their shell and to just capture love and personality.
With a Full session you receive at least 60 pictures, usually more, in both color and black-and-white versions. You will receive an online gallery with your photos to download as high-resolution files and an option to order prints.
Below you find the links to book your session. I generally plan to shoot one weekday – mostly that will be Wednesday but if you can never make a Wednesday, please send me an email and I will try and be flexible! On weekends I only shoot on Saturday – I reserve Sundays as backup days in case the weather is bad or we have to postpone for other reasons. Also the best time to to take pictures is within two hours after sunrise and two hours before sunset, so I generally try and schedule my sessions then. Of course at the end of October the sun sets as early as 5pm, so please keep that in mind. These links are only to pay to reserve your spot – the rest of the payment is due on or before your photo session. Since November can be quite chilly I am only scheduling mini sessions for November right now – I will re-evaluate should we have a very warm Fall!
September/October Mini Sessions
September/October Full Sessions Weekdays
September/October Full Sessions Weekends
Thank you for your trust and support! I hope to see you all this Fall – happy and healthy!
For any questions please send me an email at info@alinesternphotography.com
Last week I found out that starting May 1st photographers in Chicago are allowed to take pictures again. At least for May there are some rules we have to follow:
I have added a rule to this for myself: in May and June I will only take on two clients a week and never on the same day. This is for your and my safety but also because it looks like I will keep homeschooling my own children for the foreseeable future and I don’t want the quality of my work to suffer. That also means I am booking up fast!
Another big change for May and June: I will LOWER my prices. I know most of us are suffering financially right now so I want to make photography more accessible but I am also still figuring out how this all will work, with me not being able to be close to my clients. I will go back to my pricing from two years ago which means:
$300 for full sessions
$200 for mini sessions
$150 for porch minis
Since I can’t do regular newborn sessions right now, I will do them (and price them) as regular full family sessions and mini sessions.
I will only do mini sessions and porch sessions on the Northside of Chicago though.
Locations: You may want to consider your backyard if that is at all possible. Most parks and nature preserves are not allowing photography right now. Hopefully that will change in June. Urban and downtown shoots are also a great choice right now! I have a few coming up and I am very excited.
So while this is definitely not the photography Spring and Summer I imagined, we will get through this. Please be patient with me since I am figuring all of this out just like the rest of us but my goal is to provide you with the same quality of work you are used to from me and to make you feel normal and comfortable … at least for a little bit.
Hi there! Chances are you are stuck at home right now. If you are reading this blog you are probably at home with your kids and maybe your partner or your pets. You may want to use this time to get better at a skill or maybe you just want to document what is going on right now. Either way, in this blog post I have some advice on how to take great pictures of your family – not on vacation or in the studio but in your home or while you are out on your walks and hikes.
Now first off – I am at home and homeschooling my own two kids so trust me, I don’t have time for elaborate photoshoots right now. This is not my goal for this blog post. This post is about how to capture your everyday life. The pictures are supposed to be natural and really capture your kids’ spirit (this is my goal for my family photo shoots too). You don’t need props or fancy equipment. I used three different kinds of cameras for this blog post: my professional cameras (Canon 5d Mk III and 5d Mk IV), my mirrorless “vacation” camera (Fuji XT-3), and my iPhone 8 Plus camera. Can you spot the difference?
Here are my tips for getting great pictures of your family:
Is there a place in your house that has amazing light in the morning or the evening? Where does the sunlight come through the trees at the park by your house? Keep an eye out for this magic light and then if you see it, use it, experiment with it. I love to backlight my subjects – that means that the light is behind your child, giving them a soft glow around the edges. On the other hand you can get gorgeous light if the light shines straight on your kid, illuminating them. Turn off the overhead lights and see where your window light comes in at which time.
If the light behind your child is bright and there is nothing between you and your kid, it will create a silhouette. If there is something partially blocking the light, say a tree, the light will filter and give a softer glow.
Try and capture it all: the laughs, the tears, the hugs after a booboo, the exhaustion after a tickle fight.
How do you do that? Two things – DON’T ask your kids to “say cheese” and look in the camera, and take lots and lots of pictures so they get used to having their own paparazzi. Make fart noises. Those will get any kid older than three to smile (as well as most husbands). Photograph them in their element, doing what they love.
If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram you probably know that I love color. Nothing makes me happier than a vibrant picture but sometimes turning a picture black and white makes it really pop.
Reasons to choose color:
Reasons to choose black and white:
If you feel stuck in a rut with your pictures, try changing perspective.
Now, give yourself a challenge. This coming week, try to take a picture following one or more of my tips.
If you have Instagram, please post a picture and tag @alinesternphotography in it! Or send me a picture to alinesternphotography@gmail.com – let me know if I can post it with your name! I would love to see all your pictures!
Also comment here with more ideas for future posts. I am thinking of doing one with links to understand your camera better and to help you all with editing your pictures. I am also going to give little tips here and there on Instagram and Facebook so follow me on:
Have fun and stay safe you all!
Read On
It’s that time of the year again! Fall booking is open! In this post you will find all of the info and booking links for my Full family sessions and Mini family sessions since these two are my most popular options. I offer a lot of different packages but if you’re interested in other sessions, for example senior, newborn, or “Day of Lifestyle” sessions or studio, please contact me directly at info@alinesternphotography.com. I don’t want to overwhelm you!
Please be aware that my package prices changed in 2019 – make sure you check out my new pricing before booking!
Before you decide on when to book – every month has it’s advantages. August and September have warm weather and beautiful flowers but may not be great if you’re afraid of sweat or if your hair gets frizzy in humid weather.
Mid to late October usually has the best Fall foliage but it also rains more, so if you’re looking for a golden sunset you may want to book in September instead.
November has gorgeous colors – a mix of Fall colors with beautiful long wild grass and usually empty parks for photos – but it can be cold (make sure to dress yourself and the kids accordingly) – if you have little kids under 4, I recommend booking in the warmer months.
$290 on weekdays – $340 on weekends
Do you need an updated family picture? Do you just want some nice pictures of you and your kids but you don’t want anything time consuming? Then the Mini may be a good option for you.
Outdoor Mini sessions are 20 to 30 minutes long. I shoot most of my outdoor Mini sessions at Winnemac Park. It’s the perfect place for Minis because we can get a good variety of pictures in a short amount of time and the foliage there is gorgeous. I sometimes shoot Minis in other places if I have a Full session before or after.
Included in the price of a Mini are ten edited photos in both color and black-and-white. You may purchase extra pictures for $35 or upgrade to a full gallery. You will receive an online gallery with your photos to download as high-resolution files and an option to order prints.
$490 on weekdays $550 on weekends
In the Full sessions we take our time and try to capture moments and emotion. We spend 40 to 60 minutes together. We start out with the sort of pictures we’d do during a Mini session – smile in the camera, the perfect family portrait. After we get those shots, we play, we laugh, we run around. I’m going to make this experience as relaxed and positive and fun as possible for you and your kids. My goal is to get everybody out of their shell and to just capture love and personality.
With a Full session you receive at least 60 pictures, usually more, in both color and black-and-white versions. You will receive an online gallery with your photos to download as high-resolution files and an option to order prints.
And here are the links to book your session:
August Full Sessions (August prices are the same on weekends and weekdays):
Full Sessions Weekday September
Full Sessions Weekend September
Full Session Weekend October and November
Full Sessions Weekday November
Mini Sessions (please be aware that weekends are more expensive then weekdays – mini-session time will be agreed upon closer to the date)
I hope to see you this Fall!
As I am writing this post it is 14 degrees with a -2 degree wind chill and outdoor sessions seem far far away. BUT! Spring will be here before we know it. And I’ve had people inquire about my Spring and Summer calendar since September of last year, so here we are!
In this post you will find all of the info and booking links for my Full family sessions and Mini family sessions since these two are my most popular options. I offer a lot of different packages but if you’re interested in other sessions, for example senior, newborn, or “Day of Lifestyle” sessions, please contact me directly at info@alinesternphotography.com. I don’t want to overwhelm you!
First of all – if you’re worried about the weather let me tell you – every month is different and has different things to offer. April has Spring flowers popping up. There are no bugs and we still get the clear and clean winter light. It’s also empty in all the outdoor spots which is a bliss! We often get the prettiest flowering trees in April and early May. I know some spots that have really stunning Spring foliage! May is beautiful and colorful. We get some warm days but don’t have to worry about about bugs and mosquitos yet. June and July are warm and sunny and gorgeous and golden. I love beach shoots in those months and everything is blooming and pretty. In this post you will see examples for every month!
For those of you who would really prefer a Fall shoot – I will open my booking for Fall (end of August till end of November) in the first week of July. Please be aware that while my weekday prices will stay the same – I do charge more on Fall weekends and my Fall weekends book up very fast.
So what is the difference between a Full session and a Mini session?
$290
Do you need an updated family picture? Do you just want some nice pictures of you and your kids but you don’t want anything time consuming? Then the Mini may be a good option for you.
Outdoor Mini sessions are 20 to 30 minutes long. I shoot most of my outdoor Mini sessions at Winnemac Park. It’s the perfect place for Minis because we can get a good variety of pictures in a short amount of time and the foliage there is gorgeous. I sometimes shoot Minis in other places if I have a Full session before or after.
Included in the price of a Mini are ten edited photos in both color and black-and-white. You may purchase extra pictures for $35 or upgrade to a full gallery. You will receive an online gallery with your photos to download as high-resolution files and an option to order prints.
$490
In the Full sessions we take our time and try to capture moments and emotion. We spend 40 to 60 minutes together. We start out with the sort of pictures we’d do during a Mini session – smile in the camera, the perfect family portrait. After we get those shots, we play, we laugh, we run around. I’m going to make this experience as relaxed and positive and fun as possible for you and your kids. My goal is to get everybody out of their shell and to just capture love and personality.
With a Full session you receive at least 60 pictures, usually more, in both color and black-and-white versions. You will receive an online gallery with your photos to download as high-resolution files and an option to order prints.
My favorite time to shoot is the golden hour before sunset but I will also shoot earlier. The results will be a bit different though, so if you are in love with the golden sunset pictures on my website, I have quite a few tips on how to get your kids to be happy even at 6.30 or 7pm for a shoot! If I’ve convinced you to book with me, please follow the links below to the different months. You can just scroll down and pick a date. If you can’t make the days or times in the schedule please contact me with a preferred time and date and we will find a way to make it happen!
The retainer is non-refundable but it is transferable to a different session or session date which has to be done within a year.
Booking links for April through July:
If you have any questions about the booking process, please contact me at info@alinesternphotography.com
Read On
Guys, I am so behind on blogging. I’ve been shooting non stop for months but there are a few sessions I’d like to show you, even if the landscape looks very different now.
I’ve known this family since their oldest was less than a year old. They are just such wonderful children and such a joy to photograph. I love how big brother is so protective and such a gentleman. Middle brother is such a ham and so sweet. And the youngest one is most definitely the boss.
