Everything you need to know on how to book your Chicago family session with Aline Stern Photography! I think we can officially say it’s Spring now! The temps are up, the sun is shining, the trees are blooming! I am officially opening up Spring booking for May 1st – however – if you see the blooming trees and the nice weather and you decide you’d like to do an outdoor session RIGHT NOW (I am writing this blog post on April 11th), please shoot me a message at alinesternphoto@gmail.com and I’ll find a way to fit you in asap! I know with things getting more expensive, that family photography is a luxury, so I am not raising my prices for the Spring and Summer season. I will see how this Spring and Summer seasons go and then make a decision about Fall prices later. But if you want to make sure to get my cheaper pricing – I’d suggest booking now! One thing the photography community has been a little worried about this year is the cicada invasion! Current forecast for the emergence of the 17 year cicadas is end of May-mid June. But don’t you worry because I have […]

Spring came early this year! I’ve been working on my Spring and Summer outdoor schedule and plan to have it up the second week of April. In the meantime please check out my Mini Session Specials! I only offer these sort of sessions a few times a year – a Mini Session is a 15 minute session and it includes 3 pictures. My Mini-Sessions are $250 and you have the option to upgrade to buy more pictures later. In May I am offering Motherhood Session. I think it’s so important to get mom in the picture and these sessions focus on mom and kids. I have a boho and a natural setup and I am so excited to photograph some beautiful Mamas in my studio! Book your Motherhood session here The dates are May 4th and May 19th Stay tuned to see what I have planned for June! In other news – check out this article by Apartment Guide where I was recently quoted with some tips about my neighborhood! I am always happy to talk fun things to do in Chicago and this new website looks like is has lots of good advice! https://www.apartmentguide.com/blog/chicago-il-bucket-list/ If you don’t want to […]

In February I was sure we’d have an early Spring this year but how wrong I was! It is now mid April and finally the trees are blooming! I am officially opening my Spring booking on May 1st but if you’d like to book an earlier date to catch some of those flowering trees, just shoot my a message at info@alinesternphotography.com. Like every Spring/Summer season I don’t make a difference between weekday and weekend booking – both are the same price – the lower price! I know how much we all love later Summer and Fall pictures – Chicago is just so gorgeous in those seasons – but Spring an Summer have their charm – less hot and humid and a lot less bugs! Plus sunsets are later so if you have school aged kids or you don’t get out of work until 6pm, you really want to grab one of these Spring or Summer spots! Like last year, I am offering two kinds of sessions – Silver Sessions and Gold Sessions. Silver Sessions are my shorter sessions but I don’t want to call them mini sessions because to me a mini session is 10-15 minutes long and for outdoor […]

Christmas, Hanukkah, or just want a nice studio family picture? After a three year break I am so excited to be hosting Holiday Mini Sessions again! I will have four different setups in my North Center studio (conveniently located two blocks from the Irving Park Brown Line Stop). My Holiday Mini sessions will be 10-15 minutes long and you may pick 1-2 setups (you will receive a questionnaire beforehand). 3 pictures are included in the price with the option to buy more pictures later. The price is $250. I have 3 weekdays available – November 14th, 15th and 21st (a CPS day off school!) as well as Saturday, November 19th. Now, even for Mini Sessions I limit my spots because it is extremely important for me to provide individualized service to each of my client families. I want to know your names and what makes your kids laugh, so make sure to book your spot fast! BOOK HERE Here are the setups: Fancy Green Christmas This setup is best for just kids 2. Scandinavian Christmas Since I am from Europe, I’ve always wanted to do a simple, scandi-Christmas setup. This is best for kids by themselves or families with babies […]

Prices, booking links and everything you need to know! Gold Session $550 on weekdays$650 on weekends In the Gold 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 Silver 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 Gold 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. When you book it will let you pick a time – I always try and shoot within two hours after sunrise or before sunset. I make exceptions if those times don’t work for you but the photos won’t be quite as golden and rich looking as they do in these pictures. So please […]

Everything you need to know including booking links A lot has happened in the past few months. On Jan 1st I opened my own studio in North Center. I added Branding Photography to my repertoire and have really been enjoying working with different brands and influencers. But I still love photographing kids, family and couples and sometimes your pets – so here is my Spring and Summer schedule. A few things you should know before I post the pricing and booking links: I changed my sign up system, I hope in the long run it’s going to be easier to use for both me and you guys but I am still ironing out some stuff, so if you have ANY trouble booking, please just send me an email to alinesternphoto@gmail.com. How it works: You click on either “Silver Session” or “Gold Session” and my scheduler will pop up. You select a date (my Spring and Summer calendar goes from April 18th-July 31st – my late summer/Fall calendar will be live in early June), it will prompt you to enter your name and email address. I will send an email with my contract and invoice. Once you sign the contract and […]

It’s been a busy year and I am starting to wind down for the season. I have just a handful of opportunities left for family photo sessions. I have decided to not host studio minis this year (again, unfortunately), so this is it for 2021! Holiday Park Minis on Nov 14th $250 10 minute sessions in Winnemac Park. 3 pictures included in the session. When booking please let me know if you want some Christmas-y props or focus on more natural shots. The weather forecast says it will be a chilly day, so dress appropriately and if you have a tiny baby, maybe consider a different kind of session since babies do NOT like being cold and it is almost impossible for me to get them to smile when it’s under 45 degrees. Nov 14th Holiday Park Mini Porch Minis $250 10 minute session, 3 pictures included I will offer these on regular weekdays from 9.30am-3pm and on the last two Sundays in November – Chicago North Side only! When booking please give me two options for preferred time and date. I will have a few Christmas props in the car if you want to make your porch more festive! […]

Everything you need to know plus booking links It’s that time of the year again! We are getting ready for Fall photoshoots – the best time to do pictures in Chicago! First of all I’d like to talk about Covid. I am fully vaccinated. I arrive to every shoot with a mask. If you are vaccinated as well and you’d like me to take off the mask so you can understand me better I feel comfortable to do that with outdoor shoots, though I will still keep some distance to the kids. I am also totally fine with keeping the mask on so if you don’t specifically ask me to take it off, I will just keep it on. I am still going to be very flexible with rescheduling if you or any family member feels sick at all. I just ask that you give me as much notice as possible so I’m not already on the way to our shoot. Now – October is always my most busy month. There are several reasons why October is so popular – it’s cooler and less humid, sunset is earlier and sunrise is later so we catch that amazing golden light without […]

Mini Sessions and Full Sessions I am writing this today, on the first day of Spring. It’s been quite a year, my friends. Somehow we made it work. But I am looking towards a better future. I just got my first Covid vaccine yesterday and will be fully vaccinated by the end of April. The sun is shining, it’s warm. I hope you are doing well! Even though I will be fully vaccinated – I am still going to be wearing a mask to your session (double mask or KN95 for indoor shoots), I will avoid touching you. If you want me to bring props like blankets or a box for littles to sit on please let me know! I totally understand that not everybody will be comfortable with using my props quite yet. My studio will remain closed until Fall which is really a bummer but I have big plans for the Christmas shoots this year and will have an indoor space again for those (Covid numbers and Governor permitting) so stay tuned! For now I am still doing indoor lifestyle newborns and family session in your home if that’s something you are interested in. Please send me a […]

As of today (January 30th) my studio is still closed and I am not sure when I can safely re-open but my guess is not before summer. This time of year is always slow for me but this year, due to not being able to utilize my studio, it is extra slow. So to entice you, my dear client, to give this weather a chance and maybe get some pictures with stunning winter sunsets and sparkling snow or even some Spring blooms, I am updating my prices from now until the end of April. The Winter Special Outdoor winter minis or porch sessions $200 If you’ve booked a regular mini session with me you know we can get quite a bit done. They always end up being longer than I planned, almost like a full session but done faster. Not this session – this is a 10-15 minute session and it includes 5 pictures. I am keeping these short because while it may be pretty out – it is still winter in Chicago and it’s cold! But if you want a pretty family picture in the snow plus a couple of close ups of your kids or yourself, this is […]