It’s my birthday week and to celebrate I actually wanted to do a year-in-review post to celebrate my wonderful clients and supporters of my small business in my first(-ish) year of business! (Ok, and to also celebrate my growth this past year as an Oak Park, IL Photographer and Livermore, CA Photographer, too! 😉 )Thank you all so much for your support – whether it’s hiring me, likes, comments, pageviews…it all adds up. YOU are part of this business’ success! Thank you! Where possible I’ll add links so you can see each client’s whole blog post. 🙂
Oak Park, IL and Livermore, CA Family Photography
First clients back in June 2019! They’re the sweetest family with a seriously dreamy vineyard in their backyard! I’m so glad we were able to grab some fun photos before one of the kids took off to do missionary work!
My first extended family session – of twelve! I love that we were able to document family coming together from all over! 🙂
Porch-traits? Pooch-traits? I loved that this sweet family included a furry family member in their Front Porch Portraits that were all the rage in spring of 2020.
More front porch portraits – these were the first family portraits as a family of five!
I love that this beautiful, growing family got some spring flowers with their family-maternity portraits!
Love that bright sunshine glow for this front porch extended family shoot – with a few senior portraits, too!
Give me all the bright sun! This beautiful family wanted to update their portraits before some of them left for school. I love that they have vibrant foliage in their background, and I’m so glad we rescheduled from our first date; the town of Oak Park ended up under a tornado warning!
A short and sweet glowy early morning session with new friends! These boys were so energetic and fun!
Oak Park, IL Fall Family Portraits
I love these light and bright sunny meadow portraits! It was so much fun to capture this family’s joy!
This fall family photo session was so varied I split it into two posts! First, portraits in a dreamy meadow…
And then portraits at the train station, for this train-loving family!
Loved these vibrant fall portraits at Thatcher Woods! You’d never guess how overcast it was! We actually got rained out after 20 minutes!
A different look at Thatcher Woods, over in a more meadow-y spot! The joy these girls had for exploring was absolutely delightful!
Likewise, this beautiful family had fun exploring the woods in fall, too! It’s good to be an Oak Park IL Photographer in the fall!
Golden hour with this energetic family was so much fun! They loved throwing leaves, looking for deer, and showing off their Thriller (yes, really!) dance moves!
Laidback, natural, candid portraits was just what this family was after!
This beautiful family was hoping for snowy, sunny, river portraits, and it took a bit of magic on the snow front, but we got it!
Oak Park, IL and Livermore, CA Senior Portraits
These senior portraits in Livermore, CA combined both front-porch and vineyard locations for a look that uniquely captured his history! Give me allll the sunset vineyard sessions, please!
This Fenwick senior had a beautiful session, with many gorgeous outfits, props, and backgrounds! I loved that we were able to incorporate so many of her interests!
This gorgeous, confident senior was also celebrating her entrance into nursing school!
Some of this senior’s loves: nature, her guitar, the color yellow, and sunshine. I was so glad we got a gorgeous sunny day so we could incorporate them in her portraits!
Oak Park, IL and Livermore, CA Portrait Photography
This babe wanted some rocking portraits with her puppies and fancy new chairs and champagne coupes. I love the energy of her portraits!
I convinced this gorgeous bride 17(!) years post-wedding to venture into the hills with me at golden hour for a beautiful bridal portrait session.
Chicago, IL Engagement Photos and San Francisco, CA Engagement Photos
This adventurous couple wanted to include their love of biking in their Oakland industrial loft engagement photos and I’m not mad. 🙂
Product Photography
In September I donated to a raffle to support New Moms Chicago, and won some AMAZING cinnamon rolls from Pastry Revival Bakery! I’ve enjoyed practicing my food and product photography with her amazing treats – Thanksgiving pies, and festive winter holiday cinnamon star bread!
Also in September, for my son’s fourth birthday I commissioned these stunning underwater-themed cookies and cupcakes from Sunnyvale Sugar Cookies and Alissa Cake Design! These ladies are true artists and the treats were absolutely delicious! We have some hilarious behind-the-scenes photos of me using a paintbrush to clean cookie crumbs off the icing before their glamor shots!
A sweet housewarming surprise from Sunnyvale Sugar Cookies!
Beautiful flowers from Pickle Hill Parties, an Oak Park florist!
Branding Photography
I love these vibrant and cheerful branding photos (photos for social media and website) of Oak Park local photographer Pink Skies Photography!
The Expanding Lotus is a certified yoga and Ayurveda instructor, and it was a treat to take some vibrant branding photos for her!
Thank you all for supporting my small business and being part of its success!
Kristen Hazelton is an Oak Park, IL (Chicago, IL metro area) and Livermore, CA (San Francisco East Bay Area) senior, family, and engagement photographer. She occasionally photographs in San Diego, CA, Tucson, AZ, and Seattle, WA. You can inquire about your own photoshoot here!
