This sweet family reached out for River Forest, IL maternity photos back in October, having seen their cousin’s sunrise meadow fall portraits, and I can’t think of a better compliment than that! They had a very specific set of wishes for this maternity shoot in order to match maternity photos from their first child:
- a river in the background
- golden hour one week before Winter Solstice
- if there was some snow that’d be the icing on top!
Well, friends! When you book well in advance with me, that gives me some serious time to do some serious planning!
For a golden hour portrait with a river we needed a north-by-northwest river bank – BUT – we also needed nearby access to a riverbank in the opposite direction just in case the weather didn’t cooperate! It also needed to be close to a parking lot for easy location accessibility and ease of warm-ups in case we got too cold.
We took a couple of weekends and went location scouting all up and down the Des Plaines river hunting for a perfect spot – but the best place actually ended up being Thatcher Woods!
River Forest, IL Maternity Photos
This radiant mama LOVES the snow! I wanted to do everything I could to make her snowy photoshoot dreams come true, so I found two different ways to give her snow: artificial biodegradeable snow, and a new Photoshop technique I learned!
His wonder and enthusiasm for the snow was totally contagious! We were all so happy watching his delight! I am so proud to say that this photo was featured on Finding North Collective, a photography anthology and education resource for Fine Art family photographers!! What an honor!
That one little “snowflake” on his eyelashes and the other on his nose are just so precious!
Can’t you just feel how much they love each other by looking at this photo? This is the reason why I photograph. 🙂
One last magical snowstorm for this pair! Thank you again for trusting me to take your Oak Park maternity photos! It was such a delight to meet you. 🙂
Here’s what they had to say about their experience! Thank you so much for reviewing!
“Highly recommend Kristen for family pictures. We just saw the first sneak peaks of our session, and loved all of them. She is super nice, responsive, and helpful, and goes above and beyond to make sure your pictures turn out amazing.”
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!
