Monthly Archives: May 2017

Weather Policy

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As I’m writing this, we have just gotten out of the wet April that seems to always hit the Central Illinois area 🙂 Spring has sprung in Bloomington-Normal & summer is peaking at us! My weather policy for Nomi Photography is the same all year round & is pretty simple!

Because I am using a camera to take your pictures & that camera & the lens on it are pretty expensive if there is rain happening during a session, I have to reschedule. As frustrating as that is, we can’t have a wet camera because then that means a broken camera! And we don’t want wet clients either 😉

Policy for a Session
Amazing Client schedules exciting, fun session with me. (We talk over the weather policy in your consultation.)
I watch weather like a hawk all the way up until the session with Amazing Client.
I see that it looks like it’s going to rain & I call client an no less then 1-2 hours before session & we chat about what to do.

Policy for Mini Sessions
I schedule Mini Sessions on Saturday’s & then use Sunday’s as my rainout/makeup day.

 

It’s that easy! I don’t work on Sunday’s. I don’t schedule sessions nor do I edit or answer emails. Sunday is my family day. Since I’m usually doing sessions on Saturday, Sunday’s are the only day that my little family can spend together. BUT I save Sunday’s for my sessions that get rained out & then use Sunday’s for the new day IF another time/day during the week doesn’t workout.

I will do sessions in light snow & wind even. I will reschedule an outdoor session if it it below 40 degrees. I will also reschedule if it is too hot.

I have a list of indoor locations that can be used in case of bad weather.

I hope this blog post helped you when it comes to weather change! Don’t let weather scare you! Being outdoors for a session is the BEST.THING. you could ever do for your family. Natural, outdoor light can NEVER be replaced by studio lighting. It’s just not the same.

And just for fun, all these pictures that are in this blog-post were taken on SUPER cloudy days! Pictures can still happen when it’s cloudy out! 🙂

Let’s do this! Email me at naomi@nomi-photography.com & we’ll schedule your session!!!

 

Mom & Me Minis 2017 Recap!

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Motherhood is beautiful.
Motherhood is hard.
Motherhood is crazy.
Motherhood is fun!

Motherhood should be open, not closed. Too many times we don’t share our struggles or frustrations in motherhood. If only we would open up & thus receive help & grace from others.
Motherhood should be real & not fake. Too many times we cover up what’s really going on & only show “the highlights”. If only we would just realize how much beauty there is IN the process of learning & then walk away with a fuller heart.
Motherhood should be full of grace. Too many times we put ourselves down, call ourselves a “hot mess” & make sarcastic excuses. If only we would stop putting ourselves down & realize we are doing the best we can & that’s what matters.

And motherhood is fun! It really truly is.

I hope you see the beauty, crazy, fun, grace & realness of motherhood in these photos. Each image has so much emotion in them! I invite you to see for yourself…

I’ve used some lyrics from the song “Slow Down” by Nichole Nordeman. Feel free to click HERE for the song to be played as you drink in these images…

Here’s to you
Every missing tooth
Every bedtime story

Here’s to Barbie cars, light saber wars
Sleeping in on Sunday
Had to crawl
Before you walked
Before you ran

Before I knew it
You were teaching me
The only thing love can
Hold hands through it
When it’s scary, you’ve got me

Slow down
Won’t you stay here a minute more
I know you want to walk through the door
But it’s all too fast

Let’s make it last a little while
I pointed to the sky and now you wanna fly
I am your biggest fan
I hope you know I am
But do you think you can somehow
Slow down

I am your biggest fan
I hope you know I am
But do you think you can
Somehow
Slow down
Slow down

Johnson | Mom & Me Mini Session

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I’m ready for spring! I was going through my sessions from last year & realized I hadn’t yet blogged this sweet mom & me session of Cheree & her daughter! So sit back & enjoy some images with some bright greenery & help me count down the days to CONSTANT warm days!

     

These next four images just completely melt my heart!

 

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Making Our Family Activity List!

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A couple weeks ago I posted on my personal facebook & asked for suggestions of free or VERY cheap things to do as a family in the Bloomington-Normal area. I was blown.away but all the responses & wanted to figure out a way to keep the list! I did save it to my computer but these ideas are too good to not share so I decided to just throw them in a blog post & share them with you!

There may be spelling & grammar mistakes, so sorry about that! Feel free to share this post with friends 🙂

And you may be wondering why I would share this on my photography blog? Well, I think EACH of these activities would be AWESOME to do during a lifestyle photo session with me!!!!!! See what I did there? 😉 I wet your appetite & now you’re dreaming up all the awesome images we’d get! 😉 So check out this list, make your families summer bucket list & then contact me for me to hang along & we’ll have the most amazing session EVER!

I’m excited to share in the future what Eric, Elizabeth & I ended up doing!

I’m linking to a podcast & facebook live video that I think are just helpful in general for doing things as a family & on the cheap! Click HERE for one of my favorite podcasts & hear Shailey & Katie talk about some of their tips for getting out of the house- they’re funny & so down-to-earth! And click HERE for a facebook Live video that Bonnie Greiner of Mom by Example did that really encouraged me to not overbook ourselves this summer!

And if that wasn’t enough links 😉 here’s another one- THIS is the list I used with the kids I nanny. We took our favorites & put together our own Summer Bucket List. This is the PERFECT list to use or copy if you’re needing all your “adventures” to be at home & free.

Special thanks to Cheryl, Caroline, Krista, Katie, Lynne, Crystal, Annaliese, Miriam & Darla for all the awesome suggestions you made!!!!! This list greatly helped me!

Community Outdoor Activities

Walk around White Oak Lake

Fly Kites

Ice cream at Emacks in Uptown

Sugar Grove Nature Center

Normal Public Library

Third Sunday Market

Lincoln Balloon Fest

Uptown Jazz Festival

Loungeabout the Roundabout

Sugar Creek Arts Festival

Music at Mackinaw Winery

Miller Park Zoo

Glasener Beach (at Comlara Park) is also a fun little outing

The Replex in Leroy is $15 for the day pass for a family and they have a pool and splash pad as well as an indoor playroom.

Sugar Grove Nature Center has activities & neat classes when kids are a little older.

Another fun thing we did every summer is park judging. The kids made a “rating list” and a list of parks they wanted to try out. Throughout the summer we would visit, play and judge the park. There are so many great parks here. We found some new favorites in the process. And of course included some special snacks or a picnic lunch to make it fun!

Shakespeare at Ewing Manor is fun too…they have free shows during the day during the summer that are geared toward kiddos (10AM on Wednesday or 10AM on Saturday July 12–August 12)

We used to do a picnic lunch on Ewing Castle Lawn where they would have people dressed in period costumes. I think it used to be in late spring, they did it once a week for 3 or 4 weeks. I don’t know if they still do it or not.

We did movie night at the park, once a week at dark they show a movie. We’d bring a blanket and popcorn. They do that for about 5 to 6 weeks in the summer.

Free family Fun Day, May 6 12-2pm @ Tipton Park

Miller Park, Franklin Park & Wither’s Park have free summer concerts.

Connie Link Amphitheater has lots of free family events over the summer including professional story-tellers and magicians.

Toddler time at Anderson pool is always fun! And we enjoy the splash parks!

World Day of Play in Uptown Normal- check Normal website for date. Grandsons and I get list of parks in town and park hop and cross them off the list after the visits after their “reviews.”

Registration for Fun Run just came through my e-mail today, so that is another one that I would definitely add to the list. Great family program on Friday Nights. It is through the Lake Run Club – http://www.lakerunclub.org/get-involved/kids-run-for-fun/

Macaroni Kid has a list of events!

 

Do you have any other suggestions of things I should add to the list? Comment below & let me know!!! I’ll add it!

 

 

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Planning for Your Mini Session!

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YAY!!! First off, I am SO excited that you’ve signed up for a Mini Session! Your time slot is now reserved just for you & I can’t wait to hangout with you & your loved ones.

RAIN DAY Please remember that the Sunday AFTER your scheduled mini is our rain out date. You will get a phone call from me 2 hours before your scheduled session time if not before that if we need to reschedule.

PAYMENT I now have the ability for you to pay online- (insert all the praise hands!)! I will send all the invoices along with an online contract to sign later this week. Please make sure you sign the online contract. You can pay me online or in person with cash or check (make checks out to Naomi Wilcox NOT Nomi Photography).

WHAT TO WEAR The number one question I’m always asked regarding mini’s is “WHAT SHOULD I/WE WEAR?!” Now if you know me, you know my heart is to capture your smiles & personalities. What you wear is totally up to you! BUT I do have a few pointers to help guide you into making you & your family members feel as comfortable & awesome as possible! Because that’s what you are- awesome!

So here’s my quick tips:
1.) Don’t have your family wear all white.
2.) Don’t have your family wear all black.
3.) Because it’s full on fall, I don’t recommend having your family wear all brown because they’ll blend in with all the leaves 🙂
4.) Choose who the hardest person to figure out what they should wear is in the group is & figure out their outfit first-even if it’s you!. Then dress everyone else around that person.
5.) Rule of thumb, if one parent is wearing a pattern, have the other wear solid. After that feel free to mix patterns & solids however you’d like! I do recommend not having two very bold plaids. One bold & one light plaid is fine however.
6.) It could be a bit chilly so feel free to layer underneath your clothes (like leggings under pants or tank tops under shirts, denim jackets). Layers won’t show up in the pictures but they’ll keep you warm 😉
7.) If you’re curious about mixing patterns & solids & such I’ve linked this email to some sessions I’ve had in the past to give you inspiration. So here’s ONE, and ANOTHER, ANOTHER, & ANOTHER 😉 & THIS LINK is from my past mini’s & all of these families did an awesome job coordinating.  Remember, I want your family to be themselves so wear clothes that you are able to have fun & let your amazing-ness shine through!!!
8.) OLD NAVY IS A LIFESAVER! If you’re going to purchase new clothes, Old Navy is your one stop shop for your family. They always make their clothes in both genders in the same color families & oftentimes the same patterns (like especially for moms & little girls). You can check out their Family Outfits page HERE (scroll past the pajamas 😉 ) & you’ll get lots of suggestions! Plus you can have it all delivered to your door 😉

OK! That’s about it for now but I’ll be in touch!!! Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have ANY questions! Talk to you soon!
 
Naomi Wilcox
Nomi Photography

  

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