Tag Archives: central illinois photographer

Johnny | Portrait Session

I was so honored when Johnny’s mom reached out to me to do a session for him as he is graduating from high school. I feel a close connection with Johnny’s family even though we don’t see each other that much because his family homeschools. If you didn’t know, I was homeschooled, as well as my husband & it’s a dream & prayer of ours to homeschool our own children. So to me it’s very inspiring to be a part of a special session commemorating this incredible season for Johnny & his parents!

Here are some of my favorites from his session! Johnny, I’m excited for your future & I know your parents are very proud of you! Keep your eyes & focus on the Lord!

Summer 2018 Mini Sessions

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I adore mini session days. I’m able to see so many of my favorite people all in one day! My summer mini’s this year were very special as I had just had our second daughter Ruth & hadn’t been behind the camera much. Being with these three special families was so uplifting for me & got me all excited & ready for the rest of my 2018 photography season. And our location was a very special & fun one!!! Here’s some of my favorites!!!!

McNulty | Family Session

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This was SUCH a special session for me! Brittany & I used to work at the same restaurant together back during our college days & have stayed in touch via social media. We’ve watched each other start & grow families & to asked to photograph her family was SUCH an honor to me!!! We had great weather & all her kiddos have the cutest personalities & most beautiful smiles! Here’s a few of my personal favorites- enjoy!

Shelton | Couples Session

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This couple friends, THIS couple! Ah! We have the greatest time together! Or at least I do & they say they do so hopefully they mean it 😉 😉 😉 I had the honor of photographing Robin & Nicole’s engagement pictures (see them here!) & so when Nicole wanted to do another session together I was completely excited to catch-up with them & work with them! Robin is just a goof & super sweet to his wife during pictures so basically I just watch them interact & take pictures! Easiest session ever! We also have an inside joke that if I ever want to be pregnant, I just need to book a session with them because I’m apparently ALWAYS pregnant when I take their pictures hahah!

Robin & Nicole have recently bought & basically completely renovated their entire house. I love that they work together on projects to make their dreams come true. And their dog is just BEAUTIFUL! Here’s some of my favorites from their session!

Fall 2017 Family Mini Photography Sessions

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It’s TIME!!!! It’s time for my FAVORITE season of the year & time for FALL FAMILY MINI PHOTO SESSIONS!!!!!!!!

Fall. Colorful leaves. Your daughter’s giggles. The feel of your man’s hand in yours. The hug from your son. Your family. My camera. Friends, let’s make memories to remember together.

Here’s the quick info list for my Fall Family Mini’s this year!

I am offering Fall Mini Photography Sessions 3 DIFFERENT DAYS THIS YEAR:
Friday, October 20; Saturday, October 21; Saturday, November 4
Rain Days (if needed) will be Oct 22 & Nov 5
15 minute interactive & fun (!!!!!) mini photography session
Each session is $120.00 & covers 6 people. (After 6 individuals, there is a $10.00 cost per additional person.)
After your session, you will receive a few images from your session via your email as a preview. The remaining images & a print release will be emailed to you later via an online gallery where you can download them & print them wherever you choose.
Location will be outdoors at a beautiful fall location in Bloomington-Normal
Instead of Christmas Mini’s, I am offering 3 days for Fall Family Mini’s. Feel free to dress Christmasy for these sessions!

(If you’re not exactly sure what a Mini Session with Nomi Photography consists of or want to check out the most frequently asked questions regarding my mini’s, read HERE.)

Spots are limited! Save your session HERE.

As we get closer to the Fall Mini Sessions, you’ll receive an email from me with the location of our mini sessions & other details. Email me at naomi@nomi-photography.com with any questions you may have! I’m looking forward to hanging out with your family!!!

I still have openings for in September, October & November for photo sessions! Mini Sessions are not for everyone, so email me if you have questions about scheduling a regular photo session. I will only be accepting Newborn Sessions in December of this year.

Amelia Turns One!

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Are you ready for some SUPER sweetness??

This little just turned one & I got to hangout with her & her parents for a bit a few weekends ago at a new FAV location of mine! I’d been just dying to use this special spot I’d spotted 😉 hehe & Amelia’s session was the perfect time to do so!

Amelia was so interested in exploring! It was so fun to see her take a few steps (!!!!) on her own & watch her little personality flourish in front of my camera!

Do they make shoes like these in MY SIZE??? 🙂

My personal fav right here!

Amelia’s mom & I have a fun backstory! We used to work at Cracker Barrel together! And for a season, we attended Heartland Community College & had a time during the day we could study together 😉 Or it was more like more talk & less study 😉 April actually (not even sure if you’ll remember this April!) helped me play an April Fool’s joke on my now husband but who was at the time just a crush of mine 😉

Now April & I are both married & have our own little girls! Cory, April’s husband & Amelia’s attentive daddy, came along for the session & I tell you, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a daddy love on his girl more! BOTH April & Cory were SO sweet & loving towards Amelia. The focus of the session was the birthday girl but I just had to grab a few of this loving trio!

Happy birthday Amelia!!!! Your parents & so many others love you soooo much sweetheart! I’m so glad I got to meet you sweet one & spend time with you!!!!

Family Mini’s 2017 Recap!

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Here’s a few of my personal favorites from this past June’s Family Mini’s I had! I LOVE all these pictures & families!!! And if you’re wondering how you can get in on some Family Mini awesome-ness next time I have them, signup for my enewsletter & you’ll get all the info, a free gift for signing up & no junk mail- I promise! Signup HERE!

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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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Mini Session Schedule for 2017!

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Oh friends, it’s time! IT’S TIME! It’s time to share my dates for the mini photography sessions that I will be offering in 2017!

2017 Mini Session Dates

Mom & Me – May 6

Family Mini’s – June 3 (spots will be limited)

Back-to-School Mini’s for Homeschoolers – August TBA

Fall Family Mini’s – October 20, 21 & November 4

*All of these dates are subject to change

Click HERE to see some of my favorite images from my Fall 2016 I had!

Mini Sessions are offered on a first come, first serve basis & the best way to make sure you’re able to reserve one when they’re released is by joining my e-newsletter! Just click HERE to signup if you haven’t joined the e-newsletter list yet! (And once you join, you’ll receive a copy of my 5 Tips for Taking Better Smartphone Photos” as a thank you gift from me!) I’ll be using an online sign-up system again this year that will make life a lot easier for many of us!

I only offer these at specific times of the year & they are usually only 20 minutes total at max! If you’re wanting individual portraits of your children or multiple wardrobe changes, a full session would be a better option for you!

If you’re not quite sure what a mini session is or if it fits your specific needs, I’ve written a blog post that’s HERE that you can read ALL the details about them 🙂

So get these dates on your calendars, planners, iCal’s & watch your emails for when signups are available for each individual mini sessions as we get closer to their dates! Please, please, feel free to email me with any questions! I CAN’T WAIT!!!

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What is a Mini Session with Naomi Elizabeth Photography?

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If you’ve seen the words “mini sessions” & aren’t quite certain what exactly a “mini session” is, this is the perfect blog post for you to read! (Or if reading isn’t your thing & you’d rather “listen/watch” HERE’S a video I did explaining the differences!)

I do mini sessions because I believe in relationships. I believe in capturing the special relationships that are in our lives & mini sessions are the perfect way to do that in a short amount of time! Several times a year I offer “mini photography sessions” which I often just shorten to “mini sessions” 🙂 Hey, it’s easier to say right? But what exactly IS a MINI SESSION you might ask? Well, let me answer that question for you!

Mini Sessions are:

On set dates through-out the year that I prearrange at the beginning of each photography season. (Feel free to email me at naomi@naomielizabethphotograph.com for this year’s current Mini Session Dates!)
Set at a discounted price from a regular session for the following reasons:
- Package includes:
  - Usually 30-40 images (a smaller amount then a regular session)
  - Print Release for permission to print wherever you’d like
  - Online Gallery to download images to your own personal computer
  - High Resolution Images for printing use & Low Resolution Images for social media use are included
  - They are typically 20 minutes at most since I am scheduling mini sessions back to back with other families
At a set location that I’ve chosen

Mini Sessions are super fun! They’re interactive & fast paced! And if you’re wondering if it’s really possible to get good photo’s in such a small amount of time, IT REALLY IS! Feel free to search on my blog “Mini Sessions” & you’ll find tons of examples from past ones 🙂

And now here’s a few answers to the most frequently asked questions that I’m asked:

FAQ:

Are wardrobe changes allowed? Because of time, wardrobe changes aren’t feasible for mini sessions. If you’d like to change outfits, a regular session is just PERFECT for that!

Will we be able to get photo’s of our individual children at the mini session? With my regular sessions I always get individual photo’s of the children & those are some of my favorites! For mini sessions, because of the limited amount of time we have, I don’t do portraits of each child. I get multiples of each child by themselves in a regular session & you’ll have several poses in your finished gallery!

Are animals allowed? Again, because of time, bringing animals along would be better for a regular session so we’d have time to work with them & get all the photo’s we wanted!

We have more then 6 in our immediate family, can we do a mini session? YES! I do charge a small amount for every person after 6 people but more then 6 are fine! If you are wanting to do pictures with grandparents or other relatives, I’d love to discuss a Group Family Session! That would fit your needs much better.

Do you offer mini sessions on any other days but the ones you’ve set aside for the year? I do not. Mini Sessions are very special & I only offer them a few times a year! The best way to keep in the know for them is to signup for my enewsletter! E-Newsletter subscribers are always the first to find out when they are & how to signup!

How do I find out about when a mini session is being released for signup? Through my e-newsletter! I give my subscribers the first opportunity to signup & then after that I share on social media any spots that might be open. All of these are offered on a first come, first serve basis! Click HERE to signup & you’ll get a thank you gift in return in your inbox!

What type of mini sessions do you usually do? I choose my mini sessions around relationship connections. Typically I offer every year Mom & Me Mini’s, Family Mini’s in the spring or summer, Back-to-School Mini’s for Homeschoolers & Fall Fall Mini’s.

I hope that answers some of your questions & helps you decide if a Mini Session or Regular Session fits your needs! Please feel free to email me at naomi@naomielizabethphotography.com at anytime with ANY questions!!!

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