Tag Archives: lifestyle photography in illinois

Deal | Family Session

Home is the nicest word there is. – Laura Ingalls Wilder

Ashley emailed me a couple months back & we began discussing their family session. I knew in my heart when she described what she was envisioning that their session was going to be something special. And it was.

Yes, it was a little chilly, OK, very chilly 😉 BUT, it was a special time. Ashley & her husband Greg, welcomed me into their charming farmhouse & surrounding property & little Braden was totally excited to show me the cows 😉 (Did you know cows say “Moo”? 😉 If not, just ask Braden, he’ll tell you 😉 )

Ummm, he pretty much stole my heart.

LOVE that their little wagon for Braden has their family farm name on the side of it.

Because it was rather cold, we went inside Ashley & Greg’s wonderful farmhouse. Ashley has mean decorating skills & I loved all the windows & coziness the home offers. I was so thankful that Ashley & Greg were so easy going & had not problem with me spending time capturing their family indoors.

No Saturday morning would be complete without a reading of Braden’s favorite book- “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt”. All 3 of them know it by heart 🙂

At the end of their session, I took Greg & Ashley outside to capture a few moments of this couple.

Ashley you are GORGEOUS!

Ashley, you have so much talent & the little details you added to this session were PERFECT. So you guys. And Greg, thank you for answering all my farming questions 😉 THANK YOU for spending a sunny, chilly Saturday morning with you three 🙂 Braden is blessed to have you two as parents. It’s obvious that you both love each other & him very much.

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Leah | College Graduate Session

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My sister is so beautiful. It was a joy to be able to spend time with her on her 25th birthday last month & capture some fun portraits of her. Other then my husband, my sister is truly my best friend. We have tons of inside jokes & quote old black & white movies that no one else has even heard of. (Although she often trumps me by quoting a movie line & saying, “What’s that from?” & I can’t remember.) Leah’s hilarious & is often cracking me up through-out the day with texts full of her wit.

Leah is also a very wise woman. And smart. This next month, Leah will be graduating from Illinois State University, magna cum laude with her Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education.

We spend some time in my parents neighborhood for awhile at the beginning of her session. Leah thought of having her morkie dog, Lucy, for part of the session & I thought it was a great idea!

Lucy looking up at her momma 🙂

Leah | College Grad Session www.nomi-photography.com-1

If you’ve been to my parents house & met Lucy, I’m sure you’ll agree with everyone else that she’s a sweetie. Because everyone loves Lucy 🙂

I could have posted TONS images from just this portion of the session. My sister is SO beautiful.

The soon to be graduate & teacher!!!

I love you Leah! You’re not just my sister, but my best friend 🙂 I know you are my little sister, but in so many ways I look up to you. This has been a hard year for you & I’ve seen you to continue to grow & blossom instead of shrink & wither. You pressed on. Through these past years at Heartland & at ISU, you pressed on. I’m so PROUD of you. I could never have done what you’ve accomplished. You’ve let the Lord guide your dreams & take you down the journey He has for you. The best is yet to come. And I promise, I will be the LOUDEST person at the Redbird Arena on the ISU campus come December 13 next month when you walk. I will be smiling, crying (as I am now 😉 ) & yelling, “THAT’S MY SISTER!”

I love you Eah.

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Thank you!

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First of all I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone who entered the giveaways this past week! Every share & post you did helped spread the word of Nomi Photography & for that I am truly grateful. I personally LOVE giveaways myself & it was fun to be the one actually doing the giving. Each time a winner was drawn, I too was holding my breath to see who it was! I hope you all had fun & enjoyed it as much as I did!

I also want to thank EVERYONE once again for the past 6 months. I can’t emphasize HOW MUCH I have learned & grown in the past 6 months. Each session is a learning experience for me. I love each family & couple & senior that I’ve been able to connect with these past 6 months. I know I say it a lot, but I’ll say it again, it TRULY is an HONOR for me when you choose me, Nomi Photography, to come spend time with you. These past 6 months couldn’t have been amazing without each of you.

Thank you to the talented Miss Ana Pyper who captured what I had imagined but couldn’t explain with her handlettered artwork. She is an amazing young lady. Thank you friend!

I also couldn’t have done these past 6 months without my husband, Eric. I love you dear!!!

And Mary Wise, who is my cousin by marriage & the amazing mind behind this website. I don’t thank you enough friend for all you’ve done for me. Once again, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.

And my last thank you, goes to my Lord & Savior. Father, thank You for all the wonderful experiences & moments You’ve set in my path the past 6 months. Thank You for connecting me with amazing people. And for using photography, a gift from You, to remind seniors, families & couples that they were made to smile.

And now, without further adieu, the winner of our last & final 6 Month Birthday Celebration Giveaway is!

ALISHA HARDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations Alisha! Please mail me within 24 hours with your address to claim your prize.

And congrats again to Joy Phillips & Becky Tharpe (who just happen to be mother & daughter!) who won earlier last week.

I look forward to the next 6 months! And believe you me, there is going to be an awesome celebration come May 2, 2015!!!

Weber | Family Session

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Miracles still happen every day. And sometimes they happen in two’s as in double, as in twins 🙂 Twin girls that is 😉

My husband & I’s friends, Matt & Jordan have been waiting for the Lord to bless them with children. And when they announced that they were expecting two precious ones, it was a VERY happy day inded! – insert “Oh Happy Day” music here 😉 We’ve been able to watch Matt & Jordan go from an awesome couple to incredible parents with two beautiful girls.

Adorable little pumpkins! 😉

Weber Family @ www.nomi-photography.com-2

Happy ladies!!!

Matt & Jordan, it’s been a pleasure to watch the two of you become “four of you”. I enjoyed thoroughly spending time with you both & your girls! Watching you both take care of your girls complete with all your routines & all the love you give them is so fun. You guys are awesome.

Kadivar | Family Session

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I’ve known Bethany & Allen, goodness, how long has it been guys? 6ish years? We met at our church’s college group way back before so many life changes we’ve each gone through, babies, college graduations, job changes…the list goes on!

I was really excited that Bethany said her parents & sister were coming down from the suburbs of Chicago to join us for the session. Her parents crack me up 😉 We really had a fun time! I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to see from the images!

Little Brady LOVES his grandparents. And it’s obvious they love him too!

That face <3

These two are just awesome!

And Brady especially loves his mommy & daddy!

Kadivers | Family Session-43

Girl, call me when it’s time for senior pictures. Please & thank you! 😉

These two can have hot romance going on one second & hysterical laughs the next!

Kadivers | Family Session-2

Thanks for an awesome session guys! I hope we can do it again!!!

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Jouret | Family Session

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As I said before, my family has known the Jouret for 5+ years now. My sister Leah & brother Isaiah, were able to be under Mike & Bekah’s leadership while they were youth pastoring in Missouri. My sister has said several times, that Pastor Mike & Bekah was her favorite youth pastors. Because they took time for her & loved her & invested in her. People like that aren’t found everyday. And the Jouret family is definitely special & REAL.

Their family session was actually a organized & put together by a family friend, Garth. Garth is special guy to my family AND the Jouret Family. He’s a fun “big brother” figure to the Jouret kids. He emailed me several months ago & asked about meeting up somehow in St. Charles for a session & I’m so glad he did!

It was great being able to catch up with the Jouret Family & Garth. And I loved that they had the idea of wearing their MIZZOU gear! I have to say that after spending a year in Columbia, Missouri, I still smile when I see those black & gold colors 😉

Time for some football!!!!!!!!!

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I love these three pictures & Garth’s face at the end!

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Thanks for putting this together Garth!

Trask | Maternity Session

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I’ve never done a #ThrowbackThursday blog entry before but today seemed perfectly fitting to do so 🙂

You see it’s been one year since I had my first “real” photography session. One year! It was one year ago that I was sitting in a parking lot in a beautiful park in Columbia, Missouri, nervously waiting for a very special couple (Tom & Miss Trask) to come meet me so I could photograph them. I was SOOO sticken nervous. No, seriously, you have NO idea how really nervous I was. I woke up really early & couldn’t go back to sleep & it rained that morning & I was literally yelling at the sky as I drove to the park & asking the Lord (OK maybe telling Him) that the rain would stop. I got to our meeting spot early & ended up having one of the most powerful heart to heart conversations with the Lord I’ve ever had.

See this wasn’t just any maternity session I was doing. Tom & Missi are VERY special people to me. For those of you who don’t know, I lived in Columbia, MO, for one year. It was actually where I moved from before coming to Bloomington-Normal. When I was in Columbia, I became involved with a campus ministry at MIZZOU called Chi Alpha (MXA). Tom & Missi were the pastors of this incredible ministry & for a year I was able to sit under their leadership & grow & learn from them. That one year was a significant year for me spiritually. After that year in Columbia, my family moved but I still stayed connected to my friends in Columbia. I was ECSTATIC when I found out that Tom & Missi were expecting their first child! They had been praying for a long time & I was SOOO excited to see them!

Sooooo back to me sitting in the parking lot (still very nervous).

I was nervous about the pictures being good enough. I was nervous about being able to give good direction, master my camera, work with the lighting, make them feel comfortable…the list went on & on. I had gotten to the park early & I finally just stopped my thoughts & prayed. And spoke to the Lord about all my concerns & fears. I’ll never forget how I INSTANTLY felt peace. And confirmation that I was doing what He had called me to do. And just as I felt that peace, the last drops feel from the sky & the most beautiful morning glow from the sun came out. And I am NOT making this up. You can see for yourself in just a sec when you look at the pictures.

So today’s post is a #ThrowbackThursday for three reasons. One, to remind myself that I am doing what the Lord has called me to do in this season of life & to celebrate that 1 year. And two, to remember my special time with Tom & Missi. Their maternity session was my first session EVER & I still have a special, favorite spot in my heart for maternity sessions. There is just something so incredible about them.

Several of my most FAVORITE EVER images are here in this post. And since I didn’t have a blog back then, I can use a #ThrowbackThursday excuse to blog them now right? 😉 And any excuse to blog a maternity session works for me 🙂 (I had my older Canon Rebel camera & 50mm lens for this session. It just shows you that it’s not the equipment that makes amazing pictures. It’s the connection between the client & the photographer.)

And thirdly, this post is a #ThrowbackThursday in celebrating Taylor Emma. She was born just over two months after this session. And I was able to hold & meet her at a wedding this past summer. You’ll see a picture of us at the end of this post. Taylor is a beautiful little girl that is loved by so many. And I still say & know in my heart that she is going to be a world changer just like her parents.

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I’ve always thought Missi was one of the most beautiful women I know.

One of my favorite images OF ALL TIME. The JOY & EXCITEMENT & THANKFULNESS in their hearts & faces is SO evident here. Tom & Missi, I love you too! I’m thankful for your leadership in the past & your friendship now. You’re AMAZING parents.

And here is little Taylor Emma from this past June when I got to meet her! And Taylor JUST happens to be wearing the little shoes we used in the maternity session in this picture of her & I. When I looked down & realized what shoes she had on, I about cried 🙂 Isn’t she a doll?