Family photography in Naperville.
I have been photographing families in this town since 2010. A session with me is unhurried, outdoors when the weather allows, and built around your family as it is, not the way families look in a catalog.
This version of your family happens once.
Kids do not stay this age. Grandparents do not stay this close. The house you are in now is not the house you will be in forever. None of that is sad, it is just true, and it is the whole reason to make the photographs while this version exists.
You cannot reshoot it later. So the job is to get it right the first time, without making anybody stand still for an hour to do it.
Unhurried, outdoors, and nobody has to say cheese.
- Before.
- You tell me about your family: who is coming, ages, anybody who hates having their picture taken (there is always one), and what you want the photographs for. I suggest a location and a time of day that will work for the light and for the youngest person in the group.
- The day.
- We meet somewhere in or around Naperville that fits your family: the Riverwalk, a park you already love, your own backyard. I shoot for as long as the group has attention for, and I stop before anyone gets miserable. The best photos usually happen in the last ten minutes, after everyone has forgotten the camera is there.
- After.
- I edit every image myself, no outsourcing, and deliver a finished gallery you can download and share. If you want prints, albums, or something for the wall, I will help you choose. If you just want the files, that is fine too.
Families in every shape.
Families with young kids
Short sessions, lots of movement, and a photographer who has done this enough times not to be rattled by a two-year-old.
Extended families and reunions
Three or four generations in one place, which is rarer than it should be and worth a great deal more than the group shot suggests. I make sure the group shot happens, and then I make the photographs you will frame.
High school seniors
Senior sessions for the class ahead, in the fall or the spring. A session that looks like them, not like a yearbook. Parents book these; the senior shows up and is surprised to have a good time.
The work
One photographer, start to finish.
I am the one who answers your message, the one who shows up, the one holding the camera, and the one editing your photographs. There is no studio system routing you to whoever is free that Saturday. That is why the work looks the same from the first session to the fiftieth.
I am also the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce’s photography and video partner and have shot for the local magazines and schools for years, which is a long way of saying I know this town, its light, and its parks better than most people who photograph in it.
Three ways to book. The price is the price.
Every session below includes the complete edited gallery, the full-resolution files with a print release, and 25 of my favorite photos printed as 5x7s and mailed to you. There is no weekend fee, no per-person fee, and no reveal appointment where you find out what the photographs cost. Travel is included within 25 miles of downtown Naperville; past that it is a flat $100.
The Session
$850
One session, one location, your whole family. The complete gallery, full-resolution files with print release, and 25 mailed 5x7 prints of my picks. Gallery and prints in two weeks.
Ask about this sessionThe Story
$1,750
Everything in The Session, plus a 10x10 layflat album I design for you, 15 spreads, in a debossed box. The opening spread carries a short written story about your family, drawn from what you tell me when you book. Also an accordion set of three minis. Album delivered within six weeks.
Ask about this sessionThe Generations Session
$3,500
For up to four households at once: grandparents, siblings, cousins, everybody. One session, a shared gallery of 100 or more, and 25 mailed prints to each household’s own door. The organizer receives a 12x12 Family Album. Additional households $400 each; additional album copies $450.
Ask about this sessionIf you want prints, a second album, or something for the wall after you see the gallery, you can order them right from it. Nothing is required, and nobody will call you about it.
Ask about any session above and I will confirm.
Practical things
- Where.
- Naperville and the surrounding suburbs. I have favorite spots and I am happy to use yours. Mine are written up, with the best light for each, in top outdoor photography spots in Naperville.
- When.
- Weekday evenings and weekends, mostly in the golden hour before sunset. Fall is the busiest season.
- Who.
- Any size family. Tell me the headcount and I will plan for it.
- Weather.
- If the day turns, we move it. Nobody gets photographed in a downpour.
- Booking.
- Fill out the form and I will confirm a date.
Book a session
If what you need is somebody who handles the whole story of your business, not one shoot, that is the other half of what I do. How I work