Regneir Family // Chicago

I met this family for the first time this day in Lincoln Park. They braved the heavy Chicago traffic on a Friday to meet me on a drizzling fall day. It was at least semi-warm! For a year where it snowed on Halloween, I’d take it. Josie, the younger daughter had a hard time with the camera, at first I thought she didn’t like me and then she warmed to some pretty killer laughs. :) Can you just check out the style on these girls? I actually love the moody drizzling day that this turned out to be. Gave them all an opportunity to get nice and cozy. :)

x

J

Barnes Family 2019 // Chicago

Last year I shot Kate and Dan and their beautiful and bright daughter, Allison, and this year they have some exciting news because their next baby is on the way! Here is a loving family shoot, in Humboldt Park. Such great landscapes for the city. We can actually get some green in the photos! Love this family! Congratulations to you all Barnes Family!

xo

J

Barnes Family // Lincoln Park // Chicago

Love this family! We met at Lincoln Park, South Pond, one of my favorite places to shoot in the city. It’s obviously a choice amongst other photographers too because there are always one or two other shoots going on at the same time. :) Ally is the sweetest child, hopefully you can see her personality come through in some of these photos!

x

J

Corner-Miller Family // Chicago

This family holds a special place in my heart but this little girl is very special. Mari June was born about a year ago, these photos were taken to mark her first year of life. She was born extremely early and the NICU was a place of home for her in her first months of life. There were pulmonary hemorrhages, oxygen tubes, waiting, unknowing, doctors, blood transfusions, PICC lines, brain bleeds, brain surgeries, scans, ventilators, blood clots, and ultimately a diagnosis of Hydrocephalus - a buildup of fluid in the cavities (ventricles) deep within the brain. Luckily, Mari will be ok and her life will be fulfilled to the max, plus she has this great family so we all know that smile of hers is a miracle. 

I met Candace, Mari and Henry’s mom at my first day as a Sr. Graphic Designer at ULTA Beauty Corporate in the burbs of Chicago. It was her orientation too, where she was the social media manager. I liked her from the get go. She was confident, smiley and had a cool sense about her that I gravitated to. Maybe it was that she was the young one amongst some IT folks in orientation or maybe it was because we both shared the love of our nose studs. We became friends over time and even managed to get into our own version of a supper club together. Supper club sounds dated but it was really a girl’s date night, where a few of ULTA girls who lived in the city and had to commute to Bolingbrook, bitched about the traffic and laughed about “those” co-workers. 

I met Candace and Johnny at Montrose Beach one August morning and the light was beautiful, perfect in my opinion. The sky was slightly overcast but rays of light peaked through various holes in the clouds. Both kids were smiley and hilarious, and I even got a rendition of Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing” by Henry and Candace. He knew every word! For a three-year-old, I am impressed! These photos are soft and gentle, and I think their outfits are just the cutest, not surprised by the woman who puts all us moms to shame when it comes to Halloween! 

They love these images and I hope they’re cherished for years to come. Thanks Candace and Johnny for allowing me to capture these special moments.

XO

J

Wroblewski Family // Promontory Point Chicago

It wasn't too long ago that I had shot Brody's newborn photos, but now a year later, here we are celebrating his walking and big boy smile. I'm always amazed at kids who are just so good and smiley, he was it! It's like he's taken modeling classes before?! Promontory Point is one of my favorite places to shoot in the city, you get the green and the blue from the lake with the faded Chicago skyline in the back. Hope you love these photos with one of the best families! Happy Birthday Brody!

Gabriella // Lincoln Park

I took Gabriella’s 14 Month photos on a dreary day in March. She wasn’t so sure of me at first. Her faces in the first few photos below express her feelings, haha! She slowly but surely opened up and ended up being a total goofball. I love see the personalities of little ones come through. She is the same age as my daughter so it’s fun interacting with other children her age, sometimes they are so different! I hope you enjoy!

xo

J

The Glocks // A Snowy Lincoln Park Day

I had the pleasure of meeting this adorable family for the first time this day. It’s always a little funny, because it’s somewhat of a first blind date. I stand with my camera gear at a meeting point and await a family who is somewhat put together (everyone always has cute jackets and their hair done when I get to see them). But when we saw each other in the atrium of the Lincoln Park conservatory, we knew who each other was right away and we laughed because oh boy, the weather was something!

What a day this was! We scheduled our shoot later in the day because we wanted to warm sun to be low and amazing. We didn’t get sun at all! We got a heavy, snowstorm! It was the first of the season, December heavy, wet snow. So we went with it! It was actually quite beautiful, it just made for some more challenging scenes. Nevertheless, Gretchen and family were more than happy to go with the flow. So we tried under some trees, and then some winter hats and then we just went with it! If you can’t beat it, join it right? That was our motto that day. And the snow just kept coming, everything was laced with white, the trees, the benches, even our eyelashes. They turned out to be delightful, and will be amazing photos for their holiday Christmas card. Dreaming of a white snowy Christmas?  J

Thanks and I hope you enjoy these!

JoAnna

The Bluths // Lincoln Park

This family is from out west, they both went to school here in the city, fell in love and stuck around. They then had Adeline – the world’s most smiley baby. Seriously, if you can’t tell from the photos, every time I had the camera on her, she looked into the lens with those big blue eyes and smiled with her minimal teeth smile. Oh my, to die for. This sweet family requested one of my favorite spots in the city, Lincoln Park, near South Pond. The long prairie grass, the Studio Gang Pavilion, the water and the gorgeous skyline in the background makes it one of the best. Linden, Adeline’s dad, was a great tosser, (sounds funny) but when he would throw her in the air, she just giggled with happiness. This family was one of the best and I’m grateful I was able to capture them.

I hope you enjoy!

J