Jessica Gwozdz Photography - Chicago maternity, newborn, child, and family photographer » niles photographer http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog Blog Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:11:50 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Happy New Year! http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/12/happy-new-year-chicago-childrens-photographer/ http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/12/happy-new-year-chicago-childrens-photographer/#comments Sat, 31 Dec 2011 23:45:34 +0000 Jes http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/?p=1839 A heartfelt note of thanks to all of my clients, family, and friends for another fabulous year.  It is because of you that I am able to do what I love.

Wishing you health, peace, and happiness in 2012!

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]]> http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/12/happy-new-year-chicago-childrens-photographer/feed/ 2 Merry Christmas! http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/12/merry-christmas-morton-grove-photographer/ http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/12/merry-christmas-morton-grove-photographer/#comments Sat, 24 Dec 2011 16:00:39 +0000 Jes http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/?p=1815 I used a Norman Vincent Peale quote on my personal holiday card this year.

“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.”

I really wanted to add my own addendum to that quote that said “Even my kids.”  LOL!

Merry Christmas everyone!

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]]> http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/12/merry-christmas-morton-grove-photographer/feed/ 0 I’ll have a blue Christmas without you http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/12/blue-christmas-chicago-photographer/ http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/12/blue-christmas-chicago-photographer/#comments Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:19:48 +0000 Jes http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/?p=1755 Nobody’s actually gone or leaving; I just hum that song in my head every time I look at these pictures because of the colors.  I love Christmas sessions that break out of the mold of typical red and green themes.  When my friend linked me up to these cute blue dresses she bought for her daughters, I knew exactly what we were going to do for the upcoming holiday shoot.  The blue and silver was such a nice combo and they ended up doing a die-cut holiday card that was just oh-so-cute!

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]]> http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/12/blue-christmas-chicago-photographer/feed/ 1 Sisters http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/12/sisters_chicago_photographer/ http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/12/sisters_chicago_photographer/#comments Fri, 16 Dec 2011 03:12:54 +0000 Jes http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/?p=1712 I am honored that it’s becoming  a tradition for me to photograph these two adorable sisters each year before Christmas.  If you want to see how much they’ve grown, peek back to last year!  We had a lot of fun with lollipops and Teddy Grahams during this session.  I seriously think I need to buy some stock in Teddy Grahams.  They are quickly becoming my secret weapon, as it seems that kids will do almost anything that is asked of them if they know Teddy Grahams are the reward!

Some of these images were used for the family’s holiday card.  Now that I have confirmed that the cards have all been mailed and received, I am really excited to finally be able to share them on the blog.

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]]> http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/12/sisters_chicago_photographer/feed/ 3 Tracy Joy and Family http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/11/tracy-joy-and-family/ http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/11/tracy-joy-and-family/#comments Fri, 04 Nov 2011 19:38:09 +0000 Jes http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/?p=1619 I am so honored because when Tracy Joy found out she was expecting her third baby, she asked me to take her maternity pictures.  Yep, I am talking about internet business guru Tracy Joy of camera bag fame, Prop Insanity fame, and basic all around photography fame.  Talk about making a maternity photographer nervous!  Fortunately Tracy is down to earth, totally cool, and a beautiful person both inside and out.  I really mean that beautiful part… I did not have to retouch out a single stretch mark – LOL!

She brought along the cutest props for her kids, but why would I expect anything less?  I hope Tracy loves her images as much as I do.  Here are some highlights.

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]]> http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/11/tracy-joy-and-family/feed/ 9 4 for 12 [10] and HAPPY HALLOWEEN! http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/10/4-for-12-10-chicago-family-portraits/ http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/10/4-for-12-10-chicago-family-portraits/#comments Mon, 31 Oct 2011 02:21:49 +0000 Jes http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/?p=1596 Everyone knows how much I love vampires so you can imagine my excitement to have my very own little vampire this Halloween.  He wanted to be scary, but be still my heart — is he not the cutest little vampire you ever saw?   ♥

My daughter wanted to be Angelica from Pirates of the Caribbean.  It doesn’t matter that she has never actually seen Pirates of the Caribbean.  All that mattered was that her friend (who is a boy, but I refuse to say my 8-year-old has a boyfriend) was going to be Jack Sparrow and the two of them wanted to be a matched set.  We found a lot of girl pirate costumes but she was convinced she had to have a certain specific Angelica pirate costume.  We couldn’t find it anywhere and ended up ordering it online.  My daughter is tall for her age, right on the edge between childrens sizes and adult sizes.  The adult Angelica costume was $56.  Gulp!  I told her that the child costume better fit or else she was going to have to be a regular girl pirate.  Fortunately the child costume fit, so ladies and gentlemen I present Angelica from Pirates of the Caribbean:

The four of us decided to attempt a scary Halloween picture for this month’s 4 For 12.  Sadly, one of my horns lost its ooomph and is flopped down.  Last night at the Morton Grove Park District’s Halloween Party a friend told MacGyver that he needs to eat more because his ribs are showing.  Ha!

The Halloween parade and parties at school are done, Halloween parties at dance class are over, and the park district party is over.  All that is left is trick-or-treating tomorrow.  I hope everyone is having an awesome Halloween weekend!

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]]> http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/10/4-for-12-10-chicago-family-portraits/feed/ 1 It’s fun to be one http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/10/itsfun_chicago_baby_photographer/ http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/10/itsfun_chicago_baby_photographer/#comments Sat, 29 Oct 2011 03:34:05 +0000 Jes http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/?p=1585 Those eyes, that hair — so adorable!  Little D was a bundle of energy for his one-year session. Here are a few highlights. Happy Birthday, D!

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]]> http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/10/itsfun_chicago_baby_photographer/feed/ 8 An apple a day http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/10/an-apple-a-day/ http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/10/an-apple-a-day/#comments Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:33:43 +0000 Jes http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/?p=1569 You might recognize this little guy from a few blog posts back. This is my best friend’s son, and yes he does look a bit younger than he did a few blog posts back. That is because these fall images are from last year. I never blogged these! Then it seemed weird to blog fall pics when fall was over, so here we are a full year later. -blush!-

I photographed his two older sisters in a little red apple dress at this same age, and my friend wanted to create a portrait of him to fit in with those two older portraits. Obviously he would not be wearing an apple dress, so this is what we came up with. I think he looks adorable! This session was also a chance for me to test out a new method of outdoor fill flash when attempting to balance a subject against a very bright background.

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]]> http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/10/an-apple-a-day/feed/ 1 making faces http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/10/making-faces-chicago-photographer/ http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/10/making-faces-chicago-photographer/#comments Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:01:55 +0000 Jes http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/?p=1559 If you think you recognize this little cutie, it’s probably because she looks so much like her older brother whom I have photographed several times.  Her family has a grouping of 20×20 close-up headshots of the older kids on display in their home, so now it’s her turn.

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]]> http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/10/making-faces-chicago-photographer/feed/ 0 Decisions decisions http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/10/decisions-decisions/ http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/2011/10/decisions-decisions/#comments Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:47:05 +0000 Jes http://jessicagwozdz.com/blog/?p=1517 It’s getting to be that time of year where I can’t blog about most of my sessions because everyone wants the big reveal of their portraits to be in their holiday cards.  That’s why I was so excited when this little guy came in with his Halloween stuff.  He has two costumes to choose from and both are adorable.  I don’t know how his parents are going to decide which he should wear.

I am really glad we got this picture of him with his dad.  It’s a great compliment to the newborn portrait we took of him in his dad’s arms.

And P.S.  Can someone fill me in on what the big deal is with Sophie the Giraffe?  It seems that every baby I know has Sophie, and every baby who has Sophie simply loves her.  Sophie wasn’t around when my kids were babies so I am in the dark on this one.  LOL!

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