Friday, December 20, 2013

The Wait - Quad Cities Maternity Photographer

 
 

Danielle - Quad Cities Maternity Photographer

I love doing maternity photographs!  Pregnancy is just so beautiful...
 


And meeting Danielle and Evan was such a pleasure.  Such a great couple who are anxiously awaiting the arrival of little Hudson!
 
 
 


I love it when couples are willing to do whatever I ask.  It had snowed the day before our session and it was so white and pretty out.  Only there was one problem...it was SEVEN degrees...a bit chilly to say the least!

It was so freezing, but Danielle took her coat off like I asked and smiled through it all! :D
 

I can't wait to meet Hudson and photograph him!  Only 4 more weeks!!!
 
 Thank you Evan and Danielle for welcoming me into your home to photograph the 2 of you before your lives and worlds change forever!  So excited for you two and what is to come!  See you soon!!!

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Chu - Chu - Chu - Changes...

Wow…2013 has been a year for the books for Jennie Peakin Photography! I never knew that just 3 years after starting this journey, I would be so busy! And still, I truly think that I have the BEST clients…each of you has been a blessing to me and I thank you so much for allowing me into your world for a short time. It was so amazing to photograph each of you!

I am so excited for 2014! I started a wedding photography business, Vantage Nine19 with my friend and unbelievably talented photographer, Jamie Barry with Jamie Lynne Photography out of Des Moines. We are so excited about this new venture! Check out our website VantageNine19.com and our blog VantageNine19.wordpress.com for more details! Between my growing personal photography business and the new addition of wedding photography, I am making some major equipment upgrades this year which will benefit each of you when you see the improved quality of your images going forward!

This year has brought some things to light for me, has made me realize that if I am going to do this right and grow this business as I want to, there are some changes that I need to make. I get so many return clients (which is the biggest compliment I could receive, so THANK YOU!) that I felt the need to put out there all of the changes as I know many of you expect certain things out of me because of what I have always delivered from the get go.

I know I used to give you 70, 80, 100 or more photos. I just want to apologize to you for making you do my job for me! Going forward I am going to really dig deep, look closely, and find the BEST 20-25 photos for you so you don't have to weed through so many of them. I know they are all so fun, but you came to me for artful photos to hang on your wall and from this point forward, every photo you get on your CD will be worth putting on your wall! :)  If you are sad about getting less photos and not getting some of those outtakes, I am very sorry I won't be able to deliver those to you any longer. By offering less photos on your CD I will get to fine tune those images in the bunch that are truly the best, spending more time really perfecting them. And maybe during the year I can offer some tips on how to get those "outtakes" right at home with your own camera! What you will continue to see from me are those candid, real moments captured. This will not change...it is my style and what I know each of you expects from me and what I love to capture. So no worries, I will still stay away from too much of the posey pose shots that just aren't my style.

I will provide a Sneak Peek of each of my sessions on Facebook for my clients…this Sneak Peek will consist of a 1 or 2 images from the session. I have in years passed, shared several images from each session on Facebook and then shared several more on a blog post. Going forward, 1 or 2 images will be shared on Facebook within a couple days of the session and then when I create my blog post for the session, more images will be shared for you to view. I will no longer provide an emailed online album as I know that the majority of my clients don’t order from there anyway and would much prefer their images on the disk more quickly. Decreasing the number of edited images and eliminating some unnecessary steps will allow you to receive your disks in a more timely manner!  As always, my clients will receive a disk with their fully edited, high resolution images and a print release. This will remain the same. With those images, you will be able to print them wherever you wish.

I ventured into Senior Portrait photography in 2013 for the first time. I was blessed to have 3 incredible seniors to photograph and I loved doing it! I plan to take a very limited number of Senior Portrait sessions going forward. I want to always make sure I have time to fit in the family and children photography that I so love and with the addition of doing weddings several weekends a year, I plan to take only a small number of seniors each year.

There will be some minor pricing adjustments made as well…mostly just to streamline my pricing structure. This year, I will not have any major pricing increases though, as my adjustments made within the business will be more behind the scenes. My goal is always to provide you with the best quality product I can and with my equipment upgrade, my experience and my decision to pick only the very best 20-25 images from your session, I know that I can provide you with a better quality product in a more timely manner.

 I look forward to the new changes in 2014 and hopefully seeing each of your smiling faces in front of my (new and improved) lens this year! Thank you for helping to make 2013 such a great success for Jennie Peakin Photography!  

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Bowen - Quad Cities Newborn Photographer

This little 13 day old man made my day on Monday!
He was about the tiniest, sweetest thing ever!



I don't very often get to photograph such new babies...it just seems that most of my clients tend to be families and small children.  So this was quite a pleasant change for me!


And he was the most perfect subject...by the end of the session, he was so sound asleep, we were able to get all kinds of sleepy shots!  I am in love with this one...


And his mom had such a fun, little Snowman getup for him to wear!  This is actually the cozy little cocoon that put Sweet Bowen to sleep in the first place!  How adorable is he in this?!


And Mommy Love shots are always my favorite...no matter what.


Bowen's mom is beautiful and sweet and it was so nice working with her.  She did NOT look like she just birthed a baby only 13 days prior!


What a precious gift...


Thank you for welcoming me into your home to photograph your handsome little man.  He was a dream to photograph and snuggle!  What a gorgeous family you are!  Best wishes to you on your future endeavors.

Monday, November 18, 2013

The Roberson Family - Quad Cities Family Photographer

This is another one of those families who I have had the pleasure of photographing through the different stages of their relationship.  They were one of my first sessions I photographed when I started this business when I did their engagement session.  Then, I did some photographs on their wedding day and when Levi was a chubby 6 month old.  And now Levi is a busy toddler and I was thrilled to photograph them again!



They are such a beautiful family and I am happy to call them friends!


And they know how to make beautiful babies...that's for sure!
 


He has amazing eyes!


He is a busy boy and so smart!  It was so much fun running around with him and witnessing how incredibly loved he is!
 


It couldn't have been a more gorgeous fall evening to capture this gorgeous family in pictures!


Thank you Seth, Amanda and Levi for letting me spend some time with you this weekend!  It is always so wonderful to see you and fills me with such joy that you have given me the opportunity to capture your beautiful growing family each step of the way!  Much love to you guys!

The Smith Family - Quad Cities Family Photographer

I was pretty excited when this awesome family contacted me to photograph them.  I make a trip to Des Moines once or twice a year to do photo sessions and due to time constraints, I have a limited amount of availability.  It's kind of a first come first serve deal and so I was happy this family got in the mix!

Emily and Craig have been friends with my husband, Sean for years.  I met them through him way back when Sean and I started dating.  I have never had the opportunity to meet their adorable children until this last weekend when I photographed all of them!



And they are SUCH ADORABLE and GREAT kids!!!


They have their differences though... ;)

Cora was great in front of the camera...she totally liked workin' it! Ha.  I have to say though, she was also great BEHIND the camera.  And I am not even kidding.  I usually help kids take a picture or two if they want, but she actually WORKED my camera...on manual.  I told her the button on the back to push in order to focus the shot, gave her some quick instruction, put the strap around her neck and let her work.


And I almost don't even feel right putting my watermark on this image.  I didn't even take it!  I was not even TOUCHING the camera...this was all her.  I edited it, but didn't crop it either.  I mean, c'mon...that is pretty amazing!  This girl needs a camera for Christmas.  And I may want her to be my apprentice...she's got skill I tell you!  It certainly helps that Jackson is one seriously good looking little stud!


Yup, these two were as fun as they are adorable!


The whole family was!


And this shot...oh my...it melts my heart! 


I love this too!


And sometimes you get the shot...even when it isn't planned.  You do what ya gotta do and a lot of times it just works! :)


And since they're a house full of Vikings fans, the shoot wasn't complete without some shots where they were representing their team!

Thank you Emily, Craig, Cora and Jackson!  I had so much fun working with you guys. :)  Glad the rain held off for us!  It was so great seeing you again and meeting your adorable children finally!

Sunday, November 17, 2013

The Luckenbach Family - Quad Cities Family Photographer

What a great family I had the pleasure of meeting and photographing!
Even their dog was amazing!
I think it's smiling...doesn't it look like it?! :)


2 1/2 can sometimes be a difficult age to photograph.  Sweet Elliott was far from difficult to photograph.  What a doll he was!  We had a great time playing on this beautiful fall day!


He is all boy!  Loves sticks, leaves, running, football.  And he was sweet and as you can clearly see, ADORABLE to boot!


And that is probably because he has a wonderful mom and dad!  These two were just so laid back and easy to work with.  And they are so in love...and one of my favorite things is photographing two people who are in love.


Though I just met this family for this session and we only spent an hour together, I learned very quickly that this family is as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside...


I am in LOVE with this Mommy Love shot! 


And the ONLY thing that would have made this shot more perfect (in MY personal opinion!) is if this gorgeous, football loving family had been sporting Hawkeye gear! ;)

However, I must say...if ANYTHING could make me like Michigan, it might be this image.


Thank you Luckenbach family for letting me spend some time photographing your family!  It was such a pleasure to meet you.  What a beautiful family you have and such an incredible little boy!  You made my job easy! :)

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

The Leonard Family - Quad Cities Family Photographer

I was so excited to FINALLY get this family in front of my lens!
I've been friends with them for a couple of years now and it finally worked out!


These kids are fully of personality!
Made for a great photo session! ;)


And BOTH of their eyes...I did NO edits on.  For reals...their eyes are just THAT amazing!

Handsome Brady...



Beautiful Kiley...




We are so blessed by the friendship we have with these two... 

And one of the many shots I got of this family that was REAL...in fact, MOST of the shots I got were quite "real".  Those are my favorites anyway! :)


Thank you guys for FINALLY allowing me to photograph you!  We definitely picked a beautiful, fall day for it!!!
Love you guys!