Happy New Year!

A quick post to wish everyone a safe and fun-filled New Year! Look later this week for my New Year's resolution and more images from Jane + Ryan's engagement session.

Spread the Love - Today, Tomorrow, and Always.

Dan + Jessica

Nothing like the Tropics in the middle of winter! I headed out earlier this week to Garfield Park Conservatory to meet up with Dan and Jessica for their engagement session. Since it was about 7 degrees outside and covered with ice the conservatory was a great spot to keep warm. We had a fun tour including a trip down the kid's slide - which seemed to be a bit slick for those little munchkins - they probably fly down that thing! I'm looking forward to the wedding in October!

Tom + Courtney

Well if you're going to do a session in the snow - Saturday was perfect. Tom and Courtney are planning a wedding out east so it was my pleasure to capture their Chicago stomping grounds for their engagement. We started out at their place taking Jersey, their adorable full of energy pups, for a walk down the snow covered street. After we ventured over to the steps of St. Vincent de Paul, this is where Tom had popped the question. One last stop on the list was North Avenue Beach. I was really excited to do some winter skyline shots, when we arrived I was even more inspired when I say how extremely calm the lake was. Ah Beautiful!!! Thanks you to for trekking out in the cold - it was so worth it!

Park Family

I love when stories come full circle. Last week I met up with one of my favorite couples from 2006. I was so excited to shoot with them again and meet their ADORABLE baby girl. The session was filled with smiles and giggles. It was great to see their new family forming and be able to capture some great images to remember these special times. I have also included an image from their wedding I took a few years ago.

Chicago-Bride.com Feature

It's always fun to Google yourself right! Well once and a while I like to check in on myself to see where I pop up. Yesterday I came across this beautifully written feature and just had to share. I think they really did a great job describing my vision and style.

Courtesy of Chicago Wedding Guide

"When you think about photographic art, automatically you think about emotions and feelings which connect together in order to create your client’s story. Amateur wedding photographers usually have the habit to neglect insignificant details of that special day, or to stand in your way all the time. Amanda Hein is a professional photographer, with a portfolio to envy.

Very subtle in her manner of work, and dedicated to art, Amanda will surprise everything around her just the way it is. “Beauty can be easily found in small and simple things”, that’s her motto. Extremely attentive to details, Amanda has an original way of capturing the essence of any type of event. She is always prepared to see the bigger picture of what an event really means. She is a pure soul that nurtures from quality art and simple things like raw nature. In her professional relationships, Amanda proved to be a great interpersonal communicator.

Her shooting sessions are very relaxant and fun. Her clients have freedom to express their emotions and moods in any way. This is what being natural is all about. If you want your wedding photo album to express artistic imagery, and gladly remember that special day for many years to come, choose Amanda Hein as your personal photographer for the day."

Debi Lilly On Oprah

Be sure to tune into to Oprah tomorrow to see our friend Debi Lilly from A Perfect Event show off her skills.

"Don't miss Wednesday's Oprah Show...

It's the big holiday show filled with
everything you need to know for your upcoming holiday season!

Debi Lilly shows viewers on-air how to create Oprah's "favorite thing" for gift giving this season...

Wednesday, November 26th

Tune in to make your 2008 the best - and budget oriented - holiday season yet." courtesy of A Perfect Event.

Todd + Kristin

When I first met with Todd and Kristin we were in a cozy coffee shop trying to warm up from the rainy weather. It's a year later now and although it wasn't raining we still had a chilly afternoon. Todd and Kristin did an awesome job keeping eachother warm - this is a great example of how it doesn't have to be a sunny summer day to get some great shots! I'm really looking forward to the wedding in February - I mean we've got to stick with the chilly theme right! :)

Julia + Zoe

Julia is such a great big sister. She did a great job taking turns during the session and even stepped in as my assistant for part of the shoot. It was a lot of fun meeting these two lovely girls. Shooting in a family's environment brings out a lot of personal touches and allows kids to show off their sweet, sometimes goofy, carefree personalities.

Soulistic Studio & Spa

I recently met Margaret Castrovillari, Chief Executive and Financial Officer, of Soulistic Studio and Spa. I was so excited to swing by her space to check it out. Conveniently she was having an Infant Massage Workshop taught by Adina Reichlin, a nationally certified massage therapist. I thought this would be a great way to share some info about the space and relate it back to all of you newlyweds and portrait clients. A spa retreat is also a great gift for the holidays. The minute I stepped foot into Soulistic I felt my whole world slow down. The atmosphere is so relaxing - it's quite the retreat from the daily grind. I won't even begin to tell you about all they have to offer, I don't think I would be able to do them justice - here's some info from their website:

"Soulistic Studio and Spa is a green mind/body studio & spa offering innovative fitness programming and holistic spa treatments that focus on mind/body harmony, flexibility and core conditioning. We provide personalized attention to individual needs in a calm, healing environment. Our clients' overall health and wellness is our guiding inspiration. We also have several special programs for pregnant ladies and families (prenatal yoga, Mommy & Me yoga, Labor & delivery workshops, as well as prenatal massage services)."

Here are some shots I took while I was there and a few from the Infant Workshop that had just begun.

Baby Ella

Born 6 weeks early, Ella was quite the little peanut. She did a great job during the session. I just loved how she held tight while Daddy was giving her a little snack. I look forward to more sessions in the future and capturing her little changes.

Afternoon at the Preserve

I was so excited when my good friend Lacey was wanting to set up a session to surprise her mom for Christmas. We gathered at a forest preserve in the northwest burbs and ended up with a perfect afternoon. There was awesome light and some pretty cool hidden spots among the grounds. It was a great session and a lot of fun for everyone!

Addison

Last week I had the pleasure of spending some time with Addison. It was a classic session in her beautiful room. She gave me the grand tour and showed me all of her favorite books. What a doll!

Matt + Jill

This session was right up my alley - no pun intended (sorry I just had to say it!) Mainly because we started off in the alley/courtyard behind my studio and also because it was another fun laid back session. Matt and Jill knew they wanted their images to express their laid back, antique, urban style, but left the locations up to me. It was fun to explore the neighborhood and find them some unique spots just for them. Their wedding will be tons of fun next March at A New Leaf.

Adam + Sara

What a wonderful fall afternoon with a super fun couple! Sara and Adam were a blast to hang out with on my birthday this past Tuesday! We met up in the Northwest Burbs for a beautiful engagement shoot. I'm really looking forward to the wedding in June!

HALLOWEEN MINI SESSIONS

Yes, they're back. It's that time again to celebrate with FREE MINI SESSIONS!! Parents are invited to bring their costumed kids for FREE 10-minute portrait sessions on Halloween.

Oz Park offers the perfect backdrop for autumnal, sunshine-streaked portraits of the ghostly ghouls and fairytale princesses.

Parents will be mailed a free disc of images for sharing and printing within approximately two weeks.

WHERE: Oz Park
(Corner of West Webster Avenue and North Larrabee Street in Lincoln Park)

WHEN: Halloween – Friday, Oct. 31
11am – 4pm

NOTE: Parents are encouraged to schedule appointments at least 48 hours in advance by calling 312-480-9949 or e-mailing amanda@amandahein.com.

Corey + Mary

What a pleasure it was so work with Corey and Mary. Their sense of humor, love for eachother, and lightheartedness is so contagious!! Since running off to Vegas 5 months ago - plans for their wedding changed a bit since they first booked with me. But as many of you know - I'm flexible! Corey and Mary shared some alone time outside before meeting up with family for portraits (which I was delighted to be a part of)! Then after portraits we walked over to Carlucci's for a delicious afternoon reception. It was a personal day filled with lots of laughs and love in which I am so glad I was able to be part.