Decatur Illinois Families | Summer Portrait Sessions with Sarah Jane

Well SJP summers are usually chock full of the latest senior class (hey class of 2022, we see you!), but whew boy is summer 2021 all about these stunning Central Illinois (and Missouri…. yes, even though I said I wasn’t staring work in Missouri until 2022, oooops… I did!) families!

I’ve gotten to celebrate not one, but TWO, 50th wedding anniversaries this summer by creating brand new family portraits for these lovely couples and the generations they’ve grown. Plus, I created my first ever 4th of July ‘Christmas’ cards for a brand new SJP family.

First up, to share today are a few of my favorites from the Kuhn family. I am just so grateful and thankful for them trusting me over the years. They have two seriously great kids, who are I guess really not ‘kids’ anymore now! And they are always such a pleasure to work with and create for. We just put the finishing touches on their family album which we selected to match Alex & Lindy’s senior albums. Plus, I cannot wait to see their final canvas selection above their mantle soon.

I’m so excited for the three image collection we designed for this next family’s wall. My favorite part is the little surprise in the palm of the littest’s hand…. a daddy long leg she found got to join them for the session. Dad says she loves them so it was a perfect little dose of personality that only a knowing eye could find! And we ended up with almost perfectly mirrored images of both girls that worked perfectly on either side of the main family portrait.

Last up today I get to share the Anderson/Jones family! These guys were all laughs on session and their energy was infectious. I’m excited to get their whole family portrait framed up in the next week so it can make it to it’s home on their walls.

| Kirkman Family | Limited Edition Sessions!

outdoor family portraits by sarah jane photography in decatur il

The gorgeous Kirkman family is up on the blog today!! These boys were so much fun and brought so much style and personality to their session. This was a rare urban location for a Limited Edition this fall. This year we have one studio LE session planned along with 3 outdoor dates. LE session dates have been sent out to our VIP email list (get on that HERE for first dibs and a free gift on your first session).

family portrait session decatur il
outdoor family portraits by sarah jane photography in decatur il
outdoor family portraits by sarah jane photography in decatur il
outdoor family portraits by sarah jane photography in decatur il

| Jennie | Executive Headshot | Rodan and Fields |

I had the opportunity to meet and photograph Jennie last year for a quick turn around headshot session. She’s a thriving business woman on the Rodan Field team (if you don’t know R+F, girls this is next level skin care and I’m a fan and user myself!).

Under deadline to get the company an image (for life-size banner’s!) we had to get her in quick and that’s the thing I LOVE about how we do our executive portraits because it’s always under a deadline of like yesterday isn’t it?!? None of us (even me!!) are good about having consistently updated images of ourselves. Then, when we hit it out of the park and get featured in a magazine article or land a platform event, we have to scramble a bit to create an image we love to put our face/brand/personality out there to the masses.

Well, the good news is, that’s 100% my job! Our headshot sessions are 15 minutes in-studio with IMMEDIATE (yes like right NOW) viewing/selection on our 106″ Premiere screen. We make sure you LOVE that image life size (even if the final destination is an email-signature) and you walk out of the studio without any items on your to do list… no proofs to view/choose, nothing to wait on except your final image delivered often in 24-48 hours!

And since I know putting this off is easy and we could all use an update, I’m making it even easier this year with a two-day executive portrait event right here in the studio. Thursday, February 13th and Saturday, February 15th you can join us for your choice of:

  • Quick 15 Minute Headshot Session + Immediate viewing & selection of 2 digital artist files. Regularly $285, just $95!
  • Full in-studio one hour Branding Session + 20 Web Images & 2 digital artist files (artist selection). Regularly $575, just $295!

Booking is open now HERE.

| McCoy Family | 2019 Family Portraits Decatur IL |

Merry Christmas ya’ll! I hope yesterday, and this whole week has been stocked full of Christmas magic. I’m not actually here (for real) this week but I keep a few family’s annual family portraits under wraps until after the holiday so they have the chance to unveil the images first to their friends/family in their Christmas cards. And I just couldn’t wait to share these with you so I (insider information) scheduled this post weeks (hmmm actually like a month) ago!

I’ve had the honor of photographing these kids for the last 6 years and there is absolutely nothing I love more about my job than having return clients like this. I posted a throwback to our past images last month on our facebook page (HERE) and it’s amazing to me to see how much they’ve changed. I’m beyond thankful this family has trusted me with their images year after year.

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One of the biggest challenges with so many years of annual portraits is to create something new. I try to make sure we are selecting new locations each year but my real challenge is selecting updated poses that are still flattering, natural and show some connection. This year, we opted for what I call a ‘cross over’ location where I knew we could get some ivy for a more natural look (the family’s usual preference) but that this location would also give us the chance to mix in a more urban look with the steps. This was a new roll of the dice for them and I’m so glad Lori trusted me to go with it and guess what …. after the fact they were wishing we’d made it a whole family year so we could update the wall image with a more urban look! So glad they liked the new direction with these.

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| Morgan | Argenta-Oreana High School Senior Model Portraits | Class of 2020 |

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Who’s ready for a whole lotta Morgan on the blog today?!?!? It’s album season at SJP and as we finish up these designs you’ll get to sneak a peek inside right here on the blog! Morgan and her momma were always so fun to hang out with on session and always brought such a fun energy. We’ve created images of her over this past year as part of our model experience and I cannot wait to finish the year out with some fun pop-ups in the snow (come on snow fairies) and of course finishing out the year with a grad portrait or two.

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Does a year full of sessions including free BFF & pop up sessions, bonus gifts and fun group shoots along with an unforgettable senior portrait experience sound fun?!?! If so, apply here to join us (interviews start already in January…. don’t be late to the party!) http://sjanephotography.com/machform/view.php?id=16090