| Macy + Tyler | Decatur IL Engagement Portraits |

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I’m thrilled to show off Macy and Tyler to you today! With our recent warm up in temperatures I am itching for some greenery like this soon. I had a blast photographing these two on a beautiful morning out at Allerton Park. Since they’ll be getting married in downtown Decatur and we know we’ll have a lot of urban scenery on the wedding day we decided to get some variety and get out into the greenery of Allerton for their engagement session (plus, added bonus was we worked in a bit of brick/stone textures with the mansion area too!).

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These two are so sweet together and their session was super relaxed and fun but I just LOVE how they both rock that model face (see below). Smiles, cuddles and giggles are fun but whew they are owning that serious face.

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When Macy pulled out their second outfit for the session I knew immediately I wanted to get them in the greenhouse where the bright white and windows always give a subtle blue hue which was perfect with Tyler’s polo. Plus the ivy around the greenhouse was perfect that day!

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Don’t forget to head over to their Facebook Album to give them some love with your likes/comments and stay tuned this July to see their wedding images!!!

| Skeff Distributing | Small Business Feature | Decatur IL |

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Today I get to share a HUGE small business based right here in Decatur. Just this last month I had the privilege to photograph their 50th anniversary celebration complete with a open house  banquet/dinner party and a Bose giveaway contest which all their attendees could participate. And I have to tell you that spending time with them over those two days of festivities I just LOVE the atmosphere they’ve cultivated. There is an attention to detail that I haven’t seen in a lot of places with trucks, a warehouse and offices that are pristine.

Being very goal driven myself I also loved seeing their goals for the year/month broken down and posted throughout the offices as well as their overall visions for each department displayed largely (like 8 feet tall guys) in their meeting room. There’s a pride and fellowship among the employees and owners that cannot be overlooked and it makes it a pleasure to work with them.

skieff, distributing, sip, commercial photos, small business featureThe Details: Skeff Distributing Company, Inc. | In Business: We’ve been in business since January 6, 1967. Over 50 years!

Hours: Office Hours are Monday-Thursday 8am-5pm, Friday 8am-4pm.  | Location: We distribute to 5 markets in East Central Illinois: Decatur, Springfield,Champaign, Danville, and Taylorville.| Phone: 217-877-3774

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skieff, distributing, sip, commercial photos, small business featureTell us about your business… What do you do? Skeff Distributing Company, Inc. was incorporated on January 6, 1967 to serve as the distributor for Anheuser-Busch, Inc. products. 48 years later, we have expanded our footprint to include the counties of Macon, Menard, Piatt, Champaign, Vermilion, portions of Logan and Christian, DeWitt, Sangamon, Moultrie, Macoupin, Montgomery, Morgan, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, and Iroquois in Central Illinois.

The company currently has 27 delivery routes in the Decatur, Springfield, Danville, Champaign-Urbana, and Taylorville markets to service around 1,800 customers. Team Skeff has expanded to include over 100 employees (both union and non-union) and distributes 70+ brand families.

skeff, distributing, sip, commercial photos, small business feature, beer decatur, What makes your business unique/special? Skeff Distributing is in a special position in business and industry because the product by its very nature is centered on good times and social gatherings. Not too many other businesses can say the same!

What tool/equipment/or other vendor could you not imagine doing business without? We could not do business without our suppliers, especially Anheuser-Busch our main supplier, or our customers. Without them, we would lack products to sell to our retail accounts and, by extension, their customers would have nothing to consume!

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A few years ago I had the chance to work with Skeff for the first time to create the large (6 feet tall) red focal canvas you see in their lobby (pictured below). This was a fun and different project for me though I often design large pieces and collages for my client homes this was the first in a while for a commercial office. 

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One of the coolest things to see as a consumer is the massive Skeff warehouse with stacks and stacks and stacks (and stacks…..) of beverages literally as far as you can see! I know I take for granted the fact that I can walk into any grocery store or gas station and pick up my drink of choice… well this, my friends, is what makes that possible! 

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And you cannot overlook the amazing memorabilia that adorns nearly every space at Skeff. This is an amazing look back through this history of some of their main suppliers: 

Lastly, I’m excited to share with you the Skeff 50th anniversary video:

See the latest news at: http://www.skeffdist.com/

See our other past small business features to connect with more businesses in our area:

See more on our Facebook Page and follow us on Twitter @sjanephotog, Instagram @sjanephotograhy, and Snapchat @sjanephotog.

If you’d like to have YOUR small business featured for FREE on the SJP blog (or know a small business we should feature) you can find details HERE!

| Micaela T | Senior Class of 2017 | Decatur IL Photographer |

Today is Micaela’s day in the spotlight! She’s a class of 2017 senior at Eisenhower High School and was so fun to photograph. With that stunning hair and striking features she rocked her session and I loved every image!

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As a bookworm myself I was thrilled with Micaela showed up with her book collection and we found a couple ways to work them into her session both downtown for an urban look and at Rock Springs for a bit more natural setting (and just check out those eyes!!!).

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| Tiara | Senior Portraits | Class of 2017 | LSA High School |

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sisters, senior photos, senior photographer, senior portraits, high school seniors, siblings, outdoor portraits, outside, sun flare, sunshine, forest, trees, decatur il photographer, photographer, photography studio, lsa, lsa seniors, ivy, greeneryToday I get to show off and share Tiara’s senior session with you! Tiara is a class of 2017 senior at LSA here in Decatur and we had not just one but TWO sessions for her so we could highlight both some summer looks and greenery plus some fall leaves (and even a pumpkin!). Plus she’s an LSA cheerleader so we hopped in the studio to highlight that along with recreating an image that her mom had done her senior year too!
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sisters, senior photos, senior photographer, senior portraits, high school seniors, siblings, outdoor portraits, outside, sun flare, sunshine, forest, trees, decatur il photographer, photographer, photography studio, lsa, lsa seniorsAnd we even included her sister which I love! Your senior portraits are definitely about YOU but they are also about who you are and that includes the people important to you!
sisters, senior photos, senior photographer, senior portraits, high school seniors, siblings, outdoor portraits, outside, sun flare, sunshine, forest, trees, decatur il photographer, photographer, photography studio, lsa, lsa seniorsBe sure to head over to her Facebook Album to see MORE and give her some love with your likes/comments. And if you’re a 2018 senior there is still time to apply to be a SJP Senior Model for the BEST senior portrait experience with so much more (exclusive BFF session event, one-of-a-kind concept session, Indy trip for just a couple of our models, hair and makeup and the chance to earn a over $1000 off your senior order AND a $500 scholarship). Click HERE to apply to be a class of 2018 senior model!

| Steck Family Portraits | Decatur IL Photography Studio |

Better late than never… if you follow the blog closely you know posts come every Tuesday/Thursday and technically it’s STILL Thursday so we are on time (just a bit later in the day than usual). The snow yesterday showed up out of nowhere and was beautiful so my office time was put on hold to go create for a lovely family who has been excitedly waiting for the flakes to fall. So tonight I’m burning the midnight oil to catch back up on some things! And I’m so excited to share these siblings with you todaynight.

Amy came to me this fall to try to get the kids in the studio in a tiny window of time where they were all back home for Thanksgiving break. We had hoped to do both in-studio and some outdoor portraits since we’d had such unseasonably warm weather and low and behold the day of their session was the ONE day it was nasty and rainy all week. Well we didn’t let that stop us!

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I love the classic and timeless look of low key (aka black background) studio portraits and it meshed perfectly with both their wardrobe choices. And a fun twist on this session was the recreation of the below ‘kissy’ image that the kids had done when they were little, I should have taken a photo of their original because I think we nailed it if I do say so myself!

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Cut to wardrobe change to show off where the kids are in their lives right now with the boys in military school and this lovely lady about to graduate and become a doctor! We may have only hung out for about an hour but these three were delightful to work with and am so glad to share and show them off to you all today.

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#meanmug ^^^

You can give them some love with your likes & comments on the Facebook Page!