Outdoor Portrait Sessions Open for the Season

It's time!
Starting today you can book your summer Chicagoland outdoor portrait session with me.
Head on over to the contact page, fill out the form, and we'll start setting up your photo session. If you've got a date in mind, be sure to include that in the message box.

A few more cities may become available in the weeks ahead. If you haven't noticed, this site has been undergoing some changes and will soon change even more! Announcements will still appear on www.kristinserna.com

Time to Schedule Your Portrait Session

It's that time.

You might be wanting to decorate your walls or have been wanting a new photo for the table next to your bed.

Maybe you've been thinking of sending out a photo for your holiday card this year.

Or maybe you recently caught yourself looking at your kids, your significant other, or maybe even yourself in the mirror and wanting to freeze that moment. You want to remember what they look like right now, how a smile lights up their face, bottle up the silliness and the love to relive whenever you want down the road.

It's time to schedule your portrait session.


Check out what some of my clients had to say about their sessions and then head on over to the contact page to get started. I'm currently booking portrait sessions through October 2015.

©2015 Kristin Serna. This post and photo are mine should not be republished without my permission. Merci beaucoup.

What to Wear for Your Family Photos | Spring & Summer

I'm back again with another inspiration for what to wear for a family photo. As always, the rule is to go without matching.

This time I've picked three colors and everyone in the group is wearing at least two if not all three colors. And by choosing a neutral set, we also get this monochrome look while still keeping things interesting. 

You'll notice this time two people are wearing a pattern. My general guideline is to have no more than half your group members wearing patterns (unless you're at an advanced level of pattern-putting-together). There's some similar elements to these patterns but they're not the same. What's more one is a dark color on a light background and the other is a light color on a dark background. To further make sure they don't compete, our girl is wearing a jacket that helps break up/tone down her pattern a bit.

And our old friend texture makes another appearance, this time in a bit of shoulder detail on a blouse. 

You'll also notice our two on the ends are wearing solid button-up shirts, but the cream vs white as well as different collar and sleeve styles keep it so there's no mini-me situation going on. 

Girl #1's Outfit  |  Woman's Dress  |  Girl #2's Outfit  | Man's Outfit

Looking for more inspiration? Check out these posts:

What to Wear to Your Photo Session | Spring/Summer

What to Wear for Family Portraits

Kids Inspiration from Instagram

©2015 Kristin Serna. Graphic design assembled by Kristin. Individual clothing photos from their respective retailers used to illustrate a concept. This post should not be republished without my permission. Merci beaucoup.

What to Wear To Your Photo Session | Spring/Summer

Outdoor family photo session season is upon us again. And it's always a good idea to give some thought to what you'll wear to yours.

While it's nice to look like you belong together, matching is unnecessary. You don't match every member of your family's outfits on a daily basis, so don't do it for your photos. It's easy to find a way for everyone to visually go together, while still all looking like individuals.

See? In this example no one is wearing the same thing. They're not even wearing the same color tops. I found this girl's dress with a pretty flower pattern. Then I pulled colors from it to help decide what the other family members would wear. As an added bonus, I picked out a textured shirt for the boy. If you do have two members of your group wearing similar color tops or dresses, having one with texture is a great way to visually separate them a bit.

And you don't have to go out and buy new clothes to do this. (Although you're allowed to if you want.) If you're looking for ideas of ways to combine your clothing into an outfit, check out retailer's websites. They often have examples featuring their newest items. 

The bottom line is wear something you feel good wearing. Because if you're uncomfortable, it's going to show all over your face. 

Girl's Dress  |  Man's Outfit  |  Woman's Dress  |  Boy's Outfit

Looking for more ideas?

What to Wear for Family Portraits

Kids Inspiration from Instagram

More of Kids Portraits What to Wear

©2015 Kristin Serna. Graphic design assembled by Kristin. Individual clothing photos from their respective retailers used to illustrate. This post should not be republished without my permission. Merci beaucoup.

Chicagoland Family Portrait Session | Emily + James + Sam

Today I'm taking a moment from running around making noises about the new Star Wars movie title to share some photos of a dear family. What seems like a very long time ago in a galaxy far, far away I did a photo session with Emily and James for their anniversary. And now their family has expanded with Sam, possibly the most chill baby I've ever met. He was totally content with being held and talked to by his parents, who, by the way, are so good with him I'd swear this was not their first kid.

To be fair, Sam did cry once. He also took a mini break people-watching out the window from which I felt bad about pulling him away. He moved around and looked away plenty of times too, but as I've said before–that's part of what I love about photographing baby and toddler portraits. It's fun to capture a slice of time of who they were and how they interacted with the world around them.

It was a bit chilly outside so we did most of the session indoors. A nice big window let in all the light we needed. Indoor portrait sessions are always a bit more cozy and especially so when the temperatures get low. But the colors were gorgeous outside too, so when it warmed up a little we made our dash. Sam had a pretty adorable bear suit.

Emily & James - Thank you for inviting me into your home to document some time with the little guy. I'm in awe of you two and your kindness is most appreciated. 

©2014 Kristin Serna These are my words and my photos. This post should not be republished without my permission. Cheers.

Family Portrait Session | Julia + James + Gabriel

One of my favorite things about photographing babies is you never know what they're going to do. I know some parents worry that their little one isn't cooperating, but if they're being themselves, then they are doing great. I love making images of real life. Sometimes we're not smiling, eyes wide open, looking directly at a camera and that's ok.

Gabriel loves looking into the camera. Actually, he loves looking at everything. There is so much to see in this world and this kid definitely already knows that. I was so happy to meet him. His parents are some of my favorite people in the whole world. They're kind and friendly and it's hard not to smile when you're around them. J&J – thanks for letting me document an hour of you hanging out with your son. I can already tell he's going to be a pretty cool kid.

©2014 Kristin Serna These are my words and my photos. This post should not be republished without my permission. Cheers.

Father & Son | Family Session Preview

Oh my goodness this one makes me smile.
More to come...

©2014 Kristin Serna These are my words and my photos. This post should not be republished without my permission. Cheers.

Phones, Photography, and The Moment

How incredible is it that we can take photos with our phones? It wasn't that long ago that we couldn't do that – couldn't even look at photos on a phone either. At one point back then I had an early digital camera. It was kind of like carrying a brick. While not having to carry a bunch of rolls of film on me seemed freeing, it was still a conscious decision to bring that camera out with me. During a four month period of living in England I took a lot of photos with that "brick." And from them I picked out my favorite 600 photos to print out.

600.

Two of Six-hundred

I can only imagine how many there would have been if I could have taken photographs with my phone too. Today we usually have some sort of device on us at any time that can capture a moment. We can look at it immediately and decide if we're good with that one or we'd like to try again. And then we can carry those photos with us nearly anywhere we go.

But it's not perfect. It's easy to miss a moment because we couldn't pull out the phone fast enough. It's easy for the shot to be blurry because the screen wasn't responding when we pushed the button. And it's so easy to miss out on enjoying the moment because your focus was elsewhere.

The last one is something I still struggle with sometimes. But it can be really amazing to just sit still and experience the sunset, instead of fussing with settings and watching it through a lens but not really seeing it. In a world of rushing about, you can choose to feel the air cool and the sky get painted with reds and oranges and be in awe of the whole thing.

So I understand why so many people want to just take photos of their loved ones with their phones. They're right there. They're doing something cute. So you just take a photo. And I encourage you to do that. But remember, when you've taken 300 shots of those dear to you, one of your subjects is near tears, you can't be in the photo, and you're getting stressed out and have no idea how you'll narrow those photos down to find the best one – there's another way.

You can be a part of that moment (whether it means being in a photo or not) and only focus on enjoying it. You can spend time with someone you love. Hear their laugh. Feel the warmth of their skin. See them for who they really are. That's what I'm here for – to  document the moment for you. And then when you look at those images on your wall, in the frame next to your bed, or even on your phone – you can relive those warm fuzzy feelings all over again. Those memories get to be yours forever.

So please keep documenting the most important people in your life with whatever camera you have. But don't forget to call me in every once in a while to help you capture some moments of your life. It all moves by so quickly. Take some time to enjoy it too.

©2014 Kristin Serna These are my words and my photos. This post should not be republished without my permission. Cheers.

30 Seconds of Family Photography

It flies by so fast!
Interested in your own session?
Fill out the contact form over here.

Meek Family | Chicago Family Portraits

Another sweet family of three! And this family is on the move.
Young Mr. Meek and his parents got to climb stairs, meet a cool dog, and even see a train. 'Twas an adventure for sure.

Aaaand here comes my favorite of the session right here on the right.

Aaaaand this one on the left is my second favorite. :) I love photos that get in close but taking it all in is pretty nice too.
It was great to meet you, Meek Family! I'm glad we had such a fun and warm session.

©2013 Kristin Serna This post and these photos should not be republished without my permission. Merci beaucoup. 

More Baby A | Indoor Family Portraits

Eventually the wind picked up and the sun insisted on staying behind the clouds. So we moved our sweet family photo session indoors. I know a lot of people hesitate when it comes to taking photos inside a home. And it's true, I like to photograph outside when we can, but there's also something to be said of the comfort that shines through indoors. There was some great window light, places to sit, and best of all, Miss A could stay nice and warm. And that's all we really needed.

:)

©2013 Kristin Serna This post and these photos should not be republished without my permission. Merci beaucoup. 

Baby A & the Family K | Chicagoland Family Portraits

Love, patience, and appreciation flows naturally out of this sweet family of three.
I lost count how many throughout our session I commented on how well they moved together. 

It's really beautiful to get to document two kind people enjoying some time with their baby girl. You'd never know from these photos that we were dodging leaf whirlwinds through part of this session. :)

It's not easy to pick a favorite from these portraits, but the next set might be it. Hello, sunshine and joy.

Baby A, it was a delight to meet you. I hope you see these photos one day and are quickly reminded how much your parents have always loved you. 

©2013 Kristin Serna This post and these photos should not be republished without my permission. Merci beaucoup.