Shannon Walton Photography » East Peoria children’s photographer

Babies, Babies, Babies ~ Illinois Newborn Photographer

Shannon — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:24:44 +0000

It’s been a new year full of babies I haven’t shared newborn photos here on the blog for quite some time so I decided to grab several from some recent sessions to share. I’ve had lots of incredible new clients this year. One of my new dads carried a baby brush around in his back pocket to fix his little loves hair in between shooting. So adorable. It’s really an amazing experience to witness the love felt between parents and their new bundles. Sometimes I’ll look over when shooting and see the biggest grins on their parents faces and I’m quite sure they don’t even realize their smiling from the inside out. I consider myself blessed to be a part of their first days together.

We are anticipating a new baby boy this weekend. Our Myla will have a brother We can’t wait to get our hands on him and already have the perfect name picked out which I’ll share on Saturday when he comes home! Besides a newborn baby’s head their is no sweeter smell than puppy breath…lol! I hope you’re all having a great week!

Valentine Fun ~ Illinois Child Photographer

Shannon — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:16:13 +0000

I have to apologize because I had intended to do a Valentine mini session and had so many newborns born this month that I didn’t have time. I’m behind a bit on designing birth announcements and proofing sessions because of the recent baby boom and just felt it wasn’t fair to my clients to add to the work load. It drives me crazy when people have to wait, I’m not a patient waiter myself Anyway, I bought this frame at the end of December with the idea to do this for Valentines day. I had seen a cute shot I believe on pinterest (the kisses set up) and wanted to try a few other things I came up with after the kisses inspiration. I love finding inspiration for images all around me, I really don’t like copying something exactly as I see it, but to use it to come up with my own ideas. I asked one of my clients who comes every few months to have me photograph her boys if she’d be interested in letting me try the setups during her session. Can I just say that for a last minute request she did not disappoint with the outfit selections. I told her she’d never be able to do a mini session because she brings too many adorable options!! I love these boys. They have become like family I see them so much. I even asked if it would be okay for Emma to come for their session because she has been begging to help me. She did such a great job and think the boys had fun hanging out with her.

I nearly forgot how to post it’s been so long!

Shannon — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:12:55 +0000

Last week I photographed yet another little doll and when I met her mom she said, “Do you ever post on your blog anymore?” “I read through most of it and really enjoyed reading it but noticed you hadn’t posted since September.” Yikes, that’s a LONG time!! So I decided that the first blog post of 2012 should be of her little cutie petutie! I really enjoyed working with this family. I always love getting the opportunity to work with someone new. I enjoy it even more when they come back year after year so I hope I get to see little Miss “A” again in the near future because she was absolutely awesome to photograph. Smiles came without much effort and to say that her parents were quite smitten with her would be an understatement. Prepare yourself…she is almost too cute to handle….

Illinois Child Photographer ~ Simply Adorable

Shannon — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 19:34:26 +0000

Is it really possible to be this cute? How can so much cuteness be rolled into one little boy? How on earth will his parents ever look at this face and those eyes and tell him anything but YES? What is even more amazing is that his big brother is just as unbelievably adorable! One of my favorite little guys, at one of my very favorite ages (9 months)….

Mom mentioned she’d love to have one shot of his first little tooth popping through. Mission accomplished!

What did I tell you! I just want to eat them they are so cute!

Brothers and Laughter.

Shannon — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 13:53:25 +0000

I recently photographed these two with their little sister. I have a bunch of images to share from this session once mom has seen all of them. While I was proofing their images I came across this one. There is a quote that reads something along the lines of “laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” So true The three of them reminded me so much of my 3, especially the two big brothers. When I saw this photo I instantly thought of a similar image I have of my boys from a couple years back. It has been hanging on my wall until recently when we painted and prompted me to get it back up. It is one of my all time favorites and makes me smile every time I look at it. They aren’t looking at me, perfectly posed but I can almost hear the laughter when I look at each one of these. I don’t expect your kids to sit still like statues during our session together, in fact, my favorite sessions are the ones when my little clients feel comfortable enough to have some fun and most of all be themselves

Congratulations to Cori Roberts and Kristen D’Alfonso! You are the winners of a complimentary session and (25) holiday cards. Please e-mail shannon@shannonwalton.net to set up your November session! Thanks so much to all of you for posting your comments!! Have a great weekend!

Closed for VACATION!

Shannon — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 21:11:06 +0000

Just a little note to let everyone know that the studio and I will be closed for vacation Sat. July 23rd-August 1st. I am planning to disconnect from my phone and computer as much as humanly possible during this time. If you do leave a message or send me an e-mail I will return them as quickly as I can after August 1st. This summer has flown by faster than any summer I can remember. I’m sure it has to do a little with the fact that all three of my kids played baseball or softball. It will be nice to look them in the eyes and eat a meal together a few nights in a row. I’m very much looking forward to the break and hope to come back rejuvenated and full of great ideas for fall

We have had quite the baby boom at the studio the past couple weeks. Since I won’t be posting for a week or so I decided to put some of the newborn images I’ve taken for everyone to see. Congratulations to all the new parents and siblings!!

Two of my favorites!

Shannon — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 14:48:35 +0000

Not only are these two of my favorites, they are also at two of my favorite ages! Little “B” is 9 months and big brother “T” will be 3 very soon!! I had a terrible time choosing photos to share. I like having that problem This family is always up for anything. I had maybe 3 images of “B” where she wasn’t smiling from ear to ear and big brother is always FULL of expression! It was nice enough to go outside the studio that day and I LOVE shooting outside. I’m fortunate to be located in a place where we can take advantage of the green grass and foliage right out my front door. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Couple things…

Shannon — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 22:51:51 +0000

Tonight is date night with my daughter. We’ll be doing a little shopping, eating and with any luck belly laughs will also be shared. There are a couple things I’ve been meaning to post about so I’m going to try to make it short and sweet because remember I have some belly laughing to do. I get e-mails almost daily from photographers and aspiring photographers asking me questions about photography, business, where I get my props and so on. While I’m flattered to have inspired others I just don’t have the time to answer every one. In a perfect world I could take the time to sit down and answer every question in detail but right now keeping up with my clients and my family is all I can handle. The world wide web is a wonderful thing and you can find pretty much anything you take the time to search for. I will tell you that I shoot manual 100% of the time when photographing clients. There is no luck involved in the creation of my images. Well, sometimes I get lucky with a killer expression or a pose that one of my little clients create themselves, but I choose the settings, lighting, background, posing, ect. I know my camera, I know my lights, I know the rules of composition. I have even gotten really good at anticipating those killer moments, in fact, when my photographer friends were here I was photographing a newborn and said to them, “mark my words, we are about to get a smile!” Sure enough within seconds our little baby was grinning from ear to ear I will admit that when I first started my shots were mostly luck. I couldn’t stand the feeling of not being in control and knowing I was going to be able to deliver fantastic images every single time so I have spent the last 6 years continuing to learn and develop my skill. Another thing to consider is not only the photography aspect of being a photographer, but the business aspect also. It’s not always easy running your own business. I could certainly do without the business part of business but in order to succeed and plan for the future I have to devote just as much, if not more, to that part of being a photographer. Having a business plan, insurance, studio policies and paying taxes are just as important as knowing how to take a great photo.

The second thing I’d like to chat about for a second also has to do with e-mails I receive. I get so many great e-mails, facebook messages, even hand written notes from clients thanking me for their experience. I would like to create a testimonial link here on the blog. If you’d like to write a testimonial I sure would appreciate it! You can send them through the contact link above. 95% of my clients come from referrals…that is pretty awesome! I would love to share some of those experiences with my potential clients so if you have the time I would greatly appreciate it

Have a great weekend everyone!
Let the belly laughing BEGIN!!

Coffee and Curlers~a unique little mini session

Shannon — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 19:30:22 +0000

I couldn’t resist :)

Shannon — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 22:11:32 +0000

This is Myla and she sits under my lilac bush quite often. The combination of the snow and her cute little face was just too much not to get a shot. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!! Thank you for a fantastic 2010!!