Shannon Walton Photography » Washington Children’s photographer

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….

Little Miss Serious!

Shannon — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 18:44:23 +0000

I’m pretty sure I pulled out every trick in my hat to get this little beauty to flash those toothless gums. She just stared at me with those big beautiful eyes for pretty much our entire time together. I was interesting apparently, just not funny! We did manage to get a few smiles, but even still those eyes and cheeks are pretty much perfect grin or no grin! I loved her momma, what a pleasure working with these two and hope to see them for many more (smiley) sessions in the future!

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!

Bean.

Shannon — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 16:05:10 +0000

That’s what we call her. Lately I’ve been obsessed with photographing her. I’m not sure why, maybe it’s because she has a loose tooth and those top baby teeth will no longer be. She’s growing up, I don’t like it, but she is. She could be the most photographed child in Central Illinois. After all I started doing this when she was just 9 months old. Yep, nearly 7 years ago. So many things have changed in that time, I have grown as a photographer, and she has grown into a little lady. I look back at the thousands of images I’ve taken of our baby, our only girl, and am thankful to be able to give her beautiful photos when she is grown. My hope is that she looks at these images and feels how much we loved HER, not how much I loved photography.

Fall is almost here and the field was looking beautiful with all the yellow flowers in bloom. It was just calling for the new yellow chair, so her daddy and I made promises of an ice cream cone at DQ and she agreed to some fun in the field. The sun wasn’t quite low enough when we first arrived so she got that cone before our session She has always been pretty great as long as I’m patient while we are shooting. Most of the smiles are a result of her dad giving me bunny ears or pretending he sees a spider on my head.

We are completely booked for September and I only have 3 remaining spots in October. So if you want a fall session it’s best if you grab one now

**Anyone who posts a comment on THIS blog post will be entered to win a complimentary session and (25) custom holiday cards! That’s right, I’ll waive the session fee and you’ll get a set of (25) cards! The session will be booked for November 2011. Session can be immediate family or a sibling/kid session(no large groups or newborns). I’ll draw a winner Friday! **

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!

Where I started…

Shannon — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 14:32:15 +0000

Those of you who have been following me and my work for awhile now will most likely recognize one of the beauties in this post. I have been photographing her since I started. This family changed the way I thought my business would go. They changed the way I thought of photographing kids and families. I’m thankful they were one of the very first clients because it’s a session that I think about often and am continually reminded why I do what I do. During that very first session I drove to their home. Mom had planned a tea party for her daughter and I sat back and watched (and snapped) the connection unfold. I FELT the love shared by this family. It was an amazing experience to witness and capture with my camera. I left there thinking, that is what I want from every session. I want to “Capture the Spirit of Childhood.” Those tea party images are still hanging on their wall and while I’ve grown as a photographer in both business and skills I’m reminded how important what I do is. I’m reminded that I am responsible for preserving these memories for a lifetime. So for those of you who choose me as your photographer, I’m grateful. Fast forward to 2011, the “G” family now has a new daughter and little Miss “M” has a sister. I recently photographed them together and had so much fun seeing this new connection in their family. I have so many clients who have become dear friends. I have so many kids I have watched grow and each time one of them walk in the door I’m grateful to be a small part of their lives. Now that I’ve gotten all sappy let’s proceed with some photos, shall we?

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!!