welcome to my {photo} blog!

Hello there! Welcome to my photography blog! The place to catch recent announcements, news, specials and of course sneak peeks of photos. You'll see professional photos from sessions but also the occasional photo of my daughter. This blog is a quick, fun & easy way for me to communicate with you and vice versa. Feel free to comment on photos or contact me directly.

Just to give you a little info on my business. I am a lifestyle photographer (also known as a custom photographer) based in Peoria, Illinois. Custom photography is just that...no studio, no lighting, no splattered paint backdrops! I shoot on location, which means I can come to your home or another location of your choosing or mine. I use only natural light when I shoot. But the most important thing, is we have fun! My style is very laid back and photojournalistic...just you living life...and me capturing it!

Now some personal tid bits about me... | I am actually a Graphic Designer by trade | I have been married to a wonderful guy for almost 8 years | We have an amazing 2 year old daughter | I'm a bit of a perfectionist | I'm a bonafide "So You Think You Can Dance" junkie! | My favorite movie is "The Wizard of Oz" | I'm a consumer advocate for Method | I love photography | info@amandaephotography.com | 309.258.2670

J Family session | Peoria, IL family photographer

July 5, 2010 – 12:18 am

whew, one more down, one more blog post to go! Tomorrow I’ll get my session from Friday night up and then I’ll finally be caught up! yay! Now onto this post. This was another wonderful little family from last weekend. Two little brothers this time. They are such buddies. So cute! Their mom was actually worried that all they would give me were “toothy grins” lol. And she was right, they were just full of smiles & fun times. We ran, laid in the grass, got shirtless and played “Hulk” (well they did, not me, lol), hunted for bugs and then the whole family went creeking. It was a blast! I love my job :) Thanks again Mandy & Jeremy! Enjoy…

A :)

PS: as always, they’ll get a FREE 5×7 print for every 10 comments on this blog post…so show them some love!

I’d also like to wish a Happy 4th Birthday to this guy :)

By amanda e. | Posted in children, family | 12 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

R Family 1 year session | Peoria, IL child photographer

July 3, 2010 – 11:49 pm

Ok, here we go, sneak peek #2 of 4. Thanks again for waiting so patiently everyone! This session is from last weekend. We battled HEAT & Japanese beetles to get these shots. And it was SO worth it. I can’t believe this little guy is 1 already! You may remember him from last fall when I shot his whole family. Well, he’s all grown up now! He’s walking all over the place! And in teeny, tiny little flip flops no less (love these). He’s all boy! Trampling through the grass, collecting sticks, climbing up anything he can and lots of giggles…I love it. Thank you so much Greg & Sonya for coming back and entrusting me with your family’s images…I hope you enjoy them!

-A :)

PS: they’ll get a FREE 5×7 for every 10 comments they receive on this blog post!

By amanda e. | Posted in babies, family | 33 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

backyard summer fun | Peoria, IL Child Photographer

July 3, 2010 – 1:19 am

First off, let me apologize for being so behind on sneak peeks. I have 4 of them piled up and waiting to go now, so bear with me as I crank them out this weekend. This one is from last Friday night.

So this session was a little bittersweet. It was the final session of my very first baby planner. He’s 18 months old now (we skipped the 9 mo. session and opted for the 18 mo. instead). And I can’t believe how much he’s grown in the last 6 months!! At his last session he was crawling and just *starting* to look like a big boy. And now….he’s arrived! He’s running all over the place, he talks, he loves to play golf, he has a mouth full of teeth….just so grown up. It made me kinda sad. But we had a good time, despite my being overly sentimental, lol. This time, we just had a casual backyard/golf course summer session. All the good stuff like eating dirt, golfing, sliding, drinking from the sprinkler and of course…swimming with your clothes on! Thanks again Amy & Mike for all the good times these past 2 years. You have such a great little family! Enjoy a few favorites…

-Amanda :)

By amanda e. | Posted in children | 4 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

new baby girl | Peoria, IL Newborn Photographer

June 3, 2010 – 10:55 pm

On Sunday, I had the pleasure of photographing a lovely family, having newly welcomed their first baby girl! Two proud parents and two proud big brothers. Oh and one proud doggy :) You can just tell how much they love her. She’s such a sweet baby. Perfectly quiet & content almost the entire time (except for her hated diaper changes, lol). And all 3 kids had the most beautiful names. Loved the names! Thanks so much for choosing me you guys! I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!

And don’t forget: they’ll get a FREE 5×7 print for every 10 comments they get on this blog post!
A :)

By amanda e. | Posted in babies | 12 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

family fabulousness | Peoria, IL Family Photographer

June 2, 2010 – 3:04 pm

Did I make that word up? Oh well, maybe I did. It fits though. This family was just that…fabulous! They were brand new clients to me. I’m having a lot of those lately and loving it. Can’t wait to work with my regulars though also :) We decided to do an urban session and a more natural setting. Both worked so well. They had 3 of the best kids I’ve ever worked with. So sweet. The boys had gorgeous red hair (love) and all three had freckles (double love). The kids were just posing away, setting up all kinds of shots for me…lots of ideas…it was so cute. Big sister is a gymnast and that was super fun! She was flipping and flying and leaping all over the place. We were blessed with lovely weather and perfect light as well. And to top all of that off, I got a hug from big sister when we were done :) Couldn’t have been a better night. Thanks for being so patient with me, while I got your sneak peek up. I hope to get another one up tomorrow from my beautiful newborn session on Sunday. I’m loving being back in the swing of things. I love my job :)

Thanks,

A :)

PS: as always, they get a FREE 5×7 print for every 10 comments they receive on this blog post!

By amanda e. | Posted in children, family | 42 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

sweet baby girl sneak peek | Peoria newborn photographer

April 27, 2010 – 11:15 pm

I had another newborn session this past weekend. Can you believe it? 3 this month! I’m loving it! Another sweet girl this time. She was so dainty & girly. And she had THE most gorgeous skin. Such a sweetheart. She also has the most fabulous nursery! Fun animal prints & bold reds. And then there’s her hair bows…don’t get me started, lol. You can find her hair bows HERE. Really loved it! Thanks again guys for choosing me. I hope you enjoy your images…

A :)

PS: don’t forget, they get a FREE 5×7 print for every 10 comments they receive on this blog post! :)

By amanda e. | Posted in babies | 89 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

*perfect* in every way | Peoria, IL newborn photographer

April 13, 2010 – 12:06 pm

I had another fantastic newborn session on Sunday! Can I just say how much I’m loving all these tiny babies! I can’t believe how fast my little guy is growing (5 months and pushing 20 lbs!). This session was full of firsts for me. It was the first time I photographed a newborn (or anyone for that matter) in a client’s bathroom (lol) and the first time I cried at a newborn session! What? a bathroom? Well, they had this amazingly huge bathroom, with a beautiful skylight window….the light in there was just too yummy to pass up. Then there’s the crying. Well, they were telling me all about their perfect natural Bradley® birth (b/c I’m a sucker for a good birth story and we also used the Bradley® Method) and then they let me watch a few minutes of footage from the birth! What an honor! Momma was SO strong and amazing and after they met their son for the first time, she exclaimed: “he’s perfect in every way!” and I just lost it. I always tear up when I’m shooting births, but never have at a newborn session. But seeing a baby enter the world always takes my breath away. Anyway, back to session. This little guy was almost 3 weeks old, but you’d never know it. He was perfectly sleepy & peaceful. He’s a baby planner, so you’ll be seeing more of him in a few months. Thanks again guys for choosing me, can’t wait to work together again! Enjoy your sneak peek…

Don’t forget: 10 comments on this post gets them a FREE 5×7 print! Also, if you haven’t already, become a fan on Facebook here!

By amanda e. | Posted in babies | 28 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

8 day old sweetie | Peoria newborn photographer

April 5, 2010 – 10:49 pm

I had a fabulous newborn session this past Saturday. It had been a while since I’d done a newborn. But I think they might be my absolute favorite. They’re so sweet and soft and warm…and those little noises & coos…they just make me melt! And maybe I’m lucky, but I’ve never met a newborn that wasn’t super easy to work with. They always seems to sleep little angels for me and cozy up in whatever pose I put them in. Love them! Anyway, this little sweetie was 8 days old. Perfection! He momma was so easy to work with as well! She was all about using fun colors & prints (which I love) and had lots of fun ideas…like incorporating her gorgeous black grand piano (she’s a piano teacher). And I couldn’t stop gushing over their house. I loved her style. But the thing that most made this session so easy was how in love with their daughter these two were. So here is your sneak peek guys. I’m sure there are way too many, but I had a hard enough time narrowing it down to these as it is, lol…

enjoy! -A

PS: don’t forget, 10 comments gets them a FREE 5×7 print!

baby yawns *swoon* :)

By amanda e. | Posted in babies | 22 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

Back in the saddle :: K Family sneak peek!

March 4, 2010 – 12:43 am

I’m back baby! This past Saturday I had my first session since last October! Wow, that was quite a break. It was nice though. I’ve much enjoyed spending time with my baby boy & girl and watching them grow before my eyes. It’s nice to start working again though. And what a family to start back with….11 people! They were awesome though. A lot of fun! The 4 kids were super cute and all did so well! I had great front door light to work with as well. That’s the one nice thing about being a natural light photographer shooting in the dead of winter…snow is a natural light reflector! Thanks again guys for trusting me to capture these moments for you…

A :)

New addition to blog sneak peeks in 2010: Receive 10 comments on your sneak peek and receive a FREE 5×7 print with your order!

By amanda e. | Posted in babies, children, family | 10 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

and the winner is…..

January 24, 2010 – 12:34 am

Thank you SO much to all 413 people who voted! That was quite a turnout. Thanks also to the 58 people who commented on the post! I *love* comments! In fact, next year I’m going to implement a fun new game. When comments hit a certain number on my clients’ sneak peeks, they’ll receive a FREE print! Isn’t that cool?

First, congratulations to Joy and Stacey, who won the $50 gift cards in the comment contest & Facebook contest!

Now onto the 2009 photos of the year!

Here they are, in order of 1st, 2nd and 3rd…

By amanda e. | Posted in news | 2 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment
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