Central IL Photographer

Another Newbie

2011-04-16T13:43:00.001-07:00

Another quickie newbie. This mom is a photographer & I now have a credit to have our family pics taken later this summer...stay posted for those!!

Newborns

2011-04-16T13:28:00.001-07:00

I've done 2 quickie newborn sessions recently for a couple close friends & I thought I'd just share some of them. This was the first...

Announcement!

2010-07-15T21:12:00.000-07:00

This was an announcement for a friend of mine in CA. We were in Bible study together in college. This little guy has been long anticipated and is finally here! It's been so fun to reconnect with Amy through this new stage of life. She's an amazing mom!

For Session Information and Pricing, click here.
Ashley Netzer
309-826-6321
ashley@netzerphotography.com

Long time, no see!

2010-04-16T11:16:00.000-07:00

I'm just not at a stage of life right now where I can juggle my photography and blogging and raising my little ones. But I'm okay with that. And if I take 6 month breaks between posts, that's okay too! Well, here is the latest. Just a personal one. I can't guarantee that I'll be up for posting pictures of the new baby when he comes. He does have a name, finally, but we're keeping it under wraps until he's born. We're 1 month from due date.

We hired the Zoo Lady to come to our house to do face/body painting. This was a combo maternity/4-year portraits for E/18-month portraits for S. We had such a blast getting painted and taking these pictures! One of E's favorite things right now is having her face painted. We do a little paint on her cheek every Wednesday (would be every day if I didn't set a limit on it!), so you can imagine how excited she was to have the REAL face painting lady come to our house!

For Session Information and Pricing, click here.
Ashley Netzer
309-826-6321
ashley@netzerphotography.com

Family

2009-11-08T13:00:00.000-08:00

Yes, this is two posts in one day! Unbelievable. Anyway, here is a snapshot of a little session I did for my sister-in-law's family. We did a really fun shoot out in a grassy field with gorgeous evening sun...even got covered with burs and sticker things from the plants and these crazy bugs. BUT, we forgot that my in-law's computer doesn't seem to like our memory card and we lost all those pictures. It was disappointing. Fortunately we found some time the morning my sister-in-law and her family were driving back home.

For Session Information and Pricing, click here.
Ashley Netzer
309-826-6321
ashley@netzerphotography.com

Another Newbie!

2009-11-08T10:30:00.000-08:00

It's been a long while since I blogged and it's not for lack of material. I'm backlogged, but hopefully will be posting a couple sessions this week. This is the most recent session. The Mom and Dad have become great friends of Andy's and mine and we are so excited for them to welcome their first baby! They are going to be amazing parents.

Here's a snapshot of our session.

For Session Information and Pricing, click here.
Ashley Netzer
309-826-6321
ashley@netzerphotography.com

Cutest little redhead you ever did see

2009-09-30T14:09:00.000-07:00

We have been busy with life, and I have not gotten much time online to post this snapshot of my session with this cute little redhead. I'm so excited because they live near us and also just moved here, so that should make us automatic friends, right? That's what I thought.

This little gal was jam-packed with personality to match that hair. She can boogie like no other one-year old that I've seen. And after an extended session (sorry I stuck around so long, A & J), I finally had to quit because all she wanted to do was sit in my lap. Made it hard to get any good shots, but I had plenty already.

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For Session Information and Pricing, click here.
Ashley Netzer
309-826-6321
ashley@netzerphotography.com

Fresh from the Oven

2009-08-11T13:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I met A-bug, who was 11 days old. Her parents are over the moon for her! And they have good reason to be. There's a special kind of energy in a home with a brand new baby. After giving me some good open-eye shots, and after a little snack, A-bug completely zonked out and became the most moldable little thing I ever did see, I do declare. I hope this will not only help them remember what she looked like, but how they felt about each other, the extra bond that she brought to them. Having a newborn is one of the hardest, most challenging, most painful things, but somehow when you look back on it, that stage of your child's life brings feelings of joy you never thought you were capable of. This may surprise you, but I never once had to tell them, "Look like you're giddy!"

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For Session Information and Pricing, click here.
Ashley Netzer
309-826-6321
ashley@netzerphotography.com

This Family

2009-08-10T19:03:00.000-07:00

My brother is going off to Nashville this fall for school and we wanted to do a little family shoot before he left. Here are a few. I took some, then A took the camera.

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For Session Information and Pricing, click here.
Ashley Netzer
309-826-6321
ashley@netzerphotography.com

LIFE Session at the Fair

2009-07-31T11:48:00.000-07:00

{see bottom of blog or this post for session pricing and information.}

Last night I had a super fun LIFE session! I followed this family all over the fair. They were amazing to work with. Even the dad gave me such great shots, which I know is often a stretch for men. Thank you, R Family! I had so much fun! I hope this was as much fun as you've ever had getting your picture taken!

Here's a snapshot of our evening.

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For Session Information and Pricing, click here.
Ashley Netzer
309-826-6321
ashley@netzerphotography.com

About the photographer

2009-07-29T14:16:00.000-07:00

In my photography I focus on the truth that I have come to know about God and people. That we are made in His image to reflect His glory. No matter what our circumstances, appearance, whether we've lost that baby weight or not...there is something glorious in all of us because we were made in His image, and that is what makes a picture breath-taking to me. I prefer simple, yet stunning pictures - not highly-posed, stylized or accessorized. My style is laid-back and genuine. My family portraits focus on relationships between people. I use few, if any, props. I go into each session looking for whatever is unique to the family or individual, and what they will want to remember in the years to come.

Here is a good example from my own life, though I cannot take credit for actually taking these pictures! In May I begged my husband to take some pictures (he is a very talented photographer!) of me with our girls, going about our normal routine. At the time, we had a few unique things that we were doing that I wanted him to capture. If you're a mom too, you can identify with my feelings. There are so many times during my day that I think, "I wish there were someone else here to share this with," or "I just need to burn this into my memory so I never forget how special this is." Pictures are a powerful way to do that. I remember from childhood, looking at pictures and "remembering" things that I couldn't possibly actually remember! I hope these pictures do that for my children. Someday we'll talk about how sweet E was to Bugger when she was an infant, and maybe that will strengthen their bond because they have "memories" of loving each other.

This first one was about the last time I nursed my youngest, Bugger. My older daughter, E, liked to climb up on the arm of the glider, put her arm around my shoulder, and together we would dote on the little Bugger. E is such a little mama! Obviously, this was something that only lasted for a short season of our lives, but I wanted something for them to look back on and "remember" how sweet they were to each other!

E and I were in the habit of having Tea Time together and reading books. We read Charlotte's Web and she was enthralled with Templeton, the rat. Here we're doing our morning Bible Story from a book that I think will become a family classic for us. Tea Time is something we don't do often any more, but I hope it's something that we'll take up now and again as my children get older.

This is a prime example of why waiting to have your pictures taken is not a good idea. Bugger got "fangs" as we affectionately called them - her side 2 teeth came in before her middle ones. But I didn't get around to it fast enough and this is the only picture we have of that stage - after the middle ones came in. Oh well. You can still kinda see that the sides are longer than the middles - fang-ish, right?

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For Session Information and Pricing, click here.
Ashley Netzer
309-826-6321
ashley@netzerphotography.com

Family LIFE, continued

2009-07-29T13:39:00.001-07:00

So, as I said previously, I needed a separate post for the kids. My favorite moment with the kids was witnessing big sister scolding little sister because she did NOT ask her permission to take off her shoes! Kids are so funny, aren't they?

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For Session Information and Pricing, click here.
Ashley Netzer
309-826-6321
ashley@netzerphotography.com

Family LIFE

2009-07-29T13:08:00.000-07:00

Last night I spent the evening with a family that is very special to me. Their family has grown fast in the last few years, and I thought it would be fun to record what fun and chaos it is for them to get together. I love the ultra laid back feel to these, as if I just walked into their house and started snapping...which come to think of it, is exactly what I did! It all feels very real and I hope that these images will help them remember this stage of their lives. This is going to take two separate posts because, while I adore the ones of the adults, you can't really do this family justice without including ones of the kids!

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For Session Information and Pricing, click here.
Ashley Netzer
309-826-6321
ashley@netzerphotography.com

Just some snaps

2009-07-27T15:06:00.000-07:00

For Session Pricing and Information, click here.

These are some from dinner Saturday night with friends.

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For Session Information and Pricing, click here.
Ashley Netzer
309-826-6321
ashley@netzerphotography.com

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

2009-07-26T18:01:00.000-07:00

For Session Pricing and Information, click here.

This is a friend of mine from ELEMENTARY SCHOOL! Believe it! We hadn't seen each other since probably 10th grade when she moved away to South Carolina. We reconnected via Facebook months ago (it's good for something) and have been writing long essay-type emails back and forth, catching up from the last 10+ years. She has two little guys and wow, this girl has her hands full! This is what motherhood is all about. Watching her makes me feel like I'm just pretending with my two little girls. And she does it all with grace and class. It's really fun to watch your best friend from childhood all grow'd up. I mean, I'm used to seeing myself as an adult, but when I look at her, I still see a little girl and then it makes me feel like a little girl too! Kinda fun. But I wouldn't repeat Jr High for the world.

PS. She does have a husband! This was intended to be a shoot of just her boys, but I told her to come dressed to impress because she'd probably end up in some of them!

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For Session Information and Pricing, click here.
Ashley Netzer
309-826-6321
ashley@netzerphotography.com

Session Information

2009-07-24T15:11:00.000-07:00

{LIFE} sessions | $299
This lifestyle session is a new artistic twist to the ever-evolving children and family portrait session! The idea is for me to catch interactions between family members as you do something that is special or specific to this particular season of your life. I will ask you a series of questions to help come up with ideas for this, or you can come to me with your own ideas. If your children have just discovered t-ball, it may include a little game in a local field. If your family loves camping, I can meet you at a camp site for a bonfire. I will allow a little extra time for lifestyle sessions. I will concentrate on relationships and interactions between 2-3 people, but several complete-family images can be arranged. The {LIFE} session is a great concept if you're looking for something really unusual to send out as Christmas cards this year, in collage-style. This session will produce 20-30 proofs, and a disc of low-resolution images for you to print up to 5x7 size PLUS a $50 print credit!

PURE prints
5x7 and smaller - you print your own from low-resolution disc! Wherever, whenever! I know you want a gazillion of them anyway.

Gift Print Size | board mounted, luster coating
8x10|$34

Wall Art | board mounted, luster coating
Itty Snap {11x14} |$79
Not-So-Small Snap {16x20} |$129
Little Bigger Snap {20x24} |$189
Great Big Snap {24x30} |$274

Cards starting at $1.50 each

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For Session Information and Pricing, click here.
Ashley Netzer
309-826-6321
ashley@netzerphotography.com

Gettin' My Groove Back On!

2009-07-24T08:53:00.000-07:00

After more than a year since my last "real" photo session, I finally feel like my home and family are in order (enough) for me to get back into the groove. Of course I've been taking pictures of my girls, but I need to update my portfolio. I'm working a little here and there on my website, which I'm almost embarrassed of by now. I feel like I've changed and hopefully improved some since most of those pictures were taken. I'm thinking I might just rely on this blog for most of my updating.

The next few posts I'll dedicate to what's been going on the last few months. First up, my friend K who now holds a squirmy little guy in her arms - whom I have yet to meet. These were from a sort of last minute, throw-together session at the VERY end of her pregnancy. Bless her for letting me photograph her when I'm sure she wasn't feeling her hottest. But fortunately we look considerable cuter on the outside than we feel on the inside when we're in the last months of pregnancy, and this is definitely the case with K.

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For Session Information and Pricing, click here.
Ashley Netzer
309-826-6321
ashley@netzerphotography.com