Child Photography

by Chicago and Suburban Child Photographer Marmalade Photography

Marmalade Photography is a top Illinois children's photographer located in the suburbs of metro Chicago, Illinois (Will County, south of Plainfield, Illinois, south of DuPage County, southwest of Cook County). Marianne Drenthe, founder and photographer for Marmalade Photography is a specialist in black and white and color newborn, infant, child and family lifestyle art portrait photography.

Marmalade Location Sessions and Marmalade Studio Sessions

These portrait sessions capture the magic of childhood. Whether you want portraits in vivid color or timeless black-and-white, Marianne will capture your child's personality -- all of it! Marianne is well known for her style as being a "fun kid photographer." You will *not* find her standing in one spot for any length of time clicking a shutter. Instead, Marianne is more likely to be running, chasing, crawling, skipping, jumping, lying down or even climbing a tree in order to capture the action during your session together.

In general, Marianne recommends that toddler sessions take place at Marmalade Locations or On Location (your home or a favorite park). This is because, if you haven't figured it out yet, it's impossible to capture a toddler's personality by having him sit in one spot and cheese for the camera.

For older children, either Marmalade Studio or Marmalade Location sessions work. Your choice in locations is more dependent upon the style of photography that you wish to have captured. Be aware that Marmalade Photography specializes in the capture of timeless, classic, portrait art (not necessarily “say cheese sit on a backdrop traditional”) as well as more modern/contemporary portraits for Marmalade Studio, Marmalade Location and On Location. Our “studio sessions” are less about being indoor posed on a backdrop than hanging around the studio a little bit capturing some images indoors and going around the historic town and using it as a backdrop for our natural light photography.

On Location Sessions

On Location Sessions capture the magic of a child’s life in their own home, amongst their own toys and playthings. Not surprisingly most children feel extremely comfortable at home and the images have a familiar “day in the life” quality about them. On Location Sessions are perfect for children of any age and are very suited for newborn sessions in the colder months (let the photographer come to you!).

Clothing Choices

Clothing should be comfortable, fun. Feel free to bring a few outfit changes, your session will last approximately 1 1/2 hours (dependent upon the number of subjects). Clothing choices for group shots, relationship images, generally should be kept simple, with coordinating colors and non clashing patterns. Marianne enjoys capturing the fun of childhood, so feel free to bring a more modern, colorful, funky or fashion-forward outfit to showcase your child’s more fashion conscious side.

Clients oftentimes also have fun with costumes! Many clients come to their sessions with their own dress up clothes: tutus, fairy wings, overalls, fireman uniforms, cowboy hats, play musical instruments or anything else that captures their imagination.

Props

While Marianne is not a fan of having props on hand (other than the occasional furniture piece) she does favor that clients bring something meaningful to their session. Past clients have brought along antique musical instruments, favorite stuffed animals, dolls and antique silver baby rattles to a Marmalade Session. The session and the final images are about you and Marmalade Photography’s ultimate goal is to create timeless, lovely portrait art that you and yours will cherish for your lifetimes.