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Children’s Photographer for Chicago Area Children and Families : Marmalade Photography Blog: News and Previews for Chicago and Suburban Fine Art Photography for Kids, Families, Babies, Maternity and Newborns bio picture

Welcome to Marmalade Photography™ : For Clients

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My name is Marianne and I'd like to thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by and check out what Marmalade Photography™ is all about.  We create distinctive, one-of-a-kind images of your children and family to cherish forever.  Our outlook on photographing children and families is unparalleled and the experience is filled with fun (we promise!) 

Enjoy the sneak peeks on our blog and remember to check out our portfolio by clicking here.  Give us a call when you're ready to book your very own custom photography session with one of the leading photographers in the Chicago area.   815.603.8450

By appointment only call 815.603.8450

We are often booked several weeks in advance.


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Chicago Child Photographer and Naperville Schools

What a fun time we had earlier this week at the studio, Little L’s mom brought her out to the studio from the Norridge area to be photographed.  Her outfit, simply amazing.  Her personality, shining.  A happy, beautiful girl.  Thank you for allowing me to capture who L is at 3 years of age:

Chicago area children

Norridge Child Photography

She is so very pretty, isn’t she?
 

•  •  •  •  •

This week was an amazing week.  Busy, very busy, but fulfilling and beautiful.  Not only did I get to photograph some of the most beautiful kids this side of Lake Michigan during the week – I also had the opportunity to speak to some incredible, funny and talented middle school kids at Naperville’s Scullen School in the west suburbs.  I was so nervous – never having spoken in the school setting before (teaching adults is much less daunting, why?  I don’t know!  LOL)  After all my anticipation and nervousness – it was such an amazing and fulfilling experience. 

I’d like to take some time to thank Monica and the rest of the teachers who allowed me into their daily lives to experience a little of what they do.  What an amazing gift!  To infuse young minds with knowledge – to be able to give of yourself and what you know – what an incredible feeling.  Thank you to the Naperville IPSD 201 for this wonderful and not soon forgotten experience.  I hope the kids had half as much fun as I did!

Lisa Kelly - That first image is, WOW! So much of her personality is shining through in that image. I agree, the outfit is too cute for words and so is she. Beautiful work.

Anna-Karin - What a sweet and lovely little girl. You really captured her well, both the happy sweet girl in the first image and the serene contemplating moment in the second one. Lovely memories for her family to have as she grows and changes!

Christine - Aw, she really is stunning... what a gorgeous girl, M! :) Love the soft light on her face too - awesome work! :) xx

PamN - Wow! If I were her mom I would be so, so thrilled! You captured such depth for such a young child - this girl is something special, and these images really capture that!

Terrilyn - What an absolutely beautiful little lady and fantastic portraits of her Mare. I can certainly see her personality coming through, especially in that first capture.

lauri - Oh she is sweet Mare! Your work is always so gorgeous!

Marianne - Thank you Allie. It was an amazing end to a fabulous week.

allie - WOW! Her expression in the first... it is so full of joy and sweetness! That background as you set it up in the second one is just perfect- gorgeous work as always!

Plainfield Children’s Photographer : Marmalade In Studio

I had the great pleasure of meeting A & C today, they are adorable brothers who made me smile from ear to ear.  You got a friend in me, A & C.  Thanks to their lovely parents for bringing out the boys to the studio!  Here’s just a bit of a sneak peek!

Child Photography

Chicago Child Photography

Plainfield Child Photographer

Look at the bright happy colors – I cannot wait until spring!  :)   Thank you for stopping in.

Daveen - Um . . . absolutely DARLING little boys photographed in perfect Marmalade style. Beautiful work!

Terrilyn - Such sweet captures Mare, I always enjoy visiting your site. Lovely work!

Lisa Kelly - They are so handsome. Gorgeous eyes, gorgeous images.

PamN - Beautiful kids, especially striking eyes!

Veronica - Vera Photo - Beautiful pictures! I love theese brown eyes!

Living La Vida Photography Style : Children’s Photographer

ANNOUNCING: Portrait Allure – photography + life + style

I am proud to introduce myself as a member of the team over at Portrait Allure.  Portrait Allure is a website dedicated to life, style and photography.  Our mission is to infuse the lives of professional photographers with smart, effective design, sophisticated style and having fun while doing so.

The inception of this site is inspired by so many fantastic lifestyle blogs out there, I am very excited to be part of this venture with some really terrific photographers from across the nation.

On that note, I am introducing our first SHE SAID / SHE SAID feature where we are taking one question posed to two photographers to offer up two differing points of view.  So please go check us out at Portrait Allure : A photography lifestyle blog 

The SHE SAID / SHE SAID feature is a great twist on the typical interview.  I hope you enjoy our views.

 

West Suburban Baby Photographer : 8 week old baby photos

I so very much enjoyed meeting Christine & her gorgeous (I mean *gorgeous*!) baby boy.  I am a sucker for sweet babies who have beautiful heads of hair and boy, was I not disappointed!!  :)   Thank you so very much, Christine, for coming out to the studio yesterday and allowing me to photograph this sweet bundle.  Here are just a couple of sneak peeks!

Elk Grove Village Child Photographer

Baby Photography

I am so in love with this spur of the moment shot to test the light.  LOVE moments like this!

 

allie - Oh my goodness- that little face, that hair... the little hat- these are precious!!

Lisa Kelly - He really is adorable. Love these images.

PamN - Look at that adorable baby! Such wonderful images - mom must be thrilled!

Yvonne - Stunning images!

Corey Sewell - What a handsome little man! Love these!

Julie - He is adorable - love his hair!!! These are beautiful images of him.

Sherri W - Beautiful! I just love that second shot of this baby. That hat is to die for on her!! Love it. Great work as always! I know the parents are always pleased, and they should be! I know I would, but you are too far away from me.

On Location Newborn Session : Northshore Baby Photographer

You may remember the beautiful mom to be & her son from a few posts back…if so prepare to meet the beautiful & sweet baby D.  I was privileged to photograph her this past weekend – she was just under 2 weeks old and is absolutely gorgeous.  A big huge thank you to the W Family for allowing me to take over their home for several hours (probably longer than any of us anticipated, little D wasn’t into sleeping too much that day!) to create these amazingly beautiful newborn shots of baby D.

newborn photographer

oh I love those sweet newborn pouts

 

chicago baby photographer

I did mention she didn’t want to sleep didn’t I?  These images make me look like a liar!

Thank you Corey, Ted & the kids for allowing me into your lives to capture these early sweet moments with your beautiful family!! 

funky photography - oh gosh just came across your site via a friend, how lovely!!! beautiful images and adore the props xxxxx best wishes from queensland annie x

Lori Wood Habiger - Oh gosh, how sweet! These *almost* make me want to have another.

Nancy - Gosh, these are just precious. The light is perfect.

Yvonne - So beautiful and peaceful!

Sherri W - Oh those are beautiful, soft and so precious. That second image is one I can SOOOO see on my wall if I were the Mom!!

elizabeth pellette - These are beautiful Mare

corey sewell - So beautiful! Love the soft colors in the first one!

PamN - You can so easily tell she's a girl - look how pretty she is! Beautiful light Mare!

Lisa Kelly - Awww, she is gorgeous and I love that black and white image, timeless.

Sara Siegel - Amazing photos and gorgeous baby!

Joy Vertz - such a beautiful baby! What beautiful images!

Julie - Gorgeous! Look at those lips too! I really love the colour in the first one.

allie - beautiful, beautiful baby!!

Leila - Ooooo, she is so amazingly pretty. Love them both, but the second one, her little lips, precious. I would get that one big!

Mrs Soup - Oh man, those little baby lips are amazing....Gorgeous!

Chicago Children’s Photographer : North Side on location session

This past weekend was filled to the brim with Marmalade favorites!  On Saturday I got to photograph beautiful P and her big brother M.  I have known M since, well, since before he was born even!  It has been wonderful to watch him grow.  I wasn’t disappointed when he came to the door to greet me with: "Miss Marianne, what car do you drive?" as he did back a few months ago at our last session.

P had just turned one years old (seriously WHERE is time going?!) and this was really mostly about her (altho we did get quite a bit of M in there too!) 

Chicago Children's Photographer

I adore the way her hands are grasping at her outfit.  This was such a great outfit for her.   One of my favorite shots of 2010!

Chicago Family Photographer

It’s no secret that I find the little quirks of family life fascinating – I love the implied interaction here – the happy goofiness of 2 kids under four years old sort of moment – it’s one of those lifestyle moments that I adore.  With kids this age, THIS is the kind of fun shot that I wished I had of my own family.   Ah, if I could only go back in time to recapture this stuff… :)

Thanks for stopping in…

Melissa Rohde - Beautiful family portrait. These are the moments we will want to remember.

Melissa Rohde - A beautiful family portrait. These are the moments we will want to remember.

lauri - These are the lifestyle moments I adore too... and you do them so well! Beautiful beautiful...

PamN - What a fabulously fun and modern family image! Love it!

Kim - What great photos! Thank you for capturing these moments. Can't wait to see the rest.

Child and Baby Photographer : North Shore Children’s Photographer

Whew.  This weekend was a whirlwind of activity.  The Marmalade home was awash with the stomach flu the weekend prior and I had to do some schedule juggling to make it all happen this weekend!  We’ll kick off the weekend festivities with a blog entry from late last week’s fun session with A & A. 

I have been photographing Bananas and her family since she was 3 months old – I *always* look forward to our sessions together and seeing her beautiful mom Beth.  Now that she has a little brother – we spend time playing and photographing him as well.  I love working with this family and feel honored that they allow me into their lives every time I get to photograph them.

Little brother, A, had some bath time – I got some amazing bath time images and this shot pre-bath just made me :) from ear to ear – I really love this shot so much:

 

Child photography

Is he a handsome devil or what?  He has the most beautiful lashes in the world.

Here’s Bananas in a more contemplative moment:

Chicago child photographer

I love her curls and the way the light shines in her eyes here

Thank you for stopping in.

Amanda Keeys - Ohh the bath tub shot! So sweet.

PamN - That bathtub shot simply must be made into a canvas and displayed in that bathroom!

Mrs Soup - Oh my, you have inspired me to shoot a bathtime shoot of my daughter! That is GORGEOUS!

Baby Photographer : Chicago Newborn Photos

Happy 2010 to everyone!!  Let’s start off the year with a bang! 

This past week I had a wonderful newborn session with Baby Michael and his mom L.  L is well on her way to sunny Florida (lucky girl!  I bet she knew in advance we’d be experiencing -20ºF windchills this weekend, brrr…) 

Here’s a couple little sneaks for you L.  Thank you so much for coming out to the studio for a Marmalade session!

baby photography

newborn photographer

L- mission accomplished.  Admittedly I worried for a few minutes but we got it! :)  

I had to postpone this sneak peek because of a little blog issue on the backend and a huge thanks to the guys over at ProPhoto blog for their outstanding customer support.  In this industry customer service is extremely hit or miss and it was a total hit.  Thank you Matt for helping me out earlier this week – I really appreciate it. 

Lisa Kelly - OH he is just lovely. Stunning images.

elizabeth pellette - These are wonderful I especially love the last shot

Julie - Beautiful images! And I love the eye contact in the first one - so alert and sweet!

Corey Sewell - Beautiful work, Mare! Love the eye contact in the first one.

PamN - Adorable - the baby and the images! Timeless, priceless images.

LeAnn Linehan - I LOVE them! Thanks for coming in on your vacation for Michael's photo session :-). We really enjoyed working with you.

Merry Holiday : Chicago Children’s Photographer

I *cannot* believe it’s the day before the DAY BEFORE the Christmas Holiday.  I’m certain I’ve forgotten something somewhere on some gift and/or to do list but no matter – I feel calm and cool.  Why, you may ask, are you feeling serene around the holidays?  Well my friends, readers, clients, loved ones & random strangers, I feel good because I was able to complete my holiday card in time for Christmas Eve delivery.

Now this may not seem like a large feat for anyone who is on the outside of the biz, but you busy photographers who may be reading this blog, you know who you are-readying YOUR home after every one gets their holiday deliveries for cards & gifts, putting off getting your card together so that your clients can enjoy their purchased goods from their beautiful photography session with you, ignoring your kids wishes until you know there are no more Zhu Zhu hamsters at the local Toys R Us because everyone (including your clients! LOL) got to them before you did.  You busy photographers who are hurriedly packaging, ordering & reordering items (because of the inevitable rush & mistakes that come with it!) understand what a feat it is to have your cards ready to go.

The secret for me was that I simplified.  I used a few images from our family session with St. Louis photographer Lauri Baker & Bay Area photographer Pam Biasotti from our trip to St. Louis this past summer for one side of the card.  I simplified because I needed to & it made sense because Isimply love the images.  Lauri did an amazing job with our session and I am so thankful to her for letting us hire her on and for being such a gracious hostess during our time in St. Louis.  The other images on our card this year are from our trip to Isle of Palms on the beautiful South Carolina coast this past August.  Had I taken the time to get images of my girls (like I usually do) just for the Holidays – sadly I don’t think the cards would be finished.  Simplification was key.

I am finishing them up and cards go out today.  Here’s some of what the recipients will see when they open the envelope.  I hope the bit of sunshine-y mood from warmer times will warm your hearts during this frosty winter season.

Children's Photographer Holiday Card

Thank you very much for stopping in.  May your Holiday Season be filled with everything good that warms your heart, mind & spirit.

Lisa Kelly - What a gorgeous card, and family. I agree with everything you wrote about putting everything before your own needs as a photographer leading up to Christmas. Good on you for getting it done.

Whitney - Amazing card! Just beautiful!

lauri - Aw...I miss you guys! Have a great Christmas! I'm doing New Years cards too. LOL

PamN - That is a stunning card - and stunning images - and stunning FAMILY! Happy Holidays Mare, I hope you enjoy this time with your crew!

North Shore Photography Session : On Location

Early last week I traveled to Wilmette for a photo session with a beautiful mom to be and her family.  I am thrilled to present these gorgeous sneak peeks of this *stunning* mom-to-be.  Doesn’t she look amazing??

maternity photography

pregnancy photo

and finally one with her handsome older boy:

family photography

A huge thank you to C and the W Family for allowing me into their beautiful home for a pregnancy photo shoot.

Amanda Keeys - What a beautiful mama. Gorgeous light too.

PamN - Oh she looks so beautiful and serene! I can't wait to see the newborn images!

elizabeth pellette - Beautiful