One of my favorite things about my job is that I get to me so many amazing families and watch their kids grow. One family that I’d like to highlight this week is the “S” family who lives in Highland Park. I love how mom picked out clothes to highlight the autumn colors. During each mini session, I like to get family photos as well as photos with each kid and parent and of course, sole shots of each child. If you and your family would like to book a session with me feel free to contact me at www.naomiepsteinphotography.com/family

We had so much fun celebrating this cutie’s special Bee-day! Beatrice or as her friends and family call her — Bea. Turned one this past week. To capture her BEAutiful day we got some quick smiles in as Bea showed off her new Bee scooter. While the Queen “B” posed for photos, Mom made a smash cake that was delish as you can see from Bea’s face! We had a busy Bea licking her fingers and enjoying her cake! I mean shouldn’t every little girl get to wear a crown on her birthday day! Every photo we took Bea, she was either full of cake or full of smiles. We had a blast and can’t wait to watch this little one grow!!!

Coming from Chicago, I didn’t really know what the whole Marina Layer thing was until I lived near Malibu. Its crazy but basically what happens is that since the ocean is so cold and the air is warm there tends to be a foggy marina layer that stays and until around 2 or 3 it burns off and blue skys are all around. When I photographed the B family. They all wore sweater and I was in a t-shirt. I thought they were way over dressed but then when my feet hit the cold water and my body temp couldn’t stay warm … I looked like the outsider - not them! I loved this session because we got a overcast foggy day to shoot in and the warmth of their cream sweaters next to the earthy sand really looked like a beautifully nature palette. This was their first photo session as a family of three and I know what they are so excited to get their holiday cards out in a few months. If you are your family would like to book a beach session, feel free to reach me and we can schedule a mini or full hour session.

Summer days are meant for long strolls, BBQs, watching the sunset while holding a melted ice cream cone not to mention enjoying all the beautiful hydrangeas and peonies in the garden. Speaking of… one of my clients wanted to capture at least two things on this list… and so we made it happen in their backyard just before the sun went down and the flowers were still in bloom. I had a fun evening clicking with the “E” family! It happened to be mom’s b-day so we made sure that we got some cute smiles and laughs in for mama’s special day. Here are a few of my favs that we took. If you and your family would like to book a end of summer or fall session, feel free to contact me at www.naomiepsteinphotography.com/family

I was so excited to meet the Herish Family at Conejo Creek Park, in Thousand Oaks California. We had a full time at twilight when the sky had just the perfect amount of light and the sun was heading down passed the mountains. We had 30 minutes to make our mini session happen and I loved getting in these smiles before the day ended. I always love getting photos of the whole family together and then I try to get photos of each kid with a parent, but sometime when little ones have melt downs or are distracted I try to get those in between moments of non looking at the camera - and sometime they turn out to be the cutest moments ever! If you and your family would like to book a fall mini session with me feel free to reach out and book your mini session now!

I met the “B” family a few weeks ago, they were so excited as this was the first family session in a while that they did in the states. When I asked them where they lived over seas I was baffled to here that they lived in Japan and that they were still getting use to the California lifestyle as they spoke with a southern South Carolina accent. I knew right away when I asked them to shift over and their reply to me was.. yes mama. I spent 18 summers in Hendersonville/Ashville North Carolina and know that twang well. Our session took place at Conejo Creek Park in Thousand Oaks which is a beautiful area with Oak trees and ponds. We got a ton of family love in as well as grabbing some middle school and high school portraits of the kids. I loved meeting them and hope that they have a wonderful holiday back here in the states!

Raise your hand if your are trying to catch up on work, life and being with family! Oh, just me okay… ha! I know this is the busiest time of year for all of us. I feel like we just had Thanksgiving and now are all in holiday mode with Christmas and Chanukah around the corner oh and not to mention New Years. Well, I definitely have been slacking in the blogging department as I am trying to shoot, edit and send all these beautiful photos to my clients with 48hrs of shooting our sessions to give ample time so families can get their holiday cards all set-up and out in the mail in time. Today’s blog is all about what brings the family together and this year… the “S” family welcomed a new furry girlfriend to their home filled with boys! Yes, welcome Aspen the cutest cockapoo ever! She is just 3lbs and is loving her new home. I’ve photographed these boys for now three years and its amazing how much they have changed since I met them. They are the sweetest most polite and caring bunch and know that mom and dad are to take major credit for bringing up these three handsome boys. We photographed in Old Agoura, off of Cheeseboro Trail a spot that is beautiful and has horse trails, bike trails and of course hiking. It was the perfect background as this family loves to bike and knew the area well. Mom did an amazing job matching everyone and loved that Aspen was the inspo for picking out the colors in everyone’s outfits! I mean how cute are these guys?

On a bright sunny morning, I met the “G” family. As the kids got out of the car I showed them one of my favorite spots, of this bridge that leads down a path. Hey that bridge looks like it matches our clothes! I smiled and said you’re 100% right and it honestly made for the cutest background to their fall look. Mom was so smart and dressed everyone up in one of my favorite fall color “rusty brown” or some call it “burnt sienna” yes, when I see these colors I immediately think of thanksgiving, pumpkin spice, and all things autumn. I also adored that they were rockin’ cowboy boots with their look, a little nod to the country side! Well, we got so many amazing shot in and I have to say, my favorites were the in between split seconds when they were naturally in the moment - something kids will often do… it just makes my heart swell with joy to capture those little moments! If you and your family would like to schedule a fall session - I am still taking on families thru Thanksgiving week!

Did anyone feel like today was the longest day ever? I sure did. This time change really effected me! Yes, we get an extra hour of sleep but I hate that the sun goes down a hour earlier. These “shorter” days are so hard especially for scheduling family photos sessions. We only have so much time in a day, plus I don’t know about you but I feel like the sun just started to go down quicker and quicker. Thankfully all my clients were on time and ready to rock! We did our fall mini sessions over at Conejo Creek Park in Thousand Oaks, California. I had a blast meeting this cute bunch and love their fall festive colors that mom picked out! Everyone looked sharp and tied together but still rocked their own cute style. Its amazing what we can shoot in 30 mins. I captured a tons of gorgeous grins that I’m sure will be sent out as holiday cards. If you and your family would like to schedule a mini session feel free to reach me at www.naomiepsteinphotography.com/contact

I love this time of year when the holiday season is in gear and families come together. This past weekend I got to meet the “L” family and loved how mom styled her cute crew! I told her that the best rule to go by is the rule of four! What is the rule of four Naomi? Great question, the rule of four is to pick around four colors that you think go well together and intersperse these four colors within everyone’s wardrobe. This way, everyone doesn’t have to be all matchy-matchy (everyone in white polo shirts - that's so vanilla) Instead by picking only four colors, everyones style can shine in their own way. For instance, this mom picked Navy, Orange, Blue and Pink. Her boys rocked the Navy and Blue and Orange while her and her daughter looked pretty in Pink and Blue. Everyone’s looks tied together well, but let each person wear what they loved and felt comfortable in. We shot this session in Malibu at Zuma Beach on a chilly overcast day. Personally, beach sessions are best on overcast days because we don’t get those cringing faces that are blinded by the light. We had a fun time letting the kids be kids and of course all those portraits in between. If you and your family want to book a session feel free to reach out! I’d love to capture who you guys are as a family!

I can’t believe a year has gone by and today on October 17th, 2022 I am celebrating my first year of marriage to my incredible husband. It has been a crazy ride but, I know we wouldn’t have had it any other way. We met back in 2019 as I was in LA working for three weeks. Of course, we have to thank the dating app HINGE for bringing a midwest gal and a west coast guy together. The dates were fun and we had a blast but, I headed back knowing that Chicago was home. While Mike was hoping to stay in touch and see what was in the cards. Well, seven months later, I was back in LA for work and knew where to find Mike - the tennis court. We had our weekly dates and started seeing each other regularly. Then the world shut down and Mike asked me to stay with him on March 13th, 2020. Thinking I’d only stay a week I pack a bag with a few things. Well, that week turned into months. We quarantined together and became best friends. We had no outside forces to interrupt us getting to know one another. We cooked, hiked, played hours of tennis together and knew there was something there. On January 1, 2021 Mike and I hiked 10 miles in Malibu. One of our many hikes that we did each weekend but, this hike was different, Mike got down on one knee and proposed. I was shocked as I complained the whole way up. However, Mike was patient as always and knew he wanted to propose on the first day of the new year since 2020 was well ….crazy!!! So here I was with a ring on my finger trying to decide and plan a wedding during the heart of covid and roll out of the vaccines - and thinking what are we going to do? Of course, being a wedding photographer, I wanted a huge 300 person wedding and have everyone come. Mike wanted to just have something small with the family and call it a day. Well, we compromised and said let’s plan a 100 person wedding and if some curve ball comes our way, we will just have it with the immediate family. As the days went by the planning was well insane. We didn’t know if family could fly, or if we had to have it outdoors, or what the whole deal was. I knew I wanted a Fall wedding - as its my favorite time of year. The autumn colors, the crisp air the clothing. Initially I thought we would have in Lakeside, Michigan but all the barn venues were booked from weddings that were rescheduled from the following year. Since we had towners to think about we decided to have it in Chicago, a city that is easy to get around. As for invitations we didn’t know if the wedding was going to have to be postpone and decided that we would do an evite (I actually used Zola) so if we needed to change the date I could write everyone quickly to let them know. However, I wanted a paper invitation and made one for myself so that we can have it as a keepsake. When it came to picking out a venue I knew immediately where I wanted to have our ceremony. I fell in love with the Sculpture garden at The Bridgeport Art Center a few years back when I photographed another couple. I loved the elegance and I remembered that the opened air courtyard had a clear ceiling. It had picture perfect lighting, air flow, and a roof just incase it rained!!! Yes, in Chicago you just never know what the weather was going to be like especially in October!

When it came time to pick my vendor team, I knew I wanted to work with those who took care of me throughout the years and would be there for me on my special day. My hair and makeup was by far the best I ever looked and it seriously stayed on the whole night!!! I have to thank NIKKI LOIACONO from LUXE BRIDES BY NIKKI who saw my dress and knew how to make that romanic Brigitte Bardot hair wave work! My makeup was unreal and Cynde Hoffman from Cynde Cosmetics knew how to glam it up and make my brown eyes pop! Music was a major need and I knew that the Gold Coast All Stars were my band! I had done so many events with them and they know how to read the room and get everyone up on the dance floor. Their talent is endless from violin, to base to lead singers and backup I mean I can’t rave about them enough - they are the reason’s we were smiling the whole night through. Ted Grady the owner of J&L Catering & Events is a master mind behind not only the menu but, also helped me with lines, plates and glassware! He is a ray of sunshine and loves what he does and it shows, he saw my vision and guided me along the way. Also, Mike is a big foodie and Ted had adapted some recipes to fit our tastebuds oh and also took care of our delicious wedding cake! Deborah Weisenhaus is an event producer, space designer and, most of all, an artist who owns Art of Imagination. Deborah and her team did my decor from tables, chairs, lighting and drapes the space was just as inviting as her heart! Erin Foster, our florist from A Stem Above who knew I wanted to bring some of that Michigan farm feather look into the flower decor with a boho arch that made our focal piece down the aisle as well as our Chuppah and center pieces incredible arangements! Megan Ferney my best friend who I talk to everyday and met years ago in Miami, while working together at another wedding, was my photographer! But really… she was more then that as she was my rock who kept me calm throughout the day and knows how to capture moments like no other… Megan owns Inaglimpse Photography. Lastly, I had Kim Weinberg from Livenitup Events as my event planner - making sure that all things go to plan and of course on time. So ladies and gentleman it took a freakin’ dream team to put on this wedding during covid! The results well, let’s just say that Mike and I are still floating on cloud nine!

We met over zoom during the pandemic in the fall of 2021 to plan their special day on August 20, 2022! They were excited to finally have their wedding and celebrate with all their close friends and family. 120 guests attend to celebrate the Shapiro and Schoenhofer wedding at Artifact Events, in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood. It was elegant, classy and well thought out and beautifully planned just like Rachel and Mark. They were such a lovely couple to capture and even the weather held out for peak times during their day as we drove around the city and photographed the wedding party. The two said their vows and celebrated the night away with dinner, dancing and cake! Mazel Tov and congratulations to you both may your lives be filled with endless smiles!

Thank you to all the vendors who helped plan this amazing day!

Consultant, Liven It Up Events, Kim Weinberg livenitup.com

Photographer, Naomi Epstein Photography, naomiepsteinphotography.com

Hair Stylist, Wild Rose Hair Artistry, Hannah Kern, wildrosehairartistry.com

Make-Up Artist, Blush and Braids Beauty Bar, Sarah Whitson, blushandbraidsbeautybar.com

Florist, Juliet Tan Floral Design, Juliet Tan juliettanfloraldesign.com

Catering, Butter + Vine, Sue Waarich butterandvine.com

Cake, Kleins Bakery Cafe, kleinsbakerycafe.com

Music, Blue Water Kings, Jessica Moran, bluewaterkingsband.com

Transportation, Sunny’s Worldwide, Abbey Cannon, sunnylimo.com

I met the Jin family in October when they wanted to take family photos for the holiday session! We photographed at an open park with tall grass. The family wore sweaters, plaid jumpers, boots basically — all things fall. Coming from Boston, they really wanted to take advantage of their new area and wanted to do a summer session with me in Malibu. I found a great spot that was really quiet and empty called Lechuza Beach. Which was perfect for this family of four! Joan had told me that she order these cute outfits from Lilly Pulitzer months in advance and I loved the neon colors and cute patterns her and the girls wore! The girls are 6 and 3.5 so I told mom if she was okay with bribes ( I have two ring pops in my bag ) as soon as mom told the girls to be nice and smile at me because they might get a treat - all bets were on and I could grab those cute smiles and personality photos of these two cuties for split second. ha!

You know when you want something so bad that you’ll do anything in your power to achieve it. The hours spent learning, the ups and downs, the dedication towards getting to that goal and then finally finding out boom… your goal is met! Well, these were the thoughts and emotions shared between two very special people who both shared the same goal.... and that was to be parents. They made many scarifies lived on both east and west coasts but, decided that the west coast (which was were they were both from originally) was where they would plant their roots and decide to raise a family. I was honored to be asked to capture this time in their lives and I am so glad that I could be apart of documenting their journey. They picked Palos Verdes because it’s were they had their engagement photographed. We all decided to make it full circle as now this will forever be a magical spot for them to always remember. I am sure in the future this is where they will bring their little one and have fun playing In the sand and dipping their little toes in the water!!! I'm so thrilled for these two special souls and I can't wait to see them add a new title as Mom and Dad to their impressive resumes... ha!

Paulina had her heart set on having her baby moon in New Buffalo, Michigan. Her Hubby planned this whole fun weekend in Michigan for the family of four. But at 37 weeks, Paulina was not having it. Having two toddlers while watching the unpredictable weather heading across the lake, she just decided to give me a call and change the plans up a bit. So instead of driving three hours we took a detour to have her maternity session on the closer side of the lake to the northwest burbs of Chicago. When she called me and ask if I had any recommendations, I told her that there are a ton of beautiful beaches on the north side of Chicago. We decided to meet at Lake Bluff at Sunset Beach. We lucked out with this session as the rain had started up right after we were done photographing her cute bump! It was a fun session and I wish Paulina and Charles the best of luck raising three BOYS under four!!!

Lindsay and Peter loaded up the car with their three little ones and took a drive from Grand Rapids to New Buffalo, Michigan to meet up with their whole family for a fun holiday vacation. I met Lindsay around 8:45am in the morning to photograph her and her family of three so that they can have a full beach day with their cute cousins. They were so excited to show off their toothless smiles, their new beach dress and finally being able to sit up like a big boy in the sand!!! I loved this session and as always I got individuals of the kids but was glad to get a few great photos of just mom and dad too!!! So great meeting you Linds and Peter and can’t wait to capture your cute crew next year!!!!

Meet David and Rachel! Two very ambitious minds who found that being entrepreneurs was what they wanted and what they do best. Besides being the CEO’s at home…. David is the founder and CEO of Casual Nomad. A hospitality brand that is built for the modern traveler. He and his team create beautiful spaces for folks to enjoy when on the road. Rachel, his wife was a contemporary dancer, with a serious hobby of making healthy foods in the kitchen for her and her family. She now, runs and owns Revival Food Co from her home in Indianapolis - while also running after her three children gorgeous cuties!!! I got to meet the Kleins over the holiday weekend in New Buffalo, Michigan where their family has a summer cottage near the lake. We woke up super early to get these gorgeous grins in before the beach was packed! Thank you Rach and David for being so awesome! Can’t wait to see you guys soon!

I got a call from Janet… “Hello, I would like to know if you do large family portraits…. and when I mean large … like 20 people and two dogs?” I smiled, and answered back oh thats nothing I’ve had larger. We chuckled and talked of a bit but, it wasn’t until I met all her children and grand-babies that I really got to know them well!!! We scheduled our shoot at 9am on July 3rd at Berrien County Beach in, Union Pier Michigan. Everyone was all ready to go with their beachy chic outfits. Clean crisp, blue and white was the memo from Grandma! We first started out with the large family photo and then went to capturing Janet and Larry with all their grandkids and then the immediate family of five. It was the first in a long time that they all could be together as these past few years threw a wrench in vacation plans. All the cousins got to be together and spend quality time outside on the lake. I usually don’t like to write kids names out but I have to share that this crew tops it with their names. Not in order or pointing out anyone but Micah, Levi, Jojo, Naomi, Titus, Asher, Emmy, Reid, Wyatt, Benjamin, Jonathan, Stella. I know they will remember this amazing 4th of July vacation with their family and hang these gorgeous photos up in their lake house forever.

I met the Meyer family the weekend of the 4th of July. We had amazing weather and got to capture the family only the beautiful shores of Lake Michigan. Emily and Zack just moved to the area from Minnesota as he had a job transfer and wanted to capture their first summer at the lake as a family with their one and four year old little girls. I know that they will love this area as much as I do. There is something special about living in a small town and enjoying the slower pace of live. Grabbing groceries at a local outdoor market inside of shopping at a large grocery chain, jumping on a bike to the post office to be greeted by your first name, yup there is something charming about it all. I captured them at around 6pm (as the sun is still shining bright.) It’s been a while since I photographed on the beach in full sunlight but I love how true the blue skies look against the green tree line - not to mention these cute smiles enjoying it all!

As I rang the doorbell, I was greeted by two beautiful blue eyed babe. The man of the house “D” had opened the door and smiled at me with his toothless smile and introduced himself. While, his little sister “V” stretched out her little hand to greet me following what her big brother did. I had the pleasure of meeting Justyna this summer as she was gifted a Mommy and Me session by a close friend. I was so excited to meet her as we had connected a year ago and because of the pandemic, and timing we finally got to schedule our session. Her home is as lovely and warm as she is. Opened, inviting with bright light shining from every corner. We photographed this session in New Buffalo, Michigan. Where families come to relax and unwind from the life they live in the city. I loved how they all cozied up on the couch and told each other stories and giggled in between shots. These are the memories that make me smile most and know that they will have these gorgeous grins hanging up on their summer house walls for a lifetime.