Last year I met a talented photographer who had just moved to the Chicago market, and was soon to take it up by storm. We started interacting and came up with an idea of taking photos for each other’s family that summer. 

Images are worth a thousand words, so there is not much for me to say other than that love shines through in these images from a recent Newborn In Home Session.

I wanted to try a new location on the North Suburbs of Chicago. After looking around, we settled on Ryerson Woods in Deerfield, IL. We picked this place because we were looking for a woodsy area that had nice Fall colors. 

Whenever I promote my special 15-minute petite sessions (Mother’s Day, Fall, and Holiday season) people who have not worked with me before often ask me if it is actually possible to get some good pictures in that period of time. Well… here is the answer! 15 minutes, one location, multiple backdrops, multiple posses, lots of laughter and play and multiple images to choose from. 

For this studio maternity session, we wanted simplicity in the image to showcase her pregnancy in all its splendor. Simple outfits, simple backgrounds. Just her, and different setups with my lighting equipment – and of course we had to sneak in some images with her husband and beautiful kids. 

The theme for my 2021 Holiday Mini Sessions was “Being Present” and the set was decorated with many gifts wrapped in white and decorated with beautiful ribbons. I wanted to keep the set minimal, with simple and neutral colors that allow families to either make their sessions formal or causal, depending on what they wanted to wear.

Thank You to all 87 families that trusted me this year and opened their homes, hearts, and families to a complete stranger allowing me a glimpse into your magical lives.

Newborn Photography Sessions can have some challenges: babies can be fuzzy, parents can be exhausted, house pets may be running around, diaper changes, feedings, and so on. One other thing that may impact an indoor photoshoot, even though you probably wouldn’t think about it, is the weather.

Every once in a while, I search for families interested in modeling for me in exchange for a few images. People have asked me why I do model calls, and so I thought I would write a short post about my top reasons.

Here are some photos of precious Vivian’s session for her first birthday. Her mom and I collaborated to find a location that had beautiful flowers, and to plan for the use of props like the cute party hat and vintage chair.

Here are some images from a recent session at one of my favorite locations for Chicago photography. I think it is impossible to ignore the magic of golden Summer evenings, sun-kissed skins, lush green tones, blooming prairie flowers, and images of the lake covered in sailboats. Oh! and being able to see babies’ chubby arms and legs is always a plus.

We have this idea in our heads that the perfect image is that in which we are all posing and smiling, but I find that it is actually the wild moments, when kids are being themselves, running around and being silly, that turn out the most precious photos - those that resemble real life in all of its messy splendor.

Fall season is just around the corner, and so is my Fall Mini Photoshoot event. This is by far my most popular time of year for family photos. That is why this year I have increased the number of spots available and including a second location in the North Shore to accommodate more families. Per usual, I am scheduling them around peak foliage to make sure we get lots of beautiful colors in our images.

When I know I’m going to be working with toddlers at a session I am particularly intentional in selecting the spot for our photoshoot, and I do so with the kids in mind. I think there are two key things you want to consider when determining the spot for a photoshoot involving young kids.

Lifestyle photography sessions are a great way to showcase life as it is – imperfect, but beautiful – and to document the little moments in an authentic way. When I talk about lifestyle sessions, I always try to emphasize that they cannot be prescriptive. This means every session that I do is envisioned and executed differently to reflect the family that I am with. Ultimately, it is about their personalities and this particular time in their lives. Here’s how I plan and conduct a lifestyle photography session at home.

If you’ve ever tried to book a session with a photographer, or followed one on Instagram, odds are you have heard them throw around the term “Golden Hour”. Photographers love shooting at Golden Hour and praise what it does for skin tones and mood in photography. But what exactly is it?

For Mother’s Day this year, I ran a giveaway on social media to gift two families with a photography session. Well, we had the photoshoot a couple of weekends ago, just as Chicago weather was warming up. And we had a glorious evening! If you are interested in participating in one of my giveaways, make sure to follow me on Instagram @catylamadridphoto so you don’t miss out.

As they become more toddlers and less babies, kids are so full of curiosity and eager to explore and discover the world around them. Their playfulness and personality just comes through in the photos - that’s why milestone sessions are so fun.

Traditionally, professional headshots were defined as tightly-cropped images of just the shoulders and head in a formal, “professional” setting. But in today’s world of small business owners, creatives, solopreneurs, and bloggers, this approach has changed to accommodate more fun and candid shots. Of course this varies by industry and will ultimately depend on your company’s brand identity, but the point is that we all need an image that reflects who we are and what we do, and presents us in a professional, but authentic way to potential clients and customers.

Here are additional images from my mini Spring photoshoot event in Chicago. Register to my newsletter to be the first to know about events such as this one.