Jill's Blog

Jill's 100 Memories - Entry 6

I know it appears that I have been slacking, but the truth is that this little project has been a bit more emotionally overwhelming for me than I anticipated. : ( I love going through my archives but it was giving me the blues. But it's March and I'm back in action. Let's give it another go!

43. Let it Snow! Christmas is always a little nutty for us. It's been great to find new ideas to keep things exciting and different. Grace (yep, the same one from the advertisement) executed our snow idea perfectly. A White Christmas indeed.

44. Kimono Pics. Just after we opened one of our favorite Jill's moms (we didn't know it then!) wandered in and pitched the idea of us photographing a Japanese tradition of Kimono pics at ages 3, 5 and 7 years old. Lani is perfect in all of them - 2004, 2006 and 2008. How time passed so quickly, I'll never know. Thanks, Shirley, for these unbelievable shots of your girlie.

45. Harry Potter Event #1. The Chocolate Frog. How exciting. Downtown Naperville transformed into Diagon Alley. I'm a crazy super fan of the Harry Potter Books. I loved this event. We photographed kiddos and made them personalized trading cards. So much fun. Here's Jill the Great!

46. Groupon. Mayhem. A SELL OUT before noon! Unbelievable. I think we are still recovering! Thanks to all for making it such a success. And thanks, Kristen, for lending us your beauty for the front page! Her pout is priceless!

47. My Favorite Logo. Jill on a tire swing. New in 2010. Genius, Mr. McCarthy. Can't tell you how much I love this. It's perfect!

48. Senior Rep Cards. We love our Jill's Seniors. We've had three annual model searches. Each year has brought something new to our craft. All of our Seniors with Jill's, YSY, have little "rep" cards created to pass out and spread the Jill's love. Isn't she gorgeous?

49. NCHS Orchesis Dance Team. While we are on the topic of High School, we've had the pleasure the last two years to photograph the phenomenal dancers at Naperville Central. Here is Alexis Montgomery. So terrific! How on earth does she do this?

Jill's 100 Memories - Entry 5

41.  Valentine's Making Parties.  I love Valentines.  Especially after our CRAZY Christmas Seasons at Jill's.  Valentines are pretty, fun to make and wonderful to receive.  Since we opened Jill's, I've really embraced this holiday.  In 2009 and 2010 we hosted Valentine events.  Cutie pie pics decorated by hand with glitter and glue. 

42.  Smash Cake Sittings.  Oh, how we love these!  The reactions of the kiddos when they eat their first cake are all over the map.  In fact, we had a little one in on Monday who made the "lemon eating" face!  Priceless.  Here is Matthew - actually at age 2.  (don't ask what we did for his first year, I'll show you later!)  And I have a 30x30 inch gallery wrap to remember this hilarious occaision!

 

Jill's 100 Memories - Entry 4

It ocurred to me an hour ago that I forgot two days of "daily sale items." So, let's play catch up. Framing, Jewelry and Float Wraps are all on sale today and tomorrow! Get those orders rolling!

And here's another batch ready to share!

31. Christmas Sessions. The Lights. We've had all shapes and sizes of lights over the years. It has become one of our signature Christmas poses. Like so many things, one of our first was one of our best. Here are Eliana and Dino. We've spent so much time with these guys over the years! We've watched them grow and it has been such a joy! Thanks, Helen!

32. Steppin' Out Kids Ballet Recitals. I could literally share hundreds of shots from the past three recitals we have photographed. Tiny Dancers decked out in toulle is one of my favorites. Miss Lindsay, thank you, thank you, thank you for choosing us for this amazing event each year! Can't wait for this April.

33. Ice Cream Sessions. I can't wait to do this again this year. On location, of course. Ice cream sessions are colorful and yummy! Here are Jill and Matt. Happy and ......NOT so much!

34. Moving it outside the studio. I'm not sure when we started doing this....2008 perhaps? But we started incorporating a series of shots outside our back door as part of our session. Our terrific stairs and amazing brick wall have served as backdrop for so many sessions. This shot of Abby - thanks, Wendy! - is one of the first. Who doesn't love Sky Blue, Blue Sky?

35. The Sundance Gallery, Downers Grove. Formerly Hozhoni in Downtown Naperville. Janet Smith is amazing and her vision for fabulous jewelry is second to none. We have had the pleasure of doing three fantastic photo shoots for her gallery over the years! Please stop by and visit her in Downtown DG where she opened a new studio in 2010. You will love it! This is Amanda from our first session with Sundance. Lovely.

36. Pumpkin Pictures. More Trick or Treat! Kiddos in costume the weekends of Downtown Naperville's Trick or Treat are so much fun. Can you believe it - this is a HOMEMADE costume. You should have seen Madison the following year appearing on the morning news as a butterfly! Deanna, you are amazing!

37. Pet sittings. Awww.... Dogs are part of the family too, right? We have had the pleasure of meeting so many furry friends. Keep 'em coming. This is one of the Forman's babies! Kiss, Kiss!

38. Pink for the Cure. Swim Meet at NV High. What a great event for a great cause. NV's swimmers turned out in droves to collect money for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Very talented and very fast these ladies are! Katie had to click the camera in double time. Well done, ladies.

39. In Home Christmas Sessions. It's hard to top the beauty of the decorations in the Rose household. An amazing family that we have worked with many, many times over the years. The stairs, the trees and the beautiful kiddos! What more can you want? Thanks, Alex. We love you guys!

40. Cool new things. We love experimentation! It's fun for us to seek out new and creative ideas for photo shoots. After all, we've seen some of you Jill's Friends dozens of times over the years. I love these crazy fabric backdrops! Emily was having a blast with our new circles! Emily's brother Josh was one of our very first subjects back in 2004. Thanks, Julie for being wonderful all these years!

100 Memories - Entry 3

Superbowl Sunday monopolized my day yesterday : ) Hope everyone enjoyed their festivities! Here are the next few. I am loving this little project! Hope you are too......

21. Best of Naperville 2009. Hooray! We won! It was a fantastic event and we loved every minute of having had the Naperville Magazine Readers vote us Best Photographer in 2009! A lovely plaque has sat on our desk to commemorate the evening. Thanks, Naperville.

22. Trick or Treat 2009. Candyland. We had the Rainbow Trail, Princess Frostine, King Kandy, Lolli, Gingerbread Ladies and Candyland Kids all present to greet and photograph our trick or treaters. So much candy, so much fun!

23. Five Year Anniversary. Cheers to All! 2009 marked our 5 Year Anniversary. A little champagne with the Jill's Staff to celebrate. What a journey.......

24. Canvas Gallery Wraps. A new product for us in 2008. Canvas prints wrapped around a deep stretcher frame. Simple and classic. No need for framing, great for collaging - just like our float wraps! With two depths available, they really stand out on a wall. And it's been great seeing tiny Violet in her daddy's hands!  An amazing sitting - glad you are taking these home, Trish and Kris!

25. Hometown Holidays Ice Sculptures. I think we've had these icy creations 3 or 4 times over the years for Hometown Holidays Thanksgiving Weekend. Inevitably, it turns out to be a balmy day and they melt away....Boo Hoo!

26. Jill's 6th Birthday Party. Jill turned 6 in 2009. We had 10 of her Kindergarten friends to a Jill's Portraits Birthday Extravaganza! Boy, was the studio hopping. Freeze Dance, Dress UP and Glamour Shots. What more could a girl want?

27. Naperville Nate and Nellie. Sidewalk Sale 2009 kicked off our Nate and Nellie contest. Jill's families took Nate and Nellie on adventures all over the world. They traveled to New York, California, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan and even Switzerland! Quite the jet setters they are.

28. Santa at Jill's. Thanksgiving Weekend is a busy time for the Big Guy. But Santa found time to visit us during each of the last three years! What an amazing thing to see the kiddos rush him the minute he enters the studio! Pure kid joy! Ho-Ho-Ho!

29. Jill's Portraits IT Department. Poor, John. For those of you that don't know John (the other half of Jill's) is our computer guy. I don't know how many times over the years I have sent him 911 messages and pulled him out of meetings with "computer emergencies". If he had a dollar..... Yeah, we'd be retired!

30. Lisa's Wedding. Well, you all know about this! It was an amazing evening. Lisa was a beautiful bride, Jill was a splendid flower girl, Beth a bridesmaid and Katie photographed the event. Unforgettable!

Jill's 100 Memories - Entry 2

Wow! I was overwhelmed by the number of people who have logged onto our blog yesterday and today. I had great fun this morning continuing to go through my photo archives to find more things to share! Enjoy!

11. Outdoor Sittings. In 2008 we began doing "on location" photography. A departure from our in studio fun, we loved this new branch of our Jill's offerings. This session at one of our more frequented spots - the barn on Hobson at the Dupage County Forest Preserve has always been one of my favorites! Thanks, Kathy, for sharing your family!

12. Jill's, Your Senior Year. 2009 marked our first official year doing senior portraits. We kicked it off with a model search and a new brand. Love our Jills, YSY logo! Thanks, Mr. McCarthy! Love it!

13. Senior Proms. On a handful of occasions, we have had the pleasure of having some of the local high school seniors in the studio on PROM DAY. It was tough to choose just one from all of these shots! But this one of Hannah is a classic!

14. Easter Brunch at City Gate Grille. In 2010, the bunnies traveled with us to Easter Brunch! While Naperville turned out in their Easter finery to enjoy the Easter buffet, they had a chance to get portraits with our resident bunny, Carrots!

15. Project Miss You. This has been one of our greatest memories. The military families we have met over the years have charmed us. A huge heartfelt thanks from us to them for the sacrifice they make every day with their loved ones overseas!

16. Jill's, Art in Your Home. Another favorite for us. It was AMAZING to see the pics sent in from our Jill's Friends of our work in your homes. It was so wonderful, that we might re-run this contest this year! These pics are of Tracy and her fabulous boys! Thanks to all who sent me shots back in 2009. It was great!

17. Stonebridge Sandlot Baseball. Wow. Those were a lot of mini sluggers at the Stonebridge Sandlot in June of 2009. But so much fun. Watching the kiddos swing, run and catch was terrific. We got some amazing shots. And loved making baseball cards, buttons and wheaties boxes for the first time! Thanks, Denise for inviting us to join in the fun on trophy day!

18. In-Home Baby Parts Session. Our first of what we hope to be many in-home baby sessions. There were great colors, fabrics and fabulous natural light. And little Sophie was all smiles : ) Something we love to see!

19. Jill's Greeting Cards. 2007 was a big year for us as we transitioned to doing all of our Christmas Card and Birth Announcement design work in house. Since then we have designed over 1000 cards for so many of our fabulous customers. Each year we've tried to raise the bar a bit by introducing something new and fun! Aren't these kiddos cute?? Thanks, Carrie! You guys are the best!

20. Float Wraps. A new product for us back in 2009. We have sold hundreds of these guys. So unique and great for collaging, the float wrap has been wonderful in its simplicity. No framing necessary! Regis, we have enjoyed seeing your family on the wall every day for so many months! I'm glad it's landing in your home.

100 Jill's Memories - Entry One

As I put pen to paper last week on this little project, I wondered where the number would land. As I suspected, I found it difficult to narrow it down to my favorite memories. The list could go on and on and on..... It's been an amazing chapter in all of our lives! And away we go....

1. Jill's Favorite Faces. Back in 2009 we did a monthly series of our favorite pics from all of our sessions. Each selected session was made into a little collage highlighting the kiddos, babies or families. A monthly drawing for a Jill's goody was the prize at stake : ) I love looking back on all these cutie-pies. Thanks to Sylvia and her family for the years of Jill's memories!

2. The Purple Chair. "We need a giant overstuffed chair" Lisa would tell me over and over and over. I searched for months for the perfect chair. Finally! I found it and loved it. Fabulous in a photo session! Here is the amazing Meredith. LOVE IT!

3. First Communion Sessions. It is such an important milestone for families and we are thrilled to have been a part of dozens of family memories. Here is Grace looking just perfect. We used her lovely face in many First Communion advertisements. Thanks, Julie for lending us your girlie!

4. Jill's Balloons. We have given away 1000's of these at Sidewalk Sales and special events. How fun to see one walking down the street. Here is my 8 year old Jill with a big bunch last Summer! Hooray!

5. Watch Me Grow. Over 50 Graduates in the five years we did the pregnancy to walking first year series. We've even had several repeat families who have done it for each of their kiddos. Amazing! This has been such a treat to watch these babies go from peanuts to dynamos running out of the studio. Just try to catch them! Here is Connor's amazing year! Enjoy!

6. The Coca-Cola sittings. A sweet treat in February of 2010. We did a bunch of Soda Pop sittings. Yum! Annie and Nathan - twins we've seen each year since 2004. Thanks, Amanda. Love you guys!

7. Downers Dolls. In 2010 we had the pleasure of sponsoring two girls softball teams in Downers Grove. The DOLLS (Downers Own Little Lassie Softball - yep, I kid you not) just recently celebrated it's 50th anniversary of Girls Softball. And yes, our jerseys were purple!

8. The Bunnies. Have we mentioned these guys lately? Hopsicle was our first resident back in 2009. Yes, Jill named him. This year BunBun graces our studio. Named, of course, by Matthew. He finally gets his turn this year under much protest from Jill. After all, naming bunnies is her job! Come meet our newest addition to the Jill's ZOO!

9. Kinda like A Christmas Story. Matthew is going to hate me someday but this Easter shot was too good to resist and too good not to share. Sorry, my boy! Well, not really.

10. Hillcrest Elementary Game Night. In 2011 we were able to help pull together a wonderful class project for their annual fundraiser. A true friend reaches for your hand and touches your heart. Thanks, Jill's Friends. You've been that to us!

That's it for today. Thanks for reading. Can't wait to put the next bunch together!

Jill's "Hundred" Sale

Those of you Jill's Friends with School Age Children will be very familiar with the February tradition of 100 Days of School Celebrations. Kids all over will be assembling one hundred of their favorite items to share with their classmates as they celebrate the 100th day of their school year. We thought as we wrap things up at the studio this February that we would share 100 of our Favorite Jill's Memories. Each day, beginning tomorrow, we will turn back the clock for a moment and share. So many to choose from! Thanks for the memories!

On to the sale.... Here's the scoop!

Choose 10 of your favorite Jill's images from previous sessions (reorders only) for $100. Feel free to mix and match from various sessions.

OR

Order all the images from a single session for $100 (again, reorders only).

AND

Each day of the Sale we will be offering discounts on particular items such as framing, jewelry, etc. These will be posted here on the Jill's Blog and on Facebook daily.

Today's Sale Item is Gallery Wraps - 20% off. Thursday, February 2nd Only!

Send us an email at orders@jillsportraits.com if you would like to retrieve and view previous sessions. We'll get them back online for you!

PS - Our Bunny is Here! We will post pics soon : ) Call for appointments. She'll just be here for a short time this year. Now through Saturday, February 11th!

News from Jill's

To All of our Fabulous Jill's Friends....

The time has come for us to announce a big change in our world of Jill's Portraits. It is with mixed emotions that we share that Jill's will be leaving our studio home in Downtown Naperville next month(the middle of February). Our lease has come to an end and after many,many nights of soul searching, we will not be renewing.

There has been much change here in the past year. Beth's home life has become more demanding as her husband's travel schedule has increased dramatically this year and the kids have become involved in so many activities (all you Moms can appreciate this). Katie is going back to school to finish her degree (Congrats to Katie!). And you all know that Lisa left us to begin her own family in Michigan last Fall (for those that don't know, our Lisa is expecting). With all of this on the table, we are looking to simplify our lives and Jill's as it is currently structured can't be given the attention we so believe it deserves.

We are looking forward to a new chapter in our Jill's history. We have plan to keep our "doors open" as an on-location and in-home photography business. We have lots of ideas brewing and can't wait to share them over the coming weeks. While this time of transition may be challenging and bittersweet, be assured that we are still around and we look forward to servicing your family photography needs for years to come.

We take away so many special relationships with the families we have photographed over the years. You can't imagine how you've touched our lives. We hope our relationship doesn't end here. We will be reaching out to you all over the next couple weeks to be sure that all of your needs are met before we move out of Naperville.

So, please give some thought to coming in for one last sitting in our studio. We'd love to see you. Also, if there are some lingering orders that need to be placed, it's best to do it immediately so we can be sure that we get you prints to you as soon as possible.

Please don't hesitate to contact us at 630.355.2229 or orders@jillsportraits.com with any questions.

And THANK YOU for eight amazing years! It has been the experience of a lifetime!

XOXO

Katie, Lisa and Beth

a.k.a. the Girls at Jill's

Coming Soon to a Studio Near You - Easter, Starring the Baby Ducks!

A little teaser from last year........

The ducks are arriving tomorrow.  We have just a few appointments left.  The ducks will be here Thursday through Saturday, the 2nd of April.  Let's call this a limited engagement!  Give us a call - slots are going fast!

 
 
 

It's HOP-tastic!

They are here!  It's official.  Come meet Carrots (the star of these pics), Licorice and Hoppers (yes, Jill named them again).  So cute, soft, cuddly, adorable, amazing...........need I say more?!?