April & May | Self-Portrait

If you don’t know me all that well, you should probably know this:  time-management is not one of my strengths.  I can really be quite a procrastinator.  I sometimes laugh at the hypocrisy when I tell my daughter that she needs to use her time more wisely as I rush her out the door to catch the school bus.  I do my best to keep up with my to-do-lists, stick with a task until completion, be productive, blah, blah, blah… but sometimes things get bumped down a few notches. :)  Alas, this month AND last month’s self-portrait.

I’ve been super-busy (in a good way) with shoots, editing, creating albums and invitations for photography clients these past 6 weeks and getting a photo of myself & taking the time to blog it just didn’t happen.  But I did snap a photo at some point (when my hair was NOT pulled back- which like never happens) and I thought it was fitting for what’s been going on around here lately.

I’ve got next month’s portrait all planned-out.  We’ll see if this public declaration of my flakiness helps with my follow-through!  Wish me luck!

Paige | Class of 2012

This is Paige!  We had a fantastically warm and beautiful evening for her shoot and I had a blast with her and her mom, Christie.  I knew Paige when she was a 3rd grader!  She was in the classroom next door to mine.  (I was a teacher, not a 3rd grader, but I’m guessing you figured that out.)  She is also a very talented dancer and dances at the same studio as my daughter.  She’s also gorgeous! (But you could probably figure that out too!)

I’m so thrilled I got to take your photos, Paige!  Thanks again!

Melissa | Class of 2012

I had such a fun evening with Melissa and her mom a few weeks ago.  At that time Melissa had recently received the awesome news that she’d been accepted to Ohio Northern University’s School of Pharmacy! She’s super smart AND super cute — check out her photos!

As we walked and talked and took pictures it came out that Melissa and I share the same life verse.  I thought this photo was perfect for the soon-to-be graduate and had a little fun with it.

Beautiful– one of my favorites!

Thanks Melissa!!  I hope the end of your year is wonderful!

Hey Girl… | I Heart Faces Challenge

It’s been a little while since I submitted a photo, but with all my recent sessions with gorgeous girl graduates, how could I not enter when the theme is “Hey Girl…”?

I have posted a couple of Paige’s senior photos on my Facebook page, but here is another one and  I think THIS one is my absolute favorite!  But I’m pretty sure I’ve said that before.

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Take a look at more beautiful female faces at I Heart Faces.

 

Photo Challenge Submission

Sadie | Class of 2012

I’ve been wanting to share these photos all week, but it’s been a little crazy!  I won’t type too much so I can post this tonight!

I met up with Sadie over spring break for a senior session and had such a great time getting to know her and her mom as we flitted about Fort Wayne looking for great spots for our shoot.

Sadie is taking culinary classes now and is attending culinary school in the fall.  She plans to be a pastry chef and the always awesome Yum-Mee‘s Bakery let us stop by and have some fun in their kitchen.

One of my favorites!

Have a great rest of your year, Sadie!

Little Charmer | Kyle is 1 Year Old

This little St. Patrick’s Day baby looks so handsome in green!  His mom, and my sweet friend, Kamy, was so kind to ask me to take some 1-Year photos of Kyle.

My Little Girl | Maura at 6

I wanted to share some more of the photos I took of Maura last week.  This girl has such a creative mind and a joyful spirit.  She makes me laugh SO much– her clever sense of humor gets me every time.  While we were shooting the photo at the bottom she said, “I thought of this one!  This is MY pose!”

p.s.  The book was my mom’s.  I remember loving it as a kid, as did she.  Now it’s Maura’s turn!

Play the Music, Light the Lights | Calum’s Muppet Birthday Party

In honor of Cal’s expected day of arrival, today, March 27th, I am blogging his birthday party pics!  We celebrated Calum’s 4th birthday a couple of weeks ago.  His actual birthday is 3/14, his scheduled delivery date was 3/27 (he was breech just like his big brother & sister), and his due date was April 1st.  (I think.  4 years is a long time to remember these kinds of things).  So he was WAY early!  Early enough to have a nice little stay in the NICU, which is a whole other, very long, story.

As most almost-4-year-olds are, Cal is kind of fickle.  One day he loves yogurt, the next day, not so much– that kind of thing.  We had decided on a train-themed party (one thing his love normally never waivers on), but then he saw some awesome pirate party photos and decided he wanted a Pirate party.  Argh!

Then 2 weeks before the party, came the Muppets idea and that’s what we went with.  I found some great party ideas on Amy Locurto’s website and my dad (“Opa” to Cal) built a sweet puppet stage for the kids to play with, with a curtain and everything, courtesy of my mom.  I attempted a piñata that was supposed to look like Kermit the Frog, but that didn’t go so well.  And who really wants to bash sweet Kermie with a wiffle-ball bat anyways?  So we snagged a pre-made one at the store, got some yummy treats ready, ordered pizzas, and it was time to party!  Here are some pics!

 

It was a fantastic evening in honor of a fantastic little boy!  Love you Cal!

 

February | Self-Portrait Series

Here I am, in the final few hours on the EXTRA last day of February, posting my self-portrait.  And, although, it may seem like cheating to post a cell phone photo, let me explain. I promise… I have my reasons.

You see, I’m now the proud owner of an iPhone. I made the leap, took the plunge, drank the Kool-Aid, yep, I did it. And I love it. I love the iCloud, FaceTime, the sounds it makes when I get a text message, and, if I can be completely honest, I love Instagram.

Perhaps it’s because I’m a photographer and I love to be creative and share my photos and comment on others’, or maybe it’s because I want to be like my friends and join in on the fun. But Reason #1 sounds more mature, so let’s go with that one, okay?

So here it is… me and my beloved new iPhone via Instagram.

(If you’re an Instagram user and want to follow me, my user name is jillsloffer. (creative, no?).)

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Ring-a-ding-ding | Courtney & Andy’s Engagement

This is Courtney and Andy and they are in love… and completely adorable.

Fort Wayne Engagement Photographer

Andy proposed to Courtney just before Christmas, and just after Christmas they found out that Andy would be deployed to Afghanistan in May.  This news changed their wedding plans quite a bit–  they are having a destination wedding next month!  I was thrilled to be able to snap some engagement photos of them in the midst of their busy time of preparation.  Their love for one another was so apparent and I loved photographing them together– talking, snuggling, holding hands– you know, couple-y things.  We went to the always awesome Club Soda to toast their engagement and stopped by a few other Fort Wayne locations, including IPFW, on our freezing cold afternoon together.  Luckily with the cold, came some snowflakes, which always make for lovely, romantic photos!

Fort Wayne Engagement Photographer

Fort Wayne Engagement Photographer

Thank you Courtney and Andy for allowing me to be a part of this exciting time in your lives.  I loved spending the afternoon with both of you!

p.s.  You can see more photos of beautiful Courtney and her family from our session last fall here.