It’s been a long time since I’ve sat behind a desk and done homework but I still remember that last day of school really well. High school was an amazing time and working with the kids that are coming out of school right now is inspiring. It’s incredible to see the diversity, the passion and the hunger to go forward in their eyes, but enough about the past let’s talk about the shoot.

Bianca, our senior, was an awesome person to work with. Not only did she automatically have a smile on her face she was rocking the poses like a pro and kept up to a full paced shoot. We wandered through the park for a couple hours snagging imagery in so many great spots. It did help that the day was amazing with the sun coming right through the trees, a light cool breeze and the perfect temperature to walk through the park.

During the two hours we ran around the park not only did we share some great laughs but we also filled our memory cads and enjoyed an amazing day. Thank you so much Bianca and family for letting us capture these images. Can’t wait to be part of the family for a long time!

Photos by: Chris Warkocki & Eric Steiner

It’s warm! The crazy cold temperatures have finally gone away and the warm glow of the sun has made Rockford a toasty place for photography once again. To celebrate the warm weather we decided it would be a great idea to photograph a wedding. We found Adriana and Rich in the park and convinced them to get married on the spot! A few phone calls later Adriana is walking down the isle and we are enjoying the sun shiny Saturday afternoon.

Ok… so it totally didn’t happen that way, but there was a wedding and we were totally there. You may remember Adriana & Rich from some previous engagement photos we had taken so if they look familiar we all know why. These two are a fun couple who are a blast to hang out with. Almost like good friends but better since they pay you to hang with them. Just kidding!

This particular weekend had been plagued with weather report after weather report of rain and dark skies. Whats awesome about the weather is it’s unpredictable nature so instead of gloom we had sunshine and nice puffy clouds. If was an amazing day for these two to get married on and couldn’t ask for more. With Rachel and Robyn (Batgirl and Robin) from rdArtistry rocking makeup to Kyle’s own stylist rocking hair it was a day of total awesome.

Now boys stop looking at Adriana like that, she is officially taken and I know she looks like a super model but keep your thoughts clean. Adriana you looked amazing and with all the tears you shed you couldn’t even make your makeup run and take your beauty a notch down. Rich you weren’t half bad yourself in that awesome suit and smiling the entire time. We took this beautiful group all over Rockford for pictures and even had time to stop for a beer and snacks at Carlyle, a personal hangout of our crew and so many other awesome local photographers.

We finally made it to the reception and with all the delicious treats from the candy bar and the amazing candy inspired cupcakes from the Sweetery this was going to be a fun night! The music was rocking, the lighting was amazing and the atmosphere was epic! Shout out to Greg and Sean from Luxe for getting all those people on the dance floor all night long!

In the end it was sad to leave but we have to be adults and get back to the studio to backup all the files and begin our editing process. We’ve been on a roll delivering images this season within two weeks and we aren’t going to stop now!

Adriana & Rich thank you so much for letting us be part of your awesome day. You two were amazing and we have some great memories that will last forever. I know you’ve been waiting to see some pics so right below this is a tiny selection from the thousands we captured a couple days ago. Enjoy them and we can’t wait to see you soon and hand you the whole stack!

The awesome vendors who made this day rock:

Hair - Kelly Wiseley

Makeup – Rachel + Robyn of rdArtistry

Dresses – Crystal Bride

Tuxes – Men’s Warehouse

Ceremony – Klehm Arboretum

Reception – Cliffbreakers

Florist – Flowers & Balloons by Haley

Cake + Cupcakes – The Sweetery

DJ + Uplighting – Sean + Greg Luxe Productions

Drapery – Beautiful Day Linens

Limo – Fantasy Limousine

Wedding Coordinator – Hitched

Photos by: Chris Warkocki, Kyle Wilson & Eric Steiner

Not too long ago in the briskness of a winter in Downtown Rockford we met with Bethany + Nathan and shot the first round of their two season engagement session (Which can be seen Here). Back then it was frigid, windy and dark. But these two held their own against the elements for an awesome session.

Fast forward a few months, Kyle & Yunkin are in Sterling Illinois at Sinnissippi Park on a bright and warm day. Quite the 180 from our previous encounter with these two. The trees were just starting to bud and color was making itself known to us and everyone around. Sinnissippi Park is a gorgeous park along the river, with just enough park and urban entanglement to keep us amused. Yunkin was so amazed by the pelicans he almost took a swim himself!

After sneaking onto someone’s lawn to take use of their gorgeous tree we headed to Downtown Sterling. Just as any small downtown would have it, we found ourselves a candy shop and discovered Nathan’s secret love for pretzels, which even came as a surprise to Bethany. These guys rocked it in two seasons, and their wedding is just around the corner in a few weeks. Keep an eye out for some more awesomness for sure! Until then, it’s picture time!!!

Photos by: Yunkin Keophomma & Kyle Wilson

So many great stories from these two even before the shoot happened. Fun fact, we had to reschedule this session for the third time due to weather and our very own Kyle breaking a toe the day of their first scheduled session. With a sigh of relief Eric and I hit the long road to Bloomington/Normal on the warmest sunniest day we’ve had all year!

We arrived 30 minutes early, stiff legged, but excited to start rocking. We ended up starting our day at this beautiful botanical garden in the middle of Normal. The architecture and the landscape was amazing. Even found green grass and some amazing flowers blooming. Now the fun began again when I moved too quickly to get low and snap a shot of the two and all of sudden I tore a fantastic hole right in my pants. Oh such a red face but we trooped on until we got kicked out for not having a permit that wasn’t posted so we adventured off to downtown Normal for some city scape action.

It may be a tiny section of town but it’s an amazing area with a ton of great spots to shoot. From the Amtrack station, to the fountain to the buildings to this awesome painted wall where I decided I would walk backwards directly in to a puddle of slightly fresh tar… shoes will never be the same. It was amazing outside and even though people watched us work we pushed forward and found some killer locations. I have to note that the entire time these two were hilarious and super smiley so it made our job easy regardless of all the mishaps to my clothes.

Our last stop was fire department where Matt volunteers. Such a great time playing with all the toys and gear. We definitely got some great shots of these two and even though Matt was embarrassed by his fellow fire fighters that kept picking on the guy he enjoyed this part probably the most.

Thank you guys for being awesome and putting up with Kyle’s broken toe. We got better pictures without him any way

Now for the obligatory imagery!

by: Chris Warkocki & Eric Steiner

The Forward family has two of the coolest kids ever! Westin & Natalie had such a blast out in the park, and have true sibling fun around one another, from huge awesome hugs with each other to funny bunny ears. Their parents David & Brandy were no exception either. All in all, these guys were a blast to work with in the park, and have such an awesome family chemistry it’s hard not to see it blast through the images. Speaking of images…we’ve got some of those below!

Photos by: Kyle Wilson

We recently got to enjoy the awesome company of Naomi + Michael. When we first met this awesome couple, we immediately knew they were so wonderfully natural around each other, and were all about having fun.

Both Naomi + Michael are incredibly musically inclined, from playing in a band together to teaching music. So it was clear early on, we needed to bring that special shared interest of theirs into the session.

We made our way to rock cut, Michael entertained us with his sense of humor that is so darn close to our own, it was uncanny. Between his guitar, their hats and a kite, he was our official prop master for our day of shooting. Before long, they forgot to notice the cameras were even there, and their natural chemistry glowed.

A huge congrats to Naomi + Michael on their engagement, we’re so thankful to be part of your special day, and cannot wait to keep photographing your truly natural love! Guess what…it’s image time!!!

Photos by: Stephen Ramsden & Kyle Wilson

We don’t always photograph prom couples, but when we do we have a blast! Daphne contacted us about her son Aaron’s prom and we jumped at the opportunity. After a short trip down the street to Sinnissippi Park where it seemed everyone else had the same idea for prom photos, we met up and shot the gorgeous couple, who of course had to do some James Bond moves

All in all it was quick and painless for these two, and they were a blast to work with! Photos…NOW!

Photos by: Kyle Wilson

Last week was the week of small humans coming in with larger humans in order to get their photos taken. Not sure what happened but it was pretty much the coolest thing ever.

We look like a wedding only kind of place but our heart is in photographing people regardless of the situation. So high school seniors, families, children and newborns are typically in front of our camera as often as a bride. This week we had three different small people sessions that varied from a full on family shoot to some that only involved us pointing our camera at the munchkins.

What was even a little more crazy than just having munchkins in the studio and about was that they were all girls! Being a nearly all boy run company this is something we don’t always relate well with. Mind you Jackie is a grandpa and Stephen + Lizzie have little baby Liam and even Yunkin has a 9yo but they aren’t around the studio all the time and our lesser experienced guys like Kyle and myself have no idea what is going on when it comes to munchkins.

Even though this isn’t the typical model in front of the camera we have a blast doing them and every loves the pics so no complaining here. Hopefully one day the less child experienced ones will break the ice and not be scared that they broke the baby when it starts to cry.

Now for the pics!

Photos by: Chris Warkocki

It’s warm, it’s beautiful and it finally feels like spring! The weather in the midwest has been like teenage angst with no real reasoning behind it. Snow, rain, snow, 60 degrees, 20 degrees, hurricane like winds and finally a decent stretch of warm gorgeous weather. You couldn’t ask for a better day to go out for a long walk with a camera and an amazing couple.

One our favorite weddings going on this year will be that of Edan and Russ. Their moonlit ceremony with lights and candles will be beautiful and unique. I am personally excited to run around in the dark snapping away at this creative wedding experience.

If you don’t know these two you should. Fun loving and relaxed. We walked around aimlessly through downtown Rockford looking for some great spots to take our next set of images. Exploring for new locations is a fantastic time with plenty of sites to see and with the right tour guide you may learn a little history of our awesome little town. We walked a decent distance in every direction while using the famous shoot quick move quick technique until the two love birds settled in to having a camera pointed in their direction.

In all we had a pretty amazing time and I can’t wait to be there with you two for the Wedding Day amazing that will happen. Thank you so much for following me around Rockford and you two are pretty awesome.

Now for the obligatory imagery!

Photos by: Chris Warkocki

This last summer we traveled to Oregon, Illinois to photograph the lovely Chelsea + Nick, which can be seen Here. We gathered that they were a little timid in front of the camera at first, but opened right up pretty quickly. They’re a couple who’s love is so easily seen between the two of them, it’s impossible for the camera not to catch it too.

This weekend Stephen & Kyle traveled not too far down the road from the new Fotoenvy Studio to one of our favorite Rockford locations, The Prairie Street Brewhouse.The Brewhouse is continually adding awesomeness to their venue, and we were happy to look around and take advantage of some of the new spaces.

The day was a bit rainy and windy, but that didn’t stop the joy. Post ceremony we got to run around a bit on the dock we’re so familiar with, following that the Brewhouse’s manager Rachel so awesomely allowed us access to some of the upper floors for some new angles and awesome new spots we can’t wait to see finished.

We managed to steal Chelsea + Nick for a few moments when the rain let up to get some great night time shots on the dock, we even managed to steal a little bit of the rain too, before running back to cover.

A huge congrats to Chelsea + Nick on their big day, and a huge thank you for letting us be a part of it! Fun images below!

Photos by: Stephen Ramsden & Kyle Wilson