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Tag Archives: autism photographer

Monday, May 6, 2013

Special Needs Mini-Sessions | Naperville special needs photographer, Hinsdale photographer

And here are the last of my April 21st special needs mini-sessions! Such a wonderful annual event. If you missed out on them this year, keep your eyes open for next year’s.

This first set of twins I met last year during the special needs mini-sessions. They have really grown in their development since then! Both kids are on the autism spectrum, but with different strengths and challenges. They were super fun, and I was greatly entertained by the sister who loved to spin in her dress and be girly.

And then we had another set of twins! But this time it was only the brother who has developmental delays and autism. They were also full of smiles and giggles.

I have photographed this family a few times in the past, but it has been almost two years since I saw them (when their girl was a newborn). Their son has Chromosome 18q, which includes cerebral palsy, vision impairment, and general muscle weakness. It was great to see them again. I love their colors! Since he cannot sit on his own, we leaned him back, and I edited out his dad’s supporting hand.

This next family were so much fun. You could just feel their love and laughter. And you would never know that their son is on the spectrum. Kudos to them for all the therapy – it has certainly paid off!

This next young man was a great wrap up to the day. He also has autism. His special interests are movies. While he is currently obsessed with the movie Up, he is actually an old movie fan, and apparently loves the older actresses, especially Jessica Lange from King Kong. I asked what movie was his favorite one with her. His response: “Any where she is the cutest.” LOL

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Special Needs Mini-Session | Chicago special needs photographer, Naperville family photographer

Time for my April 21st special needs mini-sessions. Here are the first half of them.

This first family were so sweet. They had never had a family picture together, and what better time before it expands to include a new baby? Their son has hearing loss and agensis of corpus callosum (developmental delay) and is nonverbal. He was a very happy boy. I hope I get to see them all again when the baby arrives!

Our next family had two children – a boy and a girl. The little girl was not interested in having her picture taken, but we still had fun. The little boy kept wanting to show me his “bend”, which was what is below. LOL

The next session was with this handsome boy with autism. Unfortunately, after he came and sat on the couch for all of 5 seconds, he started crying, and we were unable to get him to calm down. Some days are just not good days, and unfortunately this was one of them. But you can see he had the most beautiful eyes.

This next young man officially wins the title of funniest client ever. He is 29 years old and has autism. His mother brought him in, and I initially asked if he wanted to sit or stand. “Stand,” he replied, but his mother said that he usually has echolalia (repeating what is said). But I quickly learned that he was a huge ham! LOL “CHEESE!” he yelled, to which I laughed and said, “I hate cheese!” Then he smiled and said, “cheeeeeese….BURGER!” LOL He went on and on with yelling out food and making me hungry. He really was a wonderful guy so full of joy and laughter.

This next family I had met last year during my special needs mini-sessions, and they returned again. Aren’t they a gorgeous family? Their little boy has autism and didn’t necessarily want to be still or look at me, but we got some wonderful family pictures anyway.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Brothers | Chicago Autism Photographer, Naperville Special Needs Photographer

I had the pleasure of photographing these two brothers last year during my special needs mini-sessions. This year, they opted for a full session, which we really needed. You see, both boys have autism. The older one is higher functioning and follows directions very well, but his younger brother is non-verbal and just had a rough go of it when he came into the studio. For the first 30-40 minutes, he just cried and yelled, so I worked with the older brother at that time. And when we were trying to get the younger brother to just come play on the bed, the older one was more than happy to take apart my fan and spin it. LOL Thankfully, he also knew how to put it back together. I wasn’t sure we would get anything of the younger brother at this point, so I recommended we go on a walk outside around town for a bit to hopefully calm him down. It worked! I got some smiles outside, and by the time we got back to the studio, he was ready to smile and go where I needed him. The result – you would never know how much work we had to do!

Downers Grove special needs photographer

Friday, April 26, 2013

Special Needs Mini-Sessions (part II) | Naperville special needs photographer

Here is the second half of my April 13th special needs mini-sessions. It was certainly a busy day!

This family was very fun. The older brother has autism. And the younger brother was just a ham.

These next brothers were a whole new level of energy. Both have atypical autism with very high energy levels, and one also has ADHD. While many kids with autism may be energetic in spurts, these two were on hyperdrive, but they were so hilarious. Sitting still wasn’t really an option, so we played and ran and jumped, and got some great smiles.

This next family was wonderful, and unique. The girls are identical twins, and at 9 years old, they were both non-verbal with autism. But the one in blue began talking this year. They believe it is from an Alzheimer’s medication she is on. I mention this because I had never heard of using Alzheimer’s medication for autism but found it fascinating. These girls loved to have tickle fights with their parents and each other. I think they would have stayed in that bed all day!

This next pretty lady is also non-verbal with autism. She wasn’t sure what to make of the big light, but followed directions wonderfully.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Special Needs mini-sessions (part 1) | Chicago special needs photographer

I’m busy editing away on my first day of special needs mini-sessions and wanted to share some. It was a wonderful day to get to photograph so many special needs families. By waiving my session fee and minimum order requirement, I was able to offer something to families who may not normally be able to use me. It also removed the anxiety about their children’s behavior. If it was a bad day, then they wouldn’t be out any money – just 20 minutes of their time. But on this day, we had nothing but good experiences.

My first one was with this handsome guy. He has autism, but did a wonderful job doing exactly as I said, including holding his baby sister. He had the biggest smile – as you can see in the last one.

My next session was with these three brothers. The older two really got a workout from their youngest brother who has autism and is non-verbal and was very excited. He didn’t stop moving and walking around, so I would tell the brothers to be ready and grab him and get close whenever the youngest would come near. Though it may look like he sat still for some pictures, that is the secret to my work – he wasn’t. He would be in the act of rolling over a brother or to get off the bed, and we’d get a single shot. Because that is all it takes – just one.

These next siblings were very sweet. Older sister was just beautiful, and I couldn’t help but snap at least one picture of just her. Her younger brother also has autism and is non-verbal. When he walked in, I said ‘hello”, and he reached for his computer device, clicked on it, and a computer voice responded, “hello”. He was a little uncertain about just sitting for me, so I had him sit and then run back and forth from the couch to give his parents hugs, which made him very happy. We had one bad moment where he bumped his feeding tube on his belly which hurt, but after a little break he was ready to play with his sister again.

The next set of brothers cracked me up. The younger brother has high-functioning autism and was a crack up. I understood him very well because he is a big Minecraft player, which is my son’s favorite game, too. This boy also loves the color green. He wore a green shirt, had green glasses, and when I asked where the green socks were, the mom confided that she didn’t let him wear them that day. So as a reward for being good, I let him sit on my green chair at the end.