Shanna Chess Photography

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! How are everyone’s preparations going? Shopping done, menus planned, list checked twice? Yeah, me neither. But that’s not to say that there hasn’t been some Christmas magic going on at my Eugene, Oregon photography studio ! I did my annual Christmas minis in early November and it went so well! I’m super excited to show you a few of the photos from this latest holiday-themed family photography collection. Enjoy!

Amber, Grant, and big sister Goldie brought in the beautiful new addition to their family last month for a newborn photography session. Glory is such a perfect little baby, and I can already tell she’s going to look so much like her sister. They have the same mouth and perfect lips!

I had so much fun doing this year’s Christmas mini photography sessions! This has become an annual tradition for me as a Eugene, Oregon photographer , and although it makes for a long and exhausting day, it is well worth it. Since many of my clients for Christmas minis participate in these holiday-themed family photography sessions every year, I try to switch things up each holiday season so we have different sets and themes to work with. I’ve done outdoor sessions in the past, but have been doing more and more in-studio Christmas photography over the past couple of years. It’s so much easier when you don’t have to plan around rainy Oregon weather!

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season and getting ready for Christmas! I did my Christmas minis last month in preparation for the many Christmas cards and holiday greetings that are sent out at this time of year, and the sessions went really well.

It was so fun to see this great family again! You may remember them from the Father’s Day family photography session I did with them back in June. We got some great pictures, so if you missed them, be sure to check them out here . We went to one of the covered bridges in southern Oregon and had lots of fun incorporating their passion for motorcycles into the photos.  This time around, Christina, Jesse, and their two children Lily and Theo came into my photography studio in Eugene, Oregon for a combination session of holiday family photographs with everybody and first birthday cake smash photos with just Theo. 

Now that it’s December ‘tis the season for Christmas-themed family photography sessions! Amber, Grant, and their daughter Goldie wanted a fun, Christmasy session, so that’s exactly what we did. I think these photos will make awesome holiday greeting cards. I know I would love to receive such a lighthearted picture in the mail to commemorate the season!  

I had a great time last month doing a family photography session with Christina, Jesse, and their two adorable children, Lily and Theo.  Christina wanted to do a special Father’s Day session as a gift to Jesse—which I think was such a fantastic idea! What better way to celebrate fatherhood than to give the gift of time with family, the creation of precious new memories, and a way to look back on those memories for years to come!

This was my 2nd year adding a day of indoor studio Christmas mini sessions.  I really enjoy doing them indoors so we don't have to stress about weather and we can do them a little closer to the holidays instead of right after Summer vacation :)  I had so much fun with these 12 families!  Enjoy and Happy Holidays :)

This sweet little family came to see me again and besides pictures on Facebook, I haven't seen Jensen since his newborn session.  He is so adorable and I just can't get over his outfits that his mama put him in!  We did a little bit of Fall and a little bit of Christmas for his session.  Enjoy!

I was so excited to use this location!  I usually go to different Christmas tree farms around the Eugene area and I like the setup to look different every year.  And on my way out to Belknap Hot Springs this Summer, I drove past Spring Creek Holly Farm and thought it would be a gorgeous backdrop for my outdoor minis.  It has a beautiful white farmhouse and white fence around the property.  Dick and Martha, the owners, are just an adorable couple and they were so happy to share their beautiful piece of this Earth with myself and my clients :) I decided to do outdoor sessions in October this year and loved the idea of making a make-shift bedroom in the middle of a Holly Farm.  So of course that meant Christmas Jammies!  Which are actually very difficult to find in October!  But many of my clients were able to and I just loved how they turned out.  And it was a beautiful Fall day so perfect weather!  Santa was even available again this year an...

My demand for Christmas minis is so high, that I decided to add a day of in-studio mini sessions.  This way I didn't have to worry about weather and was able to find a weekend that gave me enough time to edit the images so clients had them back in time to order Christmas cards.  I absolutely loved by backdrops and props for these sessions!  I think they turned out so adorable :)  Enjoy!

Erin and Eric are so excited Caleb's first Christmas and I loved being able to get some adorable shots of their little family and of Caleb.  Enjoy!

Mr. Alaric was so precious and I just wanted to nom on his little cheeks!  He gave me a little bit of a hard time falling asleep in the beginning of his session, but then he did great.  I loved using some of my Christmas props and finally had a chance to use my hot air balloon with a newborn :)  Enjoy!

It was so much fun to do a session with these two!  It is not often that I photograph older children and Michael is 7 and Rachel is 9.  And they are so sweet!  Very polite kids and so nice to each other.  They really love each other and I can only hope my kids get along so well when they are that age :)  We had some fun in the studio and got great pictures for their Christmas cards and some fun casual ones as well.  Enjoy!

Phew!  What a great last 2 weekends!  I had 22 mini sessions this year and unfortunately had to turn a few people away.  I just didn't think I could get everything edited in time for everyone to get their Christmas cards out.  But I'm so thankful for the success this year and couldn't have done it without all the amazing families that joined me out at Cheshire Knoll Christmas Tree Farm.  Michael and Bonnie are the owners and they are just the sweetest people!  They let me use their gorgeous property and let me store any items that I didn't want to haul back and forth since they are pretty far out :)  Please keep them in mind for your Christmas tree needs this year. And Santa was a hit!  He is just as amazing as we all thought Santa would be ;)  Please let me know if you need his number up at the North Pole--he is available for some appearances before the big day.  I had him hang out in the trees for the beginning of the sessions so I c...

I had 3 beautiful families sign up for my Easter Mini Sessions this past weekend.  They were my first photo shoots in my NEW STUDIO!  Ahh!  I'm so excited to have my own space.  And my husband is so excited that my plethora of props is out of our house :)  Stay tuned for a blog post with pretty pictures of my new cozy space. The kiddos loved the rocking chair--I use it with almost every session that has little ones.  They all love it!  And my bunny and chicks and plastic eggs were a hit too :)  I love how the set-up turned out and am really happy with how all the sessions went. Enjoy!

There are still some spots left for my Easter Mini Sessions on Saturday, March 29, 2014!  It will be my first day of official sessions in my new studio!!! I did an unofficial session the other day because I wanted to test the set-up for the Easter minis.  My beautiful daughter, Raelee was my model and I think she did wonderful, if I do say so myself :) Contact me today at shannachess@hotmail.com to book your spot!

I loved my set-up for my first set of Valentine's Mini Sessions--I only wish the weather was a little bit nicer to me this weekend!  Eugene has gotten more snow in the past few days than I have ever seen!  I've lived here for almost 12 years.  We got almost a foot of snow!  So of course, that made it a little difficult to get to the studio space I rented and in turn, it was difficult, or even impossible, for some clients to get to me.  I had 7 sessions scheduled and completed 5, so not too bad of a turnout :)  Thankfully, I am able to fit the other 2 clients in on a different date. I started the Valentine's set-up with my two daughters and they were followed by 3 beautiful families.  Enjoy!

I had the pleasure of photographing this beautiful family this weekend.  We had two locations in mind--an indoor and an outdoor.  We got lucky with a beautiful day!  No rain and it wasn't too cold for the little ones :)  We were all happy that we could get this session done in time for Christmas and I even was able to get it edited for them!  Enjoy!

I had such a great time photographing beautiful Jazmine.  Such a long and skinny little girl!  And oh, that black hair!!  To die for!  And of course I loved using some of my new props--especially my moon!  What a wonderful Christmas present for her family :)  Enjoy!