Tremper Senior | Jazz Peavy signs to be a Badger

The countdown to graduation is certainly on for this decorated senior. Jazz Peavy will only have a couple days in between his last day at Tremper High School (Kenosha, WI) and the first day he reports to the football stadium at UW-Madison.

Back in April, Jazz was the top performer at the Chicago Nike Combine with a SPARQ score of 122.52. (The runner up had a score of 115.86.) Ridiculous performance! You can read all the details and watch his ESPN interview video here. At that time, he was in conversation with Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State and Northwestern. Since then, he has received official offers to play at Wisconsin, Central Michigan, Minnesota and Wyoming, but he ultimately signed in June to be a Badger!

It was a pleasure for us to photograph Jazz. He's a really cool guy, and very humble. As soon as we saw him, we knew he was obviously super athletic, but until we asked the right questions, we didn't even know his plans to be a receiver at Madison. Pretty cool! ....And, we're really pleased with how these shots came out, too. Lookin' like an Adidas, Nike or Under Armor athlete you'd see on a giant wall graphic in a store somewhere. Ha!

Meet Jazz...

SeniorsAmberMay 17, 2013Tremper, Kenosha, UW Madison, Badgers, footballComment

Christian Life Senior | Not afraid to play in the rain

Megan is a senior at Christian Life School (Kenosha, WI). Nothing stands in this girl's way—not even rain on the day of her portrait session! Her sweet family attends our church and I'm so blessed to have gotten to know Megan over the past five years. We've shared mission trip adventures together, youth retreats and so many laughs. Megan has a great sense of humor and a good head on her shoulders. For the sake of these senior portraits, it certainly helps that she's gorgeous, too! We had so much fun dodging rain drops and splashing around during this shoot! Check out Megan's story...

SeniorsAmberMay 16, 2013Christian Life School, Kenosha, Petrifying Springs Park, Fall, RainComment

Minimalist Bible: Cain and Abel

I've been a big fan of the minimalist poster designs. Taking something as complex as a person or a movie and stripping it down to one powerful graphical element that is instantly recognizable. I wanted to do something unique; something that had never been done before. So God hit me alongside the head with an idea: Bible stories. If you wish to see the previous posters, check them out under the tag Minimalist Bible.

For the past couple months, I have been unveiling my original minimalist poster series focused on Bible stories. Today I'm excited to release the eleventh poster of the series, Cain & Able.

DesignChadMay 15, 2013minimalist poster, bible, minimalist bible, cain, creation, fall of man, abel Comments

Bradford Senior | Laughter, Ukuleles & Monkey Toes

Meet Selena. You can find her pretty red hair and contagious smile at Bradford High School (Kenosha, WI) for a little while longer. Selena is graduating soon! It was a true pleasure to get to know her at her senior portrait session. She's one of the most unique people I've met, with lots of hidden talents and hobbies that make her who she is. Selena had some fun ideas for shots that made her session memorable and special. Read and see why we fell in love with Selena...

SeniorsAmberMay 14, 2013Kenosha, Bradford HS, Petrifying Springs Park, Lake MichiganComment

Reconnected, Inspired, Empowered | CONNECT Retreat for photographers

Last week, Chad and I had the unbelievable opportunity to be at the very first CONNECT Retreat, a marriage retreat for photographers. Being with 42 other creative couples at the WinShape Retreat Center in Rome, GA is now the highlight of my year—we returned changed & motivated for the future, but even for the day-to-day. It was a unique chance to meet people we deeply admire in our industry, completely unplug from phones / internet, get to know others in our shoes from across the continent and worship Jesus with them, totally out of context from any kind of church setting. We love our friends and family, but we realize it's hard for them to understand us "Professional Creatives". Ha! Also, none of them have their spouse as their coworker... We definitely felt at home on this CONNECT Retreat. :)

Check out these photos and read all about it...

Chad & AmberAmberMay 9, 2013CONNECT Retreat, travel, personal, Marriage Comments

Minimalist Bible: Fall of Man

I've been a big fan of the minimalist poster designs. Taking something as complex as a person or a movie and stripping it down to one powerful graphical element that is instantly recognizable. I wanted to do something unique; something that had never been done before. So God hit me alongside the head with an idea: Bible stories. If you wish to see the previous posters, check out Creation Day 1, Creation Day 2, Creation Day 3, Creation Day 4, Creation Day 5, Creation Day 6, and Creation Day 7 now.

For the past couple months, I have been unveiling my original minimalist poster series focused on Bible stories. Today I'm excited to release the tenth poster of the series, Fall of Man.

DesignChadMay 8, 2013minimalist bible, fall of man, creation, bible, minimalist posterComment

Minimalist Bible: Creation Day 7

I've been a big fan of the minimalist poster designs. Taking something as complex as a person or a movie and stripping it down to one powerful graphical element that is instantly recognizable. I wanted to do something unique; something that had never been done before. So God hit me alongside the head with an idea: Bible stories. If you wish to see the previous posters, check out Creation Day 1, Creation Day 2, Creation Day 3, Creation Day 4, Creation Day 5, and Creation Day 6 now.

Each Wednesday over the last few weeks, I have been unveiling my original minimalist poster series focused on the Creation story. Today I'm excited to release the ninth poster of the series, Creation Day 7.

DesignChadMay 1, 2013minimalist poster, creation, bible, minimalist bibleComment

EUM – Young Adults Ministry

We are so excited to be a part of the Young Adults Ministry movement at Evangelical United Methodist Church (EUM). God truly breathed life into this new ministry with an amazing staff leader—Mitch Buenger—and some amazing Young Adult volunteers. It has been really cool to work with Mitch and EUM to create an identity for this ministry from the ground up.

Read all about the creative process and this new ministry that we love...

DesignChadApril 30, 2013ministry, EUM, Young Adults Ministry, church, identityComment

Using our gifts and pink boas to serve

On Saturday, we had the opportunity to work with our dear friend, Laura Juranek. She is an Intervarsity staff worker at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) where she started a campus chapter a couple years ago. The college students, all being artists, wanted to find a way to give back & serve their community together using their gifts and talents. Kelly, a freshman in the chapter, is even giving a presentation in a couple of days about the importance and impact of people simply investing their time & energy back into their communities—and also what that could look like from the artist's perspective.

Read about the idea the action step the MIAD students came up with and the sweet moments that unfolded...

Chad & AmberAmberApril 29, 2013Help Portrait, MIAD, Milwaukee, Serving, Photography, The Neighborhood HouseComment

Suzanne is stunning | Tremper Senior

This Tremper senior is one of the prettiest I've ever photographed.... I'm not even exaggerating! Suzanne is beautiful and after hanging out with her, we quickly found out that her personality matches.

You'd never guess that the day of her session was as cold as it was—she was a good sport, especially in her gorgeous homecoming dress. It was totally worth it, too. Her shots are stunning. Check out the highlights...

SeniorsAmberApril 26, 2013Tremper, Kemper Center, Kenosha, Fall, High School, High School Senior Story, senior session, Senior StoryComment

EUM Church – Youth Fundraiser Redesign

Our church has a wonderful youth ministry that is lead by amazing leaders. We had the honor to partner with them to help give a new look to a great tradition at Evangelical United Methodist Church (EUM). In the past, EUM's Dessert Derby was held after church and was crammed into a 2 hour event with dinner, bid items and youth stories. Well, EUM started to grow, rapidly and the staff at EUM had to make a decision that instead of two services on Sunday there would be three. With the new Sunday schedule, Dessert Derby need to find a new time and even a new date.

DesignChadApril 25, 2013ministry, church, website, fundraiser, EUM, invitationComment

Minimalist Bible: Creation Day 6

I've been a big fan of the minimalist poster designs. Taking something as complex as a person or a movie and stripping it down to one powerful graphical element that is instantly recognizable. I wanted to do something unique; something that had never been done before. So God hit me alongside the head with an idea: Bible stories. If you wish to see the previous posters, check out Creation Day 1, Creation Day 2, Creation Day 3, Creation Day 4, and Creation Day 5 now.

Each Wednesday over the last few weeks, I have been unveiling my original minimalist poster series focused on the Creation story. Today I'm excited to release the seventh and eighth posters of the series, Creation Day 6 – Part 1 and Creation Day 6 – Part 2.

DesignChadApril 24, 2013minimalist poster, bible, creation, minimalist bible Comments

Layne, the little fighter

Three years ago, my cousin Katie & her husband Jeff had their first son, Layne. There was just one problem—Layne was born 10 weeks early. It was quite the surprise to everyone and he spent a lot of time in the hospital hooked up to all kinds of machines, literally fighting for life.

This little fighter survived, with much thanks to the March of Dimes. Read about what Layne and his family are up to in 5 days...

DesignAmberApril 23, 2013cause, family, illustration, t-shirt, March of DimesComment

All about Dance, Design and Disney

Becca is a senior this year at Indian Trail Academy (Kenosha, WI). She has been soaking in her high school experience, making memories and dreaming big for her future. We had so much fun with her during this senior portrait session—she's all smiles, all the time. Love her personality!

Get to know Becca as you take a look at these highlights...

Horlick Senior: Ambitious photographer, influencer, friend

If you live in the Kenosha/Racine area, chances are, you've heard of Thomas Stark. I have to say, I'm honored to have gotten to know him so well over the last few years. He's a senior at Horlick HS (Racine) but his influence reaches far beyond the walls of his school. Many know him either from Kayne's Coffee & Custard or Wells Brothers Pizza. I met him through youth group and we were instant photography buddies :)

Get to know Thomas and enjoy these highlights from his Senior Portrait Session...

SeniorsAmberApril 18, 2013Racine, Horlick HS, senior session, Senior Story, High School Senior Story, High SchoolComment