Wedding Photographers Chicago | Melissa Diep Photography | Blog

Jamie and Shawn knew from the start that they wanted to design a vintage-themed family shoot. They’ve always joked that their 10-month old son, Maxwell, looks like one of those sepia-toned babies you see on vintage milk cartons. Inspired by the most incredible old school desk they found for Maxwell at Randolph Street Market, and with the help of the talented Elaine from Shadowbox Dreams, they created a charming scene at the historic Pulaski Fieldhouse in Wicker Park. With church bells ringing nearby, and the slightly eerie fieldhouse as a backdrop, it felt like we had stepped back in time!

Maxwell was one tough client. He’s a very cute, very serious baby (in fact, Jamie and Shawn’s favorite thing to coo at him is, “Why. So. Serious?!”), and quite amazingly, the only thumb-sucker I have photographed to date!

Jamie’s eye for detail comes from her professional background in art direction and design. She added some of her own signature touches, like well-worn blocks the couple had collected from The Vintage Bazaar two years ago––before they were pregnant!––and a bunch of No. 2 pencils. Sharpened, of course.

Maxwell’s Daddy had this way of flying him up high in the air and whirling him around until he would finally let out an impish, little laugh.

And obviously, a vintage baby wouldn’t be complete without stylish duds like a denim bowtie, striped suspenders, and classic Levi’s!

A stately wooden trunk, a pile of leather suitcases, and whimsical children’s toys provided by Shadowbox Dreams rounded out Jamie’s vintage vision for the shoot.

Jamie told me that this family shoot was especially meaningful to have it take place right in their very own Wicker Park neighborhood of five years––and in the city where Maxwell was born––the couple announced recently they are moving their little family to the nation’s capitol in less than a couple months!

Good luck, Jamie, Shawn and Maxwell! It was a pleasure to send off your little family with some beloved memories of your Chicago!

xo, Melissa

 

This beautiful, little family just so happens to belong to my youngest brother, Minh. Elia is the baby of the family––she turns one this week! If that isn’t the perfect occasion for cheeky smiles, sweet braids, and tutus, then I don’t know what is! Elia loves the color red and fresh blueberries. Her all-time fave thing to wear is a onesie, although for this special shoot, her mum insisted on something just a wee bit fancier!

Mekhi is Elia’s big brother. At almost-four years old, he loves to show his ‘lil sis the world. His favorite thing to do with Dad is to go to Jamba Juice. He loves to rock out to Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” and if you ask him what his favorite toy is currently, that would be his “morphers”––stackable toys that he pretends can morph into other things!Minh and his wife, Angela, have been married for four years. They make beautiful babies, clearly, and we’re all wondering when they’ll have another! The family laid down roots in Palatine, but they’re naturally at home, too, in the city of Chicago, where this shoot took place. Really, who else can make a Victorian couch* look so perfectly normal, right smack in the middle of a city park?

Mekhi is pouting because he wanted to play in the park after the shoot and I said no. The next one is of him smiling and that’s because I finally agreed after he started crying. (I mean, how can you say no to a face like this? I’m the cool Auntie, I get to spoil him!)

Love you guys!

xo, Melissa

*All furniture and decor styling by Shadowbox Dreams.