As a leading Chicago newborn photographer, Shalimar Beekman seeks to create lasting memories through well-designed, thoughtfully crafted imagery.  To create these images, Shalimar works closely with the mother to ensure the newborn baby is comfortable and at ease – helping to ensure the newborn photos clearly reflect the unique personality of the subject.  With carefully selected backgrounds, treatments, and color accents, the imagery puts the newborn at the focal point of photo.  Shalimar's careful attention to treatments, textures, and clothing make her subjects shine as she helps capture that perfect moment in a child's life.

What is Newborn Photography

Newborn photography typically occurs in a warm, controlled, indoor environment.  The purpose behind this is to ensure the newborn is first and foremost comfortable.  Secondly, it enables nearly all elements of the photo shoot to be influenced, modified or changed in a manner that help produce the best results possible. In most cases, when conducting a newborn photography session, a large amount of supplemental props may be necessary.  These pieces are required to help produce the controlled results of a great newborn photography image.  This expansive amount of  usually includes soft bedding, infant head wear or hats, heating pads, cameras, wide and narrow angle lens, light and dark backdrops, basic or advanced studio lighting systems, dome lights, hot lamps, lighting accessories, umbrellas, flash meters and a newborn photography assistant. With diligent preparation and attention to detail, an experienced Chicago newborn photographer will produce memorable images that last a lifetime.

As a baby photographer in Chicago, Shalimar Beekman works with her young subjects to create lasting and memorable imagery. Through an easy-going attitude and approach, Shalimar leverages a babies' inquisitive nature and energy to bring out the most in her photo subjects. In reviewing her infant photography portfolio, one can see the level of effort and skill that Shalimar utilizes in bringing her subject to life and helping to expose their cute personalities, emotions, and unique facial expressions.

What is Baby Photography

A baby photographer seeks to capture the energy and emotion of young children as they learn about and explore the world around them. Given babies are inherently unpredictable, sometimes temperamental and always on-the-go, baby photography can be a challenging endeavor. In crafting the perfect baby photo, the goal is to work quickly and efficiently to catch the subject when they're most comfortable and in a playful mood. By acting in tandem with the baby, the Chicago infant photographer can help capture imagery that most closely represents the unique personality of the photographed subject.  Many baby photographers and infant photographers in Chicago have utilized this technique; and, many agree, it's one of the best ways to help ensure a baby photo is the highest quality possible.

As a child photographer in Chicago, Shalimar Beekman is always looking to bring out the most of her photo subjects. Whether it's the child's boundless energy, unique personality, or unfiltered emotions, Shalimar captures those special moments so they can last a lifetime and be remembered for years to come.  As a mother a two young boys, Shalimar understands how to bring the most out of the children she photographs. Part patience, part negotiation, part charm – Shalimar uses her bag of tricks to help make the child feel at ease. To see a small glimpse of her child photography portfolio and get a better understanding of how she approaches her work, view the children's photographer gallery above.

What is Child Photography

In most instances, child photographers in Chicago will work with their young subjects in a manner that best captures their limitless expressions, growing personalities, and wide-ranging emotions.  By catering to the free and unstructured nature of children, individuals who specialize in child photography allow the photographed child to move act in a manner that is most comfortable to them. The goal of child photography is to create imagery that accurately represents who the subject is – in a way that's unfiltered, uninhibited and unencumbered.  Through careful observance, slight guidance, and astute timing, a high quality child photographer will produce work that really makes the child shine (and the parents beam with delight).

In addition to producing an extensive amount of color photography works, Shalimar Beekman also creates award-winning imagery as a black and white photographer.  By focusing her efforts in a monochrome format, Shalimar can bring out the most in her subjects through innovative shading, diligent lighting and expert timing. Within her Chicago black and white photography gallery above, Shalimar shows a sampling of her photos featuring babies, children, pregnant mothers and families.

What is Black and White Photography

A black and white photographer forgoes color photography for a colorless approach that really lets the subject shine – focusing on an individuals facial expressions, body language and demeanor and doing away with the potentially distracting nature of color photography.  The goal in creating black & white photography is to enable the person's face and expressions to be the predominant focal point within the image.  Not dissimilar from other forms of photography approaches, black and white photographers will make extensive use of artificial, natural, reflected lighting and other light directional treatments.  These photo techniques will appear more prominently within a black and white photo image helping to highlight the foreground, the background and other assorted elements that may appear within the image.

In most cases, black and white photographers create images that are timeless in nature and can live on for decades to come. Unlike their color photography brethren, black and white images present an non-distracting view of subjects at their purest.

In capturing her subject's emotion and personality as a Chicago portrait photographer, Shalimar Beekman works diligently to bring out the most of her subjects.  As can be seen in her Chicago portrait photography gallery above, she takes great pride in bringing the subject to life, helping expose the innermost soul through their brilliant eyes and facial expressions.

What is Portrait Photography

A portrait photographer works to capture a person's personality, expression or emotion by photographing thier face as the primary focal point in the image.  The goal of photo is to ensure the face and expression is the predominant feature in the image where the likeness, mood or personality clearly represents the subject matter. Similar to other types of photography, portrait photographers may include objects that include more than the person's face. These items may feature the person's body, the foreground, the background and other assorted imagery.

Typically, portraiture photography is not a traditional snapshot, but rather a comprehensive and well-structured image of a person or small group of people in a static, non-moving position.  Usually, a portrait shows an individual that is looking directly into the lens of the camera.

Although nature can provide a great backdrop, Shalimar sometimes chooses to leverage her talents as a Chicago studio photographer to bring out the most of her subjects.  Through careful setup, diligent planning and by working closely with the individual or small group that will be featured in the studio photography, Shalimar uses the latest lighting technologies and textured backgrounds.  Her careful attention to treatments, clothing and supplemental props make her subjects the focal point of the studio photos – capturing a perfect moment in time.

What is Studio Photography

Studio photography occurs in a controlled environment where nearly all elements of the photo shoot can be influenced, modified or changed in a manner that produces a desired result.  Typically, when conducting a studio photography session, a large amount of photography equipment is needed.  This equipment is what is required to produce the controlled results of a great studio photography image.  This extensive amount of equipment usually includes digital cameras, numerous lens, camera tripods, basic or more advanced studio lighting systems, strobe or dome lights, hot lamps, countless lighting stands, light umbrellas, flash meters, large backdrops of seamless paper or fabric, and an assistant or two.  At the end of the day, these extraordinary efforts help to produce memorable images that last a lifetime.

Capturing those special memories of pregnancy are an important part of every mother's life.  As a Chicago pregnancy photographer, Shalimar Beekman works with her maternity clients to careful plan and compose the photo session.  Her goal is to make the mother feel at ease as she creates the images that will last a lifetime.  View the images above to get a better understanding of how the feelings of pregnancy can be captured, shared and retained.  Through a skills of a Chicago pregnancy photographer, the subject will be able to share her great photos with family members, friends, and the most important person, the one that will be arriving in the very near future.

What is Pregnancy Photography

A pregnancy photographer has a very special role as they work to capture the memories, expression and emotion of a soon-to-be mother.  The period right before birth is filled with anticipation and excitement – as the parents begin efforts to prepare for the impending arrival of a little boy, girl or maybe more.

In short, the goal of pregnancy photography is to stop time, for that one moment, and gather the images that define this important stage of life. The images that result from these sessions are more than just traditional snapshots.  They're a well-designed, thoughtfully conceived set of images that represent the mindset of maternity, pregnancy and a pregnant mother's understanding that life will soon be changing as they bring someone into this world.

In leveraging her skills as a Chicago nature photographer, Shalimar focuses on utilizing the beauty of the great outdoors to make her photo subjects look great, feel great and appear at ease.  She's brings out their best qualities through careful lighting, subtle direction and letting individuals move freely as she captures their emotion, personality and inflections.  Regardless of the season, whether its winter, spring, summer or fall, Shalimar uses nature to enhance the quality of the image – creating a piece of art that will be timeless for years to come.  Preview her nature photographer gallery above to see examples of this great work.

What is Nature Photography

At its essence, nature photography involves using the physical elements of the world to better the overall quality of the photography image. It uses specialized sunlight highlights, reflections, shadows and shading to frame the subject in a manner that's not possible in a traditional studio setting. Furthering this eye-catching visual design approach, nature photography leverages landscape oriented elements such as trees, flowers, grass, earth and water to add a dynamic approach to the Chicago nature photographer session. Nature photography in an outdoor setting brings a whole new vantage point to how the subject is captured and, when used effectively, allows the photographed individual to be the focal point for all to see and admire.

As a leading Chicago lifestyle photographer, Shalimar seeks to bring out the best of her subject's personality, interests and emotion through the use of well-crafted, lifestyle oriented imagery. Through the use of natural photography settings, on-location and in-studio photo sessions, she uses real-life approaches in shaping the lifestyle photography.  This results in crafting a visual image that portrays her subjects in a manner that accurately reflects who they are. View Shalimar's Chicago lifestyle photography gallery above as she brings out the best in her subjects and works to expose their strongest qualities and personality characteristics.

What is Lifestyle Photography

At its core, lifestyle photography is a style of photography that focuses on portraying real-life situations in a measured, coordinated, and controlled setting.  Through lighting approaches that use a bright, nature and airy-type look and feel, lifestyle photography is commonly utilized as the primary photography approach in widely distributed magazines, fashion-oriented photography, and advertising photos. By featuring photography subjects in a highly controllable setting, a Chicago lifestyle photographer can create an image that clearly reflects a desired mood, emotion or desired treatment – highlighting the individual, product or subject in a way to brings out its best qualities. In the end, its about crafting a photographic story that conveys a specific message or feeling about the person highlighted in the image.

As a Chicago family photographer, Shalimar enjoys working with families to help craft that perfect photo – one that helps capture the various personalities that make a family unique unto itself.  By getting to know her subjects, how they interact and what makes each person special, Shalimar can help devise a photo session that will ensure she captures each subject's compelling qualities and characteristics. In the gallery above, one can get a better understanding of what makes Shalimar a leading Chicago family photographer.

What is Family Photography

Family photography is memorable. It lasts a lifetime. It helps capture the memories, personalities, and unique attributes of a group that are tied together via genetics and DNA.  Family photographers work to capture each individual's personality and characteristics - crafting a visual representation that binds the group into a seamless expression that's exhibited through a single photograph (or, collection of photographs). The goal of family photography is to ensure the group's faces and expressions are the predominant features within the image. Getting these various individuals to work in concert with one another is where a skilled photographer's expertise shines.  When it comes together, the results of a well designed family photography image can be impressive.