Dance 2XS Caliente | Salsa Dance Photographer
Clearly, I have a passion for photography, but what you may not know is that I also have a passion for Latin dance, especially salsa and bachata. There’s an AWESOME dance group through the university here called Dance 2XS Caliente, and I absolutely ADORE them. They put on a few free performances last night at Salsa Night at the Illini Union, and they were super hot and inspirational as always! Here are a few amazing moments from their performance:
The exciting part is that the fun is not over! Tonight is Bachata night! Resting up now for some more Latin fun. More awesome dance pictures to come!
xoxo,
Stephanie
Christina & Alexander | Mahomet, IL Family Photographer
This mother-son duo is wayyyy too adorable. Christina is a gorgeous mom, and her son is quite the blonde beauty. We had a fun time running around the park and jumping in the leaves for this one! There’s never a dull moment with this kid.
Piano and Violin Recital Portraits | Mahomet, IL Portrait Photographer
Last year, Stephanie Lee Music and Helen Lee Piano Studio teamed up for a winter recital. I took some portraits of the students, and here are a few of my favorites!
Luke & Rowena | San Deigo Wedding Photographer
When Rowena sent me the engagement announcement email with pictures of the lilies that Luke, a close college friend, had filled their apartment with for their marriage proposal, I was ecstatic! Even though I didn’t go to college with Row, I have had the opportunity of meeting her and hanging out a handful of times all over the country throughout her relationship with Luke. She is a driven, intelligent woman who has found much success in her career with Google in just a few years–a perfect match for Luke who has always been quite on the brainy side. When they asked me to photograph their wedding, I was completely honored and excited! It was a beautiful beach park wedding in La Jolla, not far from San Diego, California. They had their reception at Stone Brewery in Escondido and rented a school bus to cart all of the guests over and back so we could drink to delight! We were fortunate enough to get a quick 10 minutes inside the brewery for awesome pics, and had a wonderful time in the gardens sharing food, drinks, and laughter in the cool evening.
Congratulations, Row and Luke, and thank you so much for letting me a part of your special day as your wedding photographer!
Taneka & Brain | Chicago, IL Wedding Photographer
Taneka and Brian are an adorably fun couple, and I had so much fun hanging out with them on their wedding day! I went to college with Taneka, so it was so fun meeting up with her again! Coincidentally, she found my partner, Adhikari Photography, so I had the pleasure of second shooting with him. I had some fun w/ the postprocessing, so I hope you enjoy my take of this lovely Chicago wedding!
As you can see by all the smiles and hugs, it was a wedding full of love and laughter. Thanks, Taneka and Brian for letting me be a part of your special day and best wishes to you both in a long life together!
xoxo,
Stephanie
Latin Night at Cowboy Monkey | Champaign, IL Salsa Dance Photographer
I’ve recently added salsa dancing to my repertoire of hobbies, and it has been such a joy getting in touch with my Latin roots. (Okay, well, I don’t actually have Latin roots, but I like to think I do…at least maybe in another life?) 🙂 Anyway, I’ve met some amazing (and beautiful) dancers in this town, and here are just a few whom I got the pleasure of capturing last night with the lighting collaboration of my fellow photographer and salsa dancer, Ariel.
We have a collaborative salsa dance photo project including professional henna, makeup, and hair artists in the early stages of planning. I can’t wait! Until then, stay posted for more photos soon to come!
Ahmad Jamal & SOM | Krannert Center, Urbana IL
One of my favorite places in town is the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. We are privileged to have hundreds of incredible performances by extremely talented artists every year right here in Chambana. One of the more recent shows I enjoyed was Jazz artist, Ahmad Jamal, followed by Snehasish Mozumder and Sound of Mandolin. Both performances were exceptionally inspiring and full of life. Ahmad Jamal’s quadruple encore was icing on the cake. Here’s a shot I snuck of Mr. Jamal (don’t tell!) that I absolutely love:
And since photographs outside the concert hall were permitted, I took more liberties with the Snehasish Mozumder and SOM performance:
They were so passionate and absorbed in the music that you can literally see the music on their faces! Love love love it. Thank you to the wonderful musicians for sharing the beautiful sounds of your soul.
Isabel | Urbana, IL Senior Portrait Photography
It was such an honor to do this photo shoot! Isabel and her sister, Danika, drove all the way to Champaign Urbana from Joliet / Coal City for this special senior shoot! It was a gift from Danika to her little sis, and I was more than happy to be the catalyst for the gift! I don’t know where to begin with describing what a great model Isabel is. Her eyes, her figure, her amazing fashion sense, her adorable smile…I guess I’ll just have to let the pictures tell the rest!
Special thanks to the lovely and talented Zach Darzell for second shooting/assisting!
Also, be sure to leave a message in the Facebook box below! 15 Facebook comments on this post gets Isabel and her family a free 5×7 print! And don’t forget to “like” Stephanie Lee Photography on Facebook for more amazing images!
<3 Stephanie Lee
