Their story is too cute. Melissa was approached by a friend at work asking if she was available because he knew a guy she just had to meet. After hearing all the details about his friend, Ben, her reply was "Is he funny? He has to be funny?" Her friend said assured her he was and told her to watch for an email from him. Well, an email from Ben arrived asking her if they could set a time to meet so they could discuss his love for fake gold jewelry, hair gel and tanning, Melissa realized her friend had set her up with a down-to-earth and fun-loving guy!

After their 1st date at the Trump Tower Chicago - Rebar Lounge, they set another date, and another. The rest is history!

Ohhhh, I just couldn't be more excited to share the engagement session of Melissa and Ben! They started at the Chicago Cultural Center and can I just say........ what a beautiful venue!!!

Melissa & Ben, you both are incredibly beautiful and so sweet. I can't wait for your wedding!!!

Enjoy!

~ Dawn

We've always dreamed of having the cover of Rangefinder magazine one day. Well, never did we dream WE would be on the cover! It's really not fair, I say. Our Italian book company, GraphiStudio asked us to have our photo taken by the talented Michael Greenberg, along with a select group of very talented photographers. Of course we said okay, not knowing why. Well, if I would have known why, I may not have wanted Bob to be shrinkwrapped. Don't ask...... oh geez! Here's the cover and I'm so excited that we are part of it.

I am in awe the clients that God brings into our lives. We met Taylor & Scott through their event planner, Jan Ehrenberg of Parties, Events & More. Thank you Jan! Taylor and her family are the sweetest people on earth. I can't wait for their wedding this Sunday. YES, I said it..... this Sunday. And YES, it took me this long to blog their engagement session. I know... I know... I'm a procrastinator. Actually, I'm a mom and that keeps me busy on top of running an incredible business. Oh and let's not forget to mention that I have 3 kids (which includes my husband!).

It was a beautiful Fall day. We met Taylor & Scott at the Chicago Botanic Garden where we got some spectacular photos and then headed downtown Chicago to do some night shots. So much fun!!! Ican't wait to share images from their wedding. Bob just photographed Taylor's dress fitting yesterday and OMG....... you are not going to want to miss seeing her dress! I promise not to wait long!

Love to you all....

~ Dawn

I'm loving this lifestyle session with Lauren + Ryan. They are the sweetest couple and so beautiful. Lauren modeled for us at one of our workshops and I just feel in love with her. Her & Ryan just had a baby, Noah Ryan, prematurely. He is just over a pound so your prayers would be greatly appreciated. He's beautiful and he's doing well. It's hard to believe Lauren was 4 months pregnant in these photos. They are going to be the best parents ever!

I've always wanted Bob to photograph at this old run down church, in Gary, IN. It was once a beautiful place to worship and is now considered to be a ruin. It was badly damaged in a fire in 1997. So very sad. It makes for a very unique place to shoot.

We hope you enjoy some images from their lifestyle session.

Enjoy!

~ Dawn + Bob

Just because your camera can shoot at a crazy high ISO doesn't mean the quality of LIGHT is good.  Bob will go through the evolution of light using small speed lights, direct flash, bounce flash and multiple wireless remote flashes, and show you how to create studio quality light anywhere, anytime, as shown in the helicopter photo above.

Attract clients that appreciate you as an artist. Raise your prices successfully without losing your client referral base. Get your work published.  Be confident at sales meetings. Dawn will be thoroughly covering these topics, their workflow, retouching, and sharing how they grew their small town business into a high-end, low volume signature brand and how YOU can too.

Another successful DAVIS LOVE STORY WORKSHOP that happened in Hinsdale, IL March 23-24, 2011. We rented a beautiful historic studio which once was an old movie theater to host our workshop at. It was crazy cool and I think all of us agreed it would make the most amazing photography studio. In fact, I think there were about 5 of us that said we'd go in on it together! I love to dream!!!

We had the most amazing group of photographers with us again! Joel Alonzo, Tricia Hanson and Hannah Anderson, Chris Blake, Gaynor Eisenberg, Jenny Kenney, Vito Radchenko, Josh Resar. We always say that God knows exactly the right amount of people to bless us with and he brought us some pretty incredible people to spend 2 wonderful days with.

A huge thank to our Operations Manager, Michele Gonzalez. I don't thank her enough. If it weren't for her, I'd be seriously lost. She is so instrumental in our business and she helps us prepare for our workshops. She does so much for us, I just can't thank her enough. We love you Michele!!! She spends hours behind the scenes making it all come together beautifully. She organized the meals which were sponsored by our amazing vendors, Pictage, Photographer's Edit, Pixel2Canvas. Thank you to our vendors who shouted out about our workshop and supplied us with goodies to give away, FJ Wesctott, Camera Bits, Radiopoppers, and Showit. We could not surrounded by more amazing vendors who are vital to our success. Make sure to check them out! And lastly, a big thank you to Angie Garbot and Jenn Gaudreau for all your help during the workshop. You are both incredible people, talented photographers, and dear friends!!!

We are incredibly grateful to have you all at our workshop. For believing and investing in us. Remember, just because the workshop is over, doesn't mean it's over for us. We are here for you and we want you to succeed. Call us if you need anything!

We love you guys!!!

~ Dawn and Bob

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MODELS:
Gigi Schiller
Cole Pellock
Jenna Martinelli
Lauren Ashley
Suzanne Plahm


HAIR/MAKEUP ARTIST:
Jaycie Kurfess

What a fun celebration Chase's Bar Mitzvah was for everyone! The service was at Am Shalom and the celebration was at Ravenswood Billboard Factory. Simply an amazing atrium and loft space. Chase's family sure knows how to throw a party! And with the help of Reva Nathan and Associates, everything was perfect!!!

A big thank you to our sweet friend and talented 2nd Shooter, Heidi Morgan. We love you!!!

We hope you enjoy the photos. Have a great weekend everyone!

~ Dawn and Bob

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Kudos to all the vendors involved...!!!

Event Planner: Reva Nathan & Associates
Service: Am Shalom
Celebration: Ravenswood Billboard Factory
Event Design: Kehoe
Linens & Catering: Catering by Michael's
Lighting: Frost Lighting
Entertainment: Flow Entertainment

This was such an honor for us to be featured in Rangefinder Magazine in the big WPPI Wedding Issue, February 2011. It was incredible timing as we spoke at WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) this year at a Platform class that held 1,000 people. OMG... I was so nervous, I talked so fast that poor Bob didn't get a work in edgewise! I was trying to get 8 hours of material into 2 hours. I need to work on that. It was an amazing opportunity, one that Bob and I will be forever grateful. Thank you to everyone who came and heard us speak. You guys rock our world!!!

Our photo also graced the cover of the WPPI Show Guide. A huge thank you to George Varanakis, Arlene Evans, and Kate Volpe for giving us this honor. And a heartfelt thank you to Peter Kotsinadelis for writing such a wonderful article about us! Photographers, if you are not subscribed to this magazine, you're missing out.

To top things off, Canon used another one of Bob's photos (of Rebecca & Kenny) in a Rangefinder Ad. Thank you Robert Schall for all your kindnesses!!!

Humbled beyond belief...

~ Dawn and Bob

It's been a whirlwind year so far and it's only March! I don't even know where to begin to say how incredibly grateful we are to have the love and support from our family, friends and photographers around the world. There are days I sit in my closet, I know weird but it's where I get the most quiet time, and pray to God for forgiveness because maybe I haven't used my words with Grace or that I got upset because I had to get up again and let the dog in and his paws were slathered in mud. I'm am not perfect, I have so many flaws.

But mostly, I'm thankful to God for all the blessings He has brought our way. We are truly fortunate to have found our God given talents and even more so that we can share them with others. I am forever indebted to Him. I praise Him like no other.

Our faith is by far most important to us. And our family, well, they are so incredibly special to us. Sometimes, I know I'm hardest on my family. So, I feel so blessed that they love me so much. I love them too. My mom is the most incredible woman I know. She is strong and stubborn, I'm much like her. We are both so blessed to have incredibly patient husbands. My dad, my hero, passed away in 1996. I know he knew I was in good hands with Bob. He also knew that my mom's husband, my stepdad, was the next best thing to a real dad to me. I am in good hands indeed.

I wanted to share some long over due photos from our Dude Ranch trip we took last Labor Day with my parents. My mom turned 75 that weekend and she was riding horses. Amen!!!

YOU CAN SEE A TON MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS TRIP ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE HERE.

Wishing everyone a beautiful weekend...!

xoxoxo

~ Dawn

Ps: Thanks to Pixel 2 Canvas, I sent my Mom and Dad a huge canvas for Christmas!

Many of you know that our children are adopted. They are biological siblings from Chisinau, Moldova. We've been a forever family for 9 years now. It's hard to believe it's gone by so fast.

Every year we take a photo of Bobby and Alli on the same day February 13. The first one was taken in 2002 at Casa de Copii, the orphanage they lived in. Every year on that same day, Bob takes the same photo of them with Papusheka (Alli's little doll). It was the first gift we ever gave her.

We have our adoption video on our website if you're interested...
https://bobanddawndavis.com/about-us/#adoption-video

No laughing at my clothes or my dancing! And bring tissues... don't say I didn't warn you!