With a plethora of talented photographers (and some that are not so talented) in Chicago, choosing…read moreone that suits your specific needs is a lot like asking multiple pizza chefs to make their spin on pizza with your specifications. Even if you give all of them the same amount of cheese, flour, meats, veggies, yeast, and other raw ingredients - it's possible and even probable that you'd get differing end results. Choosing a photographer for our engagement session was a similar task, but I had the good fortune of being introduced to Liesl awhile back without actually knowing that she was a photographer. Imagine my surprise and relief while looking for photographers when I saw Liesl Diesel Photography come up. Onwards... Timeliness of Response through Website: 5 out of 5 For photographers, I imagine that time is worth a good deal of money. Even for clients like us who weren't looking to spend all the cash money on the Diesel package that she offers, engagement photo sessions can provide a steady stream of yearly income. Wanting to be as professional as possible, I e-mailed Liesl through her website, and got a preliminary response within 2 hours, which I believe to be reasonable. Had she left me hanging for over 24 hours, I would have moved onto the next victim, I mean, potential photographer. Access to portfolio: 5 out of 5 When choosing a photographer, one of the most important things for us was to be able to access Liesl's existing work. In today's technological age, photogs can post their pictures on facebook or any other social media, but those photos aren't 100% accurate when it comes to representing a photographer's true intensity. They're awesome photos, of course - but as with all trades, photographers have their enough style and fortes, and I wanted one that not only could be creative and extemporaneous, but also one that could do more cliched posed photos. Liesl shared her FULL existing work without any type of pause or reservation, and without any type of pretense. Stylistic Variety: 5 out of 5 And...this part sealed the deal for us. Of course LDP had great photos up of couples and families in nice traditional Chicago settings, but LDP also seems to run some type of loose monopoly on Indian sub-continent weddings. The wedding and engagement couples that were in her portfolio ranged from hipsters to Americans of Indian descent to cookie cutter Caucasian. Also - it was quickly apparent that Liesl is a master of control bokeh - something that other photographers in the city either implement too liberally, or are afraid to use at all. Contract Process: 5 out of 5 Her contract is easy to read with minimal legal-ese. Sign and date, scan, and pay either the deposit amount or full amount depending on your preferred date, and she holds a spot "in line" for you. Accommodation of specific wants and needs: 5 out of 5 With LDP, I found the perfect balance of flexibility while staying true to her artistic roots. I sent over lots of examples from other photographers of shots that we liked, and she ran with our ideas flawlessly. And yes - she was completely fine and skilled at taking photos with our dog in them. Professionalism and punctuality: 5 out of 5 Our photo shoot was scheduled for 3pm at Museum Campus. I got a text from her at 2:35 letting me know she was there. Holy moly. During the entire 2 hour shoot, she was clear and concise with her instructions to her lighting coordinator, she was professional and courteous with us, and at no time did I ever feel like LDP was procrastinating, or being slow, or trying to take advantage of us. I mean...it was a full 2 hours of hard work from LDP, and I appreciate that. Turnaround time: 5 out of 5 Photos were released onto fb the next evening, and added throughout the following days. The full set of high-res downloadable photos was released to us in 4 (yes, FOUR) working days (not weeks or months). I've heard stories where people have waited at least 4 weeks for photos, so you do the math. Access to final products: 5 out of 5 If you have a computer with the interwebs, you can access your photos. Dropbox is LDP's tool of choice, and it works well. Just be sure you have a program to unzip files, or download the evaluation version of winzip. Price and payment: 4 out of 5 I'm not positive, but maybe LDP charges just a little more than others. But the final product is definitely worth it, and LDP does take paypal so you can rack up points on your credit card. Overall: 5 out of 5 In all seriousness, the best way I can describe Liesl is that she's extremely dedicated to her work, and her enthusiasm, no - her intensity, comes through in her final product. I'll post a few favorites in the photos section for you all to see.

Liesl is truly an artist, and her photographs evidence it. In the hunt for the photographer that…read morewould capture the most special day of our lives, my husband and I came across Liesl's website and were truly mesmerized. We ended up meeting with three prospective photographers, but no one else compared to Liesl. She has a true passion for what she does. At first, it was a difficult decision to make since Liesl's services do not come cheap. In the end, Liesl was flexible in working with our budget and customizing a package that got us what we wanted within the ballpark of our budget. Her services are completely worth the price - as she takes incredible photographs! We are very pleased with our selection of photographer and will be recommending her to all of our friends and family! Our final engagement photographs and wedding portraits came out beautifully. We also truly enjoyed working with Liesl throughout the entire process. She has such a great spirit. Moreover, she is very organized, punctual and prompt with the delivery of images. I'm uploading a few sample pictures from our engagement and wedding, but encourage you to check out her full website and make an appointment to meet with her ASAP!

I needed some photos for the launch of our new line of cosmetics and Kate definitely delivered!!…read moreClearly understood our brand image from the get go and put her own creative touch into the images! Her professionalism and work ethic will definitely keep us coming back to her! 100% recommend!

I don't know a better food photographer than Katerina. when I saw her work for the first time, I…read moreimmediately realized that I had finally found the very professional that I needed. We met and set a date for the shoot. She turned out to be a professional of the highest category. The result of our joint work exceeded all our expectations. We did not notice how 10 hours of work flew by. Katerina could instantly understand what exactly we needed to receive. The photo retouching was done very quickly. After the first photo shoot, we immediately scheduled a second photo shoot. We have posted all the works on our website, on Instagram, and the result will not be long in coming. We were impressed by the amount of compliments our photos received. If you need a food photographer, then without hesitation you should contact her and only her.

Capturing life's most precious moments deserve the utmost quality and care - and thankfully Natalie…read moreChampa Jennings Photography is stellar at her craft. I worked with Natalie a few weeks back as a 40th wedding anniversary present for my parents (as our last family pictures were circa 1996 and there may have been a matchy-matchy khaki/navy theme going on... the shame...). The day could not have gone better! Natalie is incredibly creative and collaborative about the vision. Her photos are magic - we recently got all of the images and I keep smiling about how wonderful they look (check out her website for the real deal and you'll see what I mean http://www.nataliechampajennings.com/) Her prices are so reasonable and the work is top-notch. I can't say enough about Natalie and highly encourage anyone in need of a wedding, engagement, baby, headshot, portrait, etc. photographer to check her out.

Natalie is amazing! We will work with Natalie for our future photography needs!…read more From my initial contact with her, I was extremely happy with her services. She corresponded promptly and was easy to communicate with by email and on the phone(which was extremely helpful as I'm not in MN). Her pricing was competitive and her packages met our needs. Our finished portraits were completed in a timely manner, as promised, on a cd and online gallery. I have nothing but phenomenal things to say about Natalie! She is very professional but also down to earth, which made our shoot feel relaxed and fun. Her creative style captured a wide array of portraits, which we absolutely love!

Marisa is incredible, period. Replied super quickly for the setup of our appointment, and checked…read morein with me to go over which commercial looks I'd like to shoot before we met, adding great suggestions alongside what my agency recommended. Her studio is so nice! Just make sure you pay attention to the directions she sends you (read 'em twice!) and you'll find it no problem. The natural light and gorgeous surroundings help you escape that LA go-go-go mentality, so you can relax enough to take some great photos. She offered me some snacks and tea, which was perfect for our morning appointment. And Marisa herself! So great to be around, her energy is welcoming, like you've already met her somewhere. She'll encourage you when you start to play around and is great at capturing genuine images, even in a realm as specific (and sometimes corny, haha) as commercial headshots. She's low pressure but knowledgeable too; she knows how to set up your shots, draw the eye to features you want to show off, all that. She's also big on keeping low costs, 'cause she knows how expensive it is to stay on top of everything you need to act out here, and I really appreciated that. Her retouch costs are also low, with a turnaround time of 5 days tops so picking my images and getting them fixed up was a breeze. Thanks again so much Marisa! I'm serious y'all, she's the real deal. I look forward to shooting with her again :)

Marisa and her husband photographed our intimate wedding in Malibu in November of 2017. This review…read moreis long overdue... Marisa went above and beyond all expectations we had in a wedding photographer. Our wedding was nontraditional - it was a small, intimate beach wedding and my wife and I had not extensively planned the timing and details of the ceremony itself until speaking with Marisa. Aside from planning the right timing for the events to happen so that the lighting was just right, she gave us so much direction and advice on other aspects of our evening that we had not even thought of, and it paid off. Her and her husband have an amazing energy - they are very calming, fun and organized, knowing exactly how to resolve potential issues and help coordinate on the fly. Our families later commented to us on how awesome they were. Of course, the photos were absolutely incredible. The lighting, edits, it all looks so natural and perfect. She is a true artist in that her photos do not look overly-shopped, they just look amazing. She is truly great at her craft and I could not recommend her more highly.

So happy about the service. I am going to have more photo shoot with Nina for my kids and my…read morefamily. I recommend her to everyone. Thank you

Nina made me and my partner feel at ease and we are delighted with the results of our maternity…read morephotoshoot. We have photos to cherish for years to come and would definitely recommend to anyone and would gladly use her services again!

My husband and I were looking for someone to shoot pictures of us to display in our new home. We…read morehave plenty of beautiful pictures from our wedding but we wanted some that display our love and affection for each other on a day to day basis. Natalie did exactly that! Natalie is so fun and energetic to work with. Our schedules are crazy and Natalie was willing to be flexible and work with us to find the perfect time. She chose the most beautiful location and really listened to what we wanted. We didn't have to dress all fancy or do any extra hair and makeup...we were allowed to be ourselves! She made us feel so comfortable! The photos came out better than I could ever imagine. I smile every time I walk through my hallway and see the pictures we took that day! I can't wait to work with her again!

Natalie knows how to be professional and fun. Her work is fantastic. She's creative and has a…read morewonderful eye. I would definitely do my portraits with her again!

Jennie is an amazing photographer! She was patient and kind…read moreshe made us feel comfortable while she took the pictures and it was lots of fun! I am extremely happy with her work and would definitely hire her again.

The best in the business…read more She's the only photographer I trust and can rely on. Great service, great prices and great photos. Definitely more than 5 stars.

Had the most amazing experience with Jen! She is a fantastic photographer…read more She knows how to make you look good and more importantly how to make you feel comfortable in front of the camera. She was great with all the small edits I asked for and really made the photos pop! I would 100% have my photos done by her again! Thank you Jen!! X

My Aerial group and I were lucky enough to have Jen photograph us for our marketing material a few…read morea weeks ago. She was very professional, even arranged a meeting ahead of time to familiarize herself with the studio we were shooting in. On the day of the photo shoot she arrived on time with an assistant and even had some props of her own. There are 10 of us so it is pretty hectic, but she was able to keep a fast pace while creating beautiful pictures and staying very calm. We had several different themes and she was able to easily transition from one to the other. We are starting to receive the edited pictures now and they are beautiful. I will definitely be using her in the future.