Katie is an incredible photographer with an eye for emotion. Whether she is photographing weddings…read more(I've recommended her to several friends), events, babies, or pets (like mine), she always seems to perfectly capture the emotion or feeling in that moment. I'm in love with her photos. She's a great person to boot- really a pleasure to work with personally and professionally. Katie took puppy pics of my Boxer, Lucy, a couple months ago. Everyone loves the pics, and I get compliments on them all the time. As my family grows, I know Katie will be my go-to gal to capture all the milestones. I only wish I'd known about her when I got married. I had to add a few pics of my puppy in the review, too! Katie, you can totally reduce the pics if there are too many- you know I think my dog is the cutest ever.

Katie Ryan Photography rocks my socks. Plain and simple…read more I was so hesitant to hire someone to take pictures of my baby because she's such a serious baby when it comes to getting her picture taken. That, and the fact that I'm cheap and didn't think it would be worth spending money on pro pictures that I could "take myself," made me really leery on hiring anyone- which is why it took me nearly a year to do so! Boy was I dumb! From the moment Katie Ryan entered my home, I was not one bit disappointed. Quite the contrary! I remember thinking, almost instantly, how I wished we would've hired Katie Ryan Photography for more photo shoots rather than just our baby's one year photos!! Nevertheless the one year shoot is what was taken and, again, I was not one bit disappointed. Picture after picture after picture, my baby and her personality shined for the camera as she smiled and giggled and had a great time! My husband and I watched in complete awe as an instant connection was formed between our baby and Katie Ryan; it was really incredible! I haven't seen all the photos as this shoot was less than a month ago, but I have seen some teasers and WOW. The pictures are just beautiful and leaves me anxiously waiting to see the rest. (I actually ended up using one of the teasers in our 1st bday party Thank You cards- thanks to Katie Ryan Photography for sending a high res version of one of the teasers I liked!). Bottom line is if you're looking for a photographer who clearly loves what they do, who gives you rights to the images on disc, who travels to you, who catches the essence of the subject so that you're looking at a person rather than just a picture, then you're looking for Katie Ryan Photography!

Chris was the photographer for my wedding in October 2008. I wouldn't have had it any other way! I…read morehave such wonderful pictures, partly because he kept us in such a calm, relaxed state that we didn't look at all posed! From the moment my now-husband and I met him, we knew we had to go with Ocken! Pure professionalism with friendly sincerity and creative juices thrown in! I can't tell you enough how much I adored having our wedding (and engagement photo shoot) documented by Chris. Just look at his album online and you'll know. Hands down, the best in the business!

Chris was my photographer for my June 2011 wedding. It was probably the best and easiest part of my…read morewedding! We met Chris and got to see some of his work, chatted for awhile and knew he would be a great addition to our "wedding team." After meeting him we set up a time to do our engagement pictures- so much fun! My (now) husband HATES having his picture taken but he was completely at ease with Chris and we laughed and had a great time through the whole process. My cheeks hurt from having such a good time! On the day of our wedding I never had to worry where Chris and his assistant were, I knew they were going to get all the important shots. We did the majority of our photos before the wedding and Chris had scouted a great location near by. They had great ideas which perfectly fit my vision. I don't think they stopped taking pictures for HOURS! During the reception Chris was great at both getting group shots and some wonderful candids that have gone down in our family history as classics! The photos turned out amazing and the experience was amazing. I have and will continue to recommend Ocken Photography to all my friends and can't wait to use them for family portraits!

Top notch service!…read more We booked Millicent for our proposal, engagement, and wedding photo shoots. In all three of our events, Millicent displayed a strong passion and vision through her creativity and organizational and professional skills. For the most part, we provided her with our own ideas and locations. In areas where we needed suggestions, she was quick to provide and improvise. We provided a general schedule for our events to ensure we do not go overtime. Millicent was on top of the schedule and did not rush the process even when we went slightly overtime with the engagement photo shoot due to the gloomy, rainy weather and busy weekend traffic. In fact, she remain composed and was dedicated to taking the best shot at the best angle even if it meant she had to get drenched in the rain. Last but not least, Millicent was very punctual in responding to our e-mails. I was a pest and e-mailed her with multiple questions that included what is the most ideal time of the day to take pictures, logistics, number of locations, etc. Her responses were so detailed and to-the-point that it put me at ease, letting me know we put our pictures in the right person's hands.

Only about a month before my wedding, I decided that I wanted to do an engagement photoshoot. I…read moregoogled 'Chicago Engagement Photographer' and happened upon Millie's website, www.millicentwong.com. I was very impressed with her work, along with the work of a couple of other photographers, so I decided to inquire with several others. Millie offered the most value and quality for the money by far, so she was the obvious choice. She and I talked over the phone to get the whole concept of what exactly we were going for. She took my ideas and helped guide me through my vision. It was a huge help, because I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking for. The day that we were supposed to have our photoshoot, it looked like it was going to rain. Millie called me and offered to do it the next day and made it seem like it wasn't a big deal to reschedule. She didn't want our outdoor photoshoot to be ruined by the rain. I wanted to take pictures in front of various Chicago landmarks, and name each of the tables at our reception after these locations. Eg: Millennium Park, Michigan Avenue, Soldier Field, Chicago Theater, etc. Take a look at some of the pictures I've added to the Yelp page. I think her work speaks for itself! I told her we were in a bit of a time crunch because we wanted to use the pictures for the table cards and we also wound up using one of the pictures for the placecards/favors as well as our photo guestbook. I'm usually a bit camera shy, and she quickly put us at ease. She is super fun and so cute. I really enjoyed working with her. I would HIGHLY recommend her to anyone looking for an engagement and wedding photographer. Too bad we found out about her only a month before the wedding!

Highly recommend Sarah and her amazing photography skills!…read more I'm pretty comfortable in my own skin so I booked a boudoir session more out of curiosity than fear. That said, I've never done anything like this, so I brought All. The. Outfits. Sarah took over as soon as I arrived, laid everything out and asked what pieces I truly loved and what was just okay. She listened to my opinions, and suggested some of her own ideas. She was very intentional with her framing, which background was best with different outfits, etc. She was so professional and had such a great eye for what worked for me that I trusted her judgement immediately. We had a great time! I was actually more nervous about my photo reveal than about the session itself, but my worries were unfounded. The photos are gorgeous. I feel empowered when I look at them. Sarah was able to capture a variety of moods and outfits, but every photograph is still very much me. And that is a rare gift, indeed.

Sarah and Stephen were amazing and the best additions to our wedding day!! They captured our day so…read moreperfectly and beautifully while being incredibly personable at the same time! Working with them was effortless from the beginning and Sarah is extremely helpful in the planning process with discussing timelines for your big day! When we got our pictures back they were everything and more!!!

I was referred to Maha Studios by a friend and was quite nervous as they are based out of Chicago…read moreand I was getting married in Pittsburgh, PA. I knew it would be hard to coordinate travel, meetings etc, due to the distance and I was certainly the bride that wanted to meet and get to know her vendors prior to booking them.   On the initial call, both Zainab and Aaqib were very kind and answered all of my questions regarding price, travel, different packages and hours and everything that would be included. I felt very comfortable moving forward with a team I hadn't met, only having seen their work on their website or social media accounts.   I knew I wanted to work with a company that was an expert South Asian weddings. In Pittsburgh, there aren't many (if any) photographers/videographers that focus or know the South Asian wedding traditions and photography was my husband and I's number one priority. Knowing that the Maha team has extensive experience and almost exclusively works on South Asian weddings made us feel even more comfortable in our decision to work with them.   Maha Studios included a free one hour engagement session if my husband and I visited Chicago prior to getting married. That didn't end up happening, BUT they were kind enough to drive to Pittsburgh the day before the wedding weekend and use that one hour to photograph my Mayoon event! They drove to the location, set everything up and took tons of amazing shots and video that were used in my wedding trailer.   Zainab, Aaqib and Raheel (associate videographer) worked with me the entire weekend (and suggested a few timeline changes, etc) to make sure everything went smoothly. I loved that they made time for both me AND my husband to get "getting ready" shots and made me feel comfortable in front of the camera (otherwise I am so awkward!). I asked them to focus on family members and after seeing the final photos and video, I can see that they definitely did.  They blended in and zipped around like crazy the entire weekend, while I was making sure they had food to eat and a comfortable hotel room!   Post wedding: WOW. JUST WOW. My husband and I are blown away by the photos that Zainab took and the trailer and final video that Aaqib and Raheel filmed. The photo quality is amazing, the photo album we received is beautiful, the trailer is perfect and the 3 hour long video has been playing nonstop. Aaqib responded to all of my requests on minor changes to the video on the same day and confirmed the changes were made. The follow up from everyone was incredible and I cannot wait to use Maha Studios again!

Maha studio's team is one the best Chicago wedding photographer and videographers in the…read moreChicagoland area. Seriously, stop looking and BOOK THEM NOW! They are so easy to work with, and make you feel extremely comfortable. They make the experience so much fun and are able to work and any weather condition with so many great ideas. I honestly couldn't be any happier with the level or attention they took to capture every detail. They didn't miss anything and captured every detail and every emotion. I have never seen such a beautiful album. The quality is so high end and the editing is flawless. The videographer is amazing. When first meeting him I could see how passionate he was and his work is beautiful. They were able to even use a drone to capture beautiful clips of Chicago and our wedding party. When I say they went above and beyond, they truly did. Our wedding was in November and on the first snow of they year they helped me walk through snow, ice, and all the salt. They even put up with all my ideas and climbed slippery icy steps to get out first look on top of London house downtown. I seriously love them and still hire them to all my events since. Zainab is just the sweetest, so humble and talented. Thank you again and again for capturing our wedding and for continuing to be apart of our love story. BOOK THEM NOW!! Don't miss out on this amazing team and wonderful people to work with!

We had such a wonderful experience working with Kim! From the beginning, they were kind, detailed,…read morefriendly, and made us feel comfortable. We really appreciated the Zoom call beforehand to get to know each other and talk through everything. Their package also included an engagement shoot, which was such a sweet addition. Our photos came out beautiful! Kim was also amazing with our toddler, keeping her engaged and comfortable through location changes and lots of walking. Our wedding day went so smoothly, and Kim was warm, professional, and a pleasure to work with. We're so grateful for the memories they captured and wish them so much continued success!

Kim from Kiki Photography was a pleasure to work with from start to finish. She was very…read moreresponsive, respectful, and friendly yet professional throughout our interactions. Kim was also caring, reliable and timely in providing the support I needed to ensure my photography needs were met. The photographs she captured were truly beautiful - high quality and vivid, perfectly preserving all the special moments of our wedding day. Kim was easy to work with and very supportive while taking pictures. The photographs speak for themselves - if you want an honest, reliable professional photographer who will give you the photos you want, I highly recommend hiring Kim. You won't be disappointed!

Howard was our photographer for our winter wedding on December, 2019. I was amazed when I looked at…read morehis pictures on his social media, the way he captured the couples and their surroundings. He is so artistic! Thankfully, he was open to travel to Wisconsin. I was beyond excited. He was very punctual. Howard was very proactive, professional and fun to work with during our entire event (we had him during our ceremony and reception). He listened to our requests and we now have hundreds of gorgeous pictures from our wedding day. To top it all, he had the pictures ready in a couple of weeks!! Most photographers I had checked offered pictures within a couple of months or longer. Thank you Howard for your extraordinary skills and making it so easy to work with you. If you want beautiful, artistic, nicely retouched portraits, Howard is your guy!

We were lucky to have Howard to take our engagement photos. Howard is so professional. He knows a…read morelot of locations where are beautiful in wedding or engagement photographs. We had good communication and enjoyed the day he took engagement photographs for us. He is good at selecting appropriate angles to express us better in the pictures, and he knows which location looks better in different time of the day. Thank you, Howard!

I adore Dennis. He is a class act and an enormous talent -- the best in Chicago, hands down. I defy…read moreyou to find a photographer in Chicago whose work is better than his. We had booked Dennis to photograph our wedding, but about a month later decided to relocate our festivities to Hawaii. The biggest mistake I made in my wedding planning was not paying for airfare and hotel to bring him with us to Hawaii. Dennis was very generous and fair about our deposit and we worked out a deal that involved him taking us on an engagement photo shoot. I now consider these my wedding photos, since they are absolutely incredible and my actual wedding photos don't come anywhere close, at least in terms of photography. In actuality, it was a FRIGID day in May when we took our engagement photos, I was looking a little chubby, my husband was looking a little worn down, and the both of us are incredibly awkward and self-conscious in front of the camera. And yet, in the photos we got back, everything is magical and perfect. We made the photos into a guest book, and also into a thank-you card for our guests. We've gotten rave reviews. My friend just booked Dennis for her wedding this September, and I am thrilled for her (and also super jealous). I can't wait to see what he does!

Dennis is a gem. We feel lucky to have been able to work with him, and were so glad he was…read moreavailable on our wedding date. I first witnessed Dennis in his element while he shot my friend's wedding. After seeing the way he interacted with the bridal party and the guests, I knew I'd one day want him to be my wedding photographer. We did our research and interviewed other photogs, but once we spoke with Dennis and my fiance met him in person, too, we knew for sure he was our perfect match. Dennis can tell you every emotion going on in every shot he takes. He pays such close attention to the little things, and it pays off in his work. It's incredible how he captures little moments that you didn't even realize he was there for until you see your photos. His photos are stunning, and he really makes it fun to be in front of the camera, without changing anything about the flow of your big day to get a good shot. He's flexible, calm, and super personable. He makes you feel at ease while he's shooting, and encourages you to be as natural as possible and not 'force' shots. He's a true photojournalist, and it's obvious he has a real passion for his job. His photos include creative, artistic shots and bold colors, as well as a lovely use of classic black-and-white images. He also makes sure to capture all the details of your day, too, but not in a cheesy way. We worked with him for our engagement photos, too, and this was a great opportunity to get a little more comfortable being with a photographer in advance of your big day. We absolutely adored our e-pics and had a great time on the shoot. Dennis also has many great ideas for photo locations if you're running short on inspiration. He'll work with you to make sure you get to go to all your important spots, and isn't afraid to try new places. For instance, we were really hoping to take photos at the AMC River East, and thanks to his handiwork, we were able to get all the way up to the top of the theater on a busy weekend. The result was fabulous!! He knows his stuff. And he is worth every cent, especially considering your wedding photos are forever. We can't wait to have another reason to work with him in the future.