I saw Emily's Instagram posts and was immediately enamored with her work. I began following her and love her photos as well as her inspiring quotes. It is obvious that Emily knows how to bring out anyone's personality and best features, and capture this beautifully. I am not a person who enjoys being the center of attention, and I have seriously never been very photogenic. However, I decided to book a shoot with Emily as a means of capturing in time all of the effort I have been putting into taking care of myself both physically and mentally. The entire experience from the time I first contacted Emily for information, to receiving the beautiful photo album, was beyond amazing. Emily was consistently prompt in answering my numerous questions about preparing for the shoot and choosing lingerie. When I needed to change my initial booking date due to having been ill, she was fully accommodating. Although I was excited, I was also very nervous walking into her studio the morning of the shoot. Within minutes, Emily and the amazing Iza Maka Mua had me relaxed-choosing music to fit my mood, drinking a glass of bubbly and chatting away. Having Iza so attentively and gorgeously apply my make up and style my hair made me feel like a queen. I brought more outfit options than needed, and Emily was more than happy to give me her honest opinion and assist in putting my final lingerie sets together. Before Emily finished shooting my first round in a dress I had chosen, I realized that my nervousness had vanished. I went on to change into lingerie and found myself letting go and enjoying the entire shoot. I have no previous experience with photo shoots. Emily easily guided me as to optimal poses which brought out my best features in both my face and body. The way in which Emily can multitask is amazing to me. She set up the vignettes and screens herself, assisted me with poses, shot countless creative photos, and chatted with me along the way. Both Emily and Iza were both so laid back, they made the entire process not only effortless, but exhilarating. I left the studio feeling more than optimistic about the proofs that Emily would be sending me soon. I am being completely honest when I say that my jaw dropped when I looked over my proofs. I have no qualms when I say that Emily is phenomenally talented. She is flexible, accommodating and easy to work with. Her gorgeous studio looks out onto the city, and the natural lighting is fabulous. She clearly knows how to set the mood, and use natural lighting and angles to bring out not only her subject's personality, but accentuate each individual's best physical features from top to bottom. If you are considering a boudoir or general photo shoot, I would seriously consider booking with Emily. You will not be disappointed. Thank you Emily for the experience of a lifetime. I fully intend to do this with you again! read more

I first stumbled upon Emily's work about 6 years ago and I was immediately drawn to her photos. Her work was stunning and different. It wasn't until a little later that I found her boudoir work, but once I did I knew that this was a bucket list deal for me. For me, it was only just a matter of timing. The end of last summer I knew it was time. I was lacking self confidence and missing a big part of who I used to be. I decided it was the perfect time to book. I wanted to do this for me! I chose March because I wanted time to plan and prepare. I won't lie I was completely nervous. Every photo I looked at leading up to my shoot had a beautiful woman in it. Women of all sizes, all of which were stunning, and here I am worrying that I wouldn't even compare. For me the before/after photos were the thing that really made an impression on me. Seeing the transformations was incredible. I arrived at her studio/loft completely nervous and she was so sweet and welcoming. She did everything she could to ease my mind. She took the time to show me each pose and wasn't afraid to say no that's not it or yes that's the one. She took the time to learn my insecurities and made sure to remind me that I had nothing to worry about. She also made sure to enhance my best assets and minimized the areas I was uncomfortable with. You can tell she really takes pride in her work and wants only the best for her clients. When she sent me the proofs my jaw hit the ground. They were more than I had ever expected! They had yet to be officially edited and if your anything like me, I was in complete shock at the fact I could look like that without any adjustments! One of my concerns with editing was always that I didn't want to look like someone else, unrealistic, or not like myself at all. When I saw them I was just so amazed! Because of time she takes to make sure she gets the pose just right, I didn't even need to worry about editing at all! If you are even remotely considering a boudoir shoot I can tell you it is one of the most empowering things you can do for yourself. Seeing yourself through the eyes of another person is really an eye-opening experience. Emily is AMAZING and you will not be disappointed. She is always willing to answer questions, help with wardrobe, offer suggestions and more. She is so sweet and makes you feel like you have known her forever. She is worth every dollar and every minute of your time. She will make sure you have the very best experience and photos you've ever taken!! I can't say enough about how much I loved my experience and I would absolutely 100+++% recommend her! Make the decision and go for it! read more

Let me start off by saying if you're even thinking of booking Emily for a boudoir shoot, just go for it. You will not regret it in the slightest. I'm pretty fresh in my career so I don't have tons of money to throw around. When I thought about doing a boudoir shoot for my boyfriend, I knew I was making an investment. I reached out to Emily and she worked with me to answer all my questions, offered me flexibility in breaking up my payments, and made me feel comfortable and heard throughout the entire experience. Her prices are reasonable for the amazing work and experience she produces, and I was pleased to discover this was something I could actually afford and not something just reserved for movie stars. We talked extensively before the shoot so she could get to know me and find out what I was looking for, including having me complete a Pinterest board and fill out a questionnaire she designed. I think that's probably two of her greatest assets: her incredibly responsive and consistent communication to make sure you're on the same page with her and her willingness to get to know her clients so she can create the vision they have in their heads and make them feel comfortable. During the actual shoot, she made everything so easy and posed me so I never had to worry if I was looking weird (a big worry of mine haha). I'm no model, but Emily's incredible talent honestly made me feel like one when I finally saw the photos. Seriously, if you work with her you won't even believe the photos when you get them. They were exactly what I had envisioned, absolutely gorgeous and elegant but still totally me. And that was the best part; I looked sooooo sexy (yeah, I said it) but still looked exactly like myself. What a gift--for both me and my boyfriend when he eventually sees them ;) She has a keen eye for making women look and feel beautiful. I am so happy I did this shoot and even more happy I picked Emily to work with. I fully intend on calling her up to do an engagement boudoir shoot when the time comes! read more

Emily was absolutely amazing from start to finish! I started looking for a boudoir photography so I could make an album for my "soon to be husband" for our wedding day. I had looked for months on different boudoir sites from St. Louis to Chicago. When I found Emily, I was still super nervous and did not book right away. But I kept going back to her website and admiring her photography. I ended up booking and actually rescheduled my session (due to work issues), where she was very accommodating. Leading up to the session, Emily stayed in contact and made sure I had all the important details. She answered emails promptly and was always super sweet (especially with sharing how nervous I was). During the shoot, she brought in a professional hair & makeup artist (who was absolutely amazing as well)! They worked so well together, where Emily was physically showing me how to pose and Alyssa would come fix my hair & makeup. In the very beginning of the session, I was super nervous. But Emily was so professional and has great judgement! She started off with a comfortable outfit and simple poses. After the first round, she had completely taken away any nerves or fears. Emily will physically show you how to pose and then move you where you need to be if the pose still is not right :) After the session, she had my photos ready before 2 weeks and I loved absolutely every single one of them! She did an amazing and professional job with communicating, shooting the session, and fixing the photos! She is super sweet and will make you comfortable right when you walk in to her studio. She also will go out of her way to completely move her furniture and props to make sure angles, lighting, and you look great for the session! You will not regret booking a session with Emily! I am definitely even more excited for our wedding day, so I can give my special gift to my future husband! If I ever had the opportunity to make a special gift again, I would choose Emily all over again! read more

I highly recommend a boudoir shoot with Emily! I also wish I had booked her for our engagement/wedding because I wasn't 100% happy with the photography company I had chosen (but didn't know about her until just a few months before my wedding). I was a bit down to the wire for having a boudoir shoot in time for gifting the photos to my husband, but she helped me schedule a time that worked and got my photos in enough time for printing! I wanted a package that was in between two of the packages she listed, and she worked with me to come up something! I actually added more photos to the package because I loved so many of them. I was nervous before the shoot, but I left it feeling so much adrenaline and feeling so empowered! Emily made me feel like a beautiful sexy woman, and I was shocked with the photos. That's ME? There were more than enough pics to choose from and she helped me with some insecurities with deciding between photos and editing as well. I chose to give my husband 2 framed photos the night before the wedding and I gave him the photo book I had made during our honeymoon! I really wanted to see his reaction and it was so worth it to wait a few days :) He loves them and now that I am pregnant quickly after our wedding (maybe thanks to Emily, ha) I am SO glad I have these to look at, for myself. Emily was really supportive, positive and she's just a very cool chick. Its wonderful to see her business thriving, and I have nothing but good things to say. A few tips: hire her stylist for hair/makeup, get a spray tan, and bring a few outfits but she also has racks of lingerie to choose from if necessary. Definitely make a secret pinterest board of outfit ideas and poses, I didn't do this as I was so swamped before hand, and in the end it all worked out so great. But would have been nice to have for both of us I think as inspo for my tastes. Also, plan something fun afterwards because you'll be flying high! read more

No need to continue researching for boudoir photographers, Emily is the absolute best! I wanted to surprise my now husband with a boudoir photo album for the night before our wedding so I researched and reached out to a bunch of boudoir photographers before making a decision. Emily's emails were professional and she provided a ton of beneficial information even prior to booking our shoot, which made the decision extremely easy. Prior to the shoot, she sent me several emails including everything you would want/need to know to prepare so the shoot went perfectly. This was a huge help since I was insanely busy wedding planning! She also answered all my silly questions that helped ease my mind whenever I got a little nervous. On the day of the shoot, Emily helped me select my outfits before I had my hair and makeup done (I selected a package that included this - highly recommend!). We chatted during the hair and makeup and it was nice to get to know her, it was like hanging out with a friend you've known forever! Once we started shooting Emily helped me into poses based off what I had saved on a Pinterest board that I had created and shared with her months leading up to the shoot. We listened to my favorite music and had a blast the entire time! I LOVE the photos (and so does my husband)! I had the hardest time selecting the final photos since they were all so amazing. I even ended up letting Emily use them for social media after seeing how awesome they turned out. I seriously want to book another shoot since I enjoyed it so much! I cannot thank Emily enough for such a great experience! read more

You will absolutely LOVE having your boudoir photos with Emily! I can't stop staring at my photos, and I know my husband will love them. I chose Emily after reviewing multiple other photographers in Chicago. Her photos were by far and away the most beautiful, sultry, and classy. As soon as I reached out to her I knew I as in good hands. She is very communicative and reached out several times leading up to the shoot with Pinterest inspiration boards, advice about lingerie, and tips on posing. She even has a personalized quiz about what I wanted out of my photos (sweet vs sultry), if I had any features I wanted to highlight or diminish, even whether there was a side of my face I prefer. On the day of my shoot there was a small hiccup - the woman who was supposed to do my hair and makeup got her dates mixed up. Emily was very apologetic and used her network of connections to find someone to replace her right away. It was actually nice to have some extra time to relax and have a drink. In the end, my hair and makeup was done beautifully and Emily was very sweet in offering me an extra outfit change and extra photos for the delay. The shoot itself was tons of fun. Emily made me feel 100% comfortable and was great at showing me exactly how to pose. Her loft is beautiful and versatile and the lighting was perfect. I am a shy and awkward person but she made me feel sexy, confident, and relaxed. Although I did the shoot as a present for my husband, in the end I felt like it was a present for myself too. BOOK EMILY AS YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER! You will thank yourself a million times over. read more

HIGHLY recommend! Emily was an absolute dream to work with. When I first reached out to Emily, explaining my struggles and motivation for wanting to book with her, she replied with such warmth and understanding. She was able to schedule our boudoir photoshoot session that same week (just before the holidays) and spent the time before the shoot to get to know me, provide tips for preparation, and give a very accurate account of what to expect. She knows her craft extremely well. Every advice she gave was incredibly useful and I feel that because I followed her suggestions, the experience was much more enriched. For context, I am extremely introverted and struggle with body image insecurities. During the session, Emily made sure to understand those insecurities. For example, the muscles around my eyes tend to tense when photos are taken. Emily went out of her way to understand under what circumstances this occurs and worked on a method with me to relax before each scene. She was incredibly encouraging and uplifting. I am extremely happy to be able to say that none of the many photos captured this particular muscle tense. My fiancé and I were able to appreciate images that look strong, happy, and natural. The flow of the session was relaxing and fun. Emily is quick to create beautiful poses all with natural lighting. Regarding the images that we selected for our photo album; I can't say enough wonderful things about the quality. It's such a remarkable keepsake! I greatly admire Emily's creative passion and skill. She is truly an empowering and motivating woman to work with. read more

My experience with Emily was phenomenal: she is professional, organized, communicates expectations exceptionally well, and was a pleasure to work with. Everything down to the timing on the day of the shoot was perfectly coordinated. I also walked away from this experience having mad respect for the demands on models and photographers - it's hard work before and during the shoot. Two hours of posing can be a workout for both model and photographer! My biggest fear was just being nervous on the day of the shoot. This was for a wedding anniversary gift for my husband, so I was concerned about not being relaxed enough to have good pictures. I knew that I had found the right photographer for boudoir photography in seeing all of Emily's previous work, so I was confident in her artistic eye, and her ability to help me get relaxed. By the end of the shoot, I was posing mostly naked and I felt completely comfortable! Emily is excellent at coaching you how to pose and move so that you are positioned in your best angles. Also, the lighting in her studio is magical - when I saw my images for the first time, I was amazed at how flawless my skin and body looked prior to re-touching. I can't wait for my husband to see the pictures! Take advantage of Emily's hair stylists and makeup artists - she has excellent connections! Be sure to pick a music playlist that makes you feel confident and happy during shooting. Have fun with it, and trust Emily's ability to put you at ease and coach you through the poses. You will be in excellent hands! read more

If I could give Emily 10 stars, I would. She and her 2nd photographer, Vanessa, shot our wedding in Santa Monica, CA this past November. They were both amazing! Emily and I had talked a couple times before the wedding about what the most important things that we wanted captured from the day were, what kind of feeling were we going for, etc. and she definitely delivered. Beautiful photos of our wedding day were one of our top priorities for our wedding. We wanted photos of the day that captured the fun, excitement, all our guests who came from afar, the beautiful scenery and the whole feeling of the day. Emily and Vanessa gave us exactly what we asked for. They gracefully handled our families and guests' many requests for a picture of this or that group of people, while balancing capturing all the candid moments and love of our wedding day. They were awesome the whole day and all our wedding guests loved both of them and couldn't stop raving about how wonderful Emily was and how they were sure the photos were going to turn out amazingly. And they did turn out aaaamazing!! Emily created a slideshow for us of so many of our pictures as a preview and I still watch at least once a week!! (I linked it here for anyone who wants to see more of her amazing work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDsZgfV9Pg4). I really just can't say enough about how wonderful it was working with Emily and how happy we are with our photos!! Hiring Emily as our wedding photographer was the best choice ever and we couldn't be happier!! read more

I had such an amazing experience working with Emily for my first ever boudoir shoot! I booked a session after finding out I was pregnant - I wanted to capture my body pre-babies. Even before the shoot, Emily went above and beyond to make sure I was prepared for my shoot, from helping me find outfits, providing posing advice, and even finding my confidence before I stepped into the studio. When I arrived, Emily was warm and welcoming. She helped me go through my outfits and select the final looks. Next, I had a wonderful experience in hair and makeup with Alyssa. Like seriously, it was better than my wedding day. I was already feeling much more comfortable and confident by the time we even got to shooting. But then things got even more fun during the shoot. One of the best things about the shoot was Emily would do every pose before my turn, so all I really had to do was mimic her. I'm no model, but following her lead made it easy to get into the pose then enjoy it. Emily was so fun to chat with during the shoot, and we had fun music blasting the whole time. In the end, I couldn't believe how comfortable I was in front of the camera - time really did fly. I highly highly recommend every woman do a boudoir shoot once in their lives, and if they have the chance to do it with Emily, even better! I couldn't believe how beautiful and sexy the final photos were. I honestly think it was a perfect experience. Emily is highly professional, but it also feels like your shooting with a friend. Book today! read more

I cannot wait for my June 11th wedding because, duh, I'm getting married to the man I love, but also because I have an fabulous photographer, Emily Gualdoni, who will be capturing the event! You may be asking, "How do I know she awesome if my wedding hasn't happened yet?' Well, we just got our engagement photos back, and they rock! Exactly what we hoped for, in that they capture my finace and I, our love and silliness and such, in a real way that is also artistic and interesting. Emily took the time to show a variety of her photographs to us when we met her, so we could talk about what things we liked and how we hoped our photos look. She was utterly open to taking engagement photos for us at The Map Room (Bucktown beer bar/cafe), where we all joked around and drank beer. She even managed to get priceless pictures of Paul and I iceskating downtown, from her position off the ice, with dozens of people around. Emily has proved to be extremely professional and friendly from the beginning, and offers packages that include far more than most other photographers we looked into, at a reasonable rate. She is so sweet and easy to contact, very fast as well. Our enagement pics were posted online a week later! Stay tuned for more, I will absolutely follow up with how our wedding pictures go, until then, consider hiring Emily for your wedding or other photography needed, she's awesome! read more

I had such an amazing experience with Emily doing a boudoir photo shoot for my husband as his groom's gift! Leading up to the process, as a very modest girl, I was nervous about how awkward the shoot might be. Emily spent three weeks prior getting to know me via email and addressing any and all concerns that I had about the shoot. When I walked in to the studio, I was greeted by Emily and her make up artist who are both warm, friendly, and funny. I was immediately put at ease. during the shoot, Emily took her time to make sure that she captured every single shot that I wanted, as well as some that I didn't even know that I wanted! She was easy to follow in her instructions, especially for someone who has never done anything like this before. When I finally got the images, which were completed within a week of the shoot, I was blown away by how amazing, beautiful, and genuine they were. Emily truly captured the authenticity I hoped for. I am so thrilled that I took a chance on something that would typically make me fairly uncomfortable. Emily made it such an amazing experience that I would love to come back again. My husband was left speechless by the photos, and spending money on it was the best decision I've made. Highly recommend if you're looking for someone knowledgeable, dedicated, and extremely talented to do any type of photography, but specifically boudoir. read more

I would have written a review 3 years ago after my wedding but didn't have a ton to compare my experience to. Emily was fabulous to work with, professional, so sweet, and my pictures turned out absolutely amazing! Not to mention they were done quickly! The reason I didn't think to write a review then was because I considered all of this to be expected. Not so much! After an insane amount of weddings this year and hearing experiences my friends had with unprofessional photographers, hidden fees in contracts, pictures taking months and months to get back, and just seeing flat out bad, cookie cutter photography, I've now realized everything Emily brought to the table was nothing I should have just expected from a photographer. Not that I was not thankful to work with her then, because I've always thought she was super talented, but I didn't realize until now that just because you have a business and a camera, it doesn't necessarily mean you're professional, creative, and have the talent that I found in Emily. I highly recommend her and wish my friends had it in their budgets (you get what you pay for! And even still, I considered her prices to be more than fair) to hire someone like Emily and save themselves from dealing with really frustrating and bad experiences. read more

I came to Emily under a little different circumstance than some of her other clients. I was fast approaching the finalization of my divorce and was working toward the best physical condition I had ever been in. I wanted to capture my hard work in a lasting way. I loved the pre-shoot questions she asked to get an idea of my vision. It was also super awesome to show up to the loft to hear my favorite music playing. She offered me champagne to calm my nerves, another thoughtful touch! One of the things I enjoyed the most was her direction. Not being a professional model I had no idea how to move, pose or hold my body. She was patient but also assertive in her direction. I loved it! We were there to get down to business and while we had quite a few laughs she still kept it professional. My photos are AH-MAZ-ING. Seriously. I could not believe that the proofs were completely untouched! Who was this woman and what kind of magic camera did she posses? She some how made me look like I had a butt! I was blown away. I Love my pictures, I loved my entire experience with Emily and I would highly recommend her to anyone thinking about doing a boudoir shoot. She made me look and feel confident, strong and beautiful. read more

As a photographer, I am very particular about the smallest details that go into a shoot and Emily nailed it! The information she sent after booking was super helpful and offered a lot of inspiration to use as a springboard to begin my styling process. She also did a fantastic job staying in touch with me in the weeks approaching my shoot. The day of the shoot ... I was beyond impressed with her professional hair and makeup artist, Iza. She's very talented and her personality was perfect for this type of shoot! I opted for the pro headshots first with a baseline makeup application. I loved it for my new pro shots! After we got these Iza applied more of a sexy look for the boudoir portion. I LOVED the way I looked! The shooting process was great! Emily is very talented with posing to make your body type look amazing! And her attention to detail was not unnoticed! I never once felt awkward or insecure the entire shoot. Emily's personality is very easy going which made me feel at ease the entire shoot. My images ... AMAZING! It was certainly hard to narrow down! I would absolutely recommend Emily to anyone considering boudoir shoot! She was totally worth the drive from Detroit! read more

I cannot recommend Emily highly enough! Emily was my boudoir photographer. As a completely awkward and modest person, I was super nervous about this surprise gift for my fiancé. From our first email, Emily was great. When I explained that I am a pretty uncoordinated person with no ability to walk in a straight line (much less pose myself seductively), Emily told me she'd handle it--and she totally did. Emily found a great hair and make up person and gave me feedback about my outfits--she even lent me a spare pair of shoes when I forgot heels! Most importantly, Emily poses you throughout the session, finding the best lighting and most flattering poses. A questionnaire before the session helps her get to know you--which means she had my favorite music playing through the shoot, and even had me bring special props that helped personalize the shoot for my fiancé. I can't tell you how much I love the photos. I don't think I've ever felt so pretty in my entire life. This was supposed to be a gift for my almost-husband, but it really ended up being a great gift of confidence to myself. If you're on the edge about booking Emily--go for it. You won't regret it! read more

I couldn't have asked for a better boudoir experience then what I had with Emily! I followed her page on Instagram for a while and finally got the guts to do a shoot with her and it was amazing. She was fast at responding to my request and worked with my schedule (I drove 3.5 hours to shoot with her ). On the weeks and days leading up to the shoot she ensured that every aspect was covered from directions to get to her studio, collaborating with me on a Pinterest board, sending me ideas on where I should buy lingerie, a personal questionnaire so she could get to know me better in order to make my shoot about me. I ordered hair and makeup as well and Iza was unbelievable at making me look and feel like a model. Emily made this experience once in a lifetime for me and will definitely return to her for another shoot. She worked me with on my poses and would demonstrate how to do them so I knew what I was doing and it helped ease my shyness. I felt so comfortable with her that I just let go and had one of the best experiences of my life. I highly recommend you work with Emily cause you will not regret one moment and her work is flawless! read more

I am writing this review specifically for those shy girls who are second-guessing why they are doing a photo shoot and wondering if they can nail it. If you are having any doubts at all, Emily is your girl. If you are not having any doubts and you're confident, Emily is STILL your girl. I cannot give enough praise about this woman, not only for her professionalism and awesome customer service, but most importantly, her TALENT! She is not lying when she says you're going to be blown away by the results. I could not stop staring at my own photos for the next month. And I won't even start on how much my fiance (now husband!) loved the photos...I was pretty nervous going into the whole experience. I've taken selfies before but I had never done anything professionally. I was also feeling a little insecure about my weight and body at the time. Emily really helped to ease my anxiety. During the entire photo shoot, she was so good about directing me and making me feel less nervous and more sexy as time went on. Trust in the process, trust in the Emily, and trust in yourself. It is completely worth it. read more