I have had Maggie taking our family photos for 16 years, and she photographed two of my births. Looking back through my photos makes me so emotional because she captured my family almost through my eyes when they were young. Priceless and worth the investment. read more

We LOVED the photos Maggie took of our baby boy and family! She was fantastic to work with and captured beautiful photos that are very true to our family! (It never felt fake or over-posed!) We loved that newborn photos she took so much that we had her take 6 month photos too (and will absolutely be scheduling her take photos for us in the future too)! We were a little nervous, given the pandemic, but Maggie was extremely cautious and made us feel very safe while she was taking photos! read more

Maggie is wonderful! We hired her to come over shortly after our son's birth - and I'd hire her again in a heartbeat. I recommend all expecting parents to book Maggie for their family/newborn photos. Why? She comes to your home. Makes it so easy on families adjusting - no need to head to a studio. Everyone is more comfortable in your own space. Maggie *gets* postpartum - somehow, magically, she makes me look 150% better than I feel just a couple of weeks after giving birth. Like magic, I tell ya. Her prices are competitive but her service is above and beyond other professionals. Hire her! read more

I love everything about Maggie and her work! I hired her as my photographer, but when my water broke on the day she was supposed to take my maternity photos, almost 6 weeks early, I immediately asked her if she would be my doula as well! It was a perfect match! I'll tell anyone about Maggie and her amazing skills! Thanks Maggie. read more

We worked with Maggie for newborn photos with both of our kids. She does an amazing job capturing those very sweet moments with a newborn - and a toddler too! She was able to get photos both inside our house and outside as well. These are photos we will cherish forever! read more

I loved working with Maggie from the first conversation we had on the phone; it was so easy to feel comfortable with her, she was the first call I made to potential photographers and the last. Maggie was with me for the full pregnancy package - maternity, birth with video, and newborn photos. Maggie comes to your home and is so great about having some time in the case you're still getting ready, she is able to get around you for some nice candids and is willing to wait if you or the baby needs the time! Maggie came to my birth and captured images that fill me with pride and nostalgia and oxytocin, I will forever say "Do you remember that day?" with dreamlike doughy-eyes and a heart that is literally about to explode. She even captured my parents arriving to meet their first granddaughter - it literally takes me right back to that very moment. Maggie was there, and I appreciated her being there, but there were moments I forgot she was, and still, the pictures she got remind me that she was documenting when I didn't even realize. Oh- also - she's like a newborn baby whisperer, shushing the baby to sleep in little bundles on beautiful backgrounds and tip-toeing around the little bundle while snapping pics. I actually learned a new technique of calming my own baby after watching her interact with my daughter. Not only did I just plain really like Maggie - she's a super cool mom with years of bad-ass-momming behind her so she's really able to help you feel like you're going to figure it all out, but she's a wonderful photographer who totally lets you do your thang and provides great direction when needed. I highly recommend her :) read more

Maggie is so sweet! She did my maternity & NB photography. We had a lot of fun, she made me feel very comfortable and she is extremely talented. It was a pleasure to work with her. read more

Maggie is fantastic! She helped us with newborn photographs for both of our children as well as a family maternity photoshoot and she is a pleasure! the photos are incredible and she is so great with children of all ages. I could not recommend her enough! She is also extremely affordable, you cannot go wrong with her as your photographer. read more

Maggie is the best! We hired Maggie to take photos during our home birth. My friends thought it was nuts to have the birth photographed but I'm so glad I listened to my gut and had Maggie there. She captured not only the birth but many tender moments with my husband and mom. It was important to me that my family was able to relax and be in the moment without needing to take pictures. Maggie was super respectful and not intrusive in any way. I pretty much forgot she was even there! Her photos are stunning and I'm so happy I can look at them and reflect on my baby's birth day. I highly recommend Maggie for birth and baby photography! read more

Maggie was fantastic to work with. About a week after my baby was born, we reached out to her to do a newborn photo shoot. She came to our house and spent a few hours capturing beautiful photos of our new baby and our little family. She made us all feel so comfortable and even showed us a few tricks to keep our baby calm. In all of the craziness that comes after having a baby, I am so happy that we found Maggie and the time to get photos done. They will be hanging on our wall for years to come! read more

Maggie was fantastic; incredibly creative, patient, and warm. She was great with our two week old and calmed her down several times during the course of the session! We are beyond happy with the photos. Additionally, we found her to be extremely affordable. Excellent experience, we will definitely be asking her to take our family photos for years to come! read more

I am so glad we chose This is family to document the birth of our daughter and to do her newborn pictures. Jill did our birth photos and she was amazing. I felt so comfortable with her in the room and she knew exactly where to go and how to capture our special day. Jill and Maggie were both at our newborn session in our home and they were wonderful. They were super patient with our uncooperative toddler and just let us do our thing. They really captured what our family is, vs just posing us for pictures. I would recommend them to anyone that is looking for amazing pictures to capture your life! read more

I hired Maggie to be my birth photographer for my planned home birth in June. I wanted my fiancé to be focused on me and our baby and not fiddling with his phone or a camera in those moments. At this time I had hired a different doula. This was my first home birth and I was excited, but I also had arthritis and had a total hip replacement scheduled so I had a unique pregnancy with these other issues. Right away Maggie stepped in and was acting more as a doula and not just a photographer. She provided resources to me and my doula wasn't even returning my text messages. After a few months I told my other doula I was hiring someone else and I did. Maggie was now my photographer and doula. She was incredibly responsive, attentive and reliable. I had total trust that she would be there for me during my pregnancy, labor and delivery, and she was! My labor was precipitous (less then 4 hours) and even though she lived more than an hour away from me, she arrived in time to take amazing pictures of my water birth. I received a beautiful book of my favorite pictures as well. Maggie also took maternity and newborn pictures. They are all gorgeous and I'm so grateful for her for capturing these precious moments. She transitioned between the roles of doula and photographer seamlessly, and I was not aware of her taking the pictures so it was never a distraction. I can't recommend her enough! Her support throughout the process was invaluable and her photos are gorgeous. Thank you! read more

We are so happy we chose This Is Family to photograph our birth story from start to finish. From my mother blessing to our maternity photos to our homebirth-turned-c section, Maggie captured so many amazing moments that we can remember forever. Maggie was more than just our photographer - she offered amazing support throughout the entire process! We are so glad that we have beautiful pictures to remind us of such a special time in our lives;) read more

Our season with Maggie was amazing! She captured our family exactly how we are. No awkward poses, just beautiful real life and she does it so naturally it's as if she was a close friend. She just let us hang out as a family and somehow found the moments to freeze. Our newborn session was not just about our new baby but about our family that he was now a part of. We cherish our photos and they are absolutely stunning. read more

9/17/2015 I am not big on reviews, but for Maggie I felt that I have to write one. Initially we interviewed a different photographer but there were a lot of concerns about our privacy and copyrights. Then we interviewed Maggie, she was very understanding and accommodated all of our privacy concerns. This was only a small reason why we were so lucky to have Maggie as our photographer. We had a very long birth and with a few false starts, Maggie was there very single time to make sure not to miss anything. The most important part is that not only she is a great photographer, but also she makes you feel very comfortable being around. She is like a close friend or relative you knew forever. When needed she will also be there emotionally and support you. We wish her only the best and hope to use her again in the future. D&A read more

We worked with Maggie for our newborn shoot when my son was 10 days old, and worked with her again for his 1 year photos. As a brand new mom, I was terrified, stressed and beyond exhausted, and the thought of toting my newborn into the freezing weather to take photos felt like more than I could take. I knew I HAD to get photos done of my newborn but it felt daunting and scary and I was a wreck. Enter Maggie- who comes to your house to take your photos and brings a calming energy to the chaos a new baby brings. I got to bond with my husband and son in our home where our pets where! We got to change our clothes and do touch ups in our house! She brought lots of cute accessories, swaddles, etc for the photos and has an incredible way with children. She got photos of a 10 day old SMILING. Now, whether that was gas or a smile we'll never know but I have a photo of him appearing to be smiling and that's pretty great. His one year shoot was wonderful as well, with great photos and she and Sarah (her wonderful assistant) did an incredible job getting my son comfortable and taking photos at his happiest. My ONLY caveat or issue- the communication experience, for me, was not great. About 80% of the emails I sent weren't responded to. Example: I sent some questions and ideas for his 1 year photo shoot and even after several days, had to follow up with a call. Again afterwards, someone left an item of clothing at our home and I emailed them about that- never heard back. We got our photos and Sarah did follow up to get us our prints in a prompt manner, so no issues with that piece. I would go with Maggie again and recommend her highly! read more

We took advantage of This Is Family's "mini-session" in October because they were donating part of the fee to La Leche League and also because I realized we should get a new family picture! Our boys are 15 and 11 and time is going so fast. We met at a park in Schaumburg and Jill and Maggie took photos of all of us and in different combinations and they came out SO beautifully. They really captured our personalities and I adore the pictures and they couldn't be sweeter or easier to work with. read more

We had Maggie as our maternity, L&D, and newborn photographer! She is amazing! She is so laid back, she's attentive and open minded. Husband and I felt extremely comfortable with her, it was as she was part of the family. She was even very helpful during my labor, almost like a doula! I was very grateful to have her around not only as a photographer, but as support. I will be forever grateful to her for that. I don't think she even knows. My labor was long and complicated, she went home twice due to false alarms and slow progress, but she was right back as soon as we called even though she didn't live close. What she captures in her photos is priceless and just what my husband and I wanted! Real moments, real memories, real feelings! She will continue to be our photographer for our future babies! Her delivery of the photos was on time and professional. Overall we are 100% happy with her and her work. read more

Maggie photographed the birth of my baby back in May, and just recently her and Jill came to do a Day in the Life documentary session in my home (baby boy is now just over 6 months!) It is amazing continuity to invite someone into your baby's birth and then have them back into your home for all of those wonderful moments that you want to bottle up and save forever. Jill and Maggie were personable, unobtrusive, and, most importantly, got my four year old to open up to them. We're looking forward to having them document our family for years to come! read more

Working with 'This is Family' was great. Scheduling, communication and doing photo sessions were a breeze. Pictures turned out great and they were delivered on time. We are going to use 'This is Family' again ! I highly recommend them for anything from birth stories to indoor and outdoor family pictures. Maggie, Jill and Nina working with you was great. Thanks, Kasia, Ben, Ellie and Liam read more

I would definitely hire Maggie from This.Is.Family again.  She was such a calming presence to my birth.  I honestly didn't know she was there once labor really started moving.  I was a tad distracted in the beginning just because I could see the flash out of the corner of my eye but once I was in the zone, I didn't even know she was there.  Another reason why I am glad that I hire This.Is.Family was to see how my birth played out in the eyes of my family.  I LOVE the photos of my daughters getting ready for bed and the fact that she still around afterwards to get pictures of my daughters helping clean up the birth was just awesome.  Maggie and her team are the best to work with. They are one of the best teams to have are your birth,  My only regret is not getting video as well.  Hire them! read more

I am not a Yelp reviewer on a regular basis but happy to write one for Maggie. We loved having Maggie in our home to capture our family with a newborn. We were able to leisurely nurse and enjoy the afternoon, without the rush of a portrait studio. She was patient with my older kids, got them to laugh, captured their natural youthful nature as well as some poses that I wanted. She was flexible to our requests. Thank you! read more

For the birth of our 5th child we were finally able to have the home birth that I had always wanted. Surrounded by her older siblings, my husband, our Doula and our Midwife we welcomed our daughter Nina earthside in the privacy and comfort of our living room. Thanks to the amazing photo's that Maggie took I can reflect back on that morning always. Maggie caught the look of pure delight on my older daughters faces when they learned they had a little sister. She captured my husband snuggling our newborn to his chest as our other children were gathered around and I was in the bedroom getting settled. Countless expressions and moments that I would have other wise missed out on if not for her amazing documentary photography. Nina is now a year old and we have enjoyed getting to know Maggie even more as she has come back to our home to help us document our first year as a family of 7 and I cherish every image. We are forever grateful to Maggie and her team at This Is Family Photography for helping us to remember every special little detail. read more

We hired Maggie on the recommendation of a friend to take pictures of our family. Generally, we're not very good at doing the whole hire-a-photographer-for-real-pictures thing, but we actually got ourselves organized this time - and we're so glad we did! Nina (office maven) was incredibly prompt in responding to all our questions and in setting up our session. Maggie (photographer extraordinaire) was an absolute pleasure to work with, and the photos she took were just perfect. She made getting them taken so very easy, especially with a busy toddler in the mix. We're usually terrible at getting pictures of our whole family together, and we treasure all Maggie's photos of us because they're simply wonderful - really us, as we are. Additionally, we had a time constraint to work within when it came to scheduling (extended family in town for a short time around a birthday) - Nina & Maggie were so helpful working with us on this. We also wanted a few special shots (breastfeeding & with extended family - separately, of course!), and Maggie made them happen and happen beautifully. Side note: if you have a technology-loving partner like mine, you'll be grateful for the ability to get all your photos as digital files, rather than just prints. We cannot recommend Maggie & This Is Family highly enough! read more