Best Engagement Photographers in Chicago

For most couples, their wedding photographer is also their engagement photographer, and the e-session acts as a trial run in the lead-up to their special day. It’s a great way to become more comfortable in front of the camera and to develop a stronger relationship with your photographer.

If you’re getting married in Chicago or its surroundings, you'll have options when it comes to talented engagement photographers. In this list, we’ll introduce 9 of the best and what it is that sets them apart.

Crane’s Photography

Crane's Photography is owned and operated by Randy, a European-turned-Chicagoan who loves the 4th of July, coffee, and taking pictures. He is passionate about connecting with newly engaged couples on a personal level and strives to capture their unique nature through his images.

Randy often incorporates Chicago’s distinctive architecture and skyscraper-dominated skyline into his engagement photos, giving them a real sense of place and reflecting what the city means to the couples he works with.

This Is Feeling Photo + Video

This Is Feeling Photo + Video is a team of talented Chicago photographers who describe their style as a combination of fine art and documentary. Collectively, they have over 20 years of experience in the industry and have photographed more than 300 weddings, as well as countless engagement sessions celebrating the love of their clients.

While they’ve worked with big-name companies that include Nike and Eddie Bauer, they say there is nothing quite like working one-on-one with engaged couples and creating photos they can connect to.

Chi-Town Weddings

Chi-Town Weddings is the husband and wife team of Robert and Rachel, with Robert handling all of the photography and Rachel working behind the scenes in marketing and administration. They lead a highly experienced team of associate photographers and assistants who help them to deliver an outstanding service at both weddings and engagement sessions.

Chi-Town Weddings boasts state-of-the-art equipment and is dedicated to documenting your relationship beautifully, creatively, and with attention to detail.

Benjamin Foote

Benjamin Foote is a portrait and event photographer serving Detroit and the greater Chicago area. He’s been working in the digital arts industry since 2005 and spent four years studying in the University of Michigan’s Screen Arts & Cultures program.

Since establishing his own cinematography and photography business, Benjamin's captured countless portraits, engagement sessions, concerts, and music videos. We love the relaxed feel of his engagement photography, whether he’s shooting couples in Chicago’s urban streets or wooded parks.

Maypole Studios

Maypole Studios is the team of Bethany and Jon, who describe themselves as “stewards of monumental memories”. Bethany has worked as a wedding and engagement photographer for the last 10 years while Jon has been with Maypole Studios for a little over five years.

Their e-session photos aren’t run of the mill but infused with creative touches, from quirky gestures to streaks of couple competitiveness and a touch of magic. Oh, and did we mention that they love incorporating pets into their engagement session shoots?

Lilly Photography

Lilly Photography is the team of Jiho, Kathleen, and Kristina, who each bring their unique talents and style to the business. They believe that wedding and engagement shoots should not be a studio session but an opportunity to “capture genuine moments as they organically happen”.

While they will give direction as needed during portrait sessions, their approach is more about allowing moments to happen using creative photography techniques. We love their use of dramatic light and unusual angles, which sometimes includes taking things upside down.

Peter Gubernat

Peter Gubernat describes himself as a “storyteller and craftsman”, who specializes in “documentary photography and epic wedding portraits”. He draws on his background in photojournalism to give his images a unique and fresh feel, with a mix of both candid moments and posed portraits that deserve to be hung on the wall.

While Peter is based in Chicago, he’s happy to travel beyond Illinois’ borders to document couples in love and goes above what’s expected to give his clients a worry-free experience.

Bonphotage

With her work featured in “Style Me Pretty”, “Martha Stewart”, “Magnolia Rouge” and “People”, Lynzie from Bonphotage has made a name for herself as one of Chicago’s top wedding and engagement photographers. She works between Illinois and Los Angeles, as well as regularly traveling across the globe.

Lynzie’s joined by a hand-picked team of photographers who all work in her editorial and joyful style that’s all about capturing beautiful light and natural emotions with “dreamy film tones”.

Anna Ginda Photography

Anna Ginda’s photography can be described as timeless, crisp, and awe-inspiring and she operates a boutique studio out of Schaumburg, Illinois. Originally from Poland, she loves helping her clients to relive the spirit, emotion, and excitement of a day through beautiful images that can be hung on the wall or showcased in an engagement photo album. In addition to engagements and weddings, Anna also regularly shoots family portrait sessions as her wedding clients become new parents.  

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