Being the ultimate planner I looked into newborn photos a few months before my baby girl even made…read moreher debut into this crazy world. A few friends had passed on contact info for their favorite photographers around Chicagoland. I checked them all out and was shocked to see that most of them were around $500 for newborn photos, which at the time seemed a bit crazy to me since I think all newborns look alike. Or at least I used to think that until I gave birth to the cutest newborn ever...yeah, you could say I'm a bit biased. ;) I was also surprised that some of these photographers were booked 6 months out. Apparently there are people out there who plan even earlier than I do! I recalled that some friends had used Jen Soares for adorable pics of their kiddies so decided to shoot her an email. Jen had a few openings a few weeks after my baby's due date and she was $100 for a newborn session, which even includes a CD of all the final photos. I booked her immediately! When my baby was 2 weeks old Jen and her husband, Mike, showed up for our scheduled appointment with their cameras in hand. The baby was having a bit of a meltdown...and my hubby and I were doing our best to calm her down.Meanwhile, Jen and Mike worked their photographer magic and started snapping away! They were in and out within 30 minutes (which was about all we could handle at the time). Fortunately, in this short amount of time they managed to take a ton of cute photos of the baby alone, family shots and even of our pu! After they left I was a bit worried we wouldn't get any cute ones for a birth announcement since she was so hysterical, but we had so many good ones to choose from that I ended up using 4 photos on the birth announcement! While Jen has only been available on the weekends in the past, she just started doing photography full-time so she'll now be available during the week days as well. She mentioned in 2011 she'll be charging $100 for week days and $150 for weekends, which is still quite the deal. It's such a great deal that I'm planning on having her come back to take more photos every few months. And hopefully our baby will greet Jen and Mike with a smile next time!

I found Jen after doing an internet search for infant photographers in Chicago. She responded to…read moremy e-mail inquiry right away and my husband and I really liked the photos on her website so we decided to give her a try. Jen made everything very easy. I really liked the fact that she came to our condo to take the photographs. She showed up on time and started working right away so we got our full hour with her. It was definitely worth the money. We had some photo ideas/poses in mind and Jen suggested some as well and we just winged the rest. We LOVE how the pictures turned out and will treasure them always. I have nothing negative to say about the experience we had. We were very pleased and plan on using her again.

I hired Liz as a 40th anniversary present for my parents. By far the best present I've given my…read moreparents to date (and a gift I will most likely never be able to match again...until the next time we have family pictures taken by Liz). Liz was a dream to work with from the first moment I contacted her...responding to my email sent via her website contact form within 15 minutes. Not only was her response quick, but she was very upfront will all the important details regarding her event coverage (hours, rate, deposit, final payment, image disk, online gallery information, etc.). From the moment the contract was signed, Liz started the planning process. Having never covered an event at our party location, she proactively reached out to the venue and scheduled a walkthrough of the grounds. It was evident in all our pictures that she had thoroughly walked the grounds and knew exactly where and when to get the best shots. Liz kept in constant contact throughout the planning process - asking important questions to give her a better feel for the day's events...was flash photography allowed at mass, was there going to be a cake, favors, etc. Liz did all the planning up front to ensure she didn't miss any pictures the night of the event and I can assure you she captured it all. Even though I was at the event, I didn't capture nearly all the beauty with my eyes that she did through the lens. I can guarantee, I will never let anyone else behind the lens to capture our family's memories. I only wish I had known Liz when we got married. To all future brides and grooms lucky enough to hire her for your event....you will not be disappointed. In addition to event photography, Liz provides family, child, and pet photography. We will definitely be using her for all our photography needs from here on out (and I'm sure if you use her once, you will feel the same).

Liz is outstanding! First of all, prior to even hiring her, I was impressed by her timely reply to…read moremy inquiry. During the session, she was personable, easy-going and both flexible in listening to my suggestions as well as offering her own. She was also very generous in trying to get as many usable and workable shots as possible, as opposed to merely just cutting us off right at the 30 minute mark (particularly since she was working with my 2 unruly toddlers and infant). Lastly, to cap off an already positive experience, she had our teasers up the next day (amazingly fast!) as well as our full album within a week. Impressive! Her prices area also more reasonable in comparison to some of the others I researched, particularly the mini-portrait session. Given all this, we will definitely use her again. Plus knowing how well our pics turned out, I'd happily pay her for extra services. Thanks, Liz!

Bottom line up front-- BK Rose is Best in Class nation-wide and peerless...keeping up with trends…read moreand best practices etc. is what gets you booked. All stop. That means doing your homework. I'll help you out with gusto, just as so many have helped me as I got started on my own journey. Being on point on your self marketing, especially when you are non-represented, is non-negotiable. Failing to be professional with what casting directors demand is a roadblock. Submissions are "make or break" power moves. THE ODDS ARE AGAINST the apex storybook discovery tales of rarities like JLAW, Michele Pfeiffer, Charlize Theron etc. so if you expect that to be your way in...it's not reality. I get cast and work in these markets: NYC (Netflix movies), Atlanta (Marvel/ABC), and Mid-Atlantic (Apple TV). I am new to the business (three years in) but I have been building a resume over time and there is no way I am going to compromise because I take my career seriously. There is no slack given in a highly competitive industry with a dearth of roles and a surplus of talent. SO...if you want to crack the code, get seen, get call backs, get booked then there is no better photographer for any amount of money than BK Rose and Kat is my Queen. I get work in commercials, major motion pictures, network tv shows because of her. Fact! Every single person I ask that plays a role in getting cast (when I am lucky enough to get employment) has singled out my headshots as what is working for me to get my foot in the door. BK Rose unequivocally is worth the plane ticket, drive time, train time, mule riding time (you name it) to get quality content and ultimately get BOOKED. Not 10 out of 10 -- 100 out of 10!

We used Kat to do family/newborn photos when we had our 2nd child. We hadn't done family photos…read morebefore and Kat was so patient and helpful with answering all the questions I had and letting me try on outfits she had in the client wardrobe to see if anything would work for me before the photoshoot. She had some beautiful options but I ended up going with a dress of my own. Kat is truly a child/baby whisperer and was able to soothe my 3 week old to get her to cooperate for pictures and got my shy toddler to smile for photos! We received our pictures within 2 days of our photoshoot and they are nothing short of incredible. We have gotten so many compliments on how beautiful and stunning they look. I would highly recommend using BK Rose Studio for photos and know we will be reaching out again when we need more family photos taken!

Jennifer did a phenomenal job for my bridal makeup on Saturday. She came to the house and is funny,…read morewas awesome with my family and pups. I could not have been happier with the results. As a 54 year old bride, I felt gorgeous. Thank you Jennifer.

Yanko from Y&K Photography is very professional and friendly. Y&K does an excellent job. I would…read moreuse them again in a heartbeat for photography a wedding or any other important event.

From the owner: Photographer in Gurneeread more

After our daughter was born, Dylan took our first set of family photographs- this was no easy feat…read morewith a nine-month old and cattle dog. Dylan is communicative, professional, flexible and patient.

From the owner: Lake County IL portrait photographer based in Waukegan, IL. Putting quality and value in the…read morepicture.

Our family had a great portrait sitting at Studio West in 2010. We worked directly with Jeff, the…read moreowner, and Jen, the studio office manager. It was a simple process to get a convenient time for our portrait date. Jeff worked with me and my wife to suggest a good outfit and nice look for our 3 very young children and ourselves so that we would look and feel our best. Jeff posed us in a comfortable, fun way for at least 4 different styles or looks during the portrait session. Our children were ages 5, 3, and 1 at the time so it was kind of crazy with the kids but Jeff made it easy, stress-free, fun, and gave us all a great look. The guy is great with children and works seamlessly with each family to make it personalized and professional. The pictures look awesome. He captured dozens of great photos!! Now that we have 4 children we need to go back to Studio West and take pictures of our children again since they are older and look different. We will definitely use Studio West in downtown Libertyville again for the next photo shoot in 2013!

Jeff, the owner of Studio West, did the photography for our wedding at the Rookery and was SUCH a…read morepleasure to work with. He really seemed to "get" our personalities and the tone we wanted to capture on our wedding day. And we have already received all of our proofs (less than 3 weeks later!) so that we can start choosing the photos we want in our album.