We recently asked Angel to take our maternity photos for us and we're so glad we did! She was…read moreprofessional, communicated clearly with us right up until the day of, and scouted out the best location. We are typically shy in front of the camera but she made us feel so comfortable and directed us in a way that felt natural and most like ourselves. She also speaks 3 languages which makes it easier for our older generation parents to work with! We couldn't have asked for a better photographer and we can't wait to continue hiring her for future events & to capture our family moments!

We never did a maternity shoot with our 1st child, and so doing this with Angel for our 2nd baby…read moreWITH our toddler was so precious to us. Also a mom, Angel knows how to work with baby - no matter how tired or distracted they may be AND she positioned us beautifully. She is so personable and we not only LOVE the pictures but just enjoyed the day with her. For sure recommend!

With a plethora of talented photographers (and some that are not so talented) in Chicago, choosing…read moreone that suits your specific needs is a lot like asking multiple pizza chefs to make their spin on pizza with your specifications. Even if you give all of them the same amount of cheese, flour, meats, veggies, yeast, and other raw ingredients - it's possible and even probable that you'd get differing end results. Choosing a photographer for our engagement session was a similar task, but I had the good fortune of being introduced to Liesl awhile back without actually knowing that she was a photographer. Imagine my surprise and relief while looking for photographers when I saw Liesl Diesel Photography come up. Onwards... Timeliness of Response through Website: 5 out of 5 For photographers, I imagine that time is worth a good deal of money. Even for clients like us who weren't looking to spend all the cash money on the Diesel package that she offers, engagement photo sessions can provide a steady stream of yearly income. Wanting to be as professional as possible, I e-mailed Liesl through her website, and got a preliminary response within 2 hours, which I believe to be reasonable. Had she left me hanging for over 24 hours, I would have moved onto the next victim, I mean, potential photographer. Access to portfolio: 5 out of 5 When choosing a photographer, one of the most important things for us was to be able to access Liesl's existing work. In today's technological age, photogs can post their pictures on facebook or any other social media, but those photos aren't 100% accurate when it comes to representing a photographer's true intensity. They're awesome photos, of course - but as with all trades, photographers have their enough style and fortes, and I wanted one that not only could be creative and extemporaneous, but also one that could do more cliched posed photos. Liesl shared her FULL existing work without any type of pause or reservation, and without any type of pretense. Stylistic Variety: 5 out of 5 And...this part sealed the deal for us. Of course LDP had great photos up of couples and families in nice traditional Chicago settings, but LDP also seems to run some type of loose monopoly on Indian sub-continent weddings. The wedding and engagement couples that were in her portfolio ranged from hipsters to Americans of Indian descent to cookie cutter Caucasian. Also - it was quickly apparent that Liesl is a master of control bokeh - something that other photographers in the city either implement too liberally, or are afraid to use at all. Contract Process: 5 out of 5 Her contract is easy to read with minimal legal-ese. Sign and date, scan, and pay either the deposit amount or full amount depending on your preferred date, and she holds a spot "in line" for you. Accommodation of specific wants and needs: 5 out of 5 With LDP, I found the perfect balance of flexibility while staying true to her artistic roots. I sent over lots of examples from other photographers of shots that we liked, and she ran with our ideas flawlessly. And yes - she was completely fine and skilled at taking photos with our dog in them. Professionalism and punctuality: 5 out of 5 Our photo shoot was scheduled for 3pm at Museum Campus. I got a text from her at 2:35 letting me know she was there. Holy moly. During the entire 2 hour shoot, she was clear and concise with her instructions to her lighting coordinator, she was professional and courteous with us, and at no time did I ever feel like LDP was procrastinating, or being slow, or trying to take advantage of us. I mean...it was a full 2 hours of hard work from LDP, and I appreciate that. Turnaround time: 5 out of 5 Photos were released onto fb the next evening, and added throughout the following days. The full set of high-res downloadable photos was released to us in 4 (yes, FOUR) working days (not weeks or months). I've heard stories where people have waited at least 4 weeks for photos, so you do the math. Access to final products: 5 out of 5 If you have a computer with the interwebs, you can access your photos. Dropbox is LDP's tool of choice, and it works well. Just be sure you have a program to unzip files, or download the evaluation version of winzip. Price and payment: 4 out of 5 I'm not positive, but maybe LDP charges just a little more than others. But the final product is definitely worth it, and LDP does take paypal so you can rack up points on your credit card. Overall: 5 out of 5 In all seriousness, the best way I can describe Liesl is that she's extremely dedicated to her work, and her enthusiasm, no - her intensity, comes through in her final product. I'll post a few favorites in the photos section for you all to see.

Liesl is truly an artist, and her photographs evidence it. In the hunt for the photographer that…read morewould capture the most special day of our lives, my husband and I came across Liesl's website and were truly mesmerized. We ended up meeting with three prospective photographers, but no one else compared to Liesl. She has a true passion for what she does. At first, it was a difficult decision to make since Liesl's services do not come cheap. In the end, Liesl was flexible in working with our budget and customizing a package that got us what we wanted within the ballpark of our budget. Her services are completely worth the price - as she takes incredible photographs! We are very pleased with our selection of photographer and will be recommending her to all of our friends and family! Our final engagement photographs and wedding portraits came out beautifully. We also truly enjoyed working with Liesl throughout the entire process. She has such a great spirit. Moreover, she is very organized, punctual and prompt with the delivery of images. I'm uploading a few sample pictures from our engagement and wedding, but encourage you to check out her full website and make an appointment to meet with her ASAP!

5 stars: Wonderful experience!…read more We couldn't be happier with our photos. Natalie was professional, easy to work with, and made us feel comfortable from the start. She has a great eye for capturing natural, genuine moments, and the final images exceeded our expectations. Communication was clear throughout, and we received our gallery much sooner than expected. I'd recommend Natalie to anyone looking for beautiful photos and an stress-free experience.

We recently had the pleasure of working with Mid-August who came to our office in Downtown LA to…read morecapture professional portraits for our entire staff, and the experience exceeded our expectations in every way. From the outset, Natalie and her team demonstrated a high level of professionalism. Ray the photographer arrived promptly, he was well-prepared, and created an organized, efficient workflow that made the process smooth for everyone involved. What stood out most was their ability to listen and adapt. Natalie and Ray were very receptive to our vision and specific direction regarding the style and tone of the photos. They took the time to understand what we wanted and executed it perfectly! The final results speak for themselves--everyone in the office is genuinely happy with how their portraits turned out and everybody has gotten very good feedback of how amazing their portraits look. The images are polished, consistent, and simply beautiful. We highly recommend Mid-August to any organization looking for high-quality corporate and/or professional portraits paired with a smooth and wonderful experience.

We have worked with Cheryl for three sessions now. First, when our twins were around 6 months old…read more Second, when our twins were around 9 months old. Third, around 1 year old. The first two sessions were at Cheryl's studio near the Korean victory bell, and the third sessions was outdoors. Cheryl's studio is in a very unique part of town, and we enjoyed exploring the area before and after our visits. The nearby Korean friendship bell and its park have an amazing coastal view. If you happen to be in the area on Saturday, you might be able to check out the model railroad club, and it's detailed train scene. We found Cheryl to be excellent working with kids. It is extremely challenging to get their attention and get them to smile. Cheryl was also very flexible, working with us to include our favorite outfits, props, poses, and other little details. My wife loves how selective Cheryl's wardrobe is. Cheryl always works around our twins' napping/feeding schedule, so the kids can show up at the happiest mood. She was also very patient, giving us time to feed the kids their bottles. My wife and I never feel rushed while working with Cheryl. The photos themselves turned out beyond our expectations. The quality of the photos is outstanding. Our twin boys are growing up so fast, and we are thrilled to have taken the time to capture their early stages (with Cheryl's help). We've had a great time sharing the albums with friends and family. Overall, it has been a great pleasure working with Cheryl. She is responsive and easy to communicate with over email. I have already recommended her to my co-workers (most friends and family we shared the album with always ask who our talented photographer is.) I will gladly work with Cheryl again in the future (if she can find time in her busy schedule!).

Cheryl did such a fantastic job with our family photos, despite challenging conditions. I could not…read morebe happier with them. Highly recommend.

Andy is amazing at what he does, and a great person too! The wedding videography was professional…read moreand beautiful....... But the passion & care he put into our same day edit, engagement shoot video, that premiered at our reception was maybe top 3 highlights of my wedding day. Rob also was amazing with his drone work and cinematic shots.

We loved our beautiful photos and video! Andy went BEYOND the extra mile to perfectly capture our…read moreintimate and fun backyard wedding and he was an absolute delight!

Meredith at Zoom Theory is truly one of a kind. She photographed our wedding, and from that day on…read morewe knew she would be our family's photographer for life. Over the last 7 years she's captured our newborn sessions, family photos, milestone birthdays, and countless memories we'll treasure forever. The ultimate testament to her dedication? She traveled to Hawaii to meet us during a family vacation and recreated cherished family photos from my husband's childhood - complete with Polaroid photos! Those images are priceless! Meredith has an incredible gift. She's talented, thoughtful, patient, and an absolute joy to work with. Meredith is a true gem, and I couldn't recommend Zoom Theory more highly!

We had the best experience working with Meredith and truly can't recommend her enough…read more She captured the most beautiful photos from our wedding and festivities--every shot felt natural, thoughtful, and perfectly timed. Even with some windy weather on our wedding day, she made the absolute best of it and somehow turned it into a positive--the photos still came out stunning. We've also used Meredith for corporate headshots and have attended several events where she was the photographer, and she is consistently incredible. Her work is always high-quality, and she has a way of making everyone feel comfortable in front of the camera. Beyond her talent, she's an absolute pleasure to work with--professional, calm, and clearly very experienced. We're so grateful to have these memories captured so perfectly. Highly, highly recommend!

The good: I got my toddlers photos taken with Heather in her…read morehome studio. The photos came out great and my kiddos both enjoyed the session! It was short and sweet and went smoothly. I liked the lighting and soft finish of the photos. They look like supermodels in these photos! Her website allows you to download the shots but also to order prints or photo art in various mediums. The turnaround time with photos was super quick (a couple of days). She was pleasant and easy to work with. I'd highly recommend her! The bad: We only got 2 photos with me and the kids because my kids got so squirmy toward the end. The interesting: There were various backdrop colors but we used white and tan. There are a few chair prop options and fuzzy rugs. There were also wooden toys and stuffed animals for kids.

Heather was a pleasure to work with on both newborn pictures and milestone pictures of my twins…read more When they were newborns, Heather was so very patient, accommodating, and the pictures are gorgeous! At our milestone photo shoot my babies had the best time! Heather magically was able to entertain them, allowing them to sit as still as possible and smile for the most perfect pictures:)

Fantastic photographer! Pays attention to details and is dedicated to her art. Would recommend to…read moreall in the area.

Brooke Merrill captures strength, vulnerability, love, and happiness in her photos. You can tell…read morethat photography is her passion during the shoot and the delivery of her work. She's incredibly playful and relaxing to be around, but will go to great lengths to get the shot. You can find her scaling up a tree faster than a squirrel or army crawling through the trenches...no shot is too high or too low for her. I highly recommend her for her professionalism, creativity, and quality of work. (Plus: She's kid friendly, pet friendly, and can cheer up even the grumpiest of grumpies)