Tanya and Katy and simply amazing. My family planned a trip to Newport Beach, CA. I searched Google to find a local photographer. What I did not know was I was hitting the photographer jackpot when I booked with Tanya and Katy. Tanya and Katy did a conference call with me a few months prior to our trip. We picked a date and time that worked best for our trip. They were very flexible. They also had great advice on the hours that would have the best lighting. They also made me laugh during the conversation so I knew they were going to be fun to work with. We met Tanya and Katy at the beach. They instantly made my 1 year old daughter feel comfortable with the camera. They helped us carry all of our baby gear. They were creative in choosing where to take the photos. I told them I wanted beach photos. However, they exceeded my expectations by thinking outside of the box. They took pictures of us on the beach but also took photos of us near buildings that were very beach like. They did not make us pose like I was forced to do as a 90's child. They truly wanted to capture every day moments of our family in a beach setting. I received the photos two weeks later. They are stunning. I know my family will treasure these photos for years to come. Third Coast Photography will always be the West Coast photographers for this East Coast family. read more

I went to Tanya to get some professional head shots done. She was very flexible on when and where we could meet, which was great. I'm not a very photogenic guy, and was a bit worried that the process would feel like a school photo. But Tanya was AWESOME. She made the whole experience a lot of fun, and kept throwing jokes out there to make me laugh and "act naturally." I felt like she was able to catch my actual personality in the photos - that sounds weird, but the photos ended up looking very organic and not staged. I would highly recommend Tanya. My head shots turned out great and I will definitely go back to her for any future photo needs. read more

Tanya recently did engagement photos for my fiance and me, and they are gorgeous. She has a real photographer's eye and can spot which poses and angles will work well. Here are a few of my favorite parts: 1. We took the photos on the campus of the University of Chicago, where my fiance and I met. Even though she had never been there before, Tanya immediately pointed out several places where we should take photos. One was a fire escape on the side of a building that I had never noticed before. We climbed to the top and got a shot of us with the entire university stretched out in the background. It was probably our best photo. I just loved how we provided the template and theme (a photo shoot at our college) and she used her craft to make our vision come to life. 2. She brought along an antique camera and used it as both a lens and a prop. As a "lens," she angled it so that she used her professional camera to take photos of us through the lens of the antique one. It was a really cool and hip concept, and added style and uniqueness to our photos. 3. She told me that she never does the same shoot twice. She wants each client to have a unique experience that serves as an artistic representation of their lives, and that simply cannot be replicated. She did give us some suggestions for posing ("hug," "lean in together," "back up") but for the most part, she allowed us to act natural and snapped away on the camera. The result was beautiful - it really captured us as ourselves, and not as stock photos of any newly engaged couple. 4. The resulting photos were so beautiful! Tanya edited them in about 10 days. She makes great use of space and light. They were edited so that you could tell they were professional, but they did not look fake or photoshopped at all. Overall, I loved my experience with Tanya Velazquez Photography. If you want a non-invasive, natural, unique and chic photo session, I would definitely recommend going here! read more

OK - so you have a new baby (our first) and of course you're gonna need some great shots right? Well, my wife was determined to have as many pictures taken as possible (it seemed like every other day) and we were SO BLESSED that Tanya was in Orange County, CA for a vacation and agreed to shoot some photos for us. Out of all the photographers we hired and pictures we took ourselves, Tanya's photos turned out to be our favorite. The shots were so genuine and warm and really felt like they captured the essence of our sweet little Bennett. Honestly though, the thing that stood out to me the most was how genuine and sweet Tanya was. I really trusted her and you could immediately tell she loves what she does and is great with babies and people in general. She has such a calming presence and I think that is why the photos turned out so great. She was able to work quickly and capture so many emotions before Bennett decided he was "over it" and didn't want to be photographed anymore. I'd 100% have Tanya take more photos of Bennett anytime she's in town or we are in Chicago, and I would even trust her to babysit if she was up for it! She's amazing and I highly recommend you reach out to her for your next photography need. You won't be disappointed. read more

When I needed a photographer for our boss Maria's 5 year anniversary party, a lot of people said that I should just do it myself. As one of the on-staff food photographers for Frontera Grill, I have had a lot of experience taking pictures of tacos! Human beings, not so much. Tanya Velazquez came highly recommended to me, and I totally endorse that recommendation. Not only was Tanya able to capture some truly remarkable moments in these photos, she was gracious about communicating how she was making shots happen. Guess what, I was taking notes! ...but I will be sticking to the tacos for now. Tanya was amazing and we will definitely be calling on her again the future. read more

We were lucky enough to hook up with Tanya and Katy to photograph my daughter's wedding. After talking to several photographers, I found Tanya and Katy. They were fun to talk to on the phone, and the work I had seen on their website captured the mood I was seeking for my daughter's day. My daughter's wedding was somewhat unconventional, in that the ceremony and reception were held in my yard, with her three dogs as part of the ceremony! Some of the traditional photo ops (mostly pre-wedding prep) weren't a focus for us, but we did want lots of pictures of the yard and our wedding guests (and the dogs). Tanya did a great job working with outside lighting conditions, and Katy was great at "wrangling" family and friends into photos. They seemed to be everywhere, but were very unobtrusive. I received the photos yesterday and they exceeded my expectations! Tanya and Katy absolutely captured the mood of the day - so many smiles and candid shots! I would highly recommend them! read more

My fiance and I hired Tanya to take our engagement photos, and we are very pleased with the results. She was very professional while being flexible with our various ideas and quirks. In fact, Tanya frequently augmented our ideas with suggestions and helpful direction. We definitely felt like she was working with us, giving us direction without being dictatorial, and giving us freedom to be ourselves without being a pushover. Tanya is super talented, and I hope that her business really takes off because she deserves it. read more

Tanya is a gift to engaged couples everywhere! We found Tanya through a Groupon for a 2 hour photo-session which we used for our engagement shots. When we called to book our session, she was super flexible and even called us to update us on the weather and her recommendations to keep or change the date. We basically toured Chicago on a hot and steamy July night, visiting all of our favorite places. Tanya was always open to our suggestions, and when we were out of ideas, she had plenty of ideas of her own. She also never referenced a time limit or rushed us. Our engagement photos turned out beautifully, and we even asked Tanya for help thinking through how to use them for save-the-dates. (She has some awesome, creative ideas). Of course, we had to use her for our wedding - and again, I can't reiterate her flexibility, humor, creativity and talent. Along with a great team, she took shots of our Rehearsal Dinner, Ceremony, and Reception (all on separate days). We not only got some incredible photos to capture this amazing time in our lives we also had fun working with her. We consider Tanya a friend now and would recommend her to anyone looking for a non-traditional approach to wedding photos. read more

My partner and I booked Tanya Velazquez for our May 2013 engagement party. The experience was incredible. Unlike other couples we decided to have an over the top-vintage carnival themed engagement party (hosted at Cafe Baba Reeba), with absolutely no public wedding for family and friends to participate in. We chose to exchange vows in Greece and knew our loved ones couldn't afford, so the engagement party photographed by Tanya was our only marriage related event and extremely important to us. She was worth every penny. Her prices are more than fair. Her customer service is impeccable and she is personable and charming. She reduced my anxiety as a bride-unbelievable in itself. The photographs are beautiful and I appreciate that she did not seem to reduce the quality of her services despite our budget, our small group of 50 guest or our handmade decor. Our event was non-traditional (hip hop and pop music, belly dancing, Spanish food, kissing booth area and candy decor) but Tanya did not seem to take it lightly. In my experience marriage events (unlike graduations, births etc.) are the only time you can expect people to fly from everywhere just to stand in your presence. Tanya understood the importance of our lil engagement party and our photos prove that. Most important, she treated our families and friends -almost all of whom were from visiting from out of state, half drunk off blackberry Sangria and a bit bossy-as if they were no annoyance at all. When the mother's in law thought THEY were in charge of who would be photographed next, she was humored, accommodating and unfazed. Ya'll know how mothers can be. Our guests actually complimented how nice she was.Our photos were incredible. I recommend her highly. Go to her website and see for yourself. read more

I attended one of Tanya's shows in Texas and fell in love with her work. After that she was my first choice of photographer for my wedding. Tanya was fantastic to work with. I was only home for a month and had to cram all the photos for the wedding to the last minute. We had four days to do all the wedding photos. Tanya never complained, but offered encouraging words and reassurance it will all get done. She worked fast and hard to make sure that I had some photos on my wedding day. During the wedding, she never took a break and captured every moment. Her pictures were breathtaking, and I am so grateful of all the work she did. She helped make an already magical day even better, and I am able to relive that moment at any time through her pictures. Thank you! read more

I was looking for a photographer to capture the special moment when I proposed to my now Fiance. Well, I found the best one out there. Tanya is awesome! She went above and beyond planning for my proposal in Chicago. At the time of my proposal inquiry I was in Michigan, so I was not able to meet with Tanya in person before the big day. She wanted to make sure every detail was perfect Tanya is very professional but still made the photography session fun. She kept joking around to make the photos feel more natural rather than being staged. She was able to photograph both of our personalities in a beautiful way. I would highly recommend Tanya to anyone! read more

When my partner and I were planning our civil union ceremony, we knew we needed to hire a photographer who could think outside the box. Because there's a big difference in age between my partner and I, and our two adopted kids are a different race than us, in photos we often look like a mismatched set, rather than the loving family we are. We knew traditionally posed "wedding" photos wouldn't serve us well. We needed a photographer who had a few tricks up her sleeve for minimizing our physical differences and highlighting our connectedness. Tanya achieved this far better than I could have imagined possible. Thanks to her, we have photos of our special day that we'll treasure forever. At our request, she took photos throughout the ceremony. She captured not only the scripted highlights, but also many small-scale spontaneous intimacies, like a held hand or a guest's wiped tear. It wasn't until I later saw a videotape of the ceremony that I realized how busy and attentive she must have been to get so many shots from such a variety of angles, yet she did so unobtrusively and successfully, despite challenging lighting conditions. By prior arrangement, she then skipped the post-ceremony luncheon so that she could preview the Lincoln Park Conservatory and surrounding area, where we took pictures later that afternoon. In one of my favorite shots, all four of us are sitting on a low stone wall, and Tanya's simple request that we all cross our right leg at the same angle gives us the symmetry I've longed for but couldn't before achieve in face-forward photos of us. She took another shot from above us on a bridge, while we walked beside a lagoon down below. Our kids describe that as a cool shot that makes us look like a band; if we ever release an album, we'll use that for the cover. I'm fond too of the photo Tanya took when we were high on the bridge, with the famous Chicago skyline behind us. And the black and white close-up of my partner and I taken from behind, shoulder to shoulder, turned towards each other in profile? That's framed and hanging just above our bedroom dresser, dear to us. Tanya's artistic photos alone should convince you to contact her (check out her website!), but the final clincher is her affordable rates. Another photographer we briefly considered charged less per print but said a CD of her shots would cost an additional $1000. Tanya's pricing already includes a CD, so there's much more flexibility for printing what you want now but not losing shots you might want later. We're so glad we found Tanya, and you will be too. read more

Had a great experience being photographed by Tanya. She was completely unfazed by our energetic pup being included... We had also seen her photograph a toddler... They say kids and pets are the most difficult subject for a photo shoot, but Tanya seemed to relish the challenge! She works fast, offers creative suggestions for locations and poses, and she and partner Katy could not have been sweeter. And the bottom line? We loved our photos! Highly recommend. read more

Let me start by saying that Tanya and Monica are "The Best".From the first meeting with them I instantly felt comfortable and assured that they would get the job done. I really enjoyed the fact that she truly understood what me and my fiance wanted and she took my ideas and created the most beautiful pictures I have ever seen. She is very creative and uses her natural resources very well. They took time to cover every aspect of my ceremony and even reminded me of things I didn't even think of. I'm not sure I would have got this type of help and attention from another photographer I tell you they are a great team! I was a nervous wreck before and on my wedding day and Monica stepped right on in and calmed me down. There was no pressure and I have never felt so relaxed and confident. Tanya knows how to work that camera and you will not regret using her for your occasion! We have future occasions coming up and they are definitely the photographers that will capture every moment. Thanks Tanya and Monica you guys are "The Best" hands down!!!!!! read more