Mark Trela and his wife Magda photographed our wedding August 2019 at Garfield Park Conservatory…read more When I say they exceeded every expectation of ours, I mean it. To be honest, the photographer was the only vendor I was picky about and as soon as I saw their wedding photography, I knew immediately that they had to be ours. I love the lighting and style of their work. They are incredibly talented and have an eye for what makes a good photo. I loved how their documentary style gave us a full story of that day. If that wasn't enough, Mark and Magda are incredibly kind and will put their whole heart into your day. They were present and attentive the whole time. When the events of the day were underway I didn't even notice them buzzing around snapping photos. They were also responsive before and after the wedding and worked well with our wedding planner when it came to scheduling, etc. We received the photos within a couple weeks of the wedding. They also helped us select photos for a leather-bound book (honestly, they did most of the selecting/formatting themselves which was wonderful - I'm a hands-off kind of bride). I've told Mark and Magda I want them to be our family photographer forever! I'm just so in love with their work and I don't want our wedding to be the last time we work with them. I can't recommend them enough and they'll be worth every single dollar you spend on them (something pretty uncommon in the wedding industry!!)

Mark & Magda photographed our June 2017 wedding and I could not have been happier with the entire…read moreexperience. From the very beginning, Mark was super easy to communicate with and he always responded promptly to the plethora of questions that I threw at him. At our initial meeting, he really took the time to understand what I was looking for in a photographer and what was important to me when photographing our wedding day. From looking through his blog, I knew immediately that his style of photography was exactly what we were looking for; candid, artsy, and a unique way of capturing light (this was huge for me). After we signed the contract with him, Mark was great about keeping in touch over the months leading up to the wedding to get all the specifics of the day and to check in to see if I had any questions. He always made himself available via email or phone if I needed advice for how to best set up our schedule for the day or even if I had silly freak out questions about worst-case weather scenarios (which he always put me at ease about). I really appreciated that Mark & Madga took a day ahead of time to scope out our church and reception venue. I told him it was very important that we incorporate the outdoors as much as we could, and he made sure to find some great potential locations for photos. On the day of, Mark and Magda were able to coordinate perfectly to ensure that both my husband and I would have pictures of us getting ready with our bridal parties. They are both so personable and fun that they quickly put me at ease and really blended into the background to get all of these amazing candid shots throughout the morning. The ceremony went flawlessly and they coordinated group family shots with ease. I think that my favorite thing about working with Mark and Magda was how enthusiastic they were about taking amazing photographs. They went out of their way to convince an owner of a private barn to let us take pictures on his property and I couldn't help but really get into the photo session as Mark was so excited about the location and the light filtering into the barn. The photos from our cocktail hour were such a pleasant surprise to look at after the wedding as I barely even noticed them mingling in the groups to snag some amazing candid photos of all our friends and family. Mark was able to coordinate the timing perfectly at our reception to sneak us outside right after dinner to get these amazing golden hour pictures on the beach. I highly highly recommend Mark Trela as a Wedding Photographer. He is a true professional, a super great guy to have around on your big day, and he creates absolutely stunning photographs.

Mike did our engagement session back in June and our wedding in September, and all I can say is…read moreWOW! He really does have a way of working some sort of magic with his camera. Not only can he set up a perfect shot, but he has a way of capturing a candid moment like no one else. He was such a pleasure to work with... very professional while at the same time making us feel relaxed and comfortable. And despite having captured every pivotal moment, it somehow seemed as if he wasn't even there most of the time. I highly recommend him and would definitely hire him again.

Mike was such an amazing photographer to work with. He did both our wedding shower and wedding…read morephoto shoot. Thank you for capturing those memorable moments so beautifully.

There are no words to express how grateful we were to have worked with Stephanie on our big day! We…read moregot to know her a bit when we did our engagement photos, where she helped us become more comfortable with the camera and of her. Charlie and I are not very photo happy folks, so we had no idea what we were doing most of the time. But Stephanie never missed a beat! I was able to email over a mood board to showcase some of the shots that I was thinking of having and she quite literally scroll through them and brought them to light. She communicated so well when we had questions and needed recommendations on timing, how we should structure our day, and how to accommodate our furbabies into our day. We have THE BEST time with her, and can't wait for more special occasions to be able to use her services again. (Can we do a wedding 2.0? Just kidding! But maybe maternity photos? Ha!)

I cannot recommend Stephanie enough! From start to finish, she was absolutely incredible to work…read morewith. Not only did she capture the most stunning, beautiful photos that we will cherish forever, but she also made the entire process so smooth and enjoyable. Her communication was excellent every step of the way, and she was incredibly organized with her spreadsheets and documents, which gave me so much peace of mind. On top of her professionalism, Stephanie has the most wonderful personality--so friendly, bubbly, and genuinely fun to be around. She made us feel completely comfortable in front of the camera and went above and beyond to ensure we got every single photo we asked for (and then some!). If you're looking for someone who is both talented and an absolute joy to work with, look no further than Stephanie. She truly exceeded all expectations, and I feel so lucky to have had her as our photographer.

I have had Maggie taking our family photos for 16 years, and she photographed two of my births…read more 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.

We LOVED the photos Maggie took of our baby boy and family! She was fantastic to work with and…read morecaptured 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!

We loved the 25th anniversary photos that Michelle took. They made or day extra special. And…read moreMichelle was a delight to work with, professional and friendly. Thanks so much.

Michele and Andy were AMAZING to work with for our wedding! Michele and I worked through the…read morewedding timeline on three occasions, she answered all my simple and complex questions and gave appropriate feedback and suggestions. My husband and I do not take many pictures, but both Andy and Michele made the day so easy and comfortable. They were so much fun and the pictures came out exactly how I wanted them and we got them two weeks after our wedding!! I do not have enough great things to say about them: professional, high energy, thorough. Everything you could ask for on your wedding day!

Tori and her team are STELLAR. I own a marketing agency, and I recently booked her for a…read morephotoshoot. I cannot say enough wonderful things about working with her -- from fast email responses before the shoot to creating a comfortable environment the day of. Tori even shared the photos just days after the shoot... and the photos were fantastic! I would absolutely work with her again and refer to others. I promise you will not go wrong if you book her!

Tori Soper Photography are very professional. I had a great time with the staff they made me feel…read morelike a Rockstar loved their energy. They did a fantastic job making me look good. I highly recommend them for your company or private event photos.

We hired Andrew for our wedding (Chicago) and he did NOT disappoint. Everything from his prompt and…read moretimely arrival to the suaveness of his ability to herd 14+ family members for group shots. Phew! Super professional, but also knew how to keep us relaxed enough despite the chaos. Love his editing style - our pictures came out in this beautifully cinematic, warm hue. It was perfection! The only downside is that he doesn't live in Chicago but will def hit him up for fam photos when we travel to the West Coast. Thanks again, Andrew!

I hired Andrew to do a proposal shoot of my fiancée and me at the Shedd Aquarium. I don't have many…read morefamily in friends in the area and wanted someone to capture the moment so we could share it with family and friends back in California. I'm so glad that I chose Andrew because he got me everything I wanted for our proposal moment and more. After contacting him, he was prompt and attentive with all our different forms of communication. I wanted the proposal and pictures to be a surprise so once we decided on a date, I told Andrew to follow us around paparazzi style until I popped the question. He did a great job staying out of view because by the time I proposed, my fiancée had no idea he was there until I pointed him out. After the proposal, we went outside to take formal shots in inclement weather. It was snowing/ freezing raining outside when we went to take our outdoor photos. Even though it was cold and wet, Andrew made multiple trips to his car and back to get the right equipment for our shoot and somehow managed to maintain an infectiously positive attitude. After that, we continued around the aquarium while Andrew took candid shots of us. All the pictures turned out fantastic. Andrew uploaded all of our photos onto his website with a personal password for us for our own private viewing. Shortly after showing all the photos to us, he mailed a copy of all the photos to me on a usb. Andrew was phenomenal to work with and was professional throughout. To make things even better, he was more affordable than every other photographer that I reached out to. I would definitely recommend Andrew for any of your photography needs.

I hired them for my daughter's holiday party and they were phenomenal. They brought different props…read moreand took time to pose each guest in creative ways. They were very patient with the children too. They took many candid shots too which was nice for them to capture the memories naturally.