The Blog
Chicago branding photographer sharing inspiration and good vibes for my fellow creative entrepreneur babes.
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Branding Photography
Author headshots, product photography and branding portrait sessions
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It was such a joy working with Dana on creating some fresh, inviting, and updated headshots for her upcoming brand launch. Her punchy brand colors of orange and blue gave us a lot to play with for this photoshoot. :) Thank you again to Dana for trusting me with supporting bringing your brand to life!
Um, HELLOOOOO Dr. Alana!
She’s intelligent. She’s kind. She’s hilarious. She knows exactly what she’s talking about.
And as Dr. Alana loves to say, “I said what I said.”
I had the most beautiful, inspirational, fulfilling photoshoot with Alana. We created these images with a few goals in mind.
I had an absolutely amazing time with Rachel Michelle Writes for her author headshot photography session! The space was so stunningly on-brand for her soon-to-be-released poetry book, that will feature her delicate and tender writing style. With personal touches from the props we incorporated into the photoshoot that highlight the inspiration she gained from her grandmothers, to showing a glimpse behind-the-scenes of her writing, I am so proud of this work. Congratulations Rachel, and thank you for trusting me with your headshot. :)
A crisp, late summer morning photoshoot? Sign me up!
I always love learning more about the different brands across Chicagoland who are doing incredible work to support our communities at every level, and that is exactly what Kate does. GBT Solutions, Kate’s brand, works with neurodivergent leaders through coaching and trainings to support and empower authentic teams. Not only is she doing amazing work in our city, she is also so kind and so fun to collaborate with.
Inspired Chicago Interview Series
Intimate interviews with Chicago creative entrepreneurs
Featured
As Miss Swift might say, “it’s been a long time coming, but…” we’ve got a new Inspired Chicago blog feature! I took a break from producing these stories during the pandemic for obvious reasons, but I have since photographed so many incredible folks that I wanted to get to know better. So, here we are with another installment featuring the incredible and kind Devan of Petal & Pages Co! I photographed branding content for Devan last summer and was really impressed with her creativity, her warmth, and her drive. I’m so excited to share her story with you!
I met Layne recently when she reached out for me to photograph the author headshot for her book cover (literally, the coolest thing ever). After we had had her session and were at our final meeting where we went over her photographs together, she mentioned that one of the things she connected with me about before we even met was the Inspired Chicago feature series. I'm always ridiculously happy to hear that a creative woman in Chicago feels like the series resonates with them, but to have an author tell me that my interview series was good almost made me faint - it's like sending a contract to a lawyer and them telling you you did a good job…
There's been a short hiatus for the Inspired Chicago Feature Series over the last few months - I've taken time to think about how the feature highlights Chicago's entrepreneurial women, ways I can improve and widen the access to women who want to be interviewed, and how the feature will look going on from here. I'm happy to say not a whole lot has changed except for feeling a bit more clarity about Inspired Chicago - and what's better than clarity for creative entrepreneurs? What a way to bring back the feature than with this amazing interview with Leigh of Indigo & Violet Studio…
I met Hanna for the first time at Maison Parisienne (no, I don't know how to pronounce that) for coffee and immediately knew I liked her - she's one of those thoughtful people where you can see the cogs turning continuously in her head when she speaks to you, listening to your words and making connections that are wildly helpful and unique. She's seriously so smart and genuine...
I walked over to the middle of the cafeteria-style room to find Kat hidden behind bushels of flowers that she had brought for the styled shoot with my good friend Alisha who I was assisting that day. I bent down and started smelling the flowers and got to talking with the amazing woman behind the flower farm (yeah, it's a thing) in Illinois, called Wilrett Flower Co. If y'all aren't aware...
If you've seen The Office (which I have like 10 times) then you might remember the episode where Michael is meeting his replacement manager, Deangelo, at a bar. They end up sitting together talking for almost an hour and wondering where the person they're supposed to meet is, only to then realize they're meeting each other. Meeting Maya of Preoccupied Bride kinda started out like that...
I was waiting next to Antique Taco in Wicker Park and enjoying the drizzling rain when Jenna walked up, - "Sorry I'm a minute late, I haven't spent much time in this area and I was wandering around looking at how beautiful everything is." I could totally relate. Jenna is the wife in the husband & wife duo behind He & She Wedding Curators - basically the people who make your intimate wedding even cuter...
She's the kinda woman who you can sit and chat with over coffee and sliced avocados during one of the coldest weeks Chicago has to offer, ya know what I mean? Audrey and I met up at 3 Arts Club - quickly becoming a favorite spot of mine - and talked about everything from what the hell a bullet journal is, to the role of formal education in a creative's pursuit of their dream even when they're not in the same field, and finally to how cute avocados are to paint...
I was scrolling through Instagram (like you do) when I noticed this INCREDIBLE, totally my style bathroom, so I went to the feed of Devon Grace Interiors and totally fell in love with her design style. I was so interested in her story that we met up for coffee at 3 Arts Club Cafe because I had to get to know this amazingly talented boss lady and hear about her path. Funnily enough, during our conversation it came up that she's actually very close with Kira David Design - one of the women I interviewed for the feature over the summer...
When I first looked at Dannie's website my initial reaction was - "damn, does this girl do everything??" She wears quite a few hats as you'll see below and during our coffee date/photography interview at Asado coffee in the West Loop I couldn't help but be impressed with all that Dannie's done for such a young person. Not only does she run her own marketing business that helps entrepreneurs, she's also an integral part of the marketing efforts at...wait for it...Google...
I met Amanda when we were table neighbors at a panel we were speaking together on at YOUmedia a few weeks ago and I'm happy to say we became fast friends. Amanda is such an inspiration to me - not only is she one of the kindest women, she's also super funny, easy to talk to and genuinely cares about the growth of the artists and small business owners around her. We met at her adorable apartment on the north side where I got to see her gorgeous styling skills put to work, meet her adorable puppy Phife (I'm in love) and photograph/interview Amanda about her prop styling business...
On one of the few snowy days we've had so far this year, I spent the afternoon at KNOED in Ravenswood on the north side of Chicago - sitting down with coffee in Kim and Kyle's adorable studio, getting to know the story of how this couple started KNOED, and see the amazing behind the scenes action of what goes into creating a brand - yeah, this interview was inspirational...
We sat and talked for hours in Summer House Santa Monica, eating delicious guacamole and chips, drinking local pink tea that matched Stacy's cardigan, and spilling the beans on what it's like to be a career changer. Stacy has accomplished a whole lot in her life, from being an attorney, owning a storefront in New Jersey, until finally ending up in Chicago and opening up Grace + Hudson...
I've been loving meeting so many amazing entrepreneurial women over this past year, interviewing them, and telling their stories. It shouldn't be so surprising to me the vast amount of incredibly talented, driven, and caring women that Chicago has - but it still does! This woman is no different; from graduating college during the recession and jumping headfirst into the corporate world, only to be laid off many years down the road with a small dream as a back up plan...
What could possibly be better for a rainy Sunday afternoon than sweatpants and movies with your boyfriend? Hot apple cider, warm conversation, and photographing the amazingly talented Cory, owner of Four Hats Press! I found Cory through our local Rising Tide Society group's page and couldn't believe I hadn't met her yet - her custom calligraphy and letterpress prints are totally gorgeous and without a doubt my style...
It was starting to drizzle and I had just gotten inside from the rain at the cafe in Lincoln Park the first time I met Kira - she was a little frazzled from running around all day but still charming and beautiful. Kira is without a doubt one of the most fast paced and hardest workers I've met - moving around from worksite to worksite, constantly in contact with her vendors and clients, and always with a smile on her face...
What's better than starting out your week with some inspirational talk from a local Chicago owned business run by a sweet & sincere woman with an electric personality that you wish you could spend all your time around? Probably nothing, right? That's why I'm so excited to bring you all this new feature with Kayla Consolo of Deco Adamo - an on-site beauty company that tailors experiences...
I couldn't be more excited to share this feature with you guys with the incredibly talented, wildly inspirational, and down to earth Jenna Blazevich of Vichcraft. You've probably seen her designs already on your friend's phone background, found her while looking for badass boss ladies on Instagram, or seen her work in person at her various exhibitions in Chicago. I got to sit down with Jenna in her gorgeous studio, learn a little bit about how she got to where she is now, and meet and photograph her cute...