Well hot damn, i'm excited you're here. I'm Emily - you can call me em.
welcome to the blog!
I love taking adventures all over the world, photographing weddings. seniors, boudoir, and helping other photographers perfect their craft. When I have my shit together, I blog about them using way too many exclamation points. What can I say, I love my job! Grab a coffee and stay a while!
March 22, 2023
Allerton Country Barns Engagement Session It might have been cold with a wind chill that made it feel like -20, but Lindsay & Cody handled it like champs. You can’t see me behind the camera, but while these two were in one layer, I was photographing them with four, and STILL cold! My favorite series […]
March 16, 2023
Midwest Family Farm Engagement Session Chelsea + Nick met up with me and Jess on what felt like the windiest, coldest, sunniest day of the year. Despite all the weather factors working against us, I’m absolutely in love with these photos! We ended up learning that cows, in fact, get the zoomies! Much like dogs […]
October 25, 2022
Gloomy Day Engagement Session at Green Acres Sportsman’s Club, Roberts, IL Another throw back for you… Ashten & Colton! Where are they now? Married and newly EXPECTING! Ahh, I’m so excited for these two to add to their family! It was a few years back now… but I remember meeting up with these two at […]
October 19, 2022
Fall Engagement Session at River Bend Forest Preserve, Mahomet, IL An oldie but a goodie! We took these photos a couple YEARS ago, but since they’re one of my favorite couples of all time, I couldn’t leave out their fall session! We met up in Mahomet and literally had so much fun we walked all […]
August 1, 2022
Weldon Springs State Park Summer Engagement Session, Clinton, IL
July 20, 2022
Rural Cissna Park Area Engagement Session
April 25, 2022
First Date Engagement Session at the Harvest Moon Drive-In, Gibson City, IL
April 15, 2022
Summer Pondside Engagement Session at Sunset, Paxton, IL
March 26, 2022
Charming Fall Engagement Session on the U of I Campus, Champaign, IL I could go on and ON about these two, but since this is a catch-up post I’ll keep it short and save it for their EPIC wedding photos! Brett + Ismael (Ish) met up with me on the U of I Campus and […]
March 11, 2022
Summertime Family Farm Engagement Session
July 2, 2021
Ok, I’m excited to put Sara + Clint up here today because TOMORROW, July 3rd, is their big day!! So in the next 2 weeks you will be seeing a lot of them! We headed to downtown Champaign at Sipyard Alley for their shoot and damn I love it here! Sara had the perfect outfit […]
June 16, 2021
OK YOU GUYS!! I have waited for this girl to find her man forever…..and she finally has him and he’s freaking PERFECT for her!!! Kasey and I go way back. We went to High School together and Kasey has second shot for me for quite a few weddings and she attends a lot of the […]
May 26, 2021
Indian Caves Spring Engagement Session, Bourbonnais, IL What an adventure this session was! But damn was it worth it!! Initially we wanted to try Perry Farm Park, and I couldn’t remember ever working there so I googled the location and noticed this location nearby named Indian Caves and it looked so cool and unique and […]
May 12, 2021
Biltmore Estate & Winery Engagement Session, Asheville, NC YOU. GUYS. This engagement session is so kick ass you’re not going to want to skip over any of it, but it’s LONG, so grab some coffee and STRAP IN. When Allison and I were chatting about plans for their engagement session, she mentioned meeting me at […]
May 10, 2021
I know you are all thinking WTF Em….snow!? Just a little behind here so I thought I needed to recap Lindsay + Dylan’s winter engagement session before it’s 100 degrees out š We ventured to Ten Mile Grove right outside of Paxton for a last minute change to get some snowy pictures. This is one […]
March 26, 2021
FINALLY, winter is over!! While cold weather is still fresh in our brains, I’ve got to recap at Erin + Anthony’s winter engagement session in downtown Champaign! Erin was a Mager Image senior way back when so I was really excited to get to capture another milestone for her! Erin is honestly almost TOO SWEET […]
January 6, 2021
I’ve always loved going to Allerton Mansion but this one was extra special! Samantha + JT wanted somewhere classy, upscale, fit for dressier outfits so I instantly thought Allerton Mansion is the PERFECT place. I loved their outfit choices! They were so classy and I loved that they took the dressier approach to it because […]
October 30, 2020
There is nothing better than that golden hour sunset, especially at Middlefork Forest Preserve. It is one of my go-to places because there is so much to offer out there. I mean gooooood lord the Midwest does bless us with killer sunsets and I’m so thankful because I get to photograph them. A beautiful sunset […]
April 10, 2020
You may have seen Holly + Caleb’s most perfect fall wedding on the blog already. So I couldn’t NOT share their engagement session!! I love shooting at places I’ve never been, so it was a breath of fresh air to go down to Carbondale Illinois for Holly + Caleb’s engagement session! I’d never been to […]
April 1, 2020
Sydney + Jared had been waiting for the perfect snowy day for their engagement session. Well folks…the waiting paid off!! The day we went out it wasn’t supposed to actually snow but it did and it made for the most perfect, romantic winter engagement session BUT damn it was COLD!!! Jared wore BOAT SHOES the […]
March 25, 2020
Sheila + Scott are the CUTEST!! They are so friggin smitten with each other and I LOVE IT!!! Sheila + Scott were high school friends and found each other many years later on Facebook! Like how cool is that?!? I first met Sheila at Starbucks and we hit it off right away so I knew […]
March 4, 2020
Looking back on Sarah + Ed’s engagement session is getting me SO excited for summer and their wedding day. I met Sarah + Ed at Allerton Park this past summer for their engagement session and every time I go there I forget how gorgeous it is – especially in the summer! All the flowers are […]
February 19, 2020
I know you have seen Tiera + Kristofer’s gorgeous barn wedding on the blog already but I HAD to show you their engagement session at a family farm in Chatsworth, Illinois. These two love the farm life so it was only fitting to have a few animals part of the session.Ā Tiera + Kristofer’s 2 […]
January 17, 2020
We’re playing things backwards today, as these two are already married! But I couldn’t help myself from still sharing their images from their Naperville Riverwalk engagement session! We had a rather chilly/gloomy day but we wanted to go for it regardless! I’d never been and I loved all the bridges and pathways, especially as the […]
December 6, 2019
This week must be the week for long-time Mager Image clients, because you’ve seen Laura before! She was a 2018 senior spokesmodel so you’ve already seen her summertime senior photos along with her winter mini session. She told me before that she loves winter, so when she became engaged I wasn’t surprised to hear she […]
May 7, 2019
You guys….this couple is SO cute and they were so fun to work with! Their Downtown Naperville Riverwalk engagement session was perfect! The Naperville Riverwalk was so beautiful with all the water, bridges, and brick walkways, it made for a very easy session. Even though it was an overcast day, there was still pops of […]
December 20, 2018
Las Vegas Desert, Nevada Earlier this year, we hopped on a planeĀ headed for Las Vegas, Nevada! As if that wasn’t exciting enough, I had been planning an amazing session from many states away in the Las Vegas desert, and it was about to happen! With the help of an amazing team of professionals, and amazing […]
December 17, 2018
Blind Pig Brewery, Downtown Champaign, IL
November 5, 2018
U of I Arboretum, Champaign, IL Believe it or not, the first time I meet most of my couples is at their engagement session thanks to technology and online booking processes. However, I normally do chit chat a bit with at least the bride before then, when they inquire and book. In Megan + Caleb’s […]
October 29, 2018
Paxton, IL I had been anxiously awaiting this particular engagement for quite a while before it was official. Every time I would see Paige + Tyler out and about, we’d always get on the conversation of weddings and engagements and planning. She is one of my most avid blog readers (hey Paige!) and is such […]
