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 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. 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 plane 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 […]
October 15, 2018
Ewing Manor, Bloomington, IL
October 1, 2018
Downtown Champaign, Illinois After nearly escaping tornado storms and rescheduling their first session, we were bound to make the second go at it work for real! We met at Barrelhouse 34 first for a drink to loosen those nerves, then began our walk of downtown! Finding cool textures, lots of back alley staircases, and complete […]
September 24, 2018
Rantoul Firehouse + Military Base
June 29, 2018
U of I Arboretum, Champaign, IL Earlier this year, I met up with Gabbi and Klinton for their engagement session. Being late spring, I was sure that all of the blooms were going to be gone, but luckily after some driving around the U of I arboretum where we initially planned for, I found the […]
April 3, 2018
U of I Arboretum + Japanese Gardens, Champaign, IL Summer seems like a perfect time to try new things, so I reached out to local videographer Tori Beach about making a handful of promo videos for me as a photographer, and she was on board! Shortly after putting out a model call on Facebook, Bailey and […]
March 24, 2018
Farm Home, Donovan, IL Oh Donovan. It had been a long time since last being in Donovan, the hometown where I grew up most of my life. Since first moving there in second grade, I knew Amanda. She was this shy, sweet, quiet girl who never had anything bad to say about anyone, and always […]
February 28, 2018
Allerton Park, Monticello, IL I’ve known dear Kortnie for years. Our families have been close from the moment they’ve met (which is easy being that they live two doors down from my father’s home) and when Kortnie found her forever love, it was so exciting! I hadn’t gotten many chances to meet Joe before their […]
February 24, 2018
Fairbury American Legion Speedway + Downtown, Fairbury, IL Fairbury isn’t a town I frequent very often. In fact, if it wasn’t for their annual garage sale seasons or Dave’s Meat Sale I probably wouldn’t have really ever been. However, this past fall we scheduled Paige + Ryan’s engagement session, and since they’re frequent visitors of […]
February 20, 2018
Lake of the Woods, Mahomet, IL Ever since I’ve known Hillary, she’s loved softball. We grew up together, our parents being close, and attended elementary and high school up until I moved away and from an early age softball was a big part of who she was. On to college, and of course, there was […]
February 16, 2018
U of I Campus, Champaign, Illinois This past fall was a busy one for me. So busy in fact that I’m still playing catch up on the blog (aren’t I always??) Regardless, these two get married in just a few months so I wanted to make sure their session made it to the front lines […]
October 6, 2017
University of Illinois Campus + Alice Campbell Alumni Center Fountain, Champaign, IL Fun love. It’s hard to come by sometimes, but Dallas and Courtney both hit the jackpot. I’ve known Dallas for years and he’s always been a big goofball. In addition to that, he’s kind, smart, strong, and hard working. In fact, Dallas was […]
September 29, 2017
Allerton Mansion + Park, Monticello, IL He was new to town, she was a Champaign native. They both loved playing soccer and eventually were paired up on the same co-ed soccer team at Soccer Planet (not to be confused with Pizza Planet for you Toy Story fans) where sparks flew. Being on the same team […]
June 13, 2017
Allerton Park + Retreat Center, Monticello, IL In most cases, when you see high chances for rain, you reschedule. However, when your big day is less than a month away, you work with what you got! Luckily, when Allison, Andrew, and I began planning their engagement session, we initially chose to meet at Allerton for […]
May 16, 2017
Lake of the Woods, Mahomet, IL Let’s go back to February. I went out on a limb and began offering boudoir sessions, and to celebrate, I offered a free session to one randomly chosen woman. As you may have guessed, Brooke was our winner! I had never met her prior to her boudoir session, but […]
May 11, 2017
Middle Fork Forest Preserve, Penfield, IL I’m at a loss for words. To say Hannah + Michael’s engagement session was perfect would be an understatement! I was already excited for their session when she came to me soon after getting engaged to Michael. Hannah’s a friend from high school and I knew we would have a […]
May 10, 2017
U of I Arboretum, Urbana, IL It’s official! Engagement season is here and in full force! I couldn’t be happier! I’ve been meeting up with lots of couples this spring taking engagement pictures in preparations for wedding season, which is JUST around the corner! Ah! I can’t believe it! Most of the time I don’t […]
March 21, 2017
You guys. I am so so excited to share with you my very first online publication! What does it mean to be published? Aside from the pure marketing standpoint of things, it’s also a way to inspire other brides and grooms to find ideas for anything from their engagement session to wedding day details! It’s […]
November 22, 2016
[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”] [et_pb_row admin_label=”row”] [et_pb_column type=”4_4″] [et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”] I was so excited for Meredith and Jordan’s engagement session! You’ve seen these two before, when I did a sweetheart session of them on her family’s farm outside of Champaign. When I saw Jordan finally popped the question, I was so incredibly happy for these two! The cherry […]
November 9, 2016
Lake of the Woods, Mahomet, Illinois Laura came to me not too many months ago when planning their wedding. She and Billy had been engaged but were at the time preparing to welcome a little girl into their family, so had been a bit preoccupied. I met with Laura at Starbucks to go over all […]
November 8, 2016
When Amy came to me asking to be her wedding photographer, I was so honored. As a primary wedding photographer, it’s not often that I get to work with clients multiple times, but Amy was an exception. You see, every year I get the pleasure of working with the new Ford County Fair Queen, and […]
