blog post name - blog post name - blog post name - blog post name

featured blog post!

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!

categories

December 7, 2018

Oh how we love Las Vegas. After our first trip, we knew we were destined to come back at some point. Fate lined up when we began planning Falyn + Austin’s engagement session in the desert, which I’ll blog soon! Anyways, we headed off and other than the day of our session, we relaxed! Most […]

howdy plane grand canyon photographer emily magers

October 19, 2018

Phew! It’s been a hot minute since I’ve updated the blog with something personal. It’s been so long I wasn’t sure where to start, so I figured I’d start with our pride and joy, Miss Bexley Ann. I’m well over a month late, but WOW. How in the world do we have a THREE year […]

toddler birthday three years old

August 2, 2018

This past June, Brandon and I were to celebrate out 5th wedding anniversary. We have this little tradition where one of us plans and surprises the other with weekend anniversary plans every other year, with the exception of every 5 years, which we had agreed would be a bigger trip we’d plan together. Well, here […]

silver dollar city vacation mo

June 7, 2018

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal Studios, Orlando, FL Since Brandon + I’s honeymoon to Cancun, Mexico in 2013, we started a bucket list of travels we wanted to take. The very first thing on our list was to visit Universal Studios (more specifically Harry Potter World) as soon as we could afford it. […]

universal studios world entrance globe

June 3, 2018

The Sheraton Indianapolis City Centre, Indy, IN Where to even begin! I headed out on Friday night, the first weekend in April, in anticipation of the weekend ahead. The event is hosted by some dear friends of mine, Kellie and Rebekah, and the fifth year of The Reset Conference was just hours away. I hadn’t […]

emily magers mager image photography

March 29, 2018

Sandals Royal Caribbean, Montego Bay, Jamaica Wow. That’s really the only word I have to describe Chelsey and Ian’s Jamaican wedding ceremony. When Chelsey first brought the idea of their destination wedding up to me, I was all in. Who wouldn’t be?! Twenty-eight of the couples’ closest friends and family members traveled to Sandals Royal […]

tropic water ocean husband wife wedding

March 19, 2018

Happy birthday, Brandon! Another year down, but each year gets better and better with you. Sure, we have our ups and downs, but this past year has been simply amazing. From buying our first home together, to celebrating our little girl time and time again, you continue to amaze me. You’re a constant giver, giving […]

orlando florida photographer session happy birthday

January 11, 2018

Another year. Damn. It’s so hard to believe that 2018 will be the start of my FIFTH year with Mager Image Photography. I have been so fortunate to have stumbled into this job that started as a side hobby and turned into something I not only cherish with my whole heart but can support my […]

December 25, 2017

This year, the holiday season is particularly exciting for me. I haven’t been able to figure out exactly why but I’ve pinpointed it to three main reasons: Preparedness  Not to brag – but I’ve had almost 95% of my shopping complete since the first week of December. There’s been a few impulse purchases here and […]

October 1, 2017

Hello! For a while now, I’ve wanted to start a mini series to share a bit about me, my interests, and possibly things I’m loving at the moment, or more! I’m not exactly sure where we will end up but I do know I’ve wanted to share more with you all on a more consistent […]

September 13, 2017

Guys. YOU GUYS. LOOOOOOOOOK! I am so excited to share some big news with you, though if you’re a follower of my Instagram and Facebook, you already know. But I can’t help but share again! The styled shoot I helped create along with the amazing ladies of Southern Magnolias Events and many other individuals has […]

ROMANTIC FEATURE ON THE PERFECT PALETTE

August 24, 2017

Two. TWO YEARS. Um, what?! How has it already been two years?! It absolutely blows my mind that 730 days ago, after a 27 hour labor, Bexley Ann Magers entered this world. Since then, she’s been one of the liveliest, smartest, and sweetest little girls I’ve ever known. She has always been very headstrong and […]

bexley ann christmas openings

June 29, 2017

I never know where to start when “introducing” myself or talking about me personally. I think it something a lot of people struggle with. However, I LOVE a good random fact. I ask everyone for random facts, clients, family, friends, it doesn’t matter! I want to know! They’re fun, unpredictable, unsolicited, and RANDOM! So today, […]

June 18, 2017

Fred From way before Brandon and I, you’ve accepted me as family. Our stubborn personalities may butt heads on occasion, but you still put up with my crazy shenanigans and picture taking. We all know how much you hate getting your photo taken yet you somehow don’t grumble (too much) when I demand ask to […]

June 15, 2017

Hi guys! It’s been awhile since my last home update, and a lot has changed, though I need to capture photos of it to post! Today I’m going to focus on one of the rooms of the new house, though first I’ll recap the main events. The biggest update is we’re officially sleeping in Paxton! […]

May 18, 2017

May 18th, it’s maybe not a significant day to all but to me it holds a very special place in my heart. You see, a very special person was born on this day. Her words are normally the ones so eloquently spoken in these blog posts. That’s right Emily turns 25 today!!!! This is a […]

headshots emily magers by holly birch photography

April 27, 2017

It’s been a busy couple months since buying our first home, and we’ve been working hard on updates! We bought the home from Brandon’s parents (it’s the home he grew up in, awe!) as they’re currently building their new home. I really want to go through and give you guys the full tour, but since Brandon’s […]

wallpaper removal

April 19, 2017

I’ve written this post over and over again, and nothing seems to measure up to the woman in these photographs. You’re beautiful yet humble, strong yet compassionate, you’re smart and driven and so much more. Last year I’ve trusted you for the last 18(ish) months to care for our daughter and you’ve stepped up and […]

sage ihrke makeup artist illinois

April 16, 2017

Every other year, we travel down to Arkansas for a long weekend to celebrate Easter with some of Brandon’s family. This Easter we’re in Arkansas catching up and holding tight those loved ones we don’t see often. It’s a special season, one where we get to dress up, hunt easter eggs, and avoid eating Peeps – […]

April 6, 2017

I knew time was going to fly by, but I had no idea that 19 months would be a simple blink of the eye. It’s crazy how time has flown and how much Bexley has changed our lives and grown into the spunky little girl she is today. I had been itching to do a small […]

baby splashing smiling happy activity

March 30, 2017

Since buying our new home last month, we’ve officially started renovations! We have big plans in store, and it’s going to take some time, but it has me thinking a lot about the changes we have made in the house we currently live in. The biggest transformation was Bexley’s room! We didn’t know it would be […]

March 19, 2017

I have struggled with the right words to say for weeks. I think this is the case every year, because there aren’t enough words to describe how wonderful I think you are. I know I don’t often enough express to you how magical I see you, but today I want to slow down and do […]

March 14, 2017

This past weekend was a blast! It was full of dancing and singing, which made my former show choir performer heart happy! It was the annual Watseka Show Choir Invitational, and this year I had two siblings performing! My youngest sister, Lexi, is in the junior high show choir at Paxton-Buckley-Loda, and my other sister Rachel […]

purple show choir illinois

March 12, 2017

For years now, we’ve wanted to go to Vegas. It was Brandon’s dream to go as soon as he turned 21, but then dating a 20-year-old (me) meant I would have either had to stay home (boo) or stay back while he went to experience Vegas. That next year, I turned 21, and was planning […]

high roller photo vegas palm trees

March 7, 2017

What is my job to you? Do you truly understand what it means to be a photographer? Or any business owner really. It would be truly wonderful if all I had to worry about was taking pretty pictures. I can only dream. Behind the rainbow and sunshine curated screens of Instagram, you’d see me spending […]

personal business owner illinois photographer

February 24, 2017

So you guys, remember that one post where I talked about my goal to blog more? Yeah, well, I suck. I have been working round the clock with some big secret projects, have been out of state twice, bought a house (yay!), but have failed to blog about anything! I’ve also recently started a private Facebook group for […]

18 month old

January 10, 2017

Every once in a great while, you’ll catch a behind-the-scenes photo on Instagram or Facebook, but they’re rare. If you’re wanting to see more BTW shots, you’re better off following me on Snapchat, although you’ll also see lots of my super spunky little girl on there! However, throughout the year, I compile a folder dedicated […]

kempton illinois kankakee wedding photographer

November 16, 2016

Oh goodness. Where to start with these guys. Well, I suppose it technically started back in October 2013 when I photographed Adam + Krisi’s wedding. It was my very first wedding, I was so nervous I could’ve hurled all day, but they were absolutely perfect. The warm fall air was filled with love and laughter, […]

October 26, 2016

Three years ago today, I started my day a nervous wreck. Truth be told, I was a nervous wreck for about two days leading up to that day. I cleaned every piece of equipment I owned, double triple checked my to-do lists, studied tips and tricks I had learned over the past year, and it […]

2013 mager image photography before and after happy birthday

October 5, 2016

The Ozarks, Branson, MO A couple weekends ago, on a rare weekend off, the entire Magers family loaded up for a road trip to stay in Branson, Missouri. If you follow me on Snapchat, you already got the inside scoop on the weekends events plus some! I took my camera so I could snap some […]

family photo silver dollar city branson missouri

CHAMPAIGN AREA WEDDING, SENIOR + BOUDOIR PHOTOGRAPHER