Emma Mullins Photography

We initially reached out to Emma because her pictures were timeless and captured emotion so well. Additionally, we are a queer couple and it was important to us to work with a photographer who had experience with other same-sex couples. Our entire experience with Emma was positive, inclusive, supportive and the results are stunning. From the very first meeting Emma was easy to talk with, listened to our vision and understood our insecurities about being in front of the camera.

We highly recommend hiring her to photograph both your engagement session and wedding day. During our engagement shoot Emma coached us perfectly while keeping the session light and easy. Because of this, taking pictures on our wedding day was very comfortable and the results are amazing! The pictures we have are incredible, tell a story, capture our love and are everything we hoped for. We are so so glad we worked with Emma and her team and highly recommend them!

We booked Emma before we were even engaged over a year and a half before our wedding. Spoiler alert: we had absolutely no regrets. While we were in the process of booking for our wedding, Emma worked with my husband and the two of them planned a surprise proposal for me. My husband was so impressed with how good Emma was at keeping up the surprise even when I thought something might be up.

In addition to our proposal shoot, Emma also shot our Engagement pics and our wedding (duh). Emma made us feel comfortable in front of the camera and was always game for any ideas we had. Logistically, Emma had everything under control and came to each meeting prepared. She was able to adapt on the fly making suggestions along the way but also never being pushy. Honestly Emma’s photos speak for themselves. If you like her style, hire Emma now. You will not regret it. She is such a pleasure to work with.

Emma is THE BEST! If she’s still available for your wedding date, book her now.

Finding the right photographer was very important to my husband and I, and we loved that the pictures in her portfolio were both authentic and gorgeous. Emma is also so knowledgeable and easy to work with – she recommended spots around Chicago for both our engagement and wedding photos, and was happy to try out a new spot that was personal to us as well. She was also extremely flexible with all of our last minute COVID-related changes, and didn’t miss a beat. We absolutely love our engagement and wedding pictures and would recommend her to anyone!

Emma was perfect for us. My partner and I were on the fence about having a photographer at all and chose Emma because she was laidback and we liked her work. In particular she was so patient with our ambivalence about being photographed and delightfully encouraged us to enjoy the process. The photos came out gorgeous and exactly how we had hoped (not staged, mostly silly and candid).

If you are looking for a photographer who will listen to you, be patient with you and your family, and respond graciously and promptly to questions, Emma is wonderful. We also found her to be very queer-friendly and thoughtful around all things related to that for us and our guests. All the stars.

Emma was incredible. The photos are incredible. We can’t thank her enough. We hired Emma for our engagement photos. I was really nervous and feeling self-conscious. Emma was able to make me feel so comfortable and I was so happy with how the photos turned out. We of course hired her for our wedding. We have been in a lot of weddings, and so has our wedding party, and everyone raved at how organized, efficient, and direct Emma was.

We took photos at our favorite record shop — a place I’m usually intimidated to go into as a customer, let alone a bride in a big dress — but Emma was assertive and kind and we got some of the most amazing photos! Emma also literally stopped traffic on Damen Ave to get incredible wedding party shots of us walking down the street. It is hard to wrangle a wedding party, extended family, and tipsy guests, but Emma kept all the photos going and got all of our requests.

I know I am using a lot of superlatives and exclamation points, but this is all authentic. Emma made what could have been an extremely stressful day and night, flow so smoothly. And now we have the pictures to treasure and excellent gifts for family and friends.

We had the best experience with Emma and her team – she has a true gift and our wedding photos were exactly what we were dreaming of. Beyond her skill, she is an absolute joy to work with. We first met her for our engagement shoot and, in addition to putting up with our crazy dog, she made us feel so comfortable throughout the entire session. We are so grateful to have captured those memories. On our wedding day, Emma and her second shooter did a perfect job at capturing the big and little moments, the details, and the overall energy of the day. We received SO many compliments on her professionalism (and her ability to wrangle large groups of people).

The last thing I’ll share is an anecdote – prior to the wedding, my husband and I had received a permit to take our wedding pictures in the Great Hall at Union Station. However, when we arrived, there were signs that it was closed for a private event and all of the doors were locked. Emma, along with one of our day-of coordinators, disappeared for five minutes. I’m not sure where they went or who they talked to – all I know is that we got into Union Station and were able to take the wedding pictures of our dreams! All that to say, she will go above and beyond for you. We couldn’t recommend this team enough.

Emma has a wonderful, friendly demeanor about her that puts everyone at ease – our older parents, my young nieces, my dog, and specifically ME – I am photo shy and do not like to be center of attention. As the day went on, she directed us subtly or not so subtly, but never in our face intrusively. We took pics with our dog after the first look, at Wrigley (she is fearless and stood in the middle of the street), at Salvage One (she got us a permit there last minute, the pics are awesome), by some murals, by the El, and at our venue. During the ceremony and reception, she was everywhere but not intrusive. She worked with us to help meet our needs.

Emma is TALENTED. PROFESSIONAL. And she was just FUN to spend our wedding day with. She captured the most magical day of our lives!

We searched on-line for “journalistic” photographers for our wedding. We wanted someone who would 1) capture the essence of our evening and celebration and 2) be easy to work with. Emma was the first one we reached out to because we loved her gallery and blog so much (criteria #1), and she was an absolute delight to chat with, so we knew right away she’d satisfy #2. We signed her up immediately. We did an engagement session with her to get to know each other (highly recommended!), and those photos were absolutely perfect and used for our website and invite.

For our wedding, her husband served as the second photographer. They were both a delight. For the ceremony and reception, we honestly barely even noticed them, yet based on the photos, they didn’t miss a single part of the night… They say a picture is worth a thousand words – well Emma has given us millions and millions of sweet, beautiful, and memorable words with all her wonderful photos… We can’t recommend Emma enough.

Emma did a wonderful job in capturing our wedding day! We couldn’t be happier with her work! She was so much fun to work with and made the whole process seamless! She communicated with us throughout the whole process and the day of the wedding. She definitely captured who we are as a couple and I’m so excited that we got this opportunity to work with her.

Emma worked within our budget and made things possible for us. I would 10/10 recommend her for any type of event! We will definitely miss working with her now that our wedding day is over.

Finding a good photographer was VERY important to me as I began my search for the right fit for my special day. Lucky for me I found Emma! She was so incredibly personable, fun, easy going, very responsive and just an AMAZING photographer!

I couldn’t have found a better fit for my husband and I’s elopement this fall. We’re not big picture takers and Emma really helped us get comfortable in front of the camera. And when I saw the photos….OMG!!! I’m still not over how beautiful these pictures came out!! Our family still talks about how great she was for the wedding day and I HIGHLY recommend her to anyone and everyone!!

We absolutely loved working with Emma. We booked her over 18 months before our wedding, so we had time to conduct very thorough interviews with our would-be photographers. From our initial conversations, she just seemed to understand exactly what we were looking for. We are not Vogue, modelesque folks. We didn’t want wedding pictures that made it look like we were or were trying to be. What we got was a perfect snapshot of the day. You can hear the laughs just looking at the photos.

Operationally, she was also a dream. We took several LARGE photographs (read 26 members in all) and she was a champion with wrangling, directing, and coaching our families. When she was with me and my bridesmaids, it was like we were all just hanging out. It felt effortless, so it was so easy to take photographs.

I’d HIGHLY recommend Emma to any and all Chicago brides.