About this vendor
AwestrucKen Photography is a Chicago-area wedding photographer specializing in candid, photojournalistic storytelling throughout Chicagoland, Northwest Indiana, and Southern Wisconsin. Since 2018, I’ve focused on preserving wedding days through genuine moments, real emotion, and the people and relationships that make each celebration unique.
Your wedding day shouldn’t feel like an all-day photo shoot. My approach gives you the space to stay present, celebrate with the people you love, and experience your wedding while I preserve what unfolds naturally around you—the laughter, tears, reactions, quiet moments, and unexpected interactions that make your day yours.
When portraits are needed, I provide relaxed direction so you never have to wonder what to do, especially if being in front of a camera doesn’t come naturally. You’ll have guidance when you need it without feeling like your wedding is being directed for the camera.
Some of the photographs that become most meaningful are moments no one planned: a parent’s reaction during the ceremony, a grandparent watching from across the room, an unexpected laugh between friends, or a quiet interaction lasting only seconds. Those moments can’t be recreated later, and they’re every bit as much a part of your wedding story as the big events.
My goal is to create more than a collection of beautiful wedding photographs. I want to preserve an honest visual story of your day—your people, your relationships, and what it actually felt like to have everyone you love together in one place.
Based in the Chicago suburbs, AwestrucKen Photography serves couples throughout Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, Northwest Indiana, and Southern Wisconsin.
Wedding collections begin at $2,399.
Details
Photo Shoot Types
- Day After Session
- Engagement
Photo & Video
- Digital Files
- Online Proofing
- Photo
- Second Shooter Available
- Social Media Sharing
- Wedding Albums
Photo & Video Styles
- Documentary
- Dramatic
- Modern
Wedding Activities
- Getting Engaged
- Rehearsals & Parties
- Wedding
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Reviews
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you make those big decisions with ease.
4.7
out of 5.013 reviews
We are deeply disappointed with our experience with AwestrucKen Photography. After our wedding, we were informed that all of our wedding photos were lost due to a technology failur...
e on his end, and it appeared that there was not a proper backup system in place. These were once-in-a-lifetime memories, and the loss was absolutely heartbreaking for us. While he did provide us with a full refund, no amount of money can replace our wedding photos or undo the emotional impact of this incident. As clients, we reasonably expected a professional photographer to have reliable backup systems to protect something this important. This situation caused significant stress and sadness during what should have been a joyful time. We are sharing our experience so future couples can make a fully informed decision when choosing a photographer for such an important day.
We are SO happy we hired Ken as our wedding photographer. He captured so many beautiful moments on our wedding day and gave us way more pictures than we even imagined. He did a gre...
at job with timing and he was calm while organizing our bridal party which consisted of 9 groomsmen, 4 ushers, 9 bridesmaids, and 2 flower girls. We both also have big families and Ken made sure to get all the group portraits we wanted. We also chose not to have a first look, and Ken still saved plenty of time for our couple portraits. During the ceremony and reception, Ken and his second shooter were so stealthy. They took such wonderful photos but somehow managed to not be in the way of any of the moments. I don’t know how they did it! We will definitely be hiring Ken again as our photographer. He is very talented, friendly, and trustworthy and provided us with photos that we will always treasure.
Ken- did a fabulous job. He takes his time to make sure you have exactly what pictures you want. He makes sure to be in time to or early to your location to take pictures. His sens...
e of humor keeps everyone smiling. He is very responsibly priced. I highly recommend him for your wedding you won't be disappointed.
Ken is a master of his craft. He and Lynzi did an magnificent job photographing our wedding. During the planning process Ken was an absolute pleasure to work with, he was always pr...
ompt to respond to my emails and he addressed all our questions and concerns with complete professionalism. I am so thankful to have found AwestucKen Photography to capture the memories of the happiest day of my life.
My fiance and I had a wonderful experience with our photographers, Ken and Lynzi. Ken met with us a week before to scout memorable places for photos and asked us questions to get a...
feel for the types of pictures we wanted for the special day. He was so open to shooting whatever we wanted and had such great suggestions for pictures as well! Loved the variety of photos and the quality was excellent! The photos are absolutely stunning. We got our photos back in 6 days! AMAZING.
Ken was a gem – he helped us devise meaningful and important photographs, incorporating items and locations that are important in our relationship. He arrived on time, was helpful,...
made us feel comfortable, was flexible with our schedule, and showed a real interest in providing top notch, quality photographs that eventually made it onto our Save The Dates and wedding website (we haven't sent anything else out quite yet, but they'll be appearing more)! I'd wholeheartedly recommend AwestrucKen to any of my friends or family who are looking for a wedding photographer.
I cannot possibly say enough positive things about Ken. My husband and I planned our wedding in a relatively short amount of time with a limited budget. From the very beginning, Ke...
n had excellent communication. He interviewed both my husband and I to gauge what we really wanted. I had to e-mail him several times to get clarification or to make an additional request. Ken never seemed bothered by any of my requests. He even went so far as to visit our ideal locations beforehand in order to recommend the optimum location for pictures to capture our nontraditional wedding. When the day of the event finally arrived, he was prompt and efficient. With about 30 people in a small venue for pictures complete with children running around, he kept the focus on my husband and I and made the process of formal pictures as stress free as possible. He followed us to our reception spot and captured some beautiful candid shots. The final pictures we received were simply stunning. His final edits made the colors pop. There is no doubt in my mind that if/when we need professional pictures, Ken will be the first phone call I make!
Ken captured the most amazing moments at my 2nd Wedding Reception/Dance Extravaganza! He's friendly, patient, and definitely knows what he's doing. I totally trusted his expertis...
e that night, and he 100% delivered! Thank you so much for capturing such a special day, Ken!
AwestrucKen came out to our kickboxing studio to take individual and group shots of our staff in action. The results were fantastic and we use the pics to help promote our studio, ...
in hiring ads, and more. I would use them again and again!
Ken of Awestruck photography is an amazing photographer. I trusted him with my 'family portrait' with my beloved dogs. They were probably one of his toughest clients, being non Eng...
lish speaking, and non human, but his patience and perseverance paid off, and he got the photos! I treasure each of the pictures he took, and have one hanging on my mantel because the photo is that good!!! I would trust Ken to capture any of my life events, and I'm so happy that I had the opportunity to work with him. Highly recommend!!!
I have worked as a model for AwestrucKen Photography on two separate occasions, and both times I've been consistently impressed with the experience and the results. Ken has fantast...
ic vision for shots, and is unafraid to play around with different techniques and directions to achieve the best result. Even more than that, he is comfortable to work with. Each time I have anxiously awaited the final shots, and I have never been disappointed with the outcome.
We hired AwestrucKen for a civil ceremony on fairly short notice. It was very informal, we mostly wanted some candid shots to have memories of the day. Ken went way above and beyon...
d anything we could have asked for. He went to the venue a week in advance to scope out the location and shared some ideas for 'staged' photos.
The day of, he was there and ready to go when we arrived. He stayed out of the way collecting the candid shots we wanted, and was up for anything we threw at him. He checked in before leaving to make sure we had everything we needed / wanted. In less than a week sent us a nice selection of edited shots. Great job overall.
My husband and I hired AwestrucKen Photography for our wedding and we couldn’t have been more pleased. First off Ken was very nice and pleasant to work with. He was very profession...
al and made sure we were happy through out. The pictures he got were amazing and he did a wonderful job at capturing natural photos during moments we’d want to remember most. My favorite part about him was his ability to get us in a natural light that made us look great. His photos never looked super posed, even when they are. I would 10 out of 10 recommend AwestrucKen Photography if you are looking for a good photographer.
Contact
214 S. Myrtle Ave., Villa Park, IL | Chicago Area, Northwest Indiana, Southern Wisconsin
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