Elena Bazini Photography

Absolute Perfection!!!

We could not be more thrilled with the absolute perfection of our wedding photos. Elena was able to capture every moment of our wedding in a magical way. She gave us the priceless gift of being able to relive that day over and over again. What an honor is was to be able to... Read More work with such a talent! We look forward to having Elena capture all of our life's most memorable moments.

Elena Bazini is magical. If you’re looking; you just found your wedding photographer, because who doesn’t like magic? It’s the kind of magic where you see the moving parts, you watch her in action, but also watch her appear and disappear into the energy and joy of the wedding.... Read More You end up amazed and in awe. The magic is in her process. Looking back we said, “We didn’t even see her there”! But there is no hiding that she was there…capturing that full bodied laugh, the tremble of a groom’s hand, the upwards eyes of a mother trying not to cry, and the bride’s quiet moment of reflection (when she thought no one was looking). It was a whirlwind of a wedding – a blur of passion and happiness. The ease at which Elena and her team fit into those moments was astounding. We did not forget she was working…but with her love of craft and grace she effortlessly moved through our moments and captured them all. Elena possesses the foundation of professionalism and creativity, yet also warmth in her demeanor that allows for easy communication. She was not only our photographer. She became a friend. Amongst all the wedding preparation and decision making we joke that it was a ‘stroke of genius’ hiring Elena to join us in Anguilla. It was one of the best decisions we made. There was no stress, no worries before or after, just empathy, open communication and stunning photographs. Whether near or far, Michelle and I cannot recommend Elena highly enough. Michelle and I base our admiration not only on our experience, but through watching Elena shoot the weddings of two close friends. She melted into the walls and managed to be everywhere at once. Each wedding was quite different but expertly shot. Michelle and I are planning a viewing party soon to gather our friends and relive those days in paradise. We couldn’t be more proud of reliving those moments through the images of Elena Bazini. This review is officially two fold: 1) Another thank you from the both of us <3<3<3 2) We add our names to the list of overjoyed clients, couples, and friends who cannot wait for another chance to work again with Elena. Maybe a reunion is Anguilla? Love, Michelle & Ryan

Energy, excitement, and love in every photo!

Elena’s photography is incredible, and we can’t stop looking at our wedding photos! She managed to capture the energy and excitement of every moment of our wedding. Each picture allows us to remember the joy of the day – which helps because it flew by so fast! Elena herself is a... Read More true professional and artist. She is fun and so easy to work with, and she’ll guide you toward the perfect photo without feeling posed. I highly recommend Elena Bazini Photography for your wedding or any important event.

Elena was wonderful. When we first met her, we quickly agreed to work with her simply because of her sweet and comforting personality. She made us feel at ease in front of a camera, which can easily be awkward if you aren’t used to being photographed all day (most of us... Read More aren’t!). Our first shoot with her was for our engagement photos, which was just so much fun. We got lucky and had snowy weather, which Elena captured perfectly. And the wedding photos are off the charts. I never imagined having memories captured so beautifully. I honestly feel like I’m reliving my wedding day in an even better version when I look through the photos from Elena! In addition to being exceptionally talented, Elena is professional, responsive, and truly loves what she does. She is wonderful to work with and will give you the best photos for your wedding!

​There are not enough words to describe how perfectly Elena captured our wedding day. I am in love with every single photo she took.​ We've already gotten so many compliments on our photos. She was amazing about staying organized and making wonderful suggestions. She was... Read More also very professional and easy to get in touch with prior to the wedding. Elena took such fun candid photos throughout the day. Most of the time, I wasn't even aware that she was capturing the moment! I would highly recommend Elena! She is absolutely wonderful!!

You have found your dream photographer! Elena Bazini is truly beyond compare . Her photos are simply stunning. She makes you feel at ease and SO comfortable on your biggest day. Her laid back personality is what every bride needs on a day that nerves can be high. She made us... Read More feel like the day really belonged to us and brought out the FUN and JOY. It was because of her that I was able to pause and really relish the present moment. Without saying it, she somehow reminds you to take in every second and realize the reason you there (love!). She radiates pure love! You don't realize you are having your picture taken because you are smiling and laughing along with her the entire day. She knows exactly what shots to take and what is most flattering! She captures EVERYTHING. Not only you, but the surroundings and every detail. She brings out the beauty in environment around you and reminds you of all the love that surrounded you. Her eye for detail is impeccable. It was through her pictures I was truly able to appreciate the beauty and the (sometimes gruling) year of hard work and endless decisions that went into the the dresses, suits, flowers, venue, food, cake, lighting, every detail that you don't get to fully appreciate because the day becomes a bit of a blur. She reminds you that all that exhaustion of planning was truly worth it!!! Through Elena's photos, that blur becomes a beautiful memory that she has meticulously captured for eternity. Thank you Elena! You are a perfectly phenomenal photographer! Love, Stephanie and Jared

Elena is awesome! She was the photographer for my wedding. She has such a great, easy going personality, and she makes you feel so comfortable. The photos she takes are stunning. I will definitely recommend her to all of my friends.

Why aren't there more stars?!? Elena far exceeded every expectation we had. From our first meeting, she exudes creativity and kindness and was such a joy to work with. We got to know Elena quite well, as we did an engagement shoot prior. I highly recommend doing this, as we... Read More learned her style and she made us feel comfortable and confident in front of the camera, and had a blast while doing so. I even reached out to Elena to do a boudoir photo shoot as a gift to my husband. I was unsure of the idea but knew I wanted to do it and Elena made all of my worries go away. She made me feel beautiful and sexy and the photos were classy and artistic and so much more than I ever could have imagined. If it's on your mind - don't shop anywhere else! Leading up to the wedding, Elena was timely with all of her correspondence and took the time to come to our walk through. The day of the wedding, our wedding party, friends, and family kept saying how much they loved Elena - she is professional, kind, creative, and makes you feel amazing in front of the camera. Every image she captured perfectly encapsulates our day. Her candids are so raw and the way she plays with lighting is so classic looking. I could go on and on about this lovely lady, but if you're looking for a 5+ all-star photographer, Elena is a must book!!!

We couldn't have asked for a better photographer! We LOVED working with Elena and her husband David. Both our engagement and wedding photos were stunning! We've already received a ton of compliments and we have yet to share our whole wedding album on social media. Elena captured... Read More all the key moments and then some. She was more than willing to accommodate our special requests, added to the energy of the day, and her final product exceeded our high expectations! Elena and David helped make our wedding day so special! I would HIGHLY recommend Elena!!!! Best decision we made!

Elena is incredibly talented. She did such an incredible job not only capturing all the moments, but also by capturing all the emotions and everyone's personality! My husband and I felt like we lived the day all over again looking through our wedding photos. Elena is highly... Read More professional, creative, and totally exceeded our expectations.

Five minutes into our meeting with Elena we knew we were going to hire her! During the initial consultation, we were blown away with how incredibly talented she is. We immediately knew that we wanted her to be the one to capture the story of our wedding day. When we saw our... Read More wedding photos we literally cried tears of joy…she’s that amazing! She is professional and FUN; the perfect combination. Our wedding day was full of countless jokes and laughs thanks to her and her amazing assistant :) (Special shout out to Olu !!) Elena and Olu must be part ninja. They were able to capture so many incredibly intimate shots of us and our guests and we don’t even remember seeing them around. Throughout the wedding planning process Elena patiently and promptly answered our numerous and detailed questions. There was never a time when we weren’t able to get a hold of her. She always wanted to know what we were thinking or how we wanted things done. We didn’t have a strong preference as to where we wanted to go for our day of photos. Elena is so creative and an expert in her field that we told her to go ahead and run with it! She came up with amazing locations that fit our wedding theme perfectly. Hands down, she was our favorite vendor to work with. I wish I could give her more than 5 stars!

Elena and her team photographed our wedding at The Drake Hotel in October and we are beyond thrilled with their work of art. I found Elena on a CBS article with a list of the top wedding photographers in Chicago. When we looked at her portfolio, we were absolutely blown away.... Read More From the moment we hired her, we hit it off and immediately felt as ease knowing that she understood our vision. Her talented ability to create photos and capture memories that will last a lifetime is unlike any other. We thoroughly enjoyed having her around with us the entire day because she fit right in, was professional and creative, and fun to be around. She is an expert photographer and knows all the right angles. Elena is accommodating, professional, outgoing, and passionate. Her love for photography and being behind a lens shines through in her work, and her eye for creativity is impeccable. She had a bright attitude the entire day, and it made me feel comfortable knowing I had one less thing to worry about on my wedding day. No matter who it was, Elena made them feel comfortable to be in front of the camera to be photographed. She is a phenomenal photographer, creator, artist, and editor. I find myself continuing to look at all of our pictures and sit there with a constant grin on. I’m still in awe that Elena was able to capture all the personalities of not only the wedding party, but the guests, and all the love that filled the room at our wedding. If we could, we would love to relive that day over and over again, and with Elena’s photos, we can. We are incredibly grateful that we have her photos to look back on because the entire day went by so quickly. Our wedding photos came out beautifully, and I didn’t even know we could look at good! She did not miss a beat and truly captured every single moment. The colors, framing, and feel of all our pictures were astounding - Elena is without a doubt an experienced, professional photographer who knows what she is doing! I would highly recommend reaching out to book her for your wedding. It was hands down the best decision I made, and we are forever grateful and blessed she was a part of our wedding. Countless guests from our wedding are still telling us how they’ve never seen more beautiful wedding pictures, and I couldn’t agree more. We will definitely be finding another reason to see and work with her again in the future because she is a true artist and a beautiful person inside and out. Hands down worth every penny and I would rate her 10 stars if I could! (See her blog post of our wedding here http://elenabaziniphotography.com/drake-hotel-wedding-photography-chicago/.)

One of the best decisions that my husband and I made in 2016 was hiring Elena Bazini as our wedding photographer. Definitely check out her blog to see the range of work she has. (Here’s the posting for our wedding!... Read More http://elenabaziniphotography.com/art-institute-of-chicago-wedding-photography-kelly-ryan/) From the start, we were so appreciative of how quickly Elena responded to all of our emails with questions that we had—which is awesome when you are trying to get so many things figured out for such a big event. On the day of our wedding, Elena was early with her second shooter (husband, David—also amazing!!!) and was immediately a calming influence (much needed on a wedding day). Elena captured the most beautiful pictures of our families, knowing that my father is ill and that any photo captured with him would really be something I would cherish forever. I am so grateful that I will have these beautiful pictures forever. She also got tons of “beauty shots” of our dog Penny, a little diva—who was an honorary bridesmaid. ☺ Elena was also incredible at finding the best locations for the most dramatic shots. She suggested a bunch of places in the Art Institute (our reception venue) that we never would have thought of—but turned out absolutely beautiful. She was excellent at catching the most candid perfect moments—like when a World Series Champions bus pulled to the curb on Michigan Avenue (the weekend after the Cubs won the World Series) and we got a shot of my husband and I, with our dog, celebrating the win. Or the expression on my face when my husband admitted during his speech that I was right about hiring a wedding planner (duh)… We wanted a good mix of staged shots and “in the moment shots” and we were so impressed with the variety of shots we received. This truly does not even begin to describe how happy we were with Elena’s work. She truly captured moments that we will cherish for our lifetime.

We couldn't have been more happy or more luckily to have Elena and her assistant cover our wedding. From the moment we met Elena during our initial consultation, we found it a breeze to work with her. She was able to relate to us and take the time to collaborate on the look and... Read More feel we wanted for our engagement and wedding photos. It felt like we were working with a true professional and friend, rather than just another vendor. You'd be hard pressed to find someone else that would put the time, care, and talent more than Elena.

Five stars is not enough for Elena Bazini Photography. Yes, Elena is a talented technical professional, but my husband and I have found that her artistry is immeasurably enhanced by her kindness, her thoughtful and curious nature, and her love and zeal for people and story. We... Read More cannot thank her and David enough for capturing so many incredible moments from our wedding day (and the time we spent together in 2015 during our engagement shoot! So much fun!). Truly, five stars is not enough. And speaking of stars, Elena is absolutely a rising star in the industry; we highly recommend that you book with this talented young woman while you can still get in at the ground floor!

Elena Bazini is an artist and an incredible person. I was referred to Elena through another vendor and fell in love with her work and professionalism right from the beginning. We had a lot of fun getting to know her throughout the process and truly felt like she was genuinely... Read More excited for us as a couple and happy to be a part of our day. Not only is she great to work with, she has an incredible eye and knows how to capture and tell a story perfectly. Her photos are absolutely beautiful. From our engagement photos to our wedding, she has captured who we are as a couple and so many special moments during that time that we will never forget. Her photos are something we will always cherish and we are so grateful Elena was there with us to help capture and celebrate such a special time. I highly recommend her and can honestly say this will be the best money you spend for your wedding day. On a side note, Elena will go out of her way to make sure you get what you want, but my advice is let her do her thing. Like I said, she is an artist and you will not be disappointed in the end result!

I couldn't have wished for a more professional and sweet photographer for my wedding. Sweetness is one of the most important things to me and her enthusiasm and joy during the entire event touched my heart profoundly. If she didn't have a camera in her hands I would have... Read More dressed her up with one of the bridesmaid dress 10 min after I met her ! :D She's also awesome with kids having them go from frown to smile in 2 seconds with one of her magic tricks. She's flying everywhere at the same time and as a result we were able see, after wedding, all we had missed from our dear ones. Oh.. By the way, did I mention the pictures were great too ? ;) It was so nice to meet Elena and her husband that we felt bad not being able to spend as much time talking to them as our other guests :D I wish Elena all the love she's spreading herself in the world. A huge thank you from France ! A&J

I first saw Elena's work when she photographed a friend from high school's wedding. And I LOVED every single picture, stalking them regularly on Facebook. So when it came time for my wedding, I wanted just that. No other photographer inspired that feeling of awe with their... Read More pictures. I felt like I was not only at the wedding, but I knew everyone and their personalities as well. When we met with Elena I knew immediately it was a right fit. Now, granted, I am very much a one and done kind of person. When I know something's right, I go with it and never look back. Jump to a year and a half later with our wedding - Elena and Sarah were incredible. On time, and immediately started snapping photos but then I forgot they were there most of the time. Obviously, for the portraits we were staring right at her but other than that I never saw her. But she saw us. She CAPTURED us. We didn't see her but she is a ninja. A beautiful wedding photographer ninja. We just got our pictures back, about 4 weeks after our wedding and I literally could not be more pleased. She captured our wedding. And it felt like OUR wedding in the pictures. It didn't feel like we were looking at some random, generic wedding. She captured everyone's personalities and reactions and they're just beautiful. She caught things I didn't even know were going on but now cannot imagine not having a picture of. She captured our memories. And I could not be more grateful. When we first started planning our wedding, my now husband asked me "What are the three things you want, no matter the cost, that you do not want to compromise on?" And I said "Photos, video and my dress." We did not compromise on any of them. My advice for any bride or groom: Do not sacrifice your photos for something else in your wedding. You're not going to look back in twenty years and say "Remember that chicken piccata we had at our wedding?" You just have your photos. I have no regrets for my wedding and the main reason it because I have it perfectly encapsulated on film to look at forever. Elena is truly the best. She knows what she is doing. She is professional, warm, kind and just truly great at what she does. She is worth every penny and more and you will thank me in the end.

Elena captured our wedding day absolutely perfectly! She is amazing at getting those beautiful candid moments and turning them into art. She was great to work with throughout my whole wedding planning process and definitely put us at ease. She is super responsive with all... Read More communications and delivered everything she promised... and more! Thanks so much Elena!

One of the best decisions we made during the planning process was hiring Elena and her team! The moments she captured were absolutely magically. We met for the first time for our engagement shoot where Elena managed to put us at ease immediately. Until I met her, I would... Read More always say I wasn't photogenic. Well after working with Elena, I realized I was wrong. She managed to capture us beautifully and in the most intimate way possible. We are so lucky we were able to share the most important day of our lives with her. Even more so, we are grateful to have our perfect day documented in the most gorgeous way possible. Thank you Elena - we loved working with you!

We cannot say enough good things about working with Elena!! From our first meeting I knew she was the photographer for us - my now-husband made me refrain from emailing her the second we left her office to tell her we wanted her as photographer so I wouldn't seem like a total... Read More creeper :) Our engagement photos were a great way to get to know Elena and learn how to act in front of the camera, and they turned out so well! When it came to our wedding day, not only was Elena (and her second shooter, Wes) super fun and easy to work with, but our photos are out-of-this-world good! Elena truly captured the spirit of our day and all the little moments we never want to forget - like the elation when the busted zipper on my dress finally zipped, the tears shed by all during my dad's beautiful toast, the raucous laughter during the best man's speech, and the incredibly jam-packed, high energy dance floor! People often say that their biggest wedding regret is not hiring a videographer, but I don't have that regret because Elena documented our day in such a complete and beautiful way that looking through all of the photos brings us back to that day immediately - it's like we're there reliving it all over again. We were blessed to have a team of all-star vendors but Elena takes the cake. Thank you, Elena, for giving us the precious gift of our wedding photos - we will cherish them for the rest of our lives!

I cannot say enough good things about Elena and her stunning photos. She took the photos for our engagement shoot in the fall of 2015 and our wedding in June 2016. Elena is so kind, easygoing, and so easy to be around which is extremely important when your not super comfortable... Read More in front of the camera. Our wedding day was extremely hot and I never heard her or her husband complain one time. She was amazing at getting us to relax and laugh in front of the camera and the photos we received from her were absolutely amazing. She was able to capture the joy, laughter, love and every other emotion you are feeling on your wedding day.These photos are something I will truly cherish for the rest of my life. She was also so quick in getting us the photos and I cannot tell you how many people have reached out to me saying they are the most gorgeous wedding photos they have ever seen. I highly recommend her to everyone. Thanks again Elena!!

You only do this once, so do your photos with Elena Bazini. We got an amazing product back, one that will bring enjoyment for a lifetime, and maybe a few generations beyond! Elena has such a calm and easy going manner. It was completely natural to be in front of her camera and... Read More just let her capture the day. You cannot go wrong hiring Elena for your wedding. Enjoy your day and let her find all the special moments for you!

I highly recommend considering Elena Bazini to be your wedding photographer! When we were looking for a photographer for our wedding, we wanted to work with someone who is fun and easygoing but professional and can capture more of the candid moments of our wedding day, and we... Read More found all those qualities in Elena. She is so easy to work with and made us feel comfortable in front of the camera, but when it was time to follow a timeline or get groups together for a family pictures, she is good at leading people but in a nice way. We recently received our wedding photos and love them so much!!!! Every time we go through them, it’s like we are living in the moment again, and for that we will be forever grateful to Elena for capturing memories that we will cherish for a lifetime.

Elena Bazini is clearly one of the best photographers in Chicago, and it's not only because of her skills behind the lens, but truly to her dedication and passion to the craft. Being the typical groom, my thought was truly that all photographers are the same, and there's only... Read More so many ways to take a picture. Boy, did Elena prove me wrong! Right from the beginning, I could tell how passionate Elena was to making this a day to remember through her communication and ability to get to know us and what we were looking for. During our first consultation in her studio, we were able to see the many masterpiece shots she had over the years and we were blown away. We specifically fell in love with her "Snow Bride" shot, being that our wedding was in March and we didn't know what the weather was like. We were excited to see how creative and unique her work was, and felt great knowing we found one of the best. As we planned out our big day, one of the concerns for us was where to take pictures after the ceremony. Because of Lent, we needed to be out of the church within 30 minutes of the service, and had a poor choice of backdrops at our venue. Elena was very helpful in helping to figure out a great in-between spot by driving all the way out to the northwest suburbs two weeks before and finding a garden area and floral store right in downtown Arlington Heights. This was something I would never expect from any photographer, yet Elena was passionate on making sure everything was perfectly planned. Throughout the big day, both Elena and David made us feel very comfortable, and were extremely flexible in their shot choices (David even risked getting a parking ticket to ensure we had the best photos...talk about dedication!!). When we finally got our pictures, I had my doubts on how she could top a shot like the "Snow Bride" shot we saw so many months ago. Little did we know that we would have our own masterpiece collection from that evening, with SEVERAL shots that could easily make any photographer's Hall of Fame. We couldn't be happier to have worked with Elena, and will definitely plan on letting all of our friends know where the best photographer in Chicago is!