Emily Hayes Photography

Documentary-style Wedding Photography

Chicago | Available for Travel Worldwide

Travel area: No travel restrictions See details

5.0

Verified reviews from real couples

Em Taylor Photography is one of the best in the business. Emily is extremely personable and professional, providing light guidance on posing but also focusing on capturing candid moments. For our engagement session, Emily stayed with us for an extra hour because we were all having a great time. Likewise, she was there for getting ready photos and stayed until we snuck into our getaway car. We absolutely adore all the photos she was able to capture, and we recommend her to anyone looking for amazing wedding photography.

Stephanie L.

5.0

My husband and I hired Emily about a year out from our wedding. From our very first call with Emily, I knew she was going to be an absolute dream to work with. In addition to our first zoom meeting to go over our vision, inspiration, and getting to know each other, she always kept the line of communication open and responded to all of my questions quickly (and trust me there were a lot of them). Emily took our engagement pictures in downtown Chicago and made the process so smoothly. And if I remember correctly she sent me a few sneak peaks the very next day! Fast forward to our wedding day - she took get ready pictures with me and my bridesmaids and traveled to the place my husband was getting ready to get pictures of him and his groomsmen. Emily captured every single moment we could have wanted from our wedding and worked so well with our wedding party and gusts. She was so kind and professional I cannot recommend her enough. We have so many amazing pictures to look back on and relive our wedding day from start to finish!!

Natalie K.

5.0

Emily Hayes

LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

AWARD WINNER (2X)

Thanks to recommendations from couples on The Knot

At Emily Hayes Photography in Chicago, IL, I'm a wedding photographer with a documentary approach — present, observant, and unobtrusive. I focus on the parts that matter most: the small details, the emotion, and the way love and family unfold naturally throughout the day. With experience photographing over 40 weddings as a lead photographer, I bring a steady presence and calm guidance when it’s needed. I take on a limited number of weddings each year to stay fully present and invested in every couple I work with. I incorporate a mix of digital and 35mm film to create images that feel nostalgic, honest, and true to the day — including the dance floor.

Woman-owned Business

7+ years in business

Speaks English

Just me

Details

Destination Weddings

Destination Wedding Packages

Photo Shoot Types

Boudoir

Bridal Portraits

Day After Session

Engagement

Trash The Dress

Photo & Video

Digital Files

Photo

Second Shooter Available

Wedding Albums

Photo & Video Styles

Artistic

Documentary

Dramatic

Modern

Wedding Activities

Getting Engaged

Rehearsals & Parties

After Party

Wedding

After Party

Awards and Affiliations

2-Time 'Best of Weddings'

2023.2022.

Join couples who chose award-winning vendors for their wedding

Meet the team

Emily Hayes

Lead photographer

Documentary-style photographer | focused on how it felt

5.0

out of 5.0

17 reviews

Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.

Search reviews

Stephanie L

Highlighted review.

9/07/2025

Em Taylor Photography is one of the best in the business. Emily is extremely personable and professional, providing light guidance on posing but also focusing on capturing candid m...

oments. For our engagement session, Emily stayed with us for an extra hour because we were all having a great time. Likewise, she was there for getting ready photos and stayed until we snuck into our getaway car. We absolutely adore all the photos she was able to capture, and we recommend her to anyone looking for amazing wedding photography.

Natalie K

6/14/2024

My husband and I hired Emily about a year out from our wedding. From our very first call with Emily, I knew she was going to be an absolute dream to work with. In addition to our ...

first zoom meeting to go over our vision, inspiration, and getting to know each other, she always kept the line of communication open and responded to all of my questions quickly (and trust me there were a lot of them). Emily took our engagement pictures in downtown Chicago and made the process so smoothly. And if I remember correctly she sent me a few sneak peaks the very next day! Fast forward to our wedding day - she took get ready pictures with me and my bridesmaids and traveled to the place my husband was getting ready to get pictures of him and his groomsmen. Emily captured every single moment we could have wanted from our wedding and worked so well with our wedding party and gusts. She was so kind and professional I cannot recommend her enough. We have so many amazing pictures to look back on and relive our wedding day from start to finish!!

Any questions?

Danielle C

5/13/2023

Emily is incredible. We could not be happier with our engagement photos and she made the whole process feel so fun and natural!! The photos are gorgeous and we cannot wait for her...

to shoot our wedding in a few months!! Truly an artist

Jennifer R

1/27/2023

Emily was so nice and took so many beautiful photos!

Nicole L

1/08/2023

After interviewing a few photographers for our small wedding ceremony, Emily's artistic talent and can-do personality really shined through. She was really great to work with throu...

ghout the entire process and reasonably priced. We opted for a 1-hour couple photo shoot after the wedding ceremony, and it was a really fun hour working with her to capture different shots and poses. And needless to say the final products surpassed our expectations. I would recommend Emily to anyone- she made us feel comfortable, supported, and fit in well with our small group <3.

Gillian T

10/18/2022

We were so incredibly blessed to have Emily as our photographer!! She went above and beyond to make sure she captured our memories for our engagement shoot and our wedding. She was...

so professional and punctual. Our photos were absolutely beautiful and really showcased the happiness we felt on our wedding day. We can’t thank Emily enough for all her hard work. She is the absolute best and can’t imagine having anyone else but her capture our wedding day. We love you Emily!!

Rachel M

9/12/2022

Emily you as an amazing photographer to work with. She’s got such a warmth that combines with professionalism that makes working with her a dream. She did both our engagement photo...

s and wedding photography. For our engagement photos she gave us great direction while also giving us space for candid interactions. Her wedding photography captured all the beautiful candid moments I didn’t get to see as the bride. The posed photos we took at the wedding were also well composed. The color saturation on the photos really brought the day to life and gave me the “natural but a bit turned up” look I was hoping for. Emily is super collaborative and connected well with us as a couple. She answers emails super promptly. Our engagement photos were done early and our wedding photos arrived a few days earlier than projected. I would hire Emily for photography again in a heartbeat.

Candice M

8/04/2022

Emily photographed our wedding and engagement shoot. We love both sets of pictures! Emily was easy to work with, very kind and accommodating. We did our engagement photos in the Li...

ncoln Park area of Chicago, and she captured the beautiful settings that we wanted in our pictures and included a great variety of shots of us together. We used one of the photos for our save the dates and got a lot of compliments. For the wedding, she made sure to go over details with us ahead of time so we felt prepared, and day-of, she was there early to scope out locations at the hotel and venue, having plan B options since it was raining throughout the day. We chose the package for having two photographers, and the second photographer she had helping for the day, Victor Chan, was also fantastic and personable. Together they captured the special moments throughout the ceremony and reception seamlessly. They pulled us aside to take some final shots before they left, and it was a nice way to bring it back to being about the two of us in the midst of all that was going on, so we really appreciated that. Overall, we had a great experience and recommend Emily's photography services!

Lizbeth B

7/19/2022

My fiance and I are so pleased with the beautiful pictures Emily captured of our wedding in June. She took the time to get to know my partner and I before anything which really mad...

e us feel at ease and comfortable with her once we began discussing our wedding vision and on the day of the event. Emily was very patient when our friends and family asked for photos to be taken with us following the ceremony and during the reception and was so kind about doing so, taking multiple shots of important moments throughout the day that we will cherish for years to come. She followed up with us after the wedding to provide us with a sneak peek that made us so excited for the final gallery of photos, and she communicated when to expect the final shots which we really appreciated. Once we saw the final photos, we were blown away by the artistry of the shots and by the amazing job she did–seeing them truly feels like we are transported back to that joyful day! I honestly could not recommend a better photographer than Emily!

Brian E

4/28/2022

Emily was very professional and personable. We really appreciate how she reached out to get to know us on a personal level while we were looking for a photographer. Emily shot our...

engagement photos and our wedding, and her work turned out beautifully. We're looking forward to displaying it in our home!

Deidra M

3/14/2022

We met with so many photographers, but we ended up with Emily because she really cared about us and our vision! She was huge in helping us plan all of our locations for the engagem...

ent, and was flexible when we realized the polar plunge was happening at north beach that day. Throughout the day, she was early, had great poses, talked us through everything to make us feel more comfortable. It could not have been a better experience. Then, we received our photos. They are exactly what we were looking for! She made us feel like vogue models! I would recommend Emily to anyone and everyone! Can't wait to have her on our wedding day! Update, we had her for our wedding and she was literally the best all day! She followed everything for my vision, came early, stayed late, and made us feel so happy!!! She even already sent us 10 pics and we got married like two days ago! I would hire her for everything I need to document moving forward. She was our best vendor!

Kaitlin Z

1/09/2022

My husband and I had an absolutely amazing wedding, and are now more than thrilled to share those memories with others thanks to Emily and her wonderful photos! We were blown away ...

by Emily's shots. Our couples photos were simply breathtaking. She was easy to work with, and allowed us to pick the photos and groupings we wanted. We were able to get photos in multiple locations, and in a variety of poses. We requested more candid shots than anything, and were more than pleased with what we received. We had a decent sized guest list and she got everyone in at least one photo! She was beyond professional, and very flexible with the hours of our event. She was easy to communicate with, and was available via phone or email at anytime! We were able to have phone consultations regularly, which made my stress almost non-existent. We could not have received more beautiful photos with anyone else, and we cannot thank Emily enough! With her photos we will be able to cherish our special day with friends and family forever!

Tammy S

10/23/2021

Emily was an absolute amazing addition to our wedding As the mother of the groom I had much anxiety for the day. Emily took all of the worry away with capturing very special ...

moment!! SHE WAS AMAZING AND IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

Jonathan G

8/19/2021

Emily was such a pleasure to work with, and our photos came out absolutely beautiful. She is a master of creating and capturing natural moments, something that we really wanted for...

our engagement session. We were hoping to just get a handful of photos that we really loved, but we ended up with dozens - so many that we can't choose between them. I cannot recommend Emily enough. Thank you!

Laurance D

7/07/2021

If your looking for a good photographer for your event Emily would be a good choice. She blends into the event like she's not even there. Emily has a great personality, follows y...

our requests for ideas, and very easy to work with.

anonymous u

6/13/2021

We had an amazing engagement shoot with Emily! The weather was iffy leading up to it, and she communicated every step of the way to make sure we got want we wanted! We're also a sh...

y couple, and she was able to make us feel comfortable. Thank you for a memorable shoot! We would have loved her for our wedding if it was in Chicago.

Jeanette C

5/31/2021

We are so glad to have found Emily to be our wedding photographer! From our initial communication, Emily had been approachable and professional. She made sure to hear our love stor...

y and to get to know us as a couple. We maintained constant communication throughout the planning process. She arrived to our venue early and made sure to capture all the beautiful moments of our day, including the behind-the-scenes and memorable touching scenes. After the day, she also provided updates on when we would get our edited pictures. Her work was great! We are so happy to see all the shots that we asked for and other additional ones that added to our collection! Thank you Emily!

Service area & Contact info

Travel area: No travel restrictions

Additional charges may apply

(773) 391-1307

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Emily Hayes Photography

Emily Hayes

Lead photographer

Emily Hayes Photography's photos

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Emily Hayes Photography

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