Erin Hannum Photography

Confession: I am Erin Hannum's biggest fan. From the moment we had our introductory call, it felt like we gained a new friend. My husband and I still talk about how comfortable we felt around Erin — whether it was her giving creative direction to ensure we looked cool or providing some much needed comic relief during stressful points of the day. Erin's photography style is unmatched and not to mention, moody af (check out her instagram if you haven't yet). She's not one to take the posed and polished photos but makes sure to show the personality of both the couple and their loved ones throughout the day. Erin captured so many small special moments including my maid of honor reapplying my lipstick, me dancing with an eggroll, our flower girls taking a disposable camera seflie and, of course, all the chaos that ensued on the dancefloor. Our wedding day was so stunning thanks to our vendors' hard work, but honestly, Erin's photos took things to the next level and made everything look even more gorgeous and I am so grateful to be able to relive our big day through her lens. Consider yourself lucky if you're able to book her for your event. Also, get ready because your family and friends will all change their profile pictures to her photos from your big day.

Erin was a dream to work with for our August 2022 wedding. She captured the energy of our wedding perfectly in her pictures and it's been so fun looking through all of them. My fiance Brandon and I felt so comfortable around her and she made the whole process so easy. Leaving part of our cocktail hour to take pictures with Erin was one of the highlights of our wedding night. She is so talented and I would highly, highly recommend her to anyone that is looking for beautiful, candid wedding photos.

We absolutely loved our experience with Erin as our wedding photographer! We hired her for our October 2022 wedding and felt so comfortable with her from our first zoom meeting that we knew we didn’t need to consider anyone else. On the day of our wedding she was amazing at keeping us on our timeline, helping with posing and capturing so many real candid moments. She delivered us our full gallery exactly one month after our wedding and we were absolutely blown away. I can’t stop looking at our photos - they are truly amazing. It’s overwhelming to think about which ones we want to include in our wedding album because they are all stunning, all 1000+ of them. We couldn’t be happier with our choice to hire Erin and would recommend her a million times over to anyone looking for a photographer!

One non-negotiable I had when wedding planning was to have the BEST photographer. I had been a fan of Erin’s work for years before I had had the opportunity to work with her, and let me tell you, everything about Erin and her work is ELITE. She captured everything SO perfectly and so unique to you as a couple. On your wedding day, you are so busy running around that you sometimes miss the small things, but have no fear, Erin will capture them for you. And on top of that, she is just so fun to have around! She is so funny and easy-going and just willing to let the day shake out however you want it to and she will be there capturing every single moment. I would recommend her one hundred times over, and personally want her to take photos of every life event from here on out. Choosing Erin was very much worth it, as her service, her work, and her personality is everything we could have asked for from a photographer.

We are very grateful to have worked with Erin for our wedding, which thanks to 2020 turned into two separate events. She came highly recommended by our wedding planners, and we can see why! Not only is she a talented artist who captured so many memorable moments with her keen eye for lighting and composition, she was a pleasure to work with and made this camera shy couple feel more at ease. If you have the opportunity, we definitely recommend working with Erin!

Erin you are truly incredible. We adored working with you, you were so much fun and made us feel so comfortable. We felt so special not only on our wedding day but also during our engagement photos. Friends and family have nothing but great things to say about all of our photos. We completely trusted your vision and you captured every moment perfectly. Thank you thank you thank you🙏🏼❤️

We hired Erin as our engagement shoot and wedding photographer and couldn't have been happier. It was our first time hiring a photographer for anything but felt a good connection with her during our initial meeting and liked that her portfolio had a lot of untraditional/candid shots. We scheduled our engagement shoot and Erin gave a lot of feedback on dos and don'ts for what to wear and also provided great guidance during the shoot itself. We were nervous that we would seem unnatural or awkward having never had couple photos taken before, but they turned out excellent! She also did a great job guiding our decision making on where to get pictures taken. The wedding pictures turned out fantastic as well. She captured the ceremony, accents, and so many memorable moments perfectly. We highly recommend hiring Erin as your photographer!

Erin did such an amazing job! Our wedding was a dream it felt like a fairy tale even with all of the covid wedding changes! It poured rain on our reception so Erin stayed later to get our pictures even when she didn't have too and everything was amazing!

Erin was such a dream to work with! She captured our elopement more beautifully than I could have imagined and it felt like we were old friends the minute we met! I truly cannot recommend her enough!!

Oh my gosh. Amazing! I cannot recommend Erin enough! Not only did she capture all of the special moments, but she made it look like we were movie stars at the same time. She captured the beauty and the raw emotion. She captured the fun and the personality. She made things easy and fun and we just loved her. Very flexible throughout Covid changes as well!

How do you write a review to fully capture the magic that is Erin? It's not possible, but I will try. Let me say this, if you want your photographs to so flawlessly capture the whole feel of the day, the emotions and details, Erin gets it. She nails it. If you want to go through your pictures and re-live the day and be able to remember how wonderful it was and cry and laugh about all of it all over again, Erin gets it. While she of course will get beautiful portraits, do not underestimate her effortless ability to capture the most incredible candid shots. It never feels like there is a camera in your face, you just get to enjoy your day, and then you get your pictures back and it's just stunning photo after stunning photo, that you don't even remember being taken. Erin is professional and takes great care in her work. It is so obvious that she loves what she does and puts her whole heart into it. She listened to all of our ideas (sometimes lack there of) and offered her own great ideas and advice. It's also worth noting that her personality is the cherry on top. Erin is so fun and sweet and hypes you up all day. With all of the commotion and chaos that comes with a wedding day, she always seemed to be in a constant state of calm. I cannot recommend her, or sing her praises, enough.

I couldn’t say enough wonderful things about Erin Hannum. She is such an incredibly talented photographer! She captures intimate, special moments so beautifully. On our wedding day, her fun personality put everyone at ease and went above and beyond! She made our day even more special. I would choose Erin 100 times over again..so thankful for her! Our wedding party and guests alike, couldn’t stop raving about how much they loved her! If you don’t choose her as your photographer, you’ll regret it! :) Thanks again, Erin!

There are truly not enough good things I can say about Erin. Although we were immediately sold by her immense love for Parks and Rec, it was her dedication to getting to know us that really made us fall in love with her. She goes above and beyond to capture your hearts desires. We wanted to have our engagement photos in Chicago and Erin made it happen. We had to postpone due to COVID-19, Erin was with us the entire way. She is professional, kind, funny, and a master at her craft. We know we will be having Erin capture as many life events as possible for many years to come.

Erin photographed our recent September wedding and was amazing! She was unbelievably helpful through the chaos that was planning a wedding in 2020, so positive and flexible with everything from asking about date changes to changes in time the day of. Our wedding coordinator at the venue took a new job a week before our wedding and Erin was an AMAZING help with finalizing our day of timeline and making sure the day ran smoothly. She is a calming presence and so relaxed while low key making sure things are happening on time. On top of that we got sneak peaks and our photos within a month and are obsessed with them, there are seriously amazing. A perfect representation of my husband and I and of our guests. We LOVE them. I would not hesitate to hire her again and again and plan to share her name with any friends who have photographer needs!

I don't know where to begin with Erin. Her talent is unmatched, and we are beyond incredibly happy with the way that our fall wedding photos turned out. Not only is Erin a wicked talented photographer, she is a genuinely great person. When we met up for the first time to get a feel for what she offered, my husband and I knew right then and there that we had to have Erin be a part of our big day. She presented her package options without trying to sell us on them, so it was more like we were new friends meeting for coffee and excitedly talking about wedding planning. Her ease and 'go with the flow' personality are definitely something we valued on easily one of the most stressful weekends of our lives. Besides our family portraits, she never told us what to do or where to stand, so our pictures came out natural and not posed or stiff. Our photos turned out beautifully and I cannot recommend her loud enough!

Erin is an angel. We planned our wedding from over 2000 miles away and Erin made communicating with her so easy. She made us feel comfortable trusting her with every aspect of our wedding photos and we are SO thankful for her talent and her calming presence. She worked efficiently and was 100% accommodating in every way. She is literally the easiest person to work. She met with us before the wedding at the venue (Great Lakes Rabbit Sanctuary) on the one day I was available during my super short trip back to the state. Talk about service! She immediately fell in love with the sanctuary and I knew she would be able to truly show everyone how much the sanctuary meant to us. On the day of the wedding Erin moved around like a magical floating fairy. She captured SO many parts of our special day that I would have never thought to ask her to get photos of. Erin is passionate about her work and about weddings, and love, and that comes through in every aspect of her being. She even co-operates a bridal boutique that specializes in vintage wedding items! She thrives on making her couples feel comfortable and encouraging them to just be themselves instead of posing in awkward positions just for the sake of it. During our portraits, she simply said “Go over there and just talk to each other. Love each other.” She captured our joy and love in a way I never imagined possible. Her detailed shots of things like our accessories, my gown, my grandma sitting on a couch petting a cat, kids eating cupcakes, all of it was so perfect! Erin also made sure to capture the emotions of our guests and she made sure to pay extra close attention to each of our grandparents which meant so much to us and gave us photos that we and our families will cherish forever. Erin has an eye for lighting and finding just the right spot to make your photos extra special. She is everything we could have hoped for, and more, in a wedding photographer. She is a beautiful, talented, brilliant, powerful musk-ox and we love her.

Erin is so down to earth and amazing to work with. She is laid back but knows how to direct a great shot, which was especially important for my husband and I, who don't love being photographed or feel very photogenic. She truly got the vibe of our wedding and both her staged and unstaged photos are just spectacular - they are both artsy and unique while still capturing the emotions of the moment. We were very much looking for a photographer whose work would match with our style (we got married in a warehouse and I wore a leather jacket in all my photos...) and Erin was so spot on. PLUS she has a great sense of humor that makes you feel relaxed and supported on a very stressful day. My husband and I are SO happy with all our pictures, both the traditional, artsy, and funny ones that we can't even decide what to frame. We loved working with Erin and HIGHLY suggest her, especially if you're looking for photos that aren't just same-old same-old wedding photos.

Hire Erin. Right. Now. She is an incredibly talented woman with a spectacular eye, and I could go on and on about how lucky we are to have her photograph our wedding. She captured the beauty and essence of everything my now husband and I were feeling that day. Even just seeing the sneak peak photos, we could just have those and be happy. It’s so difficult to put into words what Erin does, but trust me when I say that she is one of a kind, and you will be overjoyed with emotion when you see your photos. Not only is she a photography genius, but she’s funny, sweet, and warm hearted. I’ve never ever felt comfortable having my picture taken, but I felt confident and beautiful that day, and I could be totally myself. My friends and family can’t stop raving about her and her talent, and I am right there with them. Do yourself a favor and ask her to photograph your wedding or whichever important event in your life!!!!!!!! I am beyond thrilled that we did.

If I could give Erin all the stars, I would. Erin is a treasure; not only is she a force to be reckoned with in her talents, but she is a bright, shining, easy-going energy to be around. She has a way of capturing a moment that allows you to FEEL it when you look at her photos. You can see her love for what she does in every photograph she takes. When I was first introduced to Erin, the thing I loved most about her work looking through her instagram and website, is her ability to grab candid moments- unstaged photos that show you the minute to minute. I've been in weddings before where a photographer will instruct "chin down a tad, bend elbows aboooout two degrees, turn towards me. Nope, too much, a little- yep, now turn away a smidge". And the pictures reflect that stiffness. Forced smiles that don't show how you actually feel. I knew that I DIDN'T want that. Which is why I chose Erin. Erin's behind-the-scenes way of working lets you fully live in the moment without even recognizing there is a lens snapping at your every move. She does not instruct (unless it's something goofy and playful), and lets you just BE. Erin's way of working is understated and easy, allowing you to be present with the people you're celebrating with while she is able to get the photo that engages people that weren't even in the room after the fact. You can feel it in the picture after. Her photographs evoke emotions- I found myself laughing, radiating joy from a deep belly place, crying (happy tears) over the photos she took of my wedding. I don't know the second thing about photography, but when I look at her photos, the girl absolutely knows what she's doing when it comes to lighting and composition. Some of the pictures she took, I think, "IS THAT EVEN ME?!" (in the best way) because her vision came to life. She is a true artist and I wouldn't have wanted anyone else capturing my big day. Now I just need to find another reason to work with her! And, not only do her pictures represent the actual day (again, not all pose-y photos where people look uncomfortable and ready to run from the camera), she is really a sweet, calming, fun energy to have in the room. She is not at all demanding or bossy. She has a way to go with the flow and has the patience of one of those soldiers that stands next to the palace unflinching while people mess around them. I mean this in the best way when I say, she almost makes herself invisible at times. There were pictures she took of us where I thought- where even was she? She doesn't make you DO anything other than be present. And because of that, you're able to enjoy every second without realizing you have a team of people swirling around the room taking pictures. These candid pictures are EXACTLY what I wanted because they reflect the spirit of the day. One of the biggest decisions you make for your wedding is choosing the right photographer. The best decision you could make for yourself is to hire Erin. And when you do, I'm sure I'll be crying over your photos, too (again, in the best way possible).

Erin was amazing to work with from start to finish! What’s even more amazing is that she helped my husband feel comfortable with taking photos, which is a big task! She let us be ourselves and captured the best moments. I loved having unique pictures and not the typical wedding pose pictures. I would recommend Erin to anyone and everyone and plan on using her for photos in the future!

Erin was absolutely great to work with before, during, and after our Wedding. She met with us a couple of times leading up to the day to make sure she was capturing what was important to us and to get to know my wife and me as a couple. On the day-of, she was on-time and had a professional but very friendly attitude. It was a hot day, but she kept up with us as we made our way through UM's campus for all the shots we wanted with the Wedding Party. At the ceremony and reception, she somehow got all of the most amazing shots without us realizing that she was there. The photos are beautiful, and we even got some sneak peaks the day after the wedding to share to social media. I would recommend Erin to anyone looking for a photographer for their big day.

Erin is absolutely THE BEST photographer you could ever ask for on your wedding day. She knew just which shots would look great. I am so in awe by the detail she captured from our wedding. She managed to round up my crazy family and help me maintain my sanity throughout. I have looked at my pictures every single day since the wedding because I am so happy!

Erin was wonderful to work with, she photographed my wedding and created beautiful photographs that I treasure. Erin was recommended by a friend who is a photographer and I am so glad! She is pragmatic, thoughtful, responsive, as well as flexible. I appreciated and sought her input for many aspects of wedding planning given her extensive experience. She is very savvy with her online systems as well, and knows many local vendors. And the last thing I'll add is that she has a warm presence and great attitude, which is incredibly important on any special and intimate occasion.

I cannot say enough about how incredible all of our wedding photos turned out thanks to Erin! Our family & friends (and of course my husband and I) were absolutely blown away by how perfectly Erin captured our wedding day. Erin was so wonderful to work with leading up to the wedding with all of my questions and concerns I had on the timeline, photo locations, etc and always offered the best input and advice. Erin has a knack for capturing the most subtle, yet special, moments between two people (myself and my husband, my best friend and I, my father and I) through her photos. I have looked through our photo album at least 50 times since our wedding day one month ago and every time I do, all of the feelings I felt on that day come rushing back to the surface - it feels like I'm right there reliving the best day of my life all over again. I'm so glad that I had the honor to work with Erin on our wedding day and would absolutely recommend her to other couples! Thank you, Erin <3

I had the privilege of having Erin photograph mine and my husband's reception this past fall. Being a wedding photographer myself, it was no easy task to pick a photographer for our party (there are SO many options out there!!!!!) but I was not let down by my choice to go with Erin. Her moody style and photo journalistic approach is what drew me in and I was so happy that she was available to photograph our day. She captured all the best moments between us and our family and friends - along with some great Detroit portraits that I've already printed out and hung in my home. I am so lucky to have these photographs to look back on as the years go by and I HIGHLY recommend Erin to anyone looking for a down to earth, talented photographer to capture your day!

Erin is SERIOUSLY the best photographer ever! Let me start with the day we met in the cutest little coffee house that she recommended. She was so real and funny, and with our mutual love for FRIENDS, I knew within minutes she was the photographer for my wedding! Next thing was a couple of weeks before the wedding. I was so overwhelmed with planning everything that I totally didn't get any information to her. She had asked well in advance for a list of pictures I wanted, thoughts, names, etc. (Like a good pro does) and I NEVER replied! I know worst bride ever! But she was so patient with me and never got upset and I am truly thankful for that. The day of, she was nothing but professional and captured all the moments perfectly. It's been almost two months since my wedding (I know I know this review is WELL OVER DUE) and I still look at my pictures with absolute astonishment. The colors pop in the bouquets, the scenery looks gorgeous, and my cake looks like a work of art. She captured the planned moments like the garter toss and cutting the cake, but she also captured all the fun moments that I'll be able to enjoy for the rest of my life. She even made sure that my husband and I enjoyed a moment alone to take some pictures and get away from the crowd. With Erin, I never had to worry about her or posing for her because she made everything seem so natural. She was worth every penny spent and DEFINITELY will be using her again and I can't wait to show my future kids my wedding photos. If you want a photographer that is fun, has a great eye, and has amazing skills, then Erin Hannum is the one for you! I recommend her for any kind of photography needs.

Five stars, hands down! Erin was awesome-sauce. She traveled from Detroit to Indianapolis for our June 2018 backyard wedding. It was short and sweet and we were all over the place and she still managed to capture all kinds of candid and touching moments. She's enthusiastic, genuine, and we felt as comfortable with her as if she'd been friends with us forever. She risked getting poison ivy to capture some beautiful shots in the woods next to my parent's house. Luckily, she made it out safely and with some of our favorite photographs from the night. Communication was easy and natural. We are over-the-moon about our final photos and can't wait to book her again in a few years when we have babies to throw in the mix! (The latter statement was made with my husband's approval.) Follow her on Instagram and you'll see what's up. She's the real deal, y'all.

Book Erin right now. My wife, Josephine, found Erin's work through Instagram. We were looking for someone who could capture the mood of the day through candid shots, but also work with us on some posed shots that wouldn't feel forced. We fell in love with how Erin lit her photos. Her editing process isn't overbearing, and she let her framing and lighting speak for itself. I've worked with dozens of professional photographers across the state through my job, and I can say Erin's one of the most talented, dedicated and artistic individuals I've ever worked with. It was an honor to be a subject in her photos. She's an expert, and quickly made us feel comfortable and loose enough to get genuine shots. One of the best parts of working with Erin was she had the ability to take an extremely vague suggestion from me or Josephine, and produce the exact photograph we'd imagined. Tell her you wanna look like a Wes Anderson movie. Boom, done. How about that Vanity Fair shoot Solange did when she got married? Easy. Oh, and can you get the Fisher Building in a shot? She did that too, in a fantastic double exposure shot neither of us was expecting. I could write paragraphs about Erin and her work. She's a photog who wants to capture raw emotion in raw light and shoot your wedding or your engagement or your whatever in the most natural way possible, because the best photographers know how to tell dozens of stories in a snapshot that doesn't need to be altered. That’s the most important part of photography, and Erin has a practiced, honed and beautiful talent. We’re forever grateful we worked with Erin Hannum for our wedding. Now we've just gotta find more reasons to hire her. - Ian and Jo (4/14/2018)

Our pictures are so dang DREAMY. From our first meeting with Erin, we knew we were going to work with her. She can't help but be genuine and it is so refreshing! Erin didn't flinch when we told her we just wanted to hang out around a bonfire in our backyard with our dog for our engagement pictures (even with getting lots of sloppy puppy kisses!). On our wedding day, we just wanted to celebrate with our friends and family in between our ceremony and reception. Erin was able to efficiently get our formal shots done (for our moms!) so we could go celebrate. Then throughout the day she got meaningful, emotion filled shots without over-posing or being obtrusive. Erin even gave us a ride to our reception so we could let our bridal party head to cocktail hour in our party bus early. She balances professionalism with being FUN so effortlessly. Spend your day enjoying the moment with your friends/family and let Erin capture the magic!! Erin, in the words of Leslie Knope, "You are a poetic and noble land-mermaid." I'm so glad we found you!

Erin is a childhood friend of mine and I have seen her photography work grow through the years. I absolutely knew she was the photographer for our engagement and wedding photos. She made myself and my husband feel very comfortable throughout the entire process. Erin shared her ideas with us and listened to our ideas and ran with them for photos. We absolutely loved our pictures and how quickly she got our photos to us. Her photos captured our wedding day perfectly; she helped us remember all the details. Everyone who has seen our pictures loves them. I highly recommend Erin to anyone looking for a great photographer; she does amazing work!

Erin is a true talent and has a warm, genuine personality. Her style is so unique and she really captures those intimate moments. She made us feel so comfortable taking photos on our wedding day, we were laughing in almost every shot with her! She is truly passionate about what she does and it SHOWS. Our wedding party, friends and family could not get enough of the photos she took, they all agreed that they were so unique and stunning. We couldn't have asked for a better photographer to document our special day. You will not be disappointed booking Erin!

Our perfect wedding day would not have been the same without Erin being part of it. She brings more to your wedding then just a camera. You can feel her pure joy that she has while capturing some of the most important moments in a persons life. She is professional, yet very down to earth with personal touches along the way. She takes pride in her work and it is evident in every photo that she produces. We LOVED working with Erin, and would recommend her to anyone.

We absolutely LOVED working with Erin! She is so sweet and thoughtful and goes above and beyond in every way! She captured such incredible photos that we will cherish forever and can even put together a photo album you won't believe!!! We wanted someone we could trust to capture the day in an organic, natural, romantic way and she exceeded all expectations! She brings such creative, lovely energy and quality into everything she does and we honestly couldn't have imagined a better experience! She does everything with excellence and is so sweet and considerate and would be a perfect choice for your special day! We would definitely recommend her to all love birds out there! Xo

We planned our wedding on 3 months' notice (!), and one night early in the process I was sitting with my laptop and probably 50 different tabs open to photographers' websites, trying to find someone whose work I loved, who was in our price range, and who was available on our date (Labor Day weekend!). When I opened Erin's blog and saw her photos, I said "ohhhh" out loud. I fell in love with her romantic, unposed style, her use of light, and the obvious heart in each and every one of her photographs. I read about her philosophy and approach to wedding photography, and knew right away that this the person I wanted to capture our wedding today. I crossed my fingers, held my breath, and sent her an email. Erin wrote me a lovely message confirming that she was available on our date, and we met for coffee a few days later and booked her immediately. We decided to do engagement photos even though our wedding wasn't too far out, so that we could have a chance to get to know Erin as a photographer. We didn't need to be worried about that-- Erin is warm, sweet, funny and so totally genuine, it's impossible not to be at ease with her. All three of us giggled nonstop as we traipsed through the woods together during the shoot, chasing light and wandering off the beaten path to find just the right spots for photos. I'm so glad we decided to do it, though, because our engagement photos could not be more beautiful. We've gotten so many compliments on them, and for me, they take my breath away whenever I look at them. I was so nervous about wedding photos due to lifelong struggles with body image and a tendency to freeze and panic when there's a camera nearby, but Erin has a way of bringing out the love and light in her subjects so easily that you don't even realize she's doing it. After I saw our engagement photos, I didn't have a single worry about how I would look in our wedding photos. At our wedding, Erin showed up on to take photos of me and the bridesmaids while we got ready, then accompanied us to the venue and organized the first look and bridal party photos. She knows how to balance taking the time to accomplish everything you want with making sure you're not late to your own party, and even in the midst of the chaos of the day, she was able to create quiet spaces to capture sweet, intimate photos of me and my new husband. At the reception she always seemed to be right there when we were looking for her, but never obtrusive in the slightest otherwise (I hardly knew she was there!). We haven't gotten our photos back yet, but I already know they'll be beautiful; our friends and family can't stop exclaiming over the preview shots Erin posted on social media. Erin is an organized, responsive, compassionate, thoughtful, and a complete delight as a photographer. We can't recommend her highly enough.