Rachael Schirano Photography

When I saw Rachael's photos and read her philosophy on her site, I knew I needed to hire her, and I am even more pleased with how our wedding photos turned out! She captured so many details and was an amazing documentary photographer- so great that she blended into the background and got moments I had no idea she was even there for. That's how you know you've got a great photographer. I really love that after the family photos, she pulled my husband and I away so we could have alone time that she could photograph, and her methodology to capture genuine feelings between us by asking questions about how we met and why we love each other was absolutely perfect. I also did a boudoir session with her and she was super body positive and made me feel great and sexy! Rachael also had a super fast turnaround time with the edited photos, which was a huge plus! My friends and family have given us so many compliments on our wedding photos. In short, hire Rachael if you want your wedding photography to be perfect!

Rachael was a great wedding photographer. She worked well with our very large wedding party (27 total!) and her pictures are awesome quality. The only complaint we had was that we missed the golden hour photos outside along the lake. It would have been great to get those since we had such a beautiful sunset that night.

We first got in touch with Rachael when we got engaged (in 2019) because we absolutely loved her work and knew we wanted her as our wedding photographer. We could not have picked a better person to capture our day and help us feel completely at ease. Rachael did an amazing job of not only capturing beautiful portrait shots but also all of those little candid moments that are so incredibly special to look back on. She has a great energy and really took the time to get to know us and our story as a couple. We would highly recommend Rachael for your special day!!

Rachael is an amazing photographer. You can see that in her work, but it's the way she captures photos and her relaxed personality that will make you so glad you chose her! My husband and I were a little nervous for our engagement shoot, but it only took about 10 minutes to feel comfortable with her and let our personalities shine through our session. The gallery was wonderful, and we were SO excited to work with her on our big day. Leading up to the wedding, she offered great advice and helped us sketch out a timeline for the day. When that day came, of course we ran behind schedule, but she was able to make up so much time during our portraits (which were still gorgeous), which allowed us more time for bride/groom photos and to feel more relaxed that we wouldn't be late to our ceremony. Throughout the day, she was helpful wherever she could be, rounding up people, directing them, climbing in the brush for the perfect photo, using her pants to wipe the water off my bouquet so it wouldn't drip on my dress. All these things are examples of ways she goes above and beyond to make your day the best it can be - all while capturing the moments you'll cherish forever! I cannot speak highly enough of Rachael; she does not disappoint!

Hiring Rachael to be our photographer was the best decision we made. I reached out to Rachael because I loved her style of candid photography. She captures the smallest and most lovely details. I also was very nervous about being the center of attention and preferred to have less posed photos. Rachael understood that and made it a point to ask us what we were looking for. She is very much into getting to know your personalities as a couple in order to prep for the big day. From start to finish, she was lovely to work with. She offered some great tips for our day of timeline and helped answer any questions that we had. When we received our photos and saw the finished album, we were so touched. The photos tell the story of our special day and captured the most intimate and loving moments that we will cherish forever. When the day flies by, and all the other details you spent months focusing on are a thing of the past --- the pictures are what you get to keep forever. Hire Rachael, she won't disappoint. <3

I couldn't feel luckier to have found Rachael to be our wedding photographer. From start to finish, with probably a year plus of communication in between, she has been nothing short of amazing and provided us with the most beautiful photos and album to remember our day. I'm so thankful, too, for her invaluable help in forming a timeline and ability to keep me grounded when worrying about herding cats for family photos. It also takes a lot of skill to pull my reclusive partner out of his shell and to unclasp his hands, and somehow she worked that magic.

I honestly do not think we could have picked a better photographer. We worked with Sara, one of Rachael's photographers, and she literally made everything so easy. We were both very nervous about how to act while being photographed (as most people are). She was genuine and friendly. She made it easy to be ourselves. Because of that, we had fun and it made for the most beautiful engagement photos, and then wedding photos. I would definitely recommend her and anyone in Rachael's team. It was a pleasure to work with them!

Rachael was fantastic. She was great to work with in creating a list of shots and even better on the day of the wedding. She took care of everything and made the day stress free! She gathered everyone and made our day so relaxing. The bonus when we received the gallery was there ALL the pictures. There were so many pictures to look through and all the wedding attendees loved to see the mass amount of pictures. We could not have asked for more from Rachael. Thank you!

Rachael and Karen worked our engagement photos and wedding. They both worked really hard to get an understanding of who my husband and I were as a couple, and wanted to know what we wanted out of our photos for our special day. They were able to capture one of the happiest moments in our lives the way we envisioned it! We are truly grateful and blessed to have worked with them. If you are looking for a photographer to work your wedding, look no further!

Rachael was everything we could’ve asked for in a photographer and more. My now husband is not usually into pictures and Rachael made our engagement session and wedding photos easier than we could imagine. We love how she captures real moments between couples and our favorites were us just laughing. She took my ideas and rolled with them and we truly couldn’t be happier with how EVERY. SINGLE. PICTURE turned out. It was so hard to choose even just a few to print from our wedding. Hands down would recommend Rachael to any bride looking for a photographer!

Rachael (and Sarah G) were an absolutely amazing photography team. I received Rachael's contact information as a recommendation from our decorator (Palace Events) and after looking at her portfolio online, I scheduled an appointment to talk with her. She was very comforting and professional during our engagement session and the pictures confirmed that we had made the right decision. During our wedding, she was flexible and fun, and really captured so many wonderful memories and moments - some of which we missed but are so happy to look back on. We could not be more happy with the final result and consider ourselves lucky to have someone with such talent record our wedding! Thank you for everything you do!

Rachael is such an amazing photographer. She is so easy to work with and makes you feel comfortable and confident in front of the camera, even when you have no idea what your doing. My engagement and wedding photos turned out so beautifully! I cannot thank Rachael enough for capturing our wedding day so perfectly.

Rachael was incredible. From start to finish, she takes the time to get to know you, your priorities, and what is so special about your story. Her photos are real, capturing light in breathtaking ways. I love how each photo really tells the viewer who we are. That's true art, and it takes a gifted and skilled person to pull it off. Rachael is simply the best.

Loved working with Rachel! The pictures she takes really captures the moment!

Rachael was everything we could have asked for and more from a wedding photographer!! She made the entire day stress-free and everyone in the wedding party felt so comfortable with her! Best part — the pictures are gorgeous!!

Rachael was amazing to work with! We had never done any photographs together before so we were a bit nervous, but she made us feel comfortable. Also when we received both our engagement and wedding photos, there were so many good ones it was hard to pick! Thanks again Rachael!

It's hard to put into words how incredible Rachael is! From our first meeting, sending us little packages leading up to our wedding, to staying in contact after our wedding, Rachael is amazing to work with. She takes time to get to know her clients and truly cares about them. Her photos speak for themselves, they are simply stunning and timeless - I know I will love looking at them for years to come! Rachael helped us think about every detail leading up to the wedding and made great suggestions when needed. She was flexible with her packages - we had her come to our rehearsal dinner instead of doing an engagement session. On the day of our wedding, Rachael made my husband and I feel comfortable and that we could really be ourselves. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have worked with Rachael!

Rachael & Sara were amazing to work with. They made everything so easy, I never had to worry about a thing. Sara is very relaxed and makes everything comfortable. She also even helped out when there were other wedding-day issues that popped up and needed to be handled. My photos are amazing- I have so many beautiful ones to choose from, and they truly are pieces of art. I would recommend Rachael Schirano Photography to anyone- you will not regret it!

What attracted us to Rachael's photography was the stunning realness in every shot- from relaxed powerful joy and emotion in the sentiment to the vivid and artistic capturing of light, line, and shadow of the composition. We wanted our photos to feel current without being too trendy to stand the test of time. Rachael completely exceeded our expectations in our entire gallery. Every shot is real, full of breath and stands as a true time capsule of each moment- and she captured them all! One of my worries as a bride was that there would be moments I wouldn't fully be present for on the day, but Rachael knew exactly what to capture. Looking through our final gallery is definitely a full-on re-living of the day. Beyond her artistry, Rachael served almost as a wedding planner (and life-saver) for us! I was planning our Galesburg wedding from Canada, and with Rachael helping to organize the details of the day, I felt a great sense of relief to be in such good hands. She helped us create a timeline, with expert knowledge in what to realistically expect for time. And she carefully protected what meant most to us in the day, ensuring we would not miss the things most important- the brilliant light of sunset, and those oh so important first few moments alone as husband and wife. She even gave us a ride to our reception dinner when we realized we made arrangements for everyone else except us!! I would recommend Rachael to every bride. Her warmth and professionalism is matched by her sheer joy of all things wedding.

Hiring Rachael was one of the absolute best decisions I made when planning my wedding! Without a doubt, if I had to do it all over again, I’d hire Rachael again in an instant. From the start of wedding planning, my fiancé and I knew we wanted to dedicate a good part of our budget to photography. After the ceremony and celebration of that day is over, you have your memories, and you have your photographs. Hiring someone to capture moments on film of the most important day of you life is a daunting task. If they screw it up, there are no do-overs. Rachael was an absolute GEM to work with. Early on, she helped me form the timeline for the wedding day, which was the absolute basis of everything else I planned that day. She was patiently listened to all my questions and concerns during the wedding planning process. She always remained calm and had solutions for everything. Her expertise and guidance was worth every cent of what I paid her. The day of my wedding, there was a 90% chance of rain all day (of course). While the ceremony was inside, we had multiple outside locations we wanted to take pictures at. Rachael remained so calm and composed the entire day. Honestly, and this is a big deal for my Type A personality, I felt so confident letting her call the shots for the day. She never panicked, she just worked with the weather. As composed as could be, she moved a few things in the timeline around to work with the rain. My day turned out absolutely PERFECT, and Rachael was an extremely huge part of that. Plus, she was extremely easy and fun to work with! She made being photographed so relaxed. She captured genuine moments between the two of us. Nothing was staged or forced. Our photos are genuine moments of the two of us talking and laughing. I could not be happier with her footage of us. My husband and I cannot thank her enough for capturing beautiful photographs that we will treasure forever. Do yourself a huge favor and book Rachael! You will not regret it.

Rachael runs a very smooth operation and definitely is responsible for making our day stress free and fun. She is creative with angles and depth of field to capture some really breathtaking moments. We took pictures in a church, in front of a fire station, downtown Chicago, and on a boat... and she managed to capture the most interesting and flattering parts of each location. Rachel and her assistant(s) were extremely kind and calm, helping me stay/feel calm as well. We love our prints and have a great time showing them off to our friends and family. Best of all, after the wedding is over, there are no gimmicks. Rachel chooses the best pictures and they are yours. On top of all that, I would totally hangout with Rachael as friends, she is a lovely person. Good luck booking her!

5 stars really are not enough for Rachael. We found Rachael because she shot our friends wedding, and we fell in love with her ability to capture emotion and not rely on stiff posed photos to get great portraits. From the moment we reached out to her she absolutely blew us away. She's warm, sweet, kind and impossible not to love. The bride and groom are her focus, and she will make you feel fantastic, confident and completely at ease. It was important to us to feel relaxed on our wedding day, and Rachael helped us do that - she didn't add even an ounce of stress, she went with the flow, and was able to navigate families and lots of different personalities. In addition to loving spending the day with her, we are HEAD OVER HEELS for our photos. She captured every special moment and way, way more. From the subtle exchange we shared the moment after our ceremony, to the hilarious reactions to some of the speeches - she documented it all. I could not recommend her more to take photos that will bring you right back to all the best parts of your special day.

I honestly cannot say enough amazing things about Rachael. Trying to find a photographer for our wedding was one of the more stressful things to check off of my list but once I came across Rachael’s page here on the Knot I knew my search was over. Right from the beginning when we initially talked on the phone I knew I needed to book her. She is so down to earth and helpful and I think our wedding party loved her just as much as we do. From our engagement to our wedding photos, every single one of them just blew me away. I am forever grateful to have had the chance to work with Rachael and will truly treasure our photos forever. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!

Rachael is just the BEST. When I first saw our wedding photos from Rachael my heart actually skipped a beat. They are more beautiful than I ever imagined they could be and when we look at them we can still feel all the emotions we felt the day of our wedding. She does an amazing job at capturing that dreamy and magical lighting that really makes a couple glow, the candid photos show all the excitement and happiness we felt and the portraits are so beautiful. I knew when I was looking for a photographer, that I wanted someone who not only took amazing photos, but someone who I could also connect with and feel comfortable with. I knew right away that I wanted to book Rachael for our wedding when I looked at her portfolio (which has the most stunning photos) but her sweet and bubbly personality sealed the deal. She made our entire wedding process so special from the time we booked her until even after our wedding. You can really tell that Rachael has such a love for the work that she does and for the clients she works with.

From initial booking, Rachael and I hit it off! The many phone calls, texts, and emails, made it easy for planning purposes for day of the wedding and getting to personally know our wedding photographer. We opted out of an engagement session, as we had a photographer at our actual engagement in Charleston, SC. Therefore, our first in person meeting was day of the wedding, and it was like we knew her as a friend for many years! She was so easy going and made being in front of the camera fun and easy! Rachael cared about our input from style to the list of important photos, and made sure throughout the day she was capturing everything we had asked. We were so excited when we saw our "sneak peek" photo on social media 24 hours after the wedding. We received so many compliments on how beautiful that photo was during our bubble exit out of the church. We were anxious to see the rest of our photos, and were so pleased with our entire album. She has made it difficult to choose our favorites to hang around our new home and select for our professional wedding album. We are so thankful for Rachael and our timeless, elegant wedding photos that we will cherish forever! We would recommend her to anyone in the Central, IL and Chicagoland areas!

We absolutely could not have chosen a better photographer to capture our special day!! She was a joy to work with throughout the whole process -- so kind, helpful, and easy to work with. She caught so many sweet moments of us and of our guests, and did a great job of getting all the photos we wanted while keeping us on schedule. We are so thankful to have such beautiful photos of our wedding day. I'd recommend her wholeheartedly!!

Loved working with Rachael and her teammate Sara! They made the planning process and day of easy and organized! And we LOVE the photos! They did an amazing job!!

Having a great photographer was really important to us. This was an item that we were willing to splurge on in our wedding budget. I had looked at a lot of photographer's work, and found that cheap photographers did very cheap work. Rachael is slightly more expensive but well well worth it. She is very professional, which is important to us. She was easy to get a hold of if we had questions. Finally, the 2 most important photos that we wanted were one of us at the altar and one of our family (which is 35+ people). She got great shots of both, and with such a large party with lots of little kids, she handled it great and took charge when we needed her to take charge and tell us where to stand and where to look. She also asked us what were the most important things to capture about the day, and we said "our guests", so she got lots of good photos of people dancing and people smiling at the church. When we shared the photos, we got a lot of comments about what a wonderful photographer she is. She captured the day perfectly, and so many of the best moments!

Hiring Rachael was easily the best decision we made when planning our wedding. My now husband is camera shy, but she made made taking our engagement and wedding pictures such a fun experience! The pictures are absolutely stunning, I love going back and reliving the day over and over again. These pictures were definitely and investment that we will cherish for the rest of our lives.

Rachael was AMAZING to work with! When looking for a wedding photographer, her work stood out the most to me. I was looking for someone who captures more of the raw & emotional moments and her work blew me away! We could not have selected a better wedding photographer! From our engagement session... to our wedding day... she made us feel comfortable & was fun to work with! We are still in such awe over our wedding pictures!! Thank you, Rachael for all you did! You are so talented! -The Litwillers 6-23-2018

Rachael is incredible. She is amazing to work with and her work is beautiful. She was able to capture the smallest but sweetest moments and for us that was so important on our wedding day, as we did not have a videographer. We are soooo in love with every single photo she produced. Highly, HIGHLY recommend and you will not be disappointed :)

Rachael is just the best. Our engagement and wedding pictures were so beautiful and captured us as a couple perfectly. We loved every single photo. She is so easy to work with and makes you feel so relaxed. Would highly recommend her to any couple! Loved loved loved working with her!

It's hard to write a review that will do Rachael's work justice. From the very start, Rachael was enthusiastic, kind, and welcoming. Her work truly speaks for itself. Rachael took the time to listen to our love story and understand what was important to us in order to get the most meaningful shots. We could not be happier with the end result. She is so experienced, knowledgeable, and made wonderful recommendations in order for us to have the wedding day of our dreams.

I can't say enough great things about Rachael and her team. Her skill with lighting, her warmth with difficult family, her joy for us on our wedding day, and her investment in our experience made us even happier that we hired her for our wedding photography. She wowed us with our engagement photos, but really blew us away with our wedding images. We decided that photography was one of our greatest priorities for our wedding, and we keep saying how lucky we are that we got to work with Rachael. You won't regret hiring her!

Rachael is amazing! We used her for both our engagement pictures and wedding day pictures. She captures beautiful moments and knows how to make you feel comfortable and smiley all the time! I would recommend Rachael to any bride who wants to remember the most beautiful and meaningful moments of her wedding. Rachael is sure to capture it all!

We were beyond blessed to have Rachael as our wedding photographer for our big day. From start to finish, she made us feel so special. From the love story session to the big day, she was always an email or text away to help give advice and plan out the perfect schedule for the day. Her photographs are flawless and really capture those moments you never want to forget. Rachael went above any beyond since the day we asked her to be our photographer. She was photographer turned into advice giver and a little bit of wedding planner on the side. We will forever be grateful for the amazing engagement and wedding pictures that will be in our home and it is because of her that we can remember every special moment of our wedding day. Thanks Rachael, we are so blessed that we found you! Highly recommend!!

I feel truly blessed to have had Rachael as our wedding photographer. She was with me from the very beginning. I called her my wedding godmother because I could not only trust her awesome photography skills but also her knowledge of the industry and her eye for beautiful things. She did an outstanding job at photographing our engagement shoot and our wedding day. She captured beautiful moments that I will always cherish. I can't say it enough - I would recommend her time and time again! She is incredibly easy to work with, she knows how to capture the love and magic of a moment, and she's very efficient with your time. I also have to mention that she has great recommendations for other vendors in the industry. All around, she's just great! Last, I searched for hours upon hours to find the right fit for our wedding photographer, and I found Rachael. So trust me when I say, she's one of the very best :)

My fiancé and I had the amazing experience of taking our engagement photos with Rachael. We could not be more thrilled with the experience and result. Our photos are incredible and it was truly an experience. In all honesty, we were a bit nervous with the unknowns going into the session (my fiancé loves taking pictures :) ), however Rachael made us both feel so comfortable and displayed her expertise as she walked us through the afternoon. We strongly recommend Rachael and look forward to working with her again!

My husband and I have worked with Rachael on several occasions, including engagement, wedding, and anniversary photos. And I have nothing but positive things to say. Having Rachael Schirano as your wedding photographer, is like hiring your best friend. Rachael is not only kind and laid back on your special day, but she will also make you and your loved ones look like a million bucks. Rachael's use of color in her photography is breathtaking. Photographs are an important way to cherish memories, and Rachael Schirano Photography is well worth the investment. I highly recommend hiring Rachael for your wedding and beyond.

Wow. That's really all that I can say about Rachael at this point. When we first met Rachael for a consultation, we immediately knew that she was the one we wanted to capture our wedding day. Her personality, welcoming demeanor, and energy was evident without seeing any of her work. Then we talked with her and saw the work and realized that these are the type of photographs that we wanted for our special day. Rachael was great to work with in the months and weeks leading up to the wedding, gave us insight into timing, what photos would work best and where to take them. On our wedding day, she brought her energy and helped us ensure that we took photos with all of our family and friends (it's hard to keep track of this yourself and keep yourself on a schedule!). She kept our wedding party organized, helped us find the best photo spots and did it all with a smile. A few weeks later, we received our entire wedding album and we could not be happier with our photos. Rachael has a real knack in taking photos with natural light coming from various directions and making the photos looks different and special. We are so happy that we were able to work with Rachael and would absolutely recommend her to anyone looking to have great wedding photos!

Rachael is, simply put, an artist. From our engagement shoot to our wedding day she captured the most amazing, intimate and sweet moments between myself and my husband. Every photo is a glimpse into the magic of the special moments; and Rachael caught them all. I am not a comfortable person in front of a camera but she made me feel completely at ease and it shows in her work. I would absolutely book her again. In a heartbeat. I promise you, you will not regret having her as a part of your wedding day. She is the best of the best.

Rachael played a big part in making my wedding day run smoothly and turn out flawless! Prior to the wedding, each time I met with her, she has this wonderful ability to calm your nerves. Of course she has the knowledge and experience to help you determine your timeline and what you need to get the pictures you want, but she also is fun, playful, and relaxed. Even though she helped me make a very detailed timeline for photos on the wedding day, I never felt like I was stuck to the timeline or that we were rushed. She builds in time for you and your husband to take some moments alone to really let the day sink in. These moments will be some of our best memories from the day! So far we have just received a sneak peak slideshow of our photos but they are so good!! She captured so many little details and special moments that I didn't even know she was photographing. I can't say enough good things about Rachael and would highly recommend her!

Rachael is not only an AMAZING photographer, but also just a genuinely kind person who truly cares about getting the best photographs of your day. From start to finish, she was SO helpful, so knowledgable and so talented. She helped make our experience so fun & pleasant every step of the way. We would recommend her 10,000 times to anyone looking for a talented wedding photographer in the area.

Chris and I were so blessed to have Rachael as our photographer. Her work is incredible, and her style was exactly what we were looking for in our photos. Rachael captured such special moments from our wedding day, and they are photos that we will cherish forever. Rachael was so accommodating and wonderful to work with. We had an instant connection with her and we both felt so comfortable with her on our wedding day. I would recommend (and already have) to anyone who asks me wedding advice. To me, it's a no brainer to choose someone who is so personable, and talented.

I think we are so blessed to be able to have Rachael as our photographer. I have never seen pictures so beautiful. We had two ceremonies for her to photograph. We had an Indian ceremony and a Christian ceremony and we absolutely cannot wait to see what the photos will look like when they are ready. Rachael is excellent at keeping things on time during the day and even better at keeping the bride calm! There were many times I would start panicking about time and she always stepped in to calm me down and reassure we were good. She was so much fun and it felt natural with her. Things didn't feel forced for pictures. I highly recommend Rachael. She is very flexible and open with ideas!