Krista Scarlavai Photography

Krista is amazing!! We had Krista do an engagement session for us to test the waters for doing our wedding. Neither my husband or I are very photo conscious (don't know the tricks for posing or framing or anything). Krista was great at working with us during the engagement shoot. We picked a location she had shot at before, so she knew which areas she wanted us to go to and helped us to get a lot of great pictures. She utilizes the surroundings to get interesting framing and likes the more natural (less posed) looking pictures, which is what we wanted. After seeing the engagement photos we instantly booked for our wedding! We started off with a 6 hour session, but a week or so before the wedding we decided the timing might be a bit tight, so we added on 2 hours. Krista was super flexible with that change. She showed up a bit early on the day of and, I'm guessing, did a quick walk around the venue (it was her first time shooting there). Despite that, she was great at picking where to do the pictures. She did ask a few times if there was any particular area we wanted a picture at, but we were very happy to let her choose (after all the decisions made for a wedding it is nice to hand over the reigns to someone else 😂). We knocked out all the bridal party photos and first look before the ceremony. Krista was very fast with family photos after the ceremony, which was great because the venue had to flip the room because the weather forced us inside. We got a lot of great candid photos during the cocktail hour, which were a lot of fun. All in all, the only thing I would have changed looking back is to have a longer cocktail hour (who says it has to be only 1 hour 😂). Krista got many great shots, including fun ones of the dancing. My mom, who is not big on posing for pictures either, was impressed by how natural Krista made the whole process. 10 out of 10, would recommend Krista for whatever photography session you are considering her for.

All I can say is wow! We found Krista on The Knot and completely lucked out by her not having our date booked yet. She kept in perfect professional communication the entire time between our first phone meeting and the actual wedding. The day of, she was punctual, so friendly, and even rolled with some punches we threw at her-namely the hairstyle I had been dreaming of for my wedding day for as long as I can remember not working out and severely delaying us, and a family member or 2 with no sense of etiquette or boundaries. This does NOT mean you should throw unexpected challenges at Krista or that she should be expected to handle them, but I was so grateful of her understanding while I was completely overwhelmed on the day. We fell in love with Krista’s portfolio and gorgeous style, and absolutely made the right choice hiring her to document the biggest day of our lives. If you’re looking for a kind, experienced, nimble, professional who will effortlessly blend in to your big day and capture all of your most important moments, look no further than Krista.

Would book Krista over and over again, we had so much fun taking our photos and she did a great job giving us direction and poses. Coordinating with her was also so easy, she was responsive and professional at the planning stage, and I appreciated that she took time to do a quick phone call with me beforehand to discuss our vision for our photos. The photos came out amazing, there are so many great ones that it's hard to pick a favorite! It can be scary choosing someone to capture photos on your big day but put your trust in Krista's capable hands, she truly gave us a 5 star experience and I highly recommend her.

Krista was such a pleasure to have as part of the wedding day and we are so grateful to have stunning photos to capture the memory!! Krista was really efficient and brought a calm demeanor to the day. I highly recommend!

Krista did an amazing job capturing every moment of our wedding! She was such a pleasure to work with, and very professional. She clearly knows what she is doing, and our photos all turned out perfect. I felt so confident having her lead us through pictures on our big day. She also did a wonderful job with our engagement photos and had a lot of great suggestions on where to take the photos in the city. Highly recommend!

Krista knocked it out of the park with our wedding photos at Starved Rock State Park. We never met with her in person prior to our wedding day, but she instantly made us feel comfortable with posing for her. She is efficient, professional, and has a stunning eye for the right shot. She even lended a hand throughout the day whenever we needed it, like when we had trouble buttoning up my dress! Krista got our photos back to us quicker than we expected and we are SO happy with them all. We love her style of photography and the way she played with the light during our outdoor wedding day. We have zero complaints and all the praise in the world for Krista and her work. Thank you for capturing our day!!!

Krista was amazing to work with for our wedding! She effortlessly and efficiently captured so many beautiful photos and I was amazed by how many moments she covered. I was not sure if we would miss having a second shooter and in looking at the album, you would truly never know! She was incredibly flexible when we needed to postpone and even turned around the photos in ~3 weeks amid an extremely busy 2021 wedding season. We also really enjoyed spending our day with her, she was so fun and easy to be around and made everyone feel so comfortable!

Krista was such a pleasure to work with for our wedding and engagement photos! We absolutely love how they turned out. She blended in so well during the ceremony and reception. I felt like I was able to enjoy myself with our guests and not worry about constantly posing for photographs. We can’t thank Krista enough for giving us these precious memories that will last a lifetime!

Krista was just lovely to work with start to finish! We were nervous about finding a photographer, since we didn't want very traditional wedding photography and aren't very comfortable posing for pictures. Krista listened, was flexible and open to our priorities, and immediately made us feel relaxed and comfortable. All of the photos she took are beautiful, but we especially LOVE all of the candid photos she took of the day. They are so fun to look through and she did such a great job of capturing so many of our guests and so many little moments. We are very grateful we found Krista!

Krista was fantastic to work with. My husband and I had to postpone our 2020 wedding due to COVID-19 and she kept in close communication with us throughout all the changes--and we changed everything! On the day of the wedding I was an anxious, nervous wreck, but she kept her cool. Her calm presence helped me relax as she captured dreamy photos of our big day. Krista was so flexible and pivoted to make different locations work (we had to switch quickly from a garden when it became too hot) and different lighting. She was an absolutely professional and the resulting photos captured our day absolutely beautifully. Thank you so much, Krista, for gorgeous photos of our wedding celebration that we will cherish for life!

Krista Scarlavai Photography is the best photographer I have worked with! She is punctual, professional, and I felt so comfortable with her. One of the best decisions I ever did was hire her to be my photographer for one of the biggest days of my life! I fall in love with my pictures every time I see them. She captured every beautiful moment of our day and turned our photos into masterpieces that I will cherish forever. Thank you!

Krista Scarlavai is absolutely incredible to work with. From our engagement shoot to our big day, she was calm, fun, and got amazing shots! We are so grateful we found her!!

I am so happy I found Krista on The Knot! After looking through her photos on instagram I knew her style was what we were looking for. She was so great to work with and extremely accommodating with the multiple change of plans due to Covid. When the day finally came, she made it fun and engaging, offered photo location suggestions when we had extra time and captured a fun evening out on the town! She was also quick to get our photos back to us and we were extremely happy with them. From start to finish we had excellent communication from her and highly recommend you book now!!

I can't say enough good things about Krista! From the moment I saw her photos, I knew we had the same vision and she captured it flawlessly on the day. Not only that, she was calm, quick and fun. She captured every photo I wanted and I didn't even have to tell her. The entire bridal party was complimentary about how good she was on the day and I've gotten so many comments about how great the photos turned out. If I had to do the day all over again, no questions Krista would be part of it!

Krista is wonderful! She made our engagement photo session more than just taking pictures...she made it a wonderful experience! She's fun to chat with and makes you feel comfortable! And of course....the photos are AMAZING. We can't wait for her to shoot our wedding in June. Would definitely recommend!

AMAZING! Krista photographed both our engagement shoot and micro-wedding and I have nothing but good things to say about her and her work! She was so accommodating given the circumstances of the pandemic and the constant change/uncertainty of plans. Krista gave us great ideas and tips on how to position ourselves for the best shots. She is a true artist and knows what what works best! People love our photos, all thanks to Krista! We would highly recommend Krista to capture your wedding!

Krista is a true artist in her craft. Her style is creative but natural. Krista made us and our bridal party feel like she was part of our group which is what makes her so successful. Each photo is taken to capture you in a relaxed and candid style. She has a great eye and creatively captures unique shots within each of your backgrounds. We first met Krista for our engagement photos in August 2019, right away we were at ease with her and knew she would do a fantastic job. Flash forward to the year of COVID and two wedding date changes, Krista was along side us working with us on our changes. Our November wedding was intimately small but Krista captured every moment of our treasured day. We would recommend Krista every day to any couple seeking a wedding photographer. She is priced very reasonably, a superb professional and made our whole wedding process fun. And lastly she delivered past every expectation with our photos.

Swoon! Krista produced incredible photos of our wedding. She covered our extensive family portraits as well as great candid shots. The time with Krista was totally natural and easy, none of the poses felt awkward and gosh she is just so nice and easy to chat with. We can’t wait to work with her again!

We had to postpone our 200+ person wedding until next year, but still wanted to get married on the original date. I am so grateful we found Krista for our super small ceremony at the Morton Arboretum! She was very easy to work with, from our first conversation to the delivery of the photos. And the moments she captured were priceless- I have no idea how one person was so many places at once!! She completely put everyone at ease with clear and simple instructions for posed shots, which all turned out amazing. But the candid shots were what really moved me- I don't remember my husband smiling so big during our first look, but she totally captured it!! I would absolutely recommend Krista to anyone looking for a talented, professional photographer for their event.

If you live in Chicago and are looking for someone to capture your big day, look no further! Krista is an AMAZING photographer, and her warm and easy-going personality made working with her a breeze. Like many couples, COVID-19 rocked our wedding plans, but Krista took all our changes in stride. Her photos TRULY capture people's emotions, her editing is GORGEOUS, and her photojournalistic style captured both big and small moments between my groom and I, and all of our guests. She made it downtown to get pictures of me and my crew getting ready, and back across town to the venue, all while remaining positive and calm. I never felt like she was in our face with her camera throughout the day, and even so, she managed to capture the most perfect, intimate shots. We will forever cherish these photos and the love they captured. Also, her turnaround time was super quick! We didn't expect to get our photos for at least 6-8 weeks after the wedding, and she delivered them within the month! We are definitely looking forward to working with Krista again for family photos or another similar occasion, and words can't express how grateful we are for Krista and her beautiful work. Don't think twice!! Book her today!!

Another photographer actually recommended Krista to me and after reviewing Krista's portfolio, was very eager to speak to her! After our initial conversation, we booked her and scheduled our engagement shoot. I don't photograph myself too often and my fiance and I rarely display public displays of affection. During the shoot, Krista made me feel 100% comfortable and I never thought taking professional photos would be so fun! It unfortunately rained during the shoot and I was a bit worried about how the photos would come out. Amazingly Krista was able to deliver the photos back in about a week, despite her busy schedule, and the photos were nothing but PHENOMENAL. I am extremely grateful she was willing to work with us in the rain and was able to provide AMAZING photos even though she got drenched in the process! I can't wait for her to photograph us at our wedding ! - - After having such an amazing engagement shoot, I was extremely excited for the wedding! Krista did such an amazing job throughout the day. I had so many visions of photos and Krista brought my visions to life! It was also extremely hot and we were not able to go to places we've set to go to for formals and Krista did such an amazing job at working with the inside and outside of the venue. She told me at the wedding she'd get our photos to us in about 4 weeks but she actually got it to us in 3 weeks! I'm just in LOVE with every photo and can't stop looking at them! I highly recommend Krista for any of your photo needs!!

Choosing Krista as our wedding photographer was one of the easiest vendor choices we made. I loved her unique style and was obsessed with her work early on. When we met, I loved her easy going nature and knew we would be at ease with her as out photographer. I was so excited to have her shoot our October wedding..and then the Covid Pandemic hit. My husband and I are both ER doctors, and we were worried about exposures at work and didn't want to wait to get legally married. We decided to have a small private ceremony now and a bigger celebration at a later date. I reached out to Krista to see if she would be willing to shoot our small ceremony. Krista was so sweet to say YES with only a week's notice, and SHE DELIVERED. She shot our wedding using certain lenses so she could keep her distance, and captured some gorgeous photos, and had them to us in 48h!! It was tough to get married without my family present and it wasn't the wedding either one of us had imagined, but Krista captured the love and joy between us (even with masks on) and I am so grateful to have these pictures to remember the day by! Her pictures are such a bright spot in a tough and anxiety-provoking time. We can't thank her enough and are so excited to work with her again for our wedding celebration!! Bonus points for capturing some of my favorite pictures of our pup!!

My fiancé and I booked Krista for our engagement photos at the Garfield Conservatory in January 2020. She knew the venue well, arrived on time and was so quick to edit our photos!! She made us feel so comfortable and gave us direction throughout the whole thing. We told her we definitely feel awkward with photos and need to be told what to do and she totally delivered! I completely recommend Krista to anyone.

We had the wonderful privilege of working with Krista for our wedding day. We met as soon as we had a date, after falling in love with her little captured candid moments visible throughout her albums. She made us feel at ease, answering every question and assuring us she would be our photographer on the day of. As the days leading up to the wedding came, she helped me create a day of schedule so that everyone was on the same page, which turned out to be extremely helpful. On the day of, we started our pictures all in the same building, which helped her move around easily and she caught all the beautiful moments from unexpected angles. I love how she noticed the little things. We knew she was around but loved how she blended in pretty easily and even captured some stolen kisses between my husband and I, when we thought no one was looking. She was so sweet and had silly suggestions that gave us amazing pictures. She has so much experience and you will not be disappointed by placing your wedding in her hands. Our pictures are absolutely stunning and I experience the wonder of our day, every time I look at them. She is an artist and has a great eye, not to mention, very reasonable prices!

I found Krista when in the Knot website when I was looking for a wedding photographer in a Chicago. Being into photography myself, I was very particular about the style of photos for my wedding. She did both our engagement and wedding photos and she did an amazing job. Krista captures the most amazing images and also captures the most memorable emotions. Her go with the flow personality made her very fun and easy to work with. Our wedding photos turned out more than expected and I couldn’t ask for a better photographer! Krista you’re truly amazing!

I also found Krista on The Knot and immediately loved the style of her photos. She did our engagement photos and wedding day photos and we loved both of them. She was so fun to work with and very easy going about the whole day. We cannot recommend her highly enough!!

Krista was wonderful to work with! I initially chose her because her portfolio showed great images in both bright and dim environments as our chapel was dim. I also liked that she did a lot of candid shots and they looked amazing. On our wedding day she showed up on time had a really good feel for the mood and enviornment. During the getting ready photos she made us feel completely comfortable and we were able to just be ourselves and not feel like we were being photographed. We absolutely loved our photos in our dim chapel and our rainy outdoor photos afterwards. She really does amazing in shooting in various environments and angles and gets a feel for the wedding. I feel like she really captured the mood of the day and the beautiful people we shared the day with. P.S. She also sends a USB so we were able to order from wherever we wanted to and however many we wanted!

We found Krista to photograph our wedding by referral. Krista was very helpful in all aspects of the planning and her grace and patience on the day of made photographs so easy! The resulting photos, which came about 8 weeks later, were beautiful. She captured all formal photos perfectly and tons of candid shots that made us thrilled. We highly recommend her for your special day!

We were lucky enough to work with Krista for our wedding in May. We couldn't have asked for a better experience. Krista was laid back throughout the whole coordination process (which was helpful as we were anything but relaxed, juggling all the goes into a DIY wedding). She was extremely accommodative during the day of, working to meet at our hotel early in the day and work with us through photos before the ceremony. After that we felt we only bumped into Krista a couple of times during the reception but once we got the photos back we realized how dynamic she was at the event. Krista, on her own, seemingly was everywhere at once, capturing amazing angles and candid shots without us really noticing at the time. The photo quality was outstanding and her printing service was excellent. Again, we are super happy to have found Krista and would say her value, skills, and flexible and relaxed demeanor are unrivaled. Would highly recommend and would very much work with her again.

Krista was amazing! We couldn’t have had a better photographer! Krista’s style of photography is so unique and exactly what we were looking for. Krista used the space to the utmost and utilized the entire venue, giving us a great assortment of photos. We highly recommended her!

Krista was wonderful to work with. We met over video calls a couple of times and learned that she was professional, organized, and in high demand, so we booked right away. She had already shot several weddings at our venue, which was another big plus. Before the wedding, we sent her a list of shots we wanted to make sure to take. Krista met with us in person to talk over the shots and timeline, which was so nice. During that meeting, I was impressed with how confident she was that we didn't need a First Look. Dan and I really didn't want a First Look, and I'd heard that photographers are pushing for them nowadays, but Krista encouraged us to do what we wanted. On our wedding day, she had our list printed out but was still flexible, going back and forth between the ladies and men at the venue and hiring a second shooter to help her get every shot (during her pregnancy!). Krista helped move family members in and out of portrait shots. She even discovered a few new backdrops for couple and wedding party pictures around the venue because I'd told her I was afraid of missing the variety with the lack of First Look. After the speeches, the dinner, and well into the dancing, Krista found us and made sure our college picture and nighttime patio picture happened. I am so grateful for her!

I found Krista by searching on the Knot for Chicago photographers. I immediately loved her style of photography; it seemed like the photos came alive and felt more interesting than your typical wedding photos. Krista was easy to talk to and book with! She also had great prices compared to some of the other professionals in the area. I was a little apprehensive about having only one photographer shooting our wedding, but it turned out I had absolutely nothing to worry about! Krista captured everything and more and we are beyond happy with our pictures. They are beautiful and artistic, and she captured some fantastic candid moments. If you're checking out this review, let me tell you, she's great!

Krista did an amazing job capturing our wedding from start to finish! She was fantastic to work with, always responsive and easy going. She connected with us several times throughout the planning process to make sure she understood what we were hoping to get in pictures and what was important to us. The pictures were ready when she promised and were absolutely amazing. She captured the special family moments and momentos with the formals, as well as the fun of the day with great candids. Overall, she went above and beyond what we expected. We would highly recommend working with Krista!!

We found Krista on The Knot and as we scrolled through her portfolio, we recognized some friends in the pictures of a wedding she had shot! They gave a great recommendation, and we are so glad that we had Krista document our big day. We always felt natural in our formal pictures, and she really captured all of the candids and ceremony pictures beautifully. The best part is the kiddos loved her, so we have so many wonderful pictures of nieces and nephews having the time of their lives! We also received our pictures in a timely manner, which was great to not be waiting forever! Krista is absolutely a great hire for any of your photography needs!

Krista was amazing to work with! We wanted to get engagement pictures done right away, and she was able to squeeze us in quickly. I’m especially nervous in front of the camera, but Krista is a total pro! She really helped put my fiancé and me at ease, and guided us through the whole session. Best of all, the pictures came out beautifully! I’ve gotten so many compliments from friends and family. The quality and colors are amazing, and the price was an absolute bargain. I would recommend Krista and her work in a heartbeat!

We are so thankful that we found Krista for our wedding. She did an absolutely amazing job shooting both our engagement session and our wedding photos. She was organized and extremely communicative prior to the wedding, she was so easy to work with the day-of, she handled everyone at the wedding with ease and ultimately took gorgeous photos that we will cherish forever. We can't recommend her enough!

I knew I liked Krista from the moment I met her at a local cupcake shop for a consultation. Finding a photographer for our wedding was extremely overwhelming for me given the number of photographers in the city of Chicago, most of them trying to upsell you on something you probably don't need or want. Krista was a fresh of breath air--honest, straightforward, and genuine from the very beginning. She was extremely communicative from the time we first met to the moment she delivered our photos after our wedding. Krista is creative, flexible, and easy to work with, which we experienced during both our engagement photo session and actual wedding day. Not once did she make us feel uncomfortable or uptight, which is very important on such a chaotic and emotionally charged day!! Furthermore, her work is spectacular and priced fairly...a very difficult combo to find out there in the wedding world. We will absolutely be reaching out to Krista with any future photography needs!

I found Krista on The Knot and automatically fell in love with how artistic her photography was. My husband and I didn't want your typical photographer for our wedding, and when we met with Krista we knew she would be the one! We felt so comfortable around her and loved how easy going she is. We did our engagement pictures with her and loved every single one so we knew we had picked the perfect photographer for our wedding. On our wedding day, Krista put me at ease and I kid you not, she exceeded our expectations by so much. I could be biased since it is our wedding, but they are the most beautiful wedding pictures I have ever seen! We wanted candid shots and she did just that, but we also loved the formal shots. Seriously every picture is perfection! We tried to pick about 150 of our favorites for an album and ended up choosing over 250! We love them all! Krista is the best, and her photography shows just that. On our wedding day I even told her I was excited to see her again when we start having kids! Thank you so much, Krista. You made our wedding and the memories we have from it absolutely perfect!

I actually found Krista on The Knot and I am beyond happy that I did. When I started searching for a photographer, I had a vision in mind and I wasn’t sure I would find someone who could bring that vision to life in our photos. Well, I was dead wrong. After our initial convo, we set up our engagement shoot, which was included in the package we purchased. This was the first time we met Krista, and she made us feel super comfortable (bc we were definitely nervous about taking photos). Once we received those photos, I honestly didn’t think anything could be better, they are amazing and I could not wait to show everyone we know. We love the way she uses the light to tell a story. I kept telling people, these are photos my kids will look at and say “mom and dad were cool”. And then came our wedding day. Let me just say, there have been so many times I said to friends and family, I don’t even remember seeing Krista throughout the night (after formals). Not as in she wasn’t there, bc I knew she was, but bc she was so great at blending in while capturing beautiful moments. And after receiving our photos, that is exactly what she was doing. I am seriously obsessed with ALL of our photos, I don’t even know what to do with them bc I want ALL of them printed and put into an album. I will tell everyone I know who is getting married, or having a baby, or wanting to celebrate ANYTHING, about Krista, bc she honestly blew us away. We could not have dreamt of having such an amazing photographer. She is an artist and really great person to work with. So, if you are looking for a photographer, you should stop searching and contact Krista. And you better hope she is available for your wedding!

From the moment we first had contact with Krista we knew she would be the perfect photographer for our big day. We had researched her work online and after seeing her Instagram and website pictures, we completely fell in love with her natural style of photography and ability to capture the beauty in a moment. On the day of our wedding, she even showed up earlier than planned so that she could snap some getting ready photos which turned out to be some of our favorite pictures from the day! Its hard to put in to words how blown away we were by Krista’s work on our big day. There were so many incredible and special moments that she managed to capture so perfectly, and so naturally, which is just what we were looking for.

I can't give Krista high enough praise. Every aspect of her skill and professionalism as a photographer is far above expectations. She was early, courteous, conscious of our needs the day of, and went out of her way to make sure we had amazing photos of our wedding without "being in the way." She got the photos back to us quickly, and in a way that was easy to share. You should absolutely be considering Krista for your wedding. We've had _so_ many compliments on our photos, it's been crazy.

We found Krista through and friend and she was absolutely amazing! Our pictures are more perfect than I could ever have imagined. Our wedding was at starved rock and I can honestly say she has created the most beautiful pictures I have seen! She was so professional, helpful and kind throughout the entire day. I 100% recommend her! My husband and I couldn't have been happier to have found her!

Krista shot our wedding back in March of this year (2018), and we are very happy that she was a part of our day. The photographs turned out great, and as a single shooter she covered so much of the event, including both posed and candid photos. Throughout the process she responded to emails very quickly, and in the planning phase you can tell that she wants to cover everything that is important to you. Krista has a quiet and thoughtful presence that helped put us at ease during the busy day. She was also very patient when family members requested posed pictures throughout the evening. We definitely recommend Krista Scarlavai!

Krista is truly incredible! When our destination wedding was had to be cancelled because of a hurricane, we had to stay local. Krista went above and beyond to ensure that we still had the perfect day ( even though it was freezing!) she knew exactly what we wanted and delivered it flawlessly. She even waited in line at the courthouse for our first wedding when I was running late. My husband and I are entirely impressed with Krista’s work. She has done our engagement pictures, both wedding pictures and we can’t wait to hire her for a photo shoot for our new baby. I, personally, have a huge family and I have no idea how she was able to capture everyone so perfectly. Her work is beautiful and timeless. If you get one thing right, let it be hiring Krista to do any of your photography! Highly recommend!!!!!!!

Krista was our Save the Date & Wedding Day photographer, and we couldn’t have been happier! We booked her for both services at the same time, and when our Save the Date photos came back we were so happy we chose her to do our Wedding Day as well. She has a great balance of professionalism mixed with a “go with the flow” mentality. This was perfect for me, since she kept me calm & she wasn’t bothered if we had to switch up the plan for any photos on our wedding day. In our initial meeting, she asked me what type of vibe I was hoping for, and she captured the whimsical & nature element I was hoping for so perfectly. She is very easy to get along with and we had so much fun shooting with her – especially since both my husband & I don’t love getting our photos taken. I have already referred her to three different people because we were so incredibly pleased with the entire process & beautiful photos we’ll cherish forever.