JWiley Photography Photoblog

New Space! New Photography!

JWiley Photography — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 02:28:42 +0000

I’m so excited to say that I will be sharing a new meeting and studio space with the ever-so-talented Alix Klingenberg, and the creative and like-minded girls at INDO. This marks the public start of a new photography venture between myself and Alix called (*drumroll*) Free To Be Photography! It’s been in the works for over a year now, and we’re finally ready to launch. Free To Be is the culmination of hours spent between the two of us gushing over ethereal, earthy, romantic, off-beat, gritty, and vintage style photos and finally realizing that our shared aesthetic would be the next logical step in both of our creative careers. FTB will focus on couples who are having non-traditional celebrations in off-beat locales. We encourage the DIY spirit and a social and environmental awareness in planning the big day. The name of this new venture was itself inspired by the most wonderful hippie ideal that everyone in the world should be “free to be” who they want to be. That pretty much sums up our shared idealistic view on life, and we want to reflect that in our photos.

(Click here for the uber feel-good “Free to Be You and Me” video. Watch for when the carousel turns into a cartoon — yeah 1970s special effects!)

Linsey & Crystal of INDO are so creative — they use lots of found and recycled objects in their functional art and window designs!

(We are better at taking photos when we don’t have to put the camera on a timer and actually be *in* the picture.)

Christina + Steven: Sneak Preview

JWiley Photography — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:43:36 +0000

I feel like my “sneak previews” keep getting longer and longer! Too many photos to pick from =) Anyway! Christina & Steven were married at the beautiful St. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church and held their reception downtown at the Chicago Cultural Center. More photos and info on their totally fun wedding to come soon!

Ashley

JWiley Photography — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 02:47:03 +0000

This is Ashley. You may remember her from such blog posts as Ashley + Patrick: Romantic, emotional…”They going to throw me”? The beautiful and talented Ms. Shea asked me to take some headshots for her before Chicago loses her to Boston in a week. Ashley, Chicago will miss you and Patrick! I hope these help to bring you continuing success in your singing career!

Kass & Cornelius

JWiley Photography — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:09:55 +0000

I have beautiful friends.

I met Kass when she moved from Ohio to Chicago about 7 years ago. She would be taking over my AmeriCorps position at the University of Chicago, and I’d been instructed to spend a few days training her before I handed her the reins. I only remember two things about the day we met: one, I gave her a tour of one of the schools she would be working with, and locked my keys in the car; two, by the end of the day, we’d totally hit it off. We were wonderful friends from that day on. A couple years later found Kass in NYC, where she met her to-be husband while they were both doing amazing work teaching in NYC public schools. Meeting Cornelius gives you the feeling that you’re in the presence of pure kindness. He is one of the most effortlessly charismatic, magnanimous, and kind people I’ve ever known. Together, Kass and Cornelius are an inspiration. As Kass’s father said during his toast at their wedding reception, they leave every place they go better than how they found it. As Cornelius said to me at the end of the night, their union is “a movement.” Kass and Cornelius share something transcendent, and the world is a better place for it. We all love you guys.

And now for some of the fun photos we all took at the photo booth I had the pleasure to set up for them as their wedding gift at their Sandusky reception =) (Guests: All your photo booth photos can be found here!)

An Independent Wedding, Part II

JWiley Photography — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:07:46 +0000

More from Ali & Gabe’s beautiful wedding at A New Leaf. Their first post is over here. Music that kept the party going was provided by the lovely Lauren & Emily from one of my favorite DJ companies in Chicago, Toast & Jam! (I happily had the Slumdog Millionaire song “Jai Ho” stuck in my head the whole next day.)

Julia + Fred: Sneak Peek

JWiley Photography — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 16:36:57 +0000

A preview of all the amazing photos to come =) I feel like the vibe of the on-location photo shoot was vintage-y and ethereal. Julia’s flowy, flowery, fairy dress had a lot to do with that. I’m SO happy that she and all her awesome bridesmaids were willing to make the trek out to the Japanese Gardens in their heels — braving puddles, potholes, and dirt paths all the way. Worth it! (And on that note, could these heels BE any cuter??) Full post to follow soon!

Paul + Julee: A Lovely Birthday Gift

JWiley Photography — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 22:20:13 +0000

Late last year, Julee surprised her boyfriend for his birthday with a gift certificate for a couple’s photography session with me. (Hooray!) We all patiently waited for months for the weather to cooperate with us, and after being rained out of our dates twice, we were rewarded with a beautifully temperate day in June. The way Julee & Paul look at each other and glow together is like… it’s like sunshine and rainbows and sparkles incarnate!

PS: After I posted a few of their preview photos on Facebook, Julee’s phone blew up with questions from friends & family who wanted to know if these were actually “engagment” photos. SO, just to reitterate, this was just a lovely birthday gift, and not a sneaky way to announce an engagement =)

A Few More from the Kelly’s Shoot

JWiley Photography — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:42:32 +0000

Just a few more to share. Click here for their original blog post.

Rebecca + Jacob (+ finger puppets) at the Art Institute

JWiley Photography — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:13:04 +0000

Not even the presence of a fluffy bunny could have made this engagement session any cuter. Rebecca & Jacob are SO beautiful together, and so vibrantly in love that they barely needed any direction at all at their engagement session last year — and then to top it all off Rebecca pulled out these little felt finger puppets that looked JUST like them! *dies. I was beyond words with my excitement over their adorableness. I’ll be posting their wedding soon

The Chicago Illuminating Company: Wow.

JWiley Photography — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:45:13 +0000

Wow. I was giddy with excitement when I stepped into The Chicago Illuminating Company. This space easily ranks as one of Chicago’s hidden gems. The mix of elegant building design and lighting combined with fun, quirky decorative details really makes this space unique. I hope to be able to work there again soon! (And thanks goes to Dan Gin for asking me to shoot this beautiful wedding with him!)