Amanda Hein Photography

For us, photography was the key investment of our wedding day. Sure, the venue, the food, and the music all play a role together to create the tapestry of the day, but the photography is the lasting piece that needed to be uniquely us.
We could not have made a better decision than using Amanda Hein Photography. Amanda shot our engagement photos and we were overwhelmed with compliments (along with them really representing what we requested and who we are). The team that shot our wedding, (Amanda plus an additional photographer) was just spot on. Amanda has just a calm and cool about her that puts you as the subject completely relaxed and ready to experience your own moments, not be distracted by demanding paparazzi. She weaves in the shots she needs and gently places people to craft a beautiful, yet natural, composition in more posed shots.
I think going into wedding photography, we had an expectation that the photographer would present us with several hundred photos and we would pick maybe the couple dozen that we really loved. Not here — we have hundreds and hundreds that we absolutely adore — making final selection for wall pieces and other use nearly impossible in the best possible way.
On a sad note, Amanda’s team happened to capture some of the final photos of two close family and friends before they passed. These photos are not only beautiful treasures for us, but also for the families who have recently lost loved ones.
Please do not undervalue the importance of photography for this important day and as they become a time capsule of sorts as you grow old together.

Choosing Amanda as our photographer for our wedding was one of the easiest decisions I had to make for our wedding. I loved the shots she had previously done at our wedding venue. The style, look and natural feel of her photos was exactly what I was looking for. In the beginning I really didn’t want to do engagement pictures because I often find them cheesy. however, Amanda promised me she’d skip the cheese and offer pictures we’d be happy with. She definitely delivered. I even had a unique idea in mind — 1940s vintage look! I can’t thank her enough for those photos and am so happy we did the engagement pictures. The day of the wedding she was a true professional and made the wedding party and family photo shoots easy, painless and fun. I can’t wait to see the pictures and would love to work with her again.

I chose Amanda based on recommendations from a few friends and we couldn’t have been happier. She started off by taking amazing engagement photos, which we then turned into save the date cards. On our wedding day, I felt like she blended in with the guests and no one really even knew she or her assistant were there. They took incredible pictures both before and during the ceremony/​reception and captured some incredible moments. I was very impressed at how Amanda was able to capture the emotion of the day in some of the pictures. I really didn’t want a ton of staged photos and Amanda was able to get some great candid shots and also make our group shots look natural and artistic. On top of it all, she helped us put together the most amazing wedding album. She really went above and beyond, creating an album that not only displayed the photos, but also arranged them in a creative way. I would highly recommend using Amanda — she is professional and experienced, but was never intimidating and always listened to our opinions. I hope to work with her again some day!

Amanda is an amazing photographer. She went above and beyond with great pictures from our engagement pictures and wedding. She really provided us an artistic view for both sessions and really was such a pleasure. She is professional, sweet, and talented. If you want a photographer that will capture all the great moments of your special day, no need to look further than Amanda. Book her NOW before she’s taken all summer. And congrats on your special day!!!
She also does baby sessions and family portraits.

Amanda is the best! We used her for our October wedding, and think that her pictures speak for themselves. Everyone who has seen the slideshow that she put together for us (as she called it, «the best 100» — out of nearly 800, mind you!) has commented on how amazing every shot looks! But I would say that the key to her success is the combination of her ability to shoot great pictures that capture real moments, her ability to help you look great by finding/​seeing/​creating great picture opportunities (she took us to 3 spots in the city), and undoubtedly, her sweet, always smiling, yet calm personality. She and a great assistant were shooting the entire 8 hours, and yet it never felt like an intrusion and we were completely secure that she was «doing her thing» without our need to instruct her or her need to say much of anything once we got to the ceremony and reception. Can’t wait to order our wedding album… and we highly recommend her to anyone who has heard (probably again) that the photographer and honeymoon are the best items in which to invest for your wedding!

So as I was looking for wedding planners, I was perusing their photos of previous weddings that they planned. Amanda’s photos piqued my interest so I followed up with her website, after so many heartfelt and treasured moments captured by her lens, my mind was made up. When you get an emotional reaction from a stranger’s wedding photos or a baby’s glee whose name you don’t know, then you know the photographer KNOWS their craft.
My now husband and I set up an appointment and had a chance to see more photos and really get a feel for Amanda’s personality. Amanda is very professional, but her demeanor is warm and laid back. She was very accommodating every step of the way. After the engagement photos, I knew I made the right choice. Loved the engagement photos, loved the wedding photos, and I would recommend her to anyone looking for a photographer for any keystones in their life that need to be captured.

I could not be happier with the choice we made to go with Amanda Hein Photography. We are so pleased with her professionalism, talent, and warm personality. She photographed our engagement session and wedding. She knows so much about natural light and really understood our desire to have nature in our photographs. We climbed up trees in Naperville and sat next to HUGE sunflowers for the engagement session. She scoped out an amazing barn in Plainfield for the wedding. We also got some shots that were industrial and I was so grateful since I thought we couldn’t get that vibe in the suburbs. She sent out cards from her Chicago Photographs to clients as well. I thought that was such a nice touch. I am so happy we chose someone who is personal and remembers your name after the consultation. I just don’t think we would get the same service and quality we got if we would have chosen a large company. There are a lot of independent photographers out there but Amanda Hein Photography is absolutely one of the most talented.
From her blog:

My fiancée and I had our engagement shoot with Amanda last month and the photos she took were absolutely amazing. We were so happy with them. We’ve chosen three shots to use on our Save the Dates, which Amanda designed for us, and we hope to use many others in our guest book. Can’t wait to see the shots she gets at our wedding!