A wedding celebration outdoors with a bride in a white gown and bouquet, surrounded by people in colorful dresses and suits, all smiling and dancing on a grassy field under a cloudy sky.
Bride and groom posing at their wedding reception, with elegant table settings and floral arrangements in the background.
A bride and groom are outside, smiling and touching foreheads, with the bride holding a bouquet of orange roses and greenery, and her veil flowing in the wind. Tropical plants and trees are in the background.
A bride and groom dressed in wedding attire standing on a stone balcony with a cityscape and waterfront in the background. The bride is holding a bouquet of flowers, and they are smiling at each other.
A bride in a white wedding gown holding a bouquet of flowers and a groom in a black tuxedo with sunglasses standing next to a vintage white car
A bride and groom dressed in wedding attire, smiling and enjoying a moment at their wedding reception, with flowers and table settings visible.
A man in a dark suit and a woman in a dress are hugging tightly, showing emotions. Several men in suits stand in the background, smiling and watching the scene. It appears to be an outdoor wedding or celebration with a festive and emotional atmospher
chicago-wedding-photographer-karly-ellis
candid-chicago-wedding-photography

From “I do” to the dance floor, I’ve got you covered!

My style is all about capturing the real stuff. The unposed, can’t-stop-smiling, slightly chaotic, and totally you moments. I am here for the candid emotion. The natural connection. The in-between glances and belly laughs that actually feel like you. I want your photos to feel timeless but never stiff. vibrant, honest, and true. if it feels like you, I’m doing my job right.

YOUR ONLY JOB IS TO HAVE THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE |

YOUR ONLY JOB IS TO HAVE THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE |

vibrant-chicago-wedding-photographer
timeless-chicago-wedding-photography

explore

vibrant-chicago-wedding-photographer
timeless-chicago-wedding-photography

let’s chase the light, have some fun, and make sure you have photos that bring all the feelings rushing back, because these moments deserve to last way longer than your dance floor champagne.

chicago-wedding-photographer-real-moments

I’m Karly & i want you to Have fun, fall in love, & forget the camera

My connection with my clients is my number one priority. When you feel comfortable with me, you feel comfortable in front of my camera and that’s when the magic happens! That’s when we capture the moments that truly matter. The ones you’ll look back on decades from now and still FEEL. Light-filled, vibrant, and full of genuine emotion. I don’t just want your photos to show how it looked. I want to take you right back to how it FELT.

my story

kind words from clients

kind words from clients

kind words from clients

kind words from clients

kind words from clients kind words from clients kind words from clients kind words from clients

natural-chicago-wedding-photographer
chicago-wedding-photographer-real-moments
home testimonials

“Choosing Karly as our wedding photographer was one of the best decisions we made for our wedding!”

“She captured our engagement session, rehearsal dinner, and our wedding day. From the very beginning, she made the entire experience feel incredibly personalized. She took the time to understand who we are as a couple, our style, and what we envisioned for our photos. But beyond her undeniable talent, what really sets Karly apart is her warm and caring nature. She is such a kind-hearted person who made us feel so comfortable and at ease throughout the entire process. Her genuine care and positive energy made the day even more special for us. We are so grateful to have had her by our side on the biggest day of our lives.”

Katie + Drew

“Stop wasting your time searching for a photographer and book Karly IMMEDIATELY.”

“Aside from being wildly talented behind the camera, she is so fun to be around!! You'll spend your entire wedding day with your photographer, so you need to choose them wisely. I'm so thankful I had Karly there by my side from start to finish. She's so much more than just someone snapping the photo, she is very experienced and knows how to guide the timeline of your day to run as smooth as possible. Three words to describe Karly is Organized, Professional, and FUN. This girl deserves 100 stars.”

Jayla + Nearoth

“5 stars REALLY just doesn't cover it. Karly was so amazing right from the start.”

“Her communication was clear and timely, her energy and attitude is unmatched. She really felt like a hype girl during both our engagement shoot & on our wedding day. She made everything so insanely seamless and stress free throughout the entire planning process. All the photos are STUNNING. She really takes the time to understand your style as a couple and what you may or may not be comfortable with when it comes to poses/etc. None of it ever felt like awkward, it really felt like you had one of your friends as a photographer. The sneek peaks she gets you are amazing and so fast it was so fun to get to see some photos THE NEXT DAY! We really got so many compliments from our bridal party, venue staff and some of our guests about how great our photographer was and how beautiful the pictures turned out.”

Melissa + Mike

“First off, if you are considering Karly - my vote is don't wait. Book her now.”

“As soon as we got engaged, I knew I wanted to use Karly as our wedding photographer. She had captured two of my siblings weddings very early on in her photography career and even then her skill/ photos were gorgeous and fit our aesthetic. Not to mention, I knew that Karly was kind, outgoing, and dedicated to her work. All of these were important for us when it came to making sure our special day was captured. Not only were we amazed by the quality of our photos, but we enjoyed working with Karly and her team! They helped us keep track of our timeline and really made the day more relaxing and enjoyable for us! Thank you Karly! We love you!”

Amanda

“Karly was the best photographer we could have picked for our wedding!”

“Leading up to our wedding she was communicative, organized and had so many recommendations that we used to help make our wedding planning process easier, she even came to our final walkthrough! Come the day of our wedding she was the ultimate hype woman - her energy was apparent the whole day! Not only did we get the most amazing photos that we will cherish forever, but she truly added to our day and made it so special! I will go out of my way to recommend her for any and all photography in the Chicagoland area, she's amazing and we couldn't have asked for more - thank you for everything!”

Emily + Peter

“We loved working with Karly from the very beginning to our wedding day!”

“She was so easy to work with via email and phone calls and was very on top of helping us with our wedding timeline. We met Karly the day of our wedding and she was AMAZING from start to finish! Karly and her assistant showed up early and were so professional all day. She had such a vision of our day and captured everything so perfectly. Our family and bridal party had nothing but amazing things to say about her the day of and after the wedding. We woke up the morning after our wedding with about 15 sneak peaks of our day! She is the best and works so hard at what she loves and is so good at. We are so happy we chose Karly to capture our wedding day and have so many stunning photos to cherish and look back on forever!!!”

Nick + Angela

“Where to even begin... I truly cannot say enough positive things about Karly!”

“Where to even begin... I truly cannot say enough positive things about Karly! A friend of mine recommended Karly to me, and when I saw her Instagram feed, I was immediately sold! I loved the vibe of her photos, so I reached out right away to learn more. She was quick to get back to me and we immediately hit it off! She was so welcoming and personable - we booked her for our wedding that same day. We had our engagement shoot about a month ago and it was AMAZING! Karly provided SO much guidance before the session and was always so available (& excited!) to answer my questions. She helped us with locations, timing, outfits, parking - EVERYTHING!”

kelsey

Time to find out if I am the “ONE” for you

inquire now