Out Of Chicago

Skip this common travel advice by Lara Joy Brynildssen

Lara Joy is one of the Out of Chicago team members, and I’m excited to share her insight with you!  She is a excellent travel photographer whose photos truly tell a story about her location.  I really love this advice, and I can’t wait to use her strategy on my next trip!

Here’s a bit of common photography advice I often read on popular travel blogs:  Research your destination on 500px or…

Christopher Foltz has been shooting weddings for four years and has met some amazing couples along the way. He captures families and friends celebrating and sharing in something that is so very important to them, which in turn then becomes important to him. He believes that the greatest thing you can do when photographing a wedding is to get your couple as comfortable with you as possible.  This…

Lauri Novak’s Holiday Photography Tips

Happy Holidays from the OOC crew! Our very own, Lauri Novak, has some great tips for capturing those magical holiday shots!

*Think outside of the gift-wrapped box.  Have you seen those cardboard glasses that make your tree lights look like mini snowmen, Santas or Christmas trees?  Use them as a filter!  Hold or tape them in front of your lens.  The results are really fun!

*‘Tis the season of…

2015 Out of Chicago Holiday Photowalk!

Chicago is such an amazing place to be during the holidays, and our Out of Chicago team is super excited to get together and photograph these beautiful sites with you!

Come join us for this free event-

4pm- 5:30 Meet at the Bean at 201 Randolph St. We’ll be there in time for sunset and stay through blue hour- the sun sets at 4:23pm.  Look for the group with lots of tripods and cameras:).  While…

Amy Kiley & Her Soulful Portraits

When interviewing portrait photographer, Amy Kiley, she gave us insight into how she creates such emotive and soulful depictions of children. Her amazing ability to capture the candid moments is evident and this is how she describes the thought process behind it.

When shooting children, I try to keep a few basic principles in mind. Children are inherently beautiful, but also emotionally…

The Out of Chicago Portrait Conference

Two years ago I asked a few of my photographer friends if they would teach a class at the first Out of Chicago Conference. Today we are announcing a new event focused just on portrait photography. Some of my old friends will be teaching but they will be joined by photography superstars Lindsay Adler, Thom Rouse, Giulio Sciorio, Jen Rozenbaum, and Nick Page.

As with most Out of Chicago events,…

A Storm Chasing Experience With Lorraine Mahoney

Photographer, Lorraine Mahoney, shared one of her storm chasing excursions with us & it was an experience like no other. Here is what she had to say…

One of my favorite storm chasing stories is from May 18th, 2013. My friend Brad and I were in Kansas for a potential chase. As with most chases, we sat around with a bunch of other chasers to kill time while we waited for the storms to start. The…

Chicago River Walk Portrait Event With Levi Sim

Come join Out of Chicago and Levi Sim for a FREE, fun, city portrait event.  Levi is one of our favorite photographers, and we can promise you a great time!

Here are the details from Levi: One city holds my heart for photowalks: Chicago. I’m stoked to be back there, and I hope you’ll join me for a fun photowalk making portraits downtown. We’ll use speedlights, so bring ’em if you have ’em, and if…

Mike Trahan’s Bird Photography

Sandhill Crane by Mike Trahan

Mike Trahan’s passion for nature photography grew from bird watching. He got his first SLR when he was 22 and here is the story about the beginning of his excursions.

 “I started birding in my late 20’s. We were camping with our children at Pokagon State Park in Indiana and went on a naturalist hike with a park ranger. We all heard a beautiful, haunting song and the…

The Chicago Area Photo School (CAPS) is This Weekend

The original Chicago photo conference is this weekend! It’s the Chicago Area Photo School (CAPS) run by the Chicago Area Camera Club Association.

I’ll be giving my presentation Photographing Chicago. Each time I give it I update it with new information and tips.

But I would come this weekend to learn from some of my photography heroes. I know that I will be sneaking out to watch their…

Julia Anna Gospodarou- Featured Speaker at the Architectural Photography Seminar

Julia Anna Gospodarou is the featured speaker at the Out of Chicago Architectural Photography Seminar on October 16th. She is a master architect and international award winning fine art photographer from Athens, Greece. Her beautiful and unique style is evident within her black and white, long exposure architectural photography. She is also the co-author of the best selling book, From Basics To…

CAPS The Chicago Area Photographic School is Back!

The Chicago Area Camera Club Association runs one of the best photography weekends in Chicago and it’s coming up this November 21st and 22nd in Elgin. I have been helping them organize the event and it is going to be fantastic! Not only will you learn from the world-famous Tim Grey and Canon Explorer of Light Jennifer Wu, some of my favorite Chicago photographers are teaching at the event.

Here…

Out of Chicago Bus Tour

The weather looks great for our Chicago bus tour this Saturday, August 22nd! Our first pickup at 2:00pm will be at the Hyatt in Deerfield. Other pickup locations will be at Mary Bartelme Park, Union Station, and Millennium Park. We will hit the best places to shoot in Chicago including the Chicago Riverwalk, Millennium Park, the skyline from Adler Planetarium, Buckingham Fountain, and even the…

The weather looks great for our Chicago bus tour this Saturday, August 22nd! Our first pickup at 2:00pm will be at the Hyatt in Deerfield. Other pickup locations will be at Mary Bartelme Park, Union Station, and Millennium Park. We will hit the best places to shoot in Chicago including the Chicago Riverwalk, Millennium Park, the skyline from Adler Planetarium, Buckingham Fountain, and even the…

Apply to be an Out of Chicago Instructor

Thank you to everyone who has applied to teach at the Out of Chicago Winter Conference. I love all of the great ideas that have come in already and am looking forward to adding some great new Out of Chicago instructors.

 For everyone else, this post is your reminder that you have until August 15th to submit your application to teach at the Out of Chicago Winter Conference on February 20th. We are…

Join Me for a Chicago Bus Tour

Join me Saturday, August 22nd, for a bus tour of the best places to shoot in Chicago. Get all of the details at the event page. There will be some walking involved, but we will be saving you miles of walking and we’ll save you from having to drive and park multiple times. The tour starts with the first pickup at 2pm at the Deerfield Hyatt. We will have another pickup in the west loop and also at…

Become an Out of Chicago Instructor

The original vision behind the Out of Chicago Conference was an informal gathering of Chicago photography friends teaching what they do. It grew way beyond that, but I still would like to have that small gathering of Chicago photographers. So Out of Chicago is adding a new event February 20th, 2016 in Grayslake, IL. We’re calling it the Out of Chicago Winter Conference. Our featured speakers are…