weddings • portraits • commercial • social

Emma Rafferty Photography

weddings • portraits • commercial • social

Emma Rafferty Photography

Hi, I’m Emma! I’m a Chicago-based photographer blending candid storytelling with thoughtful direction. From wedding days and personal milestones to brand content, I’m drawn to natural light, true-to-color editing and creating imagery that feels authentic to every story I capture. Whether you revisit your photos one week, five months or ten years from now, I want them to bring you right back to how it felt when they were captured.

Intentional photography for people, brands & meaningful milestones

Intentional photography for people, brands & meaningful milestones

Hi, I’m Emma! I’m a Chicago-based photographer documenting people, brands and life’s most meaningful milestones through a blend of candid storytelling and thoughtful direction. From wedding days and personal achievements to brand content, I’m drawn to natural light, true-to-color editing and images that feel honest to the moment they were made. Whether you revisit your photos one week, five months, or ten years from now, I want them to bring you right back to how it felt when they were captured!

Check out some of my work

Reviews

  • Conti Wedding

    "Emma shot our wedding and I can't say enough good things. She was class act from start to finish. She gave great information and package options on the front end. During the process, she both answered all of my questions and raised great prompting questions that addressed things I wouldn't have thought of. She was timely in her responses, met and went above and beyond every professional expectation, and was a lot of fun to work with on a huge day! She brought leadership, decisiveness, warmth and poise. We love our wedding photos - of us, the guests and the venue. Her pricing was great and her turnaround timeline for sneak-peeks was awesome. Can't recommend enough!"

  • Trio Graduation Session

    "Emma did a fantastic job with my graduation photos! I did a session with a couple of my friends for our college graduation, and it truly couldn’t have gone better. I’ve never really had professional photos taken before, but she made the whole experience so comfortable. She gave great direction while still making everything feel natural, which I really appreciated. She also came up with so many creative ideas that went beyond the typical graduation photos you usually see. On top of that, she’s just a great person to be around—my friends and I had such a fun time during the shoot. The photos turned out amazing, and I’m so happy to have them to remember such an important milestone. I couldn’t recommend her more!"

  • Hill Wedding

    "We couldn’t have asked for a more amazing wedding photographer! From start to finish, she was professional, organized, and made us feel completely comfortable in front of the camera. Emma captured every moment so beautifully — from the big, emotional highlights to the little candid details we didn’t even realize were happening. We are beyond grateful and would recommend Emma Rafferty Photography to anyone looking for a photographer who goes above and beyond! Thank you for giving us memories we’ll cherish forever!"

  • Family Session

    I’ve had multiple family photo shoots with Emma and she is absolutely phenomenal! She makes my family and I feel so comfortable in front of the camera. The final results of the photo shoots were absolutely beautiful. She is extremely talented! If you ever have a need for a photographer, she’s your girl.

  • College Graduation Session

    "Emma is everything you want in a photographer — an incredibly talented and passionate creative who truly cares about her work. She completely blew me away with my grad photos, I couldn't have been happier!"

  • High School Senior Session

    "My daughter had her senior pictures taken by Emma in downtown Chicago this September. They turned out amazingly!! Very unique and artistic photographs that we will cherish for a lifetime! I can not recommend Emma highly enough!"