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Portraits for the season your family is in right now.

Heirloom family portraits, made slowly and with care in our Orland Park studio.

Modern living room with gray seating, a decorative fireplace, and a framed black-and-white fine art portrait on the wall.

WHEN FAMILIES CALL

For more than twenty-five years, families have come to our studio for all kinds of reasons. A holiday card. A graduation. A new baby. Over time we’ve learned there is usually something quieter beneath the reason they give us.

Someone in the family is feeling time move.

A mother calls because her youngest starts kindergarten next fall, and suddenly the house that was full of small children will be quiet during the day. A father reaches out because his daughter is leaving for college, and he’s realizing he won’t know her daily life anymore. A family schedules a session after a loss — not to document grief, but because the family has changed and they need to see who they are now

 

WHAT HAPPENS IN THE STUDIO

The first thing we do when you arrive is slow down. There’s no rush, and no one is waiting for the next appointment. We want you to have room to breathe and to really look at the people you love.

During the session, we watch how you are with one another. Who leans in. Who makes everyone laugh. Where each person settles naturally. We guide you gently so the connection in the portrait is your own. You don’t need to know how to pose. That part is our job.

The session lasts an afternoon. The portrait is how it stays with you.

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Black and white portrait of a young girl in a tutu sitting on a stool with a flower crown

Michelle - Orland Park

Capturing the special moment of our daughter's First Communion was so important to us because it was a unique, unrepeatable time in her life. We love how Rob & Elise listened to why we wanted a portrait of this moment. Rob captured the innocence, hope and peacefulness of our daughter as she made her First Communion. I am so glad we did this. Walking by her portrait on our wall always makes me pause and smile.

Three high school-aged siblings posing together against a dark studio background.

Jody - Orland Park

They did such an amazing job with my twins photos, I decided to ask them if they would be willing to try to take a sibling photo with all 3 of my children. My youngest child has autism and to say he is very difficult to photograph is an understatement. I really didn't think they would be able to get a good photo of the 3 of them - but oh my did they prove me wrong. I absolutely screamed when I saw the photo of my 3 children. For the first time ever, my youngest child was not hidden in the corner of a group picture looking somewhere other than the camera but he was front center, hands on hips, beautiful smile, and front facing eyes that absolutely knocked me out. I knew Rob and Elise were good, but it was at this moment I realized how lucky I was to be working with this incredibly talented pair.

Black and white portrait of an older couple smiling and embracing against a dark background

Marianne - Orland Park

During each session over those years, Rob’s talent captured our family’s love, tenderness, joy, and playful spirit. With Elise’s guidance, we transformed those precious images into special photo albums for the boys—keepsakes they can cherish as deeply as I do as the years pass. I will always be grateful to Rob and Elise for their compassionate professionalism and friendship. Now that my husband has passed away, these portraits and albums hold even greater meaning to me.

Black and white portrait of a young man in profile, lit from the left against a dark background

HOW THE PORTRAIT IS MADE

Rob has photographed professionally across Chicago and the Midwest since 1991, much of that time lighting factories, buildings, and products for clients who needed every detail to be right. Our portrait families benefit from that same care. Light is shaped for each family. Expressions are guided, and then we wait for the real ones. Every portrait is finished by hand and printed on archival, museum-quality materials meant to be handed down.

Some of our portraits are made with a large-format film camera from the 1960s, one sheet of film at a time. It’s slow on purpose, and that same patience goes into everything we create.

 

A person and two children in white shirts smiling and embracing against a dark, blurred background.

HOW THESE IMAGES LIVE OVER TIME

The true value of the portrait increases over time.

Our clients rarely talk about the lighting or the composition. They tell us how a portrait makes them feel, or how it caught something about their child they had nearly forgotten. Often the meaning arrives later, when a portrait that seemed like a lovely afternoon becomes the clearest picture you have of a time you can’t return to.

You won’t remember every detail of that afternoon. Your portrait will.

 

IS THIS RIGHT FOR YOUR FAMILY?

Our sessions are for families who feel something shifting, a season ending or a new one beginning, and who want to mark it together.

You don’t need to be comfortable in front of a camera. Most people aren’t, and we’ll help. You don’t need to know exactly what you want, either. Figuring that out together is part of the process. If you’re noticing your family change, we’d be glad to hear about it.

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Our Process...

A smiling grand mother and her grand daughter embrace, both looking happy in a studio setting with a soft background.

The Conversation

Before anything is scheduled, we sit down and talk. We’ll cover the practical details, ask what’s bringing you in now, and put a few finished pieces in your hands so we can talk about where your portrait might live in your home.

Find out more about our process
Four children smiling and hugging a brown dog in a black and white portrait.

The Experience

A comfortable, unhurried session. We take care of the details and guide you through every part of it, so everyone in the family, from grandparents to the newest baby, has a chance to be seen.

View the Family Portrait Gallery
An outdoor portrait of a smiling child with curly hair hugs a woman, showcasing a warm and affectionate moment.

The Portraits That Stay

Together with Elise, you’ll choose the images that hold this moment best and decide how they’ll be finished. These become companions in your home, keeping how you were together long after the afternoon has faded.

Read: When Families Call
A color studio portrait of Mom and Dad with their two young children seated on dad's lap.
A black and white studio portrait of four young children lying on their tummies with their elbows propping up their faces. Three of the children are making faces to the camera while the youngest is laughing.
A studio family portrait with two adults and a child in black and white, smiling warmly.
Black-and-white retro portrait of a person with short curly hair wearing a pearl necklace and off-shoulder top, gazing upward which replicated a photograph of her grandmother taken at the same age.
A multi-generational group portrait of six smiling women and girls created in our photo studio against a soft, dark background.
A black and white three generation studio portraits of three women smiling, wearing formal dark clothing and pearl necklaces, posing closely against a dark, studio background.
Black and white studio portrait of a high school senior graduate in profile, seated, with a thoughtful expression and resting chin on hand.
A smiling family of four posed in a close and comfortable manner photographed in a black and white portrait, with the parents behind the two children.
Young girl in a white dress with a flower crown, looking downward with a thoughtful expression, lit dramaticly black and white.
A high school graduate woman smiling in a forest, photographed with an antique lens creating a swil pattern in the background
A Mother and young adult son smiling in a black-and-white studio portrait. She is embracing him from behind.
Three people smiling, laughing and relaxing together in a chair. Black-and-white studio portrait.
Mother gently holding and looking at her baby in a black and white studio portrait.
View the Family Portrait Gallery
A short video testimonial from a client of Wehmeier Portraits describing their experiences during an outdoor winter snow portrait session.

Kate - Alsip, IL 

Rob and Elise provide amazing service long before we even took our first photo. They get to know YOU first so that they can capture what makes you and your family special.

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An outdoor black and white casual portrait of four brother posed in an easy manner that shows the closeness of their bond.
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Wehmeier Portraits has created distinctive portraits for our clients in the southwest suburbs and the greater Chicago area for over 25 years. Including the communities of Orland Park, Homer Glen, Tinley Park, Lemont, LaGrange, Palos Park, and Burr Ridge.

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