There With You Photography

02/23/2026

2 + 2 + 2 = a whole lotta love! 🤍 Throw in some candid joy and a camera and I’m the happiest camper!

With you,
Charissa

02/13/2026

Parenthood and the postpartum journey hold so much that often goes unseen.

We did a session specifically focused on honoring this season of life. Alex was one of the incredible people who participated, and having photographed her family for many years, I felt so lucky to celebrate her in this space.

I don’t think photography is about perfect smiling. It’s about presence. And being seen. And holding space for you. And having an opportunity to honor and witness the body that carries you through.

With you,
Charissa

10/01/2025

Still looking for a mini session this fall? Chosen family, given family, pets, friends, or even just a session for yourself—whatever you might be, we’ve still got some slots open at a beautiful barn in northern IL!🐴🌾

Where → Rustic farm in Woodstock 🏡
When → Sunday, November 2, 2–4:40pm 🕑
Investment → $295 💸
What’s included →
• 20 minutes ⏱️
• 10 edited digital images 🖼️
• Option to upgrade to full gallery for $250 or add additional images for $25 each 💾📷

📩 DM with your email for more info! First come, first serve! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

09/05/2025

We know the holidays can suck 😩🎄 Who’s your chosen family? Bring them out to the barn 🐴🌾

There With You Photography (Charissa & Lauren) is offering Chosen Family Mini Sessions this year! 📸✨

Where → Rustic farm in Woodstock 🏡
When → Sunday, November 2, 2–4:40pm 🕑
Investment → $295 💸
What’s included →
• 20 minutes ⏱️
• 10 edited digital images 🖼️
• Option to upgrade to full gallery for $250 or add additional images for $25 each 💾📷

📩 Send an email to [email protected] to book. First come, first serve! 🏃‍♀️🏃

07/31/2025

07/31/2025

Happy International Day of Friendship! OK, maybe it was yesterday (I’m notoriously bad at posting), but in the spirit of friendship, let me introduce you to the Dining Divas—an incredible group of women who’ve built and sustained their friendship through the simple act of sharing meals together.

To get a bit personal, as a kid I experienced a decent amount of trauma and abuse around both friendship and food. It’s not lost on me how deeply these two things touch some of the deepest parts of ourselves, physically and emotionally.

It took a long time to develop a relationship with food that felt that eating could be receiving goodness, and that’s a relationship I continue to learn how to nurture. But I’m so grateful today for the ways I get to share in receiving goodness, and to get to do so with others. To also also capture and celebrate it? I didn’t know it could be this good.

You deserve all good things.

Cheers to friendship. Cheers to food. Cheers to the Dining Divas.

With you,
Charissa

Incredible venue and tablescape:

06/30/2025

“Right now, most of my celebration is internal. Others make me feel like they tolerate or deal with my queerness at best, not using the correct pronouns or minimizing my romantic partners (‘How’s your friend?’). So the moments of celebration, like respecting pronouns, are small but very meaningful.” This is what Corin said when I asked her how others make them feel most celebrated in her queerness. So what did we do?? We celebrated them externally (complete with smoke bombs!). She deserves to be celebrated. Full stop. Happy last day of Pride Month. May we continue to celebrate throughout the year!

With you,
Charissa

06/23/2025

🌿 MODEL CALL: Body Love River Session 🌿

Hey! We’re Lauren and Charissa, and if you haven’t already heard, we’re super excited to launch our partnership, There With You Photography! As our last launch-special giveaway, we’re looking for individuals of all ages, body types, genders, and backgrounds to join us for a powerful, healing photography session centered around body love, self-acceptance, and reclaiming your story. Swipe right to see the body-love photos we took of each other. 📸 This won’t just be a photoshoot—it’s a celebration. Led by trauma-informed photographers, this time is designed to hold space for every body, exactly as you are.

💧 When: Sunday, July 27, 2025
🌾 Where: A peaceful river on a private farm in Woodstock, IL

Whether you’re on a healing journey, rediscovering your relationship with your body, or simply want to honor where you are—this is for you. 🌸

✨ No modeling experience needed
✨ Safe, judgment-free space
✨ Images to celebrate YOU

📩 DM us to apply or learn more. Limited spots available.

With You,
Lauren and Charissa

06/18/2025

Noelle is reimagining what it means to have a “trash the dress” session. Normally these sessions involve a bride jumping in a lake or dyeing her gown, years after her wedding. This session was a grieving, celebration, and honoring of her kick-ass journey out of abuse and into freedom! Obviously fire and smoke bombs needed to be involved. We spent some time planning for this session, discussing details and intentions. And then the day the session arrived, the weather was perfect, closing with one of the best sunsets I’ve seen in a while. I think it showed up just for her. In her words, she’s “flying free,” like a butterfly, “transformed after abuse.”

With you,
Charissa

06/10/2025

At the heart of every birth lies connections to those you love and cherish. That is the main story I love telling when I attend a birth. Whether it’s your partner, your birth team, your new child…connection is what makes life come alive! It’s why we are all here. Leave it to birth to show us and remind us to strive for connection always; to yourself and to each other.

With You,
Lauren

05/20/2025

There’s something extra special about photographing people you know—and these two made it even better with all the tender moments and solid belly laughs. (We also had bonus ducks!)

In a world full of “maternity/paternity” and “Mother’s/Father’s Day” imagery, I adore getting to witness and celebrate the many ways parenthood and pregnancy can look. Q***r families, your joy matters. Your stories matter. And they deserve to be seen.

With you,
Charissa

05/20/2025

Sometimes when you meet someone you can feel their warmth through their smile. That was Maddy! As soon as she emailed me about being interested in our new endeavor of trauma-informed photography, I could tell how warm, kind, and lovely she was without having met her. Meeting her and her beautiful twin babies was simply a delight. Her joy was captivating. Her intentions, so pure. I am so glad she volunteered to be part of our first project with us.

With You,
Lauren