Illinois Photographer - The Ridge Photography

As I have watched everyone share their incredible 2025 accomplishments, I feel led to share the fuller story... the whole picture.📸 The moments I captured for others, and the moments that were quietly shaping me.🥹 This is what it looked like to keep showing up as a business owner and a medical mom... Hard, sacred, and covered by grace.♥️ If God carried me through last year, He can carry you too.✝️

Bride + Groom portraits without seeing each other?? CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!! ✅ Sometimes a wedding timeline doesn’t allow for a lot of time for outdoor photos after the ceremony, and if couples are choosing not to see eachother before then, it can be difficult to squeeze them all in. Here is your remedy! Use some of these posing ideas to grab some portraits beforehand without letting them peek at each other! Builds a beautiful suspense between the couple, and boy was it practical to our timeline!🥳

MEET THE TEAM!✨ The Ridge Photography is growing & expanding, and I couldn't be more excited! 🥳 When I went full time into photography in 2017, I never could have imagined for it to grow into what it has. A beautiful passion project that's been able to not only provide for MY family, but now for another. 🥹 It's time for everyone to join me in welcoming Charity to The Ridge Photography team!! She will be shooting families, couples, and children on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings, along with opening up even more weekend spots throughout the year! ► Charity is a 24 year old animal-loving gal who loves the super simple things in life. She & her her fiancé, Christian, have 20+ animals together (including dogs, chickens, ducks, and a bearded dragon). You can almost always find her barefoot outside, gardening or tending to their fur-babies! ► I'm Annie! A 26 year old wife to a loving husband, & a mommy to the absolute sweetest little boy and girl. As a life-long Christ follower, I find it nearly impossible not to find the things and people of this world fascinating and beautiful, therefore I do my best to capture them in photographs that can be admired for years to come. ♥️Ever since my incredible mama passed away from cancer and heart failure in October of 2019, I have become an even bigger advocate for pushing people to get photographs of and with the ones they hold most dear. I truly believe that photography is the "pause button" of life, and can hold every emotion and memory that your mind forgets over time with a click of a button, and a little editing magic. With one look at a photograph, you're instantly flooded with exactly where your heart was in that moment, and I find that to be totally irreplaceable.🫶🏼 We are so eager to work with all of you to capture what matters most in your life! Big moments, small moments, it doesn't matter. Let us capture it all! We promise to always bring our hearts into everything we do for you. ♥️ 📸: @astridjohanaphoto

We’ve reached a place in my son, Everett’s disease where it is no longer manageable long term. At just 22 months old, his team has begun the referral process with St. Louis Children’s Hospital to pursue a liver transplant. It’s not a cure, but it is our hope for a better quality & quantity of life for him. This season is extremely heavy and uncertain. It means even more appointments, more labs, daily medications, tube feedings, and unpredictable hospital stays that can come out of nowhere and take priority over everything else. Including my business. This business that I’ve poured my heart and soul into over the last decade... So… do not hire me. Do not hire me if you need a quick turnaround. Do not hire me if you have strict or urgent deadlines. Do not hire me if you expect your photographer to always put your gallery first. Do not hire me if flexibility and grace are hard to give. Do not hire me if you need guaranteed availability without interruption. Because right now, I can’t promise any of those things. And I won’t pretend to. I have an amazing team of photographers on my side who have offered their support, but even still. I cannot offer the same attention that I have in years past. But… If you value heart over hurry. If you understand that life can change in an instant. If you’re okay with extended turnaround times and a photographer who may be editing from a hospital room… If you’re a mom who understands that their child ALWAYS comes first... Then I would truly love to work with you.🥹 Photography is how I support my family. It’s also an outlet for me… a way to create something meaningful in the middle of a really hard chapter. So I’m not putting my camera down, although I’ve heavily considered it, but I am being very intentional about who and how I serve in this season. ♥️ Thank you for loving our family, supporting my work, and giving me the space to be exactly where I need to be… with my son. 🤍

We are SO excited to officially welcome Nautica Long to The Ridge team as our newest wedding videographer ✨🎥 Nautica has already captured her first wedding with us and absolutely knocked it out of the park! Her eye for storytelling, emotion, and cinematic detail is exactly what we look for when trusting someone with our couples’ once in a lifetime moments. Nautica is a TV and Video Production major with double minors in Film Studies and Digital Media. During her time at Eastern Illinois University, she was deeply involved on campus, working as a student ambassador in the admissions office, filming EIU games with ESPN, holding an executive position in Greek life, and creating a wide range of student films across multiple genres and topics. She brings both professional experience and genuine passion to every project, and she is beyond excited to be part of The Ridge family and to continue capturing such meaningful, joy filled wedding days. Help us give Nautica a warm welcome. We cannot wait for you to see the beautiful films she creates ✨♥️

Bare feet on the floor, toys in the hall, freshly washed linens, the snuggles of your 2 big sisters, and all in the comfort of your own home…. This is how a newborn session should be. 🥹🫶🏻 I’m in love with the in-home sessions!!

Autumn baby 🍁🍂

A breath of fresh air!🌷🌲 #seniorpictures #lovetheflowers🌺 @theridgephotography_

Catching up on some super behind pics over the next few weeks!!! Facebook saw these first, but they all deserve space on Instagram too 😍😍😍

What moments are worth hiring a professional photographer? The regular ones. The messy ones that leave your kids giddy and your home a little chaotic. The moments spent in comfy clothes, not fancy outfits you’ll never wear again. The moments that include the family pet, sticky fingers, and genuine laughter. The ones where your kids are creating something beautiful...and without realizing it, making memories that will mean everything someday. Those are the moments worth hiring a professional photographer for.🎃

This session came at a vulnerable moment for me, and it reminded me how deeply God has blessed me with a career that feeds my soul in the most beautiful ways. ♥️ As the sun dipped low, Willow danced on her daddy’s toes while her baby brother smiled wide at his beautiful mama. The air was warm, the laughter was real, and the love felt like home even to me. I left with a renewed sense of what truly matters in life. 🥹

(Part 2) High in the Rockies, Bailey & Peyton exchanged vows surrounded by endless peaks, endless love, and a photographer who needed endless O2-in-a-can puffs.😅 Their day was intimate, wild, and utterly unforgettable.🥹 I am so grateful they chose me to document this beautiful moment in their lives! #rockymountainelopement #rockymountains #rockymountainwedding #elopementphotographer #mountainwedding