Lynn Renee Photography

02/27/2026

Monday evening is the Jewish holiday of Purim, kinda like our Halloween. We retell the story of the Jews narrowly escaping destruction at the hands of Haman, saved by their new Jewish Queen Esther in ancient Persia. Everyone dresses up in costumes, it’s customary to give food to friends, give gifts to the poor, and of course we eat a festive meal.

For the kids, congregations often put on a carnival full of games, prizes, and lots of fun activities. At my synagogue, Mishkan, they hired a drag queen last year to be our MC and hang out and play with the kids. At a time when people are attacking bookstores for having drag queens hold story time, I found it so powerful that we brought Miriam to bring joy and light to our holiday.

02/11/2026

Last week I got two emails from one of my favorite clients and all around organizations to work with, . The first one was celebrating 7 years with their current president and CEO, Brenda Langstraat Bui sent on 1/29. Four days later there was another email, this one announcing her sudden and tragic passing. I could hardly believe my eyes and texted one of my contacts immediately, this just couldn’t be true.

Brenda left this world and there is a huge hole in the city of Chicago as her friends and family are gathering today to honor this incredible woman. To me she represented strength, leadership, confidence, friendship, and love as I got to photograph her over the years and capture the many facets of her always warm and welcoming personality.

Sending strength, healing, light, and love to her family, her friends, her colleagues and coworkers during this dark time. May her memory be a blessing. 💔

11/10/2025

11/10/2025

This past Friday, 11_7_25, I went with my congregation Mishkan Chicago to the detention center in Broadview, IL, for a gathering of religious leaders from various denominations to ask for permission to enter the facility. Legally, detainees have the right to request a clergyperson of their faith to enter the facility and advise them. This is just one of the many rights that have been withheld from the people being kept in this detention center. Together leaders from Indigienous Amercans, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, and Unitarians, joined together to formally request permission to enter the facility. A representative from the Broadview police department dialed the ICE office and they read their letter over the phone. The ICE agent who answered requested they call back in 45 minutes for an answer. The police officer told me that in all the calls he's made, many for families standing outside holding giant bags of medicine needed for their family members locked inside, they've never asked for a call back, it's always a big fat immediate no. So with hope in their hearts, a small group of representatives waited, only to be told on the second call that their request had been denied.

When we stop treating people as people, we have certainly lost our way. America, you are so lost right now.

10/28/2025

Last week I photographed the Chicago Public Library Foundation’s Carl Sandburg Awards and it’s one of my favorite events of the year. Being in a room full of educated and like minded people who understand the value of books, reading, and the safe space that a local library can provide to those in need. The UIC Forum felt like one giant hug in these interesting times. Thanks for having me once again!

09/05/2025

Did you know that today would've been Bob Newhart's 96th birthday? Sadly he passed last summer, but as a native to Chicago his roots here ran deep. In honor of his birthday the intersection at Sheridan and Thorndale got an official sign to be "Bob Newhart Way." His three children came for a lovely declaration making 9/5 Bob Newheart Day in Chicago. WGN favorite Dean Richards WGN was there alongside 48th Ward Alderwoman Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth, Edgewater Historical Society President John Holden and Illinois State Representative State Representative Kelly Cassidy.

Why you may ask? Because the introduction sequence to the Bob Newhart show used the building at Thorndale and Sheridan to establish the outside of his apartment building in Chicago, and we over here in Edgewater think that's really cool.

05/18/2025

05/18/2025

Last night I ran the photobooth at The All 80’s Prom Returns with the incomparable Tributosaurus and had an incredible time. Getting to pose with Ducky and Molly Ringwald was a dream come true. But running into my old friends/clients, the super power team of Andre and John McArthur was the absolute highlight. It was a fabulous night.

10/24/2024

With all the changes and new features Instagram keeps making and adding, you’d think we’d have the ability to post portrait and landscape oriented photos in the same post without sacrificing one over the other.

But I really wanted to share these snaps from the same event at a few weeks ago. I couldn’t resist the dynamics between the parents and their kids and I’m a sucker for little girls playing dress up, especially with a hard hat on.

Enjoy!

10/17/2024

I’ve been photographing family events since I first started my career in photography. I enjoy these events more than family portraits because all I have to do is submerge myself in my environment and the photos take themselves.

This was an event out at in Downer’s Grove. They had all kinds of animal experiences, a bee hive, ponies, goats, bunnies, dress up houses, face painting, fishing, and a pig that just roamed around the chaos.

🎣

10/02/2024

Nestled in among two other schools just steps away from the intersection of Lawrence and Kedzie is a small but mighty selective enrollment school called Edison. With less than 300 students from Kindergarten through 8th grade, it doesn’t draw a lot of attention to itself. It doesn’t get fields donated by the Chicago Cubs Charities, and like all CPS schools, it doesn’t get enough money from the city, so it has to hold multiple fundraisers throughout the year to keep them running, like their annual Track-A-Thon.  

Students ask for donations from families and friends to run around a nearby track, getting marks on their hands for each lap they complete. The 8th graders are paired up with kindergarten buddies, the 7th graders with 1st grade buddies, and the parents cheer on from the sidelines while the students run themselves ragged on a (sometimes) gorgeous September afternoon.

Once they’ve exhausted themselves, they head back to school where the student winners of a raffle get the chance to pie a teacher in the face, aka, shove a plate of whipped cream in their faces.  Dressed in full PPC garb, the teachers and the principal await their fate while the whole school shouts, chants, screams, and applauds their staff getting creamed. Go Edison!


 

07/22/2024

Throwback from 2016 when I photographed at a private donor event in Chicago got me feeling like this right now…let’s go girl!