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Jill “Jilly Bean”.

My friend, the BEST Café Attendant for Starbucks, a hippy, a turtle lover, the biggest fan of Sausage Pizza I have personally ever met (besides Judy), hands down a champ in bartering, and a ray of sunshine every single day. Jilly Bean stole my heart a long time ago and continues to brighten my life up with that smile! I had the pleasure of spending a Sunday afternoon with her and her twin Judy at the Chinatown Summer Festival a few weeks back, and I am so glad I brought my camera to capture this special day in my life with my friends! Thank you Jill and Judy for being you, you both have filled my days with such happiness.

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JENI, JACKSON, & CALEB.

These three are a piece of my built family, Jeni has been a core person in my life since we were 10 maybe 11. My longest marriage to date! I finally made it back to Iowa and on a whim we got to see each other for a few hours early in the morning. I finally got to meet her youngest son Caleb, what a sweet, happy baby! I left that morning back to Chicago full of love and grateful I took the time to capture a very important part of my life.

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International Champions Cup: Manchester United v PSG! Bummed my boys in Red lost, but so pumped they came to Chicago!! #chicago #chitown #football #manchester #united #manunited #mu #mufc #mufcfanpics #psg #parissaintgermain #soldierfield #internationalchampionscup #championscupfinal #lineup #soccer @manchesterunited @crystalnook

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CHINATOWN.

I spent a part of my Sunday rediscovering Chinatown for their yearly Chinatown Summer Festival here in Chicago. It’s a precious day within a small community where they actually open the doors to thousands of strangers and allow a glimpse of their world.

Here I was allowed to see the camaraderie amongst the women in their culture, something that completely fascinates me. Taking women’s classes from the beginning of my college career and continuing that education is something that is extremely important to me. The times I’ve gone to Chinatown I’ve seen these women work hard and keep quiet, but Sunday it was full of chit chat and laughter. A rare opportunity I gladly took.

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David and Missy.

I had the honor of shooting David and Missy’s engagement session downtown Chicago back in the winter. We all fell in love with all the images produced from this session, this is literally a very tiny selection of what I actually shot. This couple made me believe that true and genuine love can and does exist in this world, I left that day just filled with joy and admiration of their relationship. So thank you David and Missy for this experience it was amazing!

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Hamed.

I met this young doctor while I was working at Starbucks, he used to come at the exact time every night and order the same drink every time. Shy, bashful, witty, and polite, I never thought I would get to know him as well as I did. During the time we dated getting Hamed in front of my camera was extremely challenging. Coming from Saudi Arabia he was unaccustomed to having a photo taken of him so intimately, he doesn’t even own a image of his family. Some of the older generation of Saudi Arabia believes taking an image of a person takes some of their soul, the youth of the country have adapted to modern ideas of photography. This session I had to warm him up to it by a bribe, I would take his head shots for his work and I would end it with my agenda. It was a success, this image captured the man I came to know and the smile I always loved seeing. He has since left Chicago to pursue his career goals in Maryland and we have since ended our relationship, but I have nothing but love and respect for him. Hamed just got accepted to the University of Maryland for a program with their Shock Trauma Unit and I wish him all the luck in the world!! I’m very proud of him and that I can say I know him.

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Last Days of Summer. #bw #blackandwhite #chicago #chicagosummer #chicagophotography #chicagophotographer #children #kids #blockparty

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Made a friend while on set today! What a view from The John Hancock Building! I love this city #chicago #chicagophotographer #hancockbuilding #skyline #lakeshore #ilovemyjob #mycity #mylife (at The John Hancock Center)

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Had an opportunity to take some images at #thetasteofchicago during the @janellemonae concert. What a night of getting down!! #janellemonae #concerts #chicago #chicagophotographer #photographer #tessasteelephotography (at Taste Of Chicago Petrillo Band Shell)

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Happy 4th of July Friends & Family!!! Much Love to you all! #fourthofjuly #america #usa #flag #pride #worldcup2014 #grantpark #usavsgermany #photography #photographer #chicagophotographer #tessasteele #tessasteelephotography (at Grant Park)

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On set today... Actually modeling for once! Helping my teammate from volleyball out for his finals! #model #notanactualmodel #portrait #photography #photographer #onset #flashback #columbia #supportthearts (at 1006 Michigan ave Photo Studio)

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America! Loved shooting with #larrytobis and his gorgeous one of a kind pillows! I love that after meeting in 2D design class we still work together and it's been five years, such a great time! #pillows #designer #art #handstitched #artist #photography #photographer #chicago #chicagophotographer #product #productshots #work #myjob #mylife #friends #oneofakind #topnotch

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RUBEN.

I usually post work this project into black and white, to strip it to a minimal state, but this image for me needed to stay in it's natural state. What a pleasure it was connecting with Ruben after many years of knowing each other, what an amazing young man he is turning into and what an honor to be able to continue to watch him progress in life.

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GEORGE.

George is a friend of mine from years ago, when I lived in London. He was one of our house brothers and we remained in touch for 8 years. Last year he came to Chicago to visit my friend Crystal and I, staying and having a whole week of random adventures. George and I never were able to really have conversations beyond a pub setting, but this time around I got a whole new perspective on who this young gentleman really was. I came to have a new found perspective on George completely, he simply is wonderful. George is a pretty shy man, so when asking him to sit in for this session he was a bit bashful, but I feel I was able to capture the George that I have come to know. It was a complete pleasure to have this moment with him.

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ARTEMIO.

Thanks to this wonderful gentleman I started this portrait series. I had an idea and a vision. He took a chance on a stranger. And I have had the pleasure of calling him my friend since this portrait was taken of him a few years back. A lot has changed for us both since this image was taken and it's probably one of my favorite moments of my career,  I knew instantly I had captured the perfect image of him. Out of all the selects he chose this one without me letting him know which one I had chosen, and that is a rarity. So thank you Artemio for taking that chance.

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BETH.

What a beautiful person all around. And to think I didn't want to be friends at first! She is/was one of my Starbucks customers that won me over and developed into an actual friendship. She literally brings light with her no matter where she goes.

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ISAAC.

This photograph was a beautiful accident. My dear friend asked me to photograph him for his portfolio and naturally I had my own agenda. This is apart of a portrait series I have been working on for almost three years. I fall for this image every time I come across it, for me personally it's such a strong image of the Isaac I know. I was honored to be apart of it.