May 8, 2017

Meet Lori Sapio of Lori Sapio Photography in West Town

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lori Sapio.

Lori, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I discovered photography 26 years ago and after receiving my BFA in photography from NIU in 1997, I had the pleasure of working under some of the Masters of photography shortly after. My work has been shown in galleries in the Midwest, and seen in numerous publications (most recently People Celebrity Babies, Domino and Vogue Italia). My main focus has always been fashion, shortly after becoming a professional I began photographing architecture, then discovered the enjoyment of photographing the urban music scene.

I took a hiatus from commercial photography to focus on my fine art and throughout my extensive travels, I have taken every opportunity to fulfill my need to capture a moment in time from inanimate objects, landscapes, architecture and portraits.

My current studio consists of fashion/fine art/music/headshots/corporate branding- www.lorisapio.com; family & children- www.loriksapio.com and glamour/boudoir- www.revivalpinups.com

Has it been a smooth road?
Before I stepped away from commercial photography to focus on my fine art for 10 years, I was photographing for music publications and album covers. When I returned, it was a digital world and the publication world had changed. There was now competition and publishers were no longer paying as they once were for photographs.

I decided it was time to change my focus and saw that boudoir photography was on the rise, from there Revival Pinups was born. I signed a lease on my studio and three weeks later I found out we were pregnant with our first. In some nesting phase I decided I should start photographing babies and families and Lori K Sapio Photography came to life.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Lori Sapio Photography – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
First and foremost I am a portrait and fashion photographer, I have a voice and a style that people recognize. I don’t follow trends or fads, my work is mine. I don’t try and replicate the style of anyone else.

I am Reliable, Consistent and Available. I love what I do and you can see it in my work. I love my clients and I love that every day is a new adventure.

I also love how recently I have been photographing fashion in amazing restaurants in the city, combining two of my passions.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
My parents moved us from Cleveland to Chicago when I was 18 months old. In high school I loved the city, I would come in every weekend from Schaumburg to see a show at the Metro or the Vic, or hang out at Clark and Belmont. The music Chicago had was everything. Graduated in 97, went to Paris and NYC for 3 months and made my way back to Chicago on assignment for a music publication. I loved everything the city had to offer until the winter of 99. I vowed I would never experience that again. I left for LA the following summer and lived there, SF, Vancouver, Toronto, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, London and Bangkok until I came back in 2009 to regroup.

I fell in love with Chicago all over again. The music, the neighborhoods, the food…. I love the food so much, it’s all we do when we go out. The winter doesn’t affect me as it used to, but the other seasons are everything and help make Chicago so magical.

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