gugwa
Sunlit wooden shelves with albums and print boxes beside plants

gugwa · Northbrook, Illinois

Photographs for you
and the people in your life.

For a photograph you need today or one you will keep for years. We care for how it is made and how it is finished.

This season

Fall portraits outdoors are being planned.

Read the update

Find your photograph

What brings you here?

Woman seated for a personal branding portrait
01 Just Me Portraits for who you are, what you do, and the moments you mark.
Couple embracing in a studio portrait
02 Couples & Weddings Portraits of a couple, a bride on her own, and the wedding day.
Parents and children wearing hanbok in a studio portrait
03 Family & Children The people who make this moment yours.

Selected photographs

People, together and on their own.

Musician holding a clarinet for an artist portrait
An artist
Couple beneath the Chicago Theatre sign
The two of you
Newborn wrapped in a basket on a light backdrop
The first days
Graduate in cap and gown against a light background
A new chapter
Bride in her wedding gown and veil in a studio portrait made after the wedding
A bridal portrait
Couple kissing through the bride’s veil
A wedding day
Bride seated in her wedding dress and veil for an individual portrait
A moment for herself
Parents and two children in hanbok
Growing together
Mother and daughter together in a studio portrait, the daughter wearing her wedding dress
Mother and daughter
Man with a birthday cake at his fiftieth celebration
A celebration
Older woman in pale blue hanbok
A portrait to keep

Made to keep

Some photographs are close at hand on your phone. Others become an album to open or a print you see every day. At gugwa, careful retouching and print are part of how we think about the finished image.

We will help you explore the forms that suit your photographs. Products and digital-file inclusions depend on the session and are confirmed before you decide.

See the studio experience

In their words

Stories from earlier studio work.

These films come from Soohyun Kim’s earlier Chicago Baby and Studio Soo work. They describe those clients’ experiences, not a current gugwa package.

Watch film
Newborn KairoA family story from Chicago Baby
Watch film
Amber & JustinA couple portrait story from Studio Soo

More to remember

First Birthday & Dol PortraitsA first year, and the family around it.Private CelebrationsPersonal gatherings beyond the studio.Legacy Portraits & FilmsArtist-led work shaped around a person and their story.Restoration & Fine Art PrintingBring an existing photograph into the present.

Our Studio

Founded by Korean artist and photographer Soohyun Kim, gugwa is a place to photograph people at different moments in life. Our Northbrook studio brings years of photographic practice to portraits of individuals, couples, and families.

Meet gugwa

Your moment

What would you like to keep?

Tell us who you would like photographed and what you have in mind. We can help you find the right place to begin.

Email gugwa