Email: sarahcress@gmail.com - Phone: 815-342-7899

Sarah Cress...Photographer

"Working with you was great! You were so nice and easy going. Not pushy, and you still got great shots. I love every single one of my pictures! And I have gotten so many complements on the album you designed. Fabulous job!!!" - Jonna Selsor, Wedding Client

"My husband and I were extremely pleased with Ms. Cress' work on our engagement photos. She chose a beautiful location and really captured our personality as a couple. Ms. Cress worked incredibly efficiently and produced beautiful results. Our families loved the images and we will treasure them forever. I would recommend Ms. Cress to all of my friends because of her unique style, professional demeanor and the high quality of the images she produced." - Danielle Ossman, Engagement Portrait Client

"As a gift for my parents, my siblings and I decided to take a family portrait. We looked to Ms. Cress as our family photographer because she had done such a beautiful job with my engagement portraits. Ms. Cress coordinated my family and I and worked to capture beautiful images. I felt at ease and very trusting of Ms. Cress' expertise. I have a rather large family, ranging in age from 7 to 26 and Ms. Cress worked efficiently and was able to keep the 7 year old engaged, which is no easy task! Ms. Cress captured our family perfectly and listened to our input to collaborate with us and create beautiful images. I am so appreciative of her talents!" - Danielle Ossman, Family Portrait Client

"Working with you, on such a stressful day, was easy and calming. I knew that you were aware of my style and the pictures I considered important. My family and friends also enjoyed working with you and I was very pleased with the outcome." - Maureen Adams, Wedding Client

"Sarah did an unbelievable job at our wedding weekend! She photographed memorable moments at the church rehearsal and dinner, preparation before the wedding, the ceremony, and stayed well into the night of our reception. She even took gorgeous architectural shots of our church, I never would have thought of that! She got to know our entire wedding party, and everyone loved her! They were so comfortable with her, that she was able to capture intimate, and now unforgettable, moments between our closest family and friends. She did extensive on-site research prior to our wedding, choosing the perfect backgrounds for our portraits. Sarah even brought props such as frames and “LOVE” letters to create unique (and really fun) images! She captured every detail of our celebration, and crafted beautiful compositions with every photo. She is an extremely talented artist, has a very sweet personality, and we are so happy we asked her to shoot our special day!" - Lauren Campbell, Wedding Client

"Sarah Cress is the best photographer we have ever worked with! I loved her ideas and the backgrounds she chose were amazing! She was also open to ideas we had as well. I loved that our pictures didn't look like anyone else's due to her unique ideas. We had her photograph our maternity pictures and I can not wait for her to capture the pictures of our new little bundle of joy!" - Jamie Cearlock, Baby Bump Client

"Sarah has done two family settngs for us, one of just me, my husband and two children and the second with my extended family. I was very pleased with her work, espcially those of the children, she has a unique way of capturing their personalities and expressions that is priceless! We've enjoyed displaying and playing with the pictures and love the ablility to have all the pictures to use. Her choice of settings are great but her talent stands out anywhere! I would highly recommend her to everyone!" - Jana Metter, Family Portrait Client

"Working with Sarah to photograph our nine-day old daughter was so much fun. She brought adorable props and set up a mini studio right in our living room. Sarah was so accommodating and flexible -- even maintaining her smile through a serious tantrum from my preschooler. Thanks to her style and technique, we got some precious photos that we will treasure forever." - Carrie Trammel, Family Portrait Client

Sarah Cress...High School Instructor

"Miss Sarah Cress was not only my teacher for three out of my four years of high school, she was also an inspiration. She found talent in the unexpected. Photography was merely an interest of mine, but never something I felt I would ever succeed in. She worked with me and taught me to look further beyond the piece itself, and to think of each image as a story. As my work progressed, the harder she began to push me. Her classes not only taught me a lot about photography and art appreciation, but even college and career readiness. I feel that her class alone better prepared me for college than any other class throughout high school. She helped me through problems, worked with me when I wasn’t at my best, and constantly pushed me to further strengthen my work and never give up. On top of her great teaching, she is also an outstanding photographer; creating artwork that all of us students used as examples of “finding art in the unexpected”. She is hands-down the hardest working person I have ever met, and it really motivates me to achieve higher goals for myself. I am so appreciative to have such a teacher in my life, and also a great friend. I don’t call her Mama Cress for nothing! Thanks for everything you’ve done for me Miss Cress; I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for you." – Ryan Hamlin, Former Student

"Sarah was my photography instructor at Streamwood High School during my junior and senior years. Through my experiences in Sarah’s photography program, I decided to pursue further education in photography at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Sarah shaped my high school photography career with the perfect amount of guidance and independence that allowed me to pursue my own artistic goals yet still have the option to discuss my ideas and get feedback to improve them. She wants all of her students to learn as much as possible, so she constantly introduces new materials and methods and processes to help us as artists. Some of these include sepia and cyan toning, bookmaking, sketching, transfer printing, and using medium format cameras, all of which have significantly helped me as a college art student. Another characteristic of Sarah’s teaching style that really helps her students including me is her availability. She always tries to make time for students when they need help or have questions. She will do her best to stay late and come in early or even sacrifice part of her breaks throughout the day to assist students in any way she can, be it answering questions, giving feedback on a print or idea, or allowing students extra time in the darkroom." - Former student and undergraduate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Art and Design

"During my two years in Ms. Cress’s photography class, she inspired me to pursue photography beyond the classroom. I have never had a teacher who cared more for and took such special interest in her students. She always made me feel very proud of myself and the work I did in class. If it was not for Ms. Cress, I never would have discovered my passion for photography, and my desire to continue studying the subject beyond high school. Before I was in her class, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. By the end of my first year in her class, I knew photography was the field I wanted to pursue. Ms. Cress has a special way of making class fun and interesting everyday. Her class was always the highlight of my day, because I knew I was going to a class where I could be creative and have fun, but at the same time, know that I was being taken seriously as an artist. Now that I am studying photography in college, I am eternally grateful that I was lucky enough to have Ms. Cress as a teacher for two years. She taught me to do what I love and what makes me happy." - Former student and studying photography at the Art Institute of Schaumburg

"In my opinion, the purpose of a photography teacher is to motivate, inspire, and to challenge. Ms. Cress has done all of that and more. In 2006, I took my first photography course at Streamwood High School; Ms. Cress was my teacher. Taking this class was not only beneficial, it was life changing. The course was fun and engaging. It allowed me to use my creativity and channel my emotions in ways I never thought possible. I began considering a career in photography where I could continue to express myself in such ways. After talking to Ms. Cress about this, she gave me advice and told me all about where she had gone to school and about her path to becoming a photographer. I took what she said into account and found a college that suited me. Currently, I am a sophomore at Dominican University perusing a degree in Photography and Communications. I often wonder how different my life would be if I had never taken photography in high school. Ms. Cress is an amazing teacher. Not only has she influenced my career choice, she challenged me to think beyond the norm." - Former student, SHS

"Ms.Cress; what can I say, she's one of the nicest teachers at Streamwood High School. I got to meet Ms.Cress in my Photography 1-2 class in my Senior year of high school. My first thoughts of her were that she was a normal art teacher, who just liked doing photography. Instead, I found out she was in love with photography, that she collects numerous things relating to photography. She can't even enter a thrift store, without buying an old camera. She has such a passion for the work that she does, and she shows it loudly and proudly. Her classroom is decorated with tons of her own, and her students photography. You can find camera's in almost all the corners of the room, old and new. When she explains a project to her classroom, she does so in such detail, there's no possible way you could mess up. When Ms.Cress isn't at home or working, she's out in the world, photographing everything and anything she sees. Ms.Cress loves her students, and is always there to help when wanted." - Former student, SHS

"Ms. Cress was one of the best instructors I had, and probably will ever have. She taught me so much about not only photography, but being a responsible person. There couldn’t have been a more qualified person to teach me the ways of the camera. Most photography teachers at the high school level only have a very small understanding of cameras and photography, Ms. Cress knows as much as any college level photography professor knows. This was a huge advantage for me. Coming out of high school I had a great understanding of the following: 35mm black and white, Medium Format, Pinhole, Stop Action photography, Matting, Lighting, Darkroom operations, Photoshop, and so much more. She inspired me to continue pursuing photography in college and outside of school. Ms. Cress is a very talented and passionate photographer herself, and count yourself lucky if she is teaching you the art of photography." - Jon, Former Student, SHS

"When it comes to photography, patience is the most important attribute one must have in order to get anywhere with the art. The person with the most patience that I have ever known is Miss Sarah Cress. Without her balanced state of mind, I would have been lost in frustration. She not only taught me the art of photography, but she also taught me how to relax. Thank you Miss Cress!" - Stephanie, Former Student, SHS

"While attending Streamwood High School, I had Sarah Cress as a Photography teacher for two years. During that time, I learned so much. Sarah Cress is such an inspiration, always pushing me to give and do my best. It is very rare that you get a teacher like Ms. Cress that actually has such passion and dedication for what she does. Not only does her drive encourage her students, it’s the fact that she is so caring and works one on one with you. When you had a problem and couldn’t figure out the solution, ask Ms. Cress she knew exactly what to do. Except if you cut yourself, then you’re own because she doesn’t like blood. The memories I am able to share and laugh at now,that is what made Photography have that much more meaning to me. She has helped shape me into the Photographer I am today and I can only hope that I can become as half as good as Ms. Cress. Without Ms. Cress I would have never looked at Photography the way I do now. She is an extraordinary teacher and I am so lucky to have had the privilege to have worked with her. I will always be so grateful." - Candice, Former Student, SHS

Sarah Cress...Higher Education Instructor

"Sarah was a graduate assistant during my internship and student teaching semesters at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. During internship, Sarah was a great resource for the beginning art teacher. She knew the mechanics of classroom, art procedures and helped to shape successful units. I feel that my experience was only enhanced by her presentations on technology and its appropriate uses in the classroom. I found her real-world experience to bring a fresh look to the UMSL’s art education program. We knew that Sarah had been a teacher in the classroom just that past year and was not operating on unapplied research methods. Her consistency and dedication to the assistantship showed her passion for art education and love of learning." - Kristen Franke, Former Student, UMSL

"Sarah Cress was an assistant professor during some of my teaching classes my last year at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. When I look back at the time spent with her, I can't help but smile. She was always there for any question I ever had, whether it was common sense or just totally off the wall. Her help was especially helpful during the semesters of student teaching and internship when I would be up at 2 am desperately trying to get teaching examples and lessons done for the following week. Being burned out and with a brick wall in front of me, she always had advice on how to get around it. I still use her now that I am out in the real world. Her ability to relate to how a new teacher/student is feeling stresses and being faced with the everyday splendors of the joys of teaching is impeccable." - Gracie Becker, Former Student, UMSL