Lex Poulakos: Photographer

Name: Lex Poulakos: Photographer
Address: Ottawa, IL, 61350, US
Telephone: +18159755394
Price range: $$$

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Lex Poulakos: Photographer

Central Illinois based photographer driven by dreamy light + a whole lot of love. Message, email, or call to book your session!

05/12/2026

my favorite monthly event starts THIS FRIDAY — it’s the one night a month i make sure i’m clocked out for! i cannot wait to be back shopping, drinking, and occasionally dancing (when the drinks hit) around on Madison Street 🤍

also this is your yearly reminder to not hold the actions of Third Friday Lexi against on the clock Lexi… let her have fun she needs it 🤪🤭

05/09/2026

it’s been a minute since i’ve had the sleepiest of sleepy babies AND sisters who are *this* smitten with their newest sibling (and aren’t toddlers that i have to worry about throwing said baby around like a ragdoll 😜)
so you know that calls for a little bit of an overshare!!
between Porter’s insanely hairy back and his sneaky smiles it’s easy to say this little boy has our hearts in a chokehold 🥹 but to be honest, the whole fam has my heart feeling that way because they could not be any sweeter or more FUN (the very last slide helps prove that point hehe) 🤭
but seriously, Maggie + Danny have the most beautiful family and Porter is just the most perfect addition! i couldn’t be any happier for all of them all🤍🤍🤍

Lexi Poulakos
Maggie Jean
Daniel Gumma

05/05/2026

4 days + 50 littles with their mamas🤍
mother’s day minis are always the perfect combination of chaos, slobbery kisses, and belly laughs (and an occasional tear or two… it happens!) which leaves me sorting through ~20k photos with tired eyes and a happy heart. it was SO hard trying to choose only one photo as i was running out of slides because there were truly so many sweet moments tucked into these two weekends.

i always say these minis are a labor of love because i take on too much and deliver too many, BUT it’s always more than worth it because it’s so important to me that moms get *in* the photos!! it’s definitely one event i will continuously overextend and overpack my days for because it’s just that important to me.

whether you’ve been a mother for decades, are getting ready to celebrate your first mother’s day, are in a season of waiting, or maybe this weekend is a tough one for you — i’m thinking of you all 🫶🏼

now i’m weeks behind on my emails and basically everything else in my life so bear with me while i try to get my life back on track but…

SAME TIME NEXT YEAR? 🤪

PS — i ran out of tags so if you see one of your favorite mamas give her a little shoutout 🤭

Lexi Poulakos

05/02/2026

three years ago my very first post about my very first studio was of katie and the babes for mother’s day minis so it felt like a full circle moment to do it again for my new studio 🥲
i cannot believe at fall minis we were announcing baby number three and now here we are at mother’s day minis and you’re about to ready to pop! so much so that i had to speed up your gallery because i’m not letting another baby beat me to the punch with maternity photos (IYKYK) 😜
it’s wild to think that ~8 years ago i met katie through subbing at the high school and first photographed her when blake was just a teeny tiny little spit and now we are about to have a brand new essman baby to love!! watching your babies grow has been one of my favorite privileges and i cannot wait to welcome another bestie into the group and watch these babies truly turn into big kids right before my eyes with their little sis 🥹
(okay now that i’ve been able to share these i hereby grant Sugarplum Lexi Essman full permission to make her arrival!!)🤭🤍

Lexi Poulakos
Katie Essman

04/11/2026

my last photo + my first photo.
same spot, 3 years later.
the bookends to my first studio space.

before this feed completely switches over to my new studio, i just wanted one little commemorative square to sum up my time at 301 w main. there’s been so much growth since the first time i unlocked that door up until i locked it up for the very last time. i started out scared.. wondering if i was making a huge financial mistake. i had no playbook for opening a studio. i just did the one thing that i’ve always done since i started my business which was following my gut. and my gut said go for it so i signed the lease and did just that.

i never would have imagined that three years later i would have grown so much. not just in a business sense, but in such a personal way as well. this space allowed me to build my own confidence, take risks and branch out, get better at setting boundaries, and — most importantly — it quite literally opened the door for me to meet + photograph so many new people who i love SO much.

it gave me the final push to start photographing newborns which honestly takes up the majority of my schedule now! it provided the space for photographing your expanding families, announcing your most exciting news, celebrating so many birthdays, and watching your little ones grow into big kids.

i can’t even imagine a life where i didn’t take that risk. honestly, i don’t want to. i may be busier than i’ve ever been, but i’m equally happier now than ever. this space was the perfect starting point, but i’m so excited to see where i am in another three years.

thank you to each and every one of you who made this studio a HOME. i couldn’t be more thankful. i wouldn’t be here without you. and i know you’ll make this new spot feel like home in no time 🥲

i’ll see ya on court street 🤍

Lexi Poulakos

04/01/2026

THATCHER🩵
the sweetest little pouty lipped boy!! he did so well for his newborn session — clearly it’s hard for me to narrow it down to just a few favorites! i don’t think he could possibly be any cuter 🥲
he may have spiced things up and came a little earlier than we originally planned, but i think he just really wanted to be there for my first week back to work to make the transition a little sweeter... and he definitely did just that 🤍

Lexi Poulakos
Audrey Sparks

03/18/2026

had the most fun with Maggie + Danny soaking in this last little bit of time before baby boy is here🩵
i remember a few years ago all of the talk in the photog community was about only working with your “ideal client”. people described their ideal based off of things like where they shopped or what their lifestyle was like — and don’t get me wrong, i can totally see how a photog’s style can attract people with the same aesthetic — but whenever i think of my “ideal client” it’s 100% hands down people like these two. why is that?
these two LAUGHED and laughed. they were silly and sweet and fun. i felt like i could have told them my entire life story and honestly before they left Danny suggested that we just plan a double wedding (just need to find someone for me to marry hehe) 🤭 it’s the people live life loudly + who go from strangers to friends in the matter of an hour that really get me 🤍
i am SO excited for their sweet boy to get here and to get to photograph the whole fam all together next month! counting down the days until he is here and joining in on the party!!

Lexi Poulakos
Maggie Jean

03/17/2026

little Luci the valentines baby💘
i was a little nervous heading into Luci’s session because it was my very first session back to work since the fire and sis was already a little over 3 weeks old, but man did she snooze like a CHAMP and give me the best morning back 🥲
there was no better way to dive right back in to a crazy schedule than with this sweet girl and her parents! i am seriously SO over the moon happy for them that they have this little angel to snuggle, and Luci couldn’t have asked for better parents than Kylie + Jake🤍
(except if you never see me do the third photo again you can thank Jake because he did jokingly — let’s say lovingly — refer to it as a human centipede kiss HAHAHA)
sessions like this make me feel a lil nostalgic and emotional about moving. this space is where i finally caved and started photographing newborns (51 little babies in just the last year alone!). i’ve gotten to share in so much of your happiness throughout all of the changes in your lives — proposals, pregnancy announcements, business launches, babies, etc — and it has been such a complete joy. i know the new space will bring loads of new little ones to love + the best memories — but im just so thankful for each and every one of you that have been with me along the way 🥹🤍

Lexi Poulakos
Kylie Zdunich
Jake Zdunich

03/12/2026

while the space may be different, the vibe for this year’s mama + me minis can be summed up with Neal’s birthday photos with his mama 🥲
i LOVE that for each of her boys birthdays, Taylor brings them down to me for some one on one time. we get them in their annual name sweaters, some personality shots, and of course some moments with their number one girl!!
i always care more about connection over anything else. pretty backdrops and elaborate setups can be fun, but timeless photos of you with your baby will always be number one. and that’s exactly what i’m envisioning for this year’s minis 🤍
might have to have Neal come down and give everyone a quick posing class though, because most of this was all his own doing! when he laid on his belly and rested his head in my hands I told Taylor that she better save that for his senior year graduation announcement 🥹
after a month that was mentally + emotionally exhausting, i am so happy to be back to doing what i love *AND* being able to kick off the week with some of my favorite people is just the cherry on top. i cannot wait for the craziness of mother’s day minis next month to break in my new space and really hit the ground running! info for minis can be found on my story — they’re launching tomorrow! can’t wait to see you all next month 🫶🏼

Lexi Poulakos

Address

Ottawa, IL
61350

Telephone

+18159755394

Website

http://www.lexpoulakos.com/

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