CHICAGO — Sometime before high school, Mei Lin Barral was gifted a camera for her birthday. An only child, Barral soon took her camera to photograph the pet companions who were “basically her siblings”: two dogs, two cats, two mini horses and a horse.
“They were very lazy and would nap all day,” said Barral, owner and photographer of Mei Lin Barral Photography. “They were easy subjects.”
Thanks to her beloved pets in her Vermont home, Barral could “mess around with her camera,” learning photography basics. By high school, she knew she wanted to become a professional photographer, and she enrolled in Massachusetts College of Art and Design, where she majored in photography.
It has been about eight years since Barral, of Lakeview, photographed a wedding for the first time. After watching a photographer capture every detail of her cousin’s wedding, she decided she wanted to do the same for others, she said.
As a queer woman of color, Barral also knew she wanted to celebrate all kinds of love for couples of all genders, races, sexualities and religions, she said.
Barral’s goal is to ensure couples who “don’t fit into traditional molds” have a space where they can feel beautiful and have their love photographed like everybody else, she said.
Barral aims to create an inclusive space free of gender assumptions and make everyone feel safe, respected and seen in every session and interaction, she said.
Her Chicago-based business specializes in photography services for intimate weddings, elopements and dogs. Her photos illustrate the love and special bond between couples and their four-legged family members.
Barral understands this kind of love well, and her photo galleries feature the dogs who stole her heart. Her “soul dog” Oreo is the pug that started her “pug obsession.” Then came Penny, a rescued senior pug who loved Oreo, followed by G, another rescued senior pug who lived until age 18.
Britt, who declined to share her last name to protect her privacy, married her wife, Rya, in the company of their beloved dog, Lio, while Barral snapped photos to help them remember the event.
After a ceremony at the Lurie Garden, they held a kid-friendly reception in the city’s Whirlyball venue, joined by more than a dozen family members, including Lio.
In one of the couple’s favorite photos, Barral photographed Lio with “her big eyes and her little snaggletooth out” as the couple smiles and holds her.
“I’m so glad she captured that because that’s what the day was about. It was about family and being with the people and the beings that we love,” Britt said.
Barral has captured newlyweds’ or newly engaged queer couples’ celebrations of love at iconic locations across the city, from engagement photos at piers and beaches to unconventional wedding parties at converted churches.
No matter where they are, Barral helps couples stay “grounded at the moment,” captures small details and obtains authentic and intimate photos that reflect their love, she said.
In the fall, Emily Widra and soon-to-be wife Alexa Kuenstler got their photos taken at Montrose Beach to celebrate their engagement ahead of a City Hall wedding.
The two knew they would not have a big ceremony, but Widra wanted to have memories of this special time along with their rescue 12-year-old dog, Dante. Barral’s Instagram showed she was queer-friendly and experienced with dogs, things that were important to the couple.
During the photo shoot, Barral helped the couple overcome feeling “a little awkward” in front of the camera by prompting them to walk around the beach and chat, Widra said. She was also “in tune” with Dante and caught “great candid moments that didn’t require any poses,” Widra said.
“I really love being a little bit of a fly on the wall, letting people interact with as little interruption or as little input from me as possible,” Barral said.
As Barral continues to photograph and celebrate all kinds of love, she wants to continue to create a safe space for queer couples within the wedding industry. She frequently uses photography to promote queer-owned and -operated venues on her social media and website.
“A lot of queer couples are interested in hiring as many queer vendors as possible to support the community, knowing that the underlying understanding of queerness helps immensely in creating a safe space,” she said.
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