DIXON – A couple’s wedding is one of the most unforgettable days of their life, and an Amboy photographer wants to help them keep it that way.

Callie Shrimplin is the person behind the lens who specializes in putting clients’ weddings front and center, by preserving the moments and memories of a day when all eyes — including Shrimplin’s — are on the happy couple.

Shrimplin owns Callie Jo Photo and Film in Dixon, taking her cameras to weddings to document moments big and small, unexpected and candid, real and relatable.

More than just a profession, it’s a passion for Shrimplin, who’s a big believer that just because we live in a day when photos are a tap away on everyone’s cell phone, we shouldn’t lose focus on what photos have to say. Taking a picture is one thing, but telling a story? That’s where experience makes a difference.

Her work isn’t just about documenting who was there or what happened, but about recognizing the emotion in small gestures and the fleeting expressions that often go unseen. There’s a lot going on during a wedding. Hundreds of guests, thousands of moments and a million things to remember — and no two moments are the same. Details can make the difference.

“Photographers are a huge part of your wedding day, and it’s really the only thing that you have that you’re able to walk away from your wedding day with you besides your memories,” Shrimplin said. “Your DJ, food and decorations, all that’s gone, but photos and video are the things that you can take and re-look at 20 years down the road.”

She rebranded her business from its former name of Callie Jo Photography in early December — to Callie Jo Photo and Film — to reflect her a foray into video, and she moved her studio from rural Amboy to Dixon’s downtown at the start of the year.

That swift, hectic and happy emotional rhythm of a wedding day is what Shrimplin leans into. Her role, she says, is less about standing still and more about anticipating movement; it’s about reading a room, keeping her eyes open, watching for shifting expressions, and creating photos that speak volumes, in the language of love.

“My eyes are always moving,” Shrimplin said. “I’m always looking at the crowd, and I’m always looking at the couple. You never know on a wedding day when moments are going to happen. There’s surprises left and right, there’s emotions left and right. As a photographer, you really have to keep your eyes moving and be aware of your surroundings.”

That instinct leads her to seek out the unscripted moments during the event, whether it’s a grandparent wiping away tears of joy or a couple catching their breath between events. The trick to getting a good photo? Know when to step up and when to stand back.

She prefers to stay far enough away to preserve the honesty of the moment.

“You’re not going to get that candid moment if the person knows you’re near them,” Shrimplin said. “You have to look at them at a distance and catch them off-guard. Normally when guests see you with a camera, they stop and they pose, and you’re not going to get candid photos when they do that. Posed photos are great for reception photos, but you can really only have so many of those.”

“I love the storytelling of a wedding day,” she said. “Every wedding is different. Every couple is different. There are no two days that ever feel the same. I love watching the couples’ personalities unfold throughout the day. I love the creative part of it. I try to create something that they can look back on and it tells the story of their day picture by picture, from beginning to end. They freeze moments that you’ll never forget.”

Shrimplin is not only capturing a new chapter in couples’ lives, but also writing a new chapter in her own. She plans to scale back from her full-time job at Ortho Illinois in Rockford to do more media work. She also hopes her photography work will reach new heights in the coming year: The video adds another layer and more texture to what she does.

“With video, it’s great to hear that laughter come back to life, see the movement and relive the emotion,” she said. “I used to second-shoot a lot, and I’ve found there are a lot of fine photographers around the area, so my mindset is that if they choose someone else as their photographer, I’m still not out of the game and can still be booked as a videographer. I feel that video is something that people overlook, but the No. 1 thing I hear from past brides and grooms that have not had a videographer is that, ‘Man, I wish I really had a videographer.’

“It’s something that brings those moments back to life. When you look at a photo, you try to think of that moment and try to relive it, but video brings it back to life. You can relive that emotion.”

Her clients often stay with her even long after the wedding. They return for maternity sessions, newborn portraits, milestone photos and first-home celebrations. Some even plan their wedding date around her availability. And as her workload grows, so has the space she works from, with her move to downtown Dixon.

The path to this point in her career began long before Shrimplin photographed her first wedding. She started shooting photos during her sophomore year at Ashton-Franklin Center High School, entering 4-H photo contests and experimenting with anyone willing to stand in front of her lens.

Her sister Emily became her first model.

“It was my sister’s senior year and my sophomore year, and I asked her: ‘Can I take your senior picture?’ She said, ‘Yeah, sure,’ and she was my model,” Shrimplin said. “At first I was just doing free shoots or super cheap ones with my sister as a model, and then I started doing seniors for my class, the year above me, and a lot from Amboy and families around the area.”

By her senior year, she was second-shooting weddings, and it was during that fledgling photo profession that she began to really enjoy weddings.

“It just kind of clicked for me,” Shrimplin said. “There was something about the wedding day and the storytelling, the emotions, the fast-paced environment that I just really fell in love with.”

She launched Callie Jo Photography in 2018 but paused her momentum during college while studying for a healthcare career. She didn’t think she could make a career out of photography then, she said, but then she started to pick up the camera again, and her love for photography grew even more.

“Eventually at the end of 2024, I wanted 2025 to be the year to put photography as my focus, and push healthcare to the side,” Shrimplin said. “It was a year of rebuilding and regrowing. It was my first year back into everything, and it’s been nothing short of amazing.”

She shot seven weddings in 2025 and has roughly 25 scheduled for 2026, including some video-only dates, with a few weddings already on the books for 2027.

Shrimplin says the past year has been transformative, not only in professionally but personally. Weddings have helped her see what she can build in her business and who she can become as a person. The loyalty of returning customers has given her the reassurance she once lacked. Now, with video expanding her offerings and couples increasingly planning their dates with her in mind, she feels the shift from part-time passion to full-time profession unfolding naturally — a change she once doubted she could ever make.

“Photography’s going to be my full-time thing,” Shrimplin said. “I just feel like the camera landed in my hands and I never really let go. Photography’s always been in my back brain, but I felt like I could never make a career out of it; last year really told me that I can, and I’m super excited to make it my full-time career and really get out there because weddings are what I really love doing.”

Callie Jo Photo and Film’s studio is located at 93 S. Hennepin Ave. in Dixon. Find it on Facebook or Instagram, or email calliejophotographyy@gmail.com for booking or more information.