Meet Al Buschauer: Fine Art Portrait Photographer in Barrington, IL
Photography has been the language I’ve used to understand the world for most of my adult life.
Based in Barrington, IL, I’m the photographer, digital artist, and fine art printmaker behind Buschauer Portraits — and I’m actively involved in every part of what happens here, from the initial consultation to the finished portrait on your wall. This isn’t a volume studio with rotating staff. When you work with me, you work with me.
The Work
If accolades matter to you, I’ll humbly mention that I’ve had a fair amount of success over the years. I’ve won awards locally, regionally, and nationally. My work has been on public display at Florida’s EPCOT Center, and I’ve had images selected for the Photography Hall of Fame. I’ve also spent years teaching other professional photographers on the lecture circuit across the United States — something I find deeply rewarding. There’s nothing quite like watching a student hit one of those “ah-ha” moments.
But the accolades aren’t what drive me. What drives me is the portrait that makes a client say, “That’s exactly who I am.” That’s the one I’m always chasing.
Beyond the Studio
When I’m not behind the camera, you’ll probably find me somewhere in the woods with my dog Zoey, working through a book I’ve been meaning to finish, or sitting down with a guitar and playing songs I’ve loved for years.
In 2020 I started a greeting card company — because I still believe there’s something irreplaceable about finding a card in your mailbox from someone who thought of you. Old-fashioned? Maybe. Worth doing? Absolutely.
For the past year or so I’ve been working on something that might become a book — a collection of interviews and portraits built around the subject of gratitude. Gratitude is one of the most powerful forces I’ve encountered in my life, and I love asking other people how it has shaped theirs. When will it be published? Honestly, when it’s done.
The World Outside Barrington
Seeing life in developing countries changed me in ways I’m still processing.
My first trip to Africa was a mission trip with Hands of Hope in 2006. I returned in 2007 with a group from Willow Creek Community Church. In 2016 I traveled to Haiti, where I experienced in the same week both stunning beauty and genuine devastation — the kind of juxtaposition you can’t fully understand until you’re standing in it. You don’t get that from reading about it or watching the news.
These experiences are part of who I am, and they’re woven into how I approach every portrait I make. When you’ve seen what really matters, you bring a different kind of attention to the work.
The best way to understand what I do is to see it.