There aren't enough words of praise in the English language for Shaun of Top Shelf Photo! We were…read morelucky enough to find him on Yelp for our engagement photos, and in mid-November of 2024 he braved the chill of Palomar Mountain to take spectacular photos of us. Nonstop compliments from friends and family, and received much quicker than anticipated. Once we got into wedding planning, Shaun was the obvious choice for our photography needs. Along with his second shooter Jess (Jessica Christie Photography), he again knocked it out of the park. Couldn't have asked for more perfect photos. On a more personal note, Shaun is the above-and-beyond type of person to take the absolute best shots possible. Like, fixing the boutonniere on my suit himself for the exact right angle, or gently shoo'ing away stinkbugs while helping my wife to re-tie her wedding shoes type of person. His passion and dedication for his craft are inspiring, and I guarantee if you don't love being in photos as a general rule (like myself) he will absolutely put you at ease and make it look like you've been modeling all your life. Thank you for everything Shaun, from the bottom of our hearts.

Top Shelf was truly top shelf. We used them two separate years for family photos. Loved it.read more

Jessica is absolutely amazing! She took pictures for our maternity session as well as our newborn…read moreson. A year later, she took our family's pictures for our son's one year birthday (cake smash) as well as for the holiday cards. She has a studio at her home with plenty of snacks while you do your sessions. It's also heated for those chillier winter months. The props she has are amazing and add a lovely style to her photos. She has a natural talent for finding perfect poses and the experience to get great angles. She also does locations other than her studio for photo shoots. For our maternity pictures we were at the beach and for our family pics we went to a hiking trail. She's able to taylor yo meet your needs. Her turnover to get pictures back to you is always quicker than she stated which is so lovely (especially when you want to get out holiday cards!) I highly recommend Jessica for her stellar services! You won't be disappointed! Loop

My husband and I had the pleasure of working with Jessica to capture photos of us with our 18 month…read moreold son. The photos turned out beautifully! We were quite nervous, as our son isn't exactly always cooperative, but Jessica wasn't frazzled in the least, and just totally put our minds at ease. Even though it seemed like our son cried for most of the shoot (toddlers!), Jessica promised she got tons of great shots of him smiling, and she DID! We were so pleasantly surprised when we saw the photos, ha! Jessica was fantastic to work with from the very beginning, offering lots of help with wardrobe choices, location choices, etc. We couldn't be happier with the outcome of our photoshoot and can't wait to hire Jessica again for more photos :) Thank you, Jessica!!!!

Where do we even begin?! Choosing Sarah Williams as our wedding photographer was one of the best…read moredecisions we made. From the start, her energy completely won us over--she's warm, friendly, relaxed, and just so easy to be around. She brought such a calm, joyful presence to both our engagement shoot and our wedding day, making us feel totally at ease in front of the camera. Sarah is incredibly creative, coming to our shoots full of fresh ideas and poses while still staying flexible and open to the moment. On our wedding day, she was everywhere--getting shots from inside the ceremony, through the windows, and even from the balcony above. Her work ethic is amazing, and it really shows in the photos. And the photos... we LOVE them. Truly. So many of our friends and family have told us they're some of the best wedding photos they've ever seen. Sarah managed to capture us--our personalities, our love, the emotion and joy of the day--in a way that feels natural and totally unforced. We're endlessly grateful to her for giving us these beautiful memories. Cannot recommend her enough!

Sarah is absolutely amazing! She captured my 1950's Hollywood glamour elopement vision perfectly,…read morehonestly better than I could have ever hoped for!! From start to finish, she made the entire photoshoot so much fun & truly memorable. She has such a great eye for detail, knows how to make you feel comfortable in front of the camera, and brings so much positive energy to the experience! If you're looking for a photographer who is not only incredibly talented but also a joy to work with, I highly recommend Sarah. I couldn't be happier with my photos and will cherish them forever! thank you!!

I thought I'd show up, get my pictures taken, that's it…read more That wasn't it AT ALL. The "journey" Carrie Anne set me on leading up to the actual boudoir session was arguably a bigger part of the photo shoot for me. ;) Carrie had a time line of to-do's for me, websites for garments I might want to buy, soooo much I wasn't expecting. And on the way, I found a new comfort with myself. By the time I got to Carrie Anne's for the photography... I was ready for this! I brought extra outfits and accessories and Carrie Anne helped me dial it in for an unforgettable experience. It's been about 3 years since my session and I still recall it like yesterday. I am close to 60 and have never felt so good about myself - not in a vain way. I was absolutely comfortable with me. Carrie Anne has a beautiful way about her. She'll set you at ease, and make this moment an unforgettable and personal experience. DO IT - you'll be happy you did. (Thank you, Carrie Anne!)

Carrie Anne is an absolute gem…read more I had wanted to do a boudoir shoot for years but kept putting it off because I was nervous. She made the entire experience feel so safe, fun, and empowering. From the moment you book, she listens to what you want and guides you every step of the way. And during the shoot? Her posing direction is everything. You never feel awkward. She is insanely talented. Even the unedited photos are unreal. Honestly, the hardest part is narrowing down your favorites because you will want them all. If you are even thinking about booking, just do it. Trust.

Amie was amazing! She was so patient and comfortable with our family for family photos. My little…read moreone was beyond wild and Amie just went with the flow and still managed to get great shots! We loved the location we shot at. Amie has a great eye and I love the mood of her pics and editing. Highly recommend Amie for photography- she is so talented. Will be using her every year for family

We had the best time working with Amie for our maternity photoshoot! I usually hate being in front…read moreof a camera, but Amie has the best personality to make you feel comfortable and natural throughout the photoshoot. She is very personable and easy to work with. After seeing just a few sneak peeks so far, we are even more excited to see the whole album! They turned out exactly how we envisioned. Booking with Amie was extremely easy as well. Her response time was quick and she was very helpful in preparing us for what to expect. We asked her for recommendations on where to shoot and she was very knowledgable about the area and type of setting we were interested in. We genuinely are happy with our experience working with Amie and will be back for more photos in the future with our little one!

Heather was so gracious to accommodate a reschedule of our photo shoot when we managed to get…read moredelayed by LA traffic on our way to the shoot location! We're not from the area, and we didn't expect to be stuck in traffic for 2.5 hours longer than we had planned. :( But like I said, she was sooo gracious in offering up her personal time to do our photo shoot the next morning, and the pictures are amazing. Love how she captures the light in the photos, and she was great at putting all of us (me, husband, and our two boys - 7yo and 4.5yo) at ease. Would highly recommend her for families in the Oceanside/Carlsbad area or anyone passing through, but I would not recommend trying to book with her on a travel day. :D Give yourself extra, extra time to get through that LA traffic!

My husband and I booked Vallentyne Photography for our anniversary coming up. We wanted to do…read morepictures on the beach. Let me just say that Heather the owner and photographer answer all my questions, made the process so simple, and the turn around time for the photos was quicker then I thought it would. The photos below my husband and I away. We loved every single photo and will cherish the photos for years to come. She did an amazing job capture our love. I highly recommend her you will not be disappointed and she is so professional and down to earth. My husband and I will definitely book with her again. Thank you again for making it so hard to pick a favorite photo. I mean look at how breathing taken the photos are.

Sarah does amazing work!! She has done my boys mini sessions and we just did a full photoshoot. ALL…read morehave been great. It is hard work capturing a good picture of 3 wild boys with their mama, but she did it! My only problem now is selecting just a few out of the tons she took. She was flexible with my busy ever changing schedule, made us all feel comfortable while shooting, and patient while my boys struggled to cooperate while shooting. She is I highly recommend her, she is a true professional and I already cant wait to book her again!

Sarah is AMAZING!!!!! She is not only an incredible person, but also one crazy talented…read morephotographer. Her work is so creative and unique and I would highly recommend her for lifes most precious memories. You will not be dissapointed! Hands down THE BEST!!!!

Olga is so amazing!!! Don't look anywhere else for a photographer! Her way with children is…read moreexceptional and she will leave you with the most beautiful treasured photos ever!

Olga does an amazing job photographing our family ever year! My boys are young and restless (and 2…read moreand 5), and she somehow works her magic to capture their smiles. We are so thankful for her talent!

Ryan is basically a magician!!! Our photos came out not only beautiful but also full of life and…read morejoy. Going through all the photos made me teary-eyed, laugh, and immediately wonder if it'd be weird to use our wedding photos as bedroom wallpaper (my s/o convinced me this was a no-go, haha!). Ryan is not only obviously an incredible photographer, but he's ridiculously fun to work with. Hours before our ceremony, we needed to change venues which I worried would ruin the day. Despite the haze of anxiety and panic, Ryan had us all laughing and feeling present and excited! He's fun and knows exactly what he's doing, which made everyone feel at ease. I'm notoriously awkward in photos, but with Ryan, I just felt comfortable and ridiculously stoked! Okay, one last thing about why you definitely need to book Ryan is he's extremely fast! We weren't expecting our photos until at least a month after the ceremony, but somehow two nights later I got a very happy surprise that they were done (like I said, he's a magician)! I feel so grateful that we had such an amazing photographer capture our special day and will forever use Ryan for any other special events!

OH MY GOD. STOP READING THESE REVIEWS. Your search is over and just book Ryan already!…read more I was initially drawn to his style because he can capture "in the moment" shots. The small looks and giggles between the staged shots. He was able to capture all of that. One of my favorite things about my photos was that he was able to capture my guests' genuine reactions during the wedding. He truly can rock the momemt. So talented! He knows how to pose people in small, medium, and large groups. He'll remind guests if they need to button any jackets to get that great shot. He knows how to incorporate the background so he isn't just taking pictures of people but really the entire environment. There is great balance in the photos. He was extremely flexible the day of. We had minor schedule changes and he just went with the flow. I am SOOOO grateful he was able to photograph our big day. THANK YOU RYAN!!