My husband and I used Shoots and Sounds for our wedding-- and the experience was great! From our…read moreinitial meeting to even after the wedding, Anthony and Gina have been nothing but wonderful! When we met them both, we immediately knew we wanted them to do our wedding. It was the combo deal that did us in. We were getting all the photos that I could possibly want plus the choice of fun and music for the wedding and reception. We loved all of the ideas and they definitely understood and loved all of ours. This was very important to us because we knew that Anthony would be controlling the flow of the entire night. Also important that Gina get the fun photos and quick and painless family photos that we wanted. We had multiple meetings and much communication back and forth til we were satisfied of what we wanted. Anthony and Gina really did most of the work with just a little guidance from us. Even in emails I received from prior to the wedding, they were just as excited for our wedding as we were- which I loved. I also loved that we could go online and select the music prior to the event at our leisure plus veto also music ahead of times. Gina ran the camera and got in the most important pictures that I was looking for. There's not much that I can say about the actual wedding day besides that it was absolutely amazing and perfect! Cant say enough how smooth everything went from family photos to the fun of the reception. The music, the lights, everything! I would recommend using Shoots and Sounds for any event! :)

They were wonderful at our wedding, did a GREAT job, always willing and open to try out our ideas,…read morehelpful in offering suggestions, and professional in the way they carried it out. Would 100% recommend, and 5 stars do not seem to be enough.

Awesome work! Quick response! Great customer service! Friendly and flexible with scheduling! Two…read morethumbs UP Thank you!

I would like to offer a fresh perspective compared to the 2 previous review. Mr. Cobb took football…read morepictures for one of the largest school districts in IA. The "professional" pictures were out of focus, shadowed and he thought to use a creek with tall grass as a backdrop (Very Olan Mills circa 1980). When questioned about these pictures he said they were fine and that an umbrella light caused the shadows. He also had no objections to the terrible backdrop. Groups of parents contacted him and he was unapologetic and unwilling to make any sort of amends. We as parents were not looking for freebies just a retake. Mr. Cobb should not be used for any photography. Very dissatisfied and disappointed.

This experience was top notch! She had many great ideas and…read morelocations to share; she was kind and very pleasant to work with. I noticed that was one poor review, obvious this is a person with malice intent. I can't fathom someone disliking her as a person or her skills. I will definitely refer my friends/family to this photographer any change I get. She worked well with my ornery son; she was very patient and empathic. When I left the session I felt as though I had gained a friend. :)

I chose to work with Barber Photography for my headshot photos for work. They really took the time…read moreto understand what I was wanting and how I wanted my image to be professionally. The photos turned out great and put me above the competition. I will definitely tell my friends and family about how great Barber Photography was to work with.

Chelsea is an amazing photographer! She's a small businesswoman, and she owns this business…read moreherself, so it really makes me happy to support someone who's just following their passion. The session was super easy to book, and though we had to reschedule a couple times due to awful Iowa weather, we ended up finding a great date that worked for both of us. The session itself was awesome. She allows unlimited outfit changes and whatnot as long as you stay within the time limit boundaries (about 2 hours, but you may end up finishing early purely because you want to. It's difficult to model for 2 hours straight!) She does natural light photography, so you can pick anywhere in the Ames or Des Moines-ish area, and you'll be doing your photos outside. She's really friendly and makes it easy to relax. She's very laid-back, and I found myself laughing quite a bit. At the same time, she knows exactly how to pose you, so she'll politely suggest minor changes like tilting your head or body to make sure that you look as awesome as possible in your final photos. She's great about experimenting with locations and backgrounds, and honestly, some of the great locations she picked ended up making the photos I had look even more fantastic! I was hoping for an urban look, so we did some photos around main street, but she also suggested a nearby forest-y park, and I love the photos that turned out there too. After the session (you can pay a deposit or the full amount after your shoot with either cash or check), you'll wait for her to finish editing the photos. For me, it took about a week which is an insanely fast turnaround. She then lets you know that the photos are done, and she'll uploaded all of your photos to a CD for you. This CD includes a copyright release that lets you print and copy the photos to your heart's content, so you make a canvas print or whatever! The amazing thing? Her prices are fantastic! She really seems to do this because she has a passion for photography, so her prices are extremely fair and reasonable and something that most people can afford. She particularly seems to love photographing pets, so she offers discounts on sessions involving pets. Final thoughts: Amazing photographer with really fair prices. My shoot was so relaxing, and as this is the 5th or 6th photographer I've tried, I can fairly say that she was the best at directing and getting great poses. The only downside is that she doesn't have her own studio, so all shots are going to be done outside, but you can get some pretty amazing outdoor shots done, so that's not much of a downside. I'll definitely be a return customer. (And she even offers a discount for return customers!)

For those that don't know what boudoir photography is, it's more sensual-type of photography…read more Usually women are the ones who are photographed, and they can give it to their partners/husbands/etc. as a sexy present. Boudoir photography can be done in lingerie or in various states of undress. Black Dress Boudoir is the only company that does boudoir photography in town - and in this part of Iowa, even - as far as I'm aware. It's a husband and wife team, but for my sessions, I've only ever dealt with the wife. She's extremely nice, and you're going to be surprised by how comfortable you're going to feel. It might feel a bit awkward at first, but she's super friendly and nice, and you'll quickly feel like you're just wearing regular clothes. You'll first book the session via the phone or e-mail. She'll explain how to find the place, what to expect, how the session will go. The studio itself is inside another event center for privacy, and the outside of the building does NOT have any signage for Black Dress Boudoir. The photographer will explain where it is and give you any help in case of issues. Bring your lingerie, outfits, shoes, make-up, hair brush, or anything. Their interior dressing room is absolutely amazing. It has a Hollywood Glamour type of look, and it's really clean and sexy-looking. The photographer will help you choose and discuss your outfits once you get there, and she'll give you full privacy to get dressed. Again, the room is absolutely stunning, and you'll feel like a model just getting ready for your shoot. Once you're actually shooting, there are a ton of props, lighting, and other things. The photographer is fantastic as posing, and she'll give you clear, basic instructions to make sure your images look fantastic. Of course, I was treated with respect and there were no issues. Again, the props and items were really clean. The floor was a bit dirty, and it showed on my bare feet afterwards, but that's to be expected with cement. A week or two later, you'll come back into the studio to view your images. Your partner can come with, and you'll look through the images and, through the process of elimination, come up with the images you want to keep. Her system makes this very simple. Once you have the images you want, you can order various products. You can order prints, high-quality (and I mean HIGH quality!) photo albums, calendars, digital prints on the CD, and more. There are examples of what products look like on the table, and you can feel and see what you'll be getting before you get it. It'll then take a couple weeks to receive the items, and you can either pick them up in-studio or have them mailed to your address. My photos came out great. I was only planning on originally getting 10 photos done, but I ended up falling in love with too many, so I ended up getting 20 different photos - so yeah, I ended up loving quite a few of them. Initially, I had over 140 to choose from, so it's definitely going to have quite a few options from your session. (As a note, because of privacy concerns, I asked the company before posting any of the photos I posted. None of the review itself has been edited or looked through, but because of people's privacy expectations, I wanted to make sure the photos didn't include anything personal.) Final thoughts: Fantastic place to get photos done. The photographer makes you feel super comfortable, and while it's a bit more expensive than I'd like, I totally think it's worth it. The resulting images are fantastic, I had a good time, and it was just generally, all-around a great experience.

Maggie responded immediately when I contacted her. I needed some professional pictures for a Hall…read moreof Fame event. Maggie did an outstanding job, not only with the color and contrast of the pictures, but also making me feel comfortable and natural while she worked. Thank you so much, Maggie

Maggie is such an amazing photographer and wonderful to work with! She is also such an amazing…read moreperson! She really makes the experience memorable!! I first hired her to do some family photos as a birthday gift to my mom and now I have her booked for my maternity photos, new born photos, and a milestone photo package (3, 6, 9 months, and 1 year) for our soon to be little one! She also did a surprise session for my "Little sister" who is our family's exchange student from the Ukraine before she went home and the photos are stunning!!! Our family photos have come out beautifully as well! I can't wait to get more pictures from her! She is super creative and gets some amazing candid photos as well as beautiful posed photos. Her prices are super reasonable for all that you get! I'm so happy to have found a great photographer in the area who is such a joy to work with!!! She is such a kind person and really adds your personality into the photos!

I Met Natalie at Adventureland (7/31/25) and was very impressed with her skill. Natalie is so…read morepersonable, friendly and makes sitting for a drawing a fun experience. She created a caricature of my daughter and myself that will always be treasured and a reminder of a fun visit to the park. Thank you Natalie , you are special. John K.