Thanks Darryn! Good seeing you again man. We worked with Darryn St John before, so when it came time to for our son's Bar Mitzvah, we knew exactly who to call--and he delivered just as expected, and with a fun attitude throughout. Darryn arrived early and stayed late, capturing every important moment and all the candid memories in between. He was professional with the older folks, attentive to the kids, and made everyone feel comfortable in front of the camera, which really comes through in the photos. I especially appreciated how the edits made me look my best without ever feeling overly touched-up or fake. The whole process was seamless from start to finish, and he made what was a fun but stressful experience easy and genuinely enjoyable for our family. On top of everything, his pricing was reasonable for the high quality of work we received. We truly can't think of a single thing we'd change about our experience. We'd absolutely hire Darryn again in a heartbeat and wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to anyone looking for a talented, reliable photographer. read more

I got married in 2019 with Darryn as my photographer. He was absolutely phenomenal. Every single one of my wedding pictures is gorgeous and he did my engagement shoot as well. He was professional and very quick to get our album back to us. We got our photos back before we even got back from our 8 day honeymoon. read more

We very much enjoyed working with Darryn at our July 13/July 14, 2018 rehearsal dinner at Brockton Villa/wedding at the La Jolla Woman's Club. We had him spend an hour getting family photos at our rehearsal dinner, then he arrived about 1.5 hours prior to the wedding ceremony to get "getting ready" photos and beach photos with the bridal party/family, along with his awesome assistant, Monica. He also provided an open photo booth for 3 hours, along with all the props, and an attendant. Based on the feedback we got from the bridal party and our families, as well as our own observations, Darryn was professional from the start and did a really good job of keeping us moving throughout those whirlwind two days. He is very decisive and commanding, which is incredibly helpful when you have a bridal party 20 people deep to corral, and with the added pressure that you have to be taking usable pictures of all of those people, many of whom have already started drinking. Darryn obviously knows what he is doing, because we just got our photos back, and my husband and I were struck by how happy, relaxed, and madly in love we look in every single photo, surrounded in this spectacular garden oasis in the middle of La Jolla, by some of our most favorite people in the world. He really knows how to play off the light too, because we have some of the most stunning photos I've ever seen of my husband and me on the cliffs, and under this gorgeous tree at LJWC, a number of which are in shadow. We didn't see a single cheesy photo and the candids during the ceremony and reception showed us a whole side of the event that we didn't get to see. We're just so happy that he and Monica were there, ready, willing, and able to catch all these wonderful moments that we can now print and frame, so we can look at them every day and spend a few seconds reliving what was one of the happiest, most perfect days of our lives. read more

Thought a lot about what to say in this review for a very long while. Darryn is arrogant, self centered, rude, in addition to lacking talent. Look at the pictures on his Google reviews and let them speak for themselves. Your drunk aunt Debbie could do a better job as long as you give her an iPhone 12 and use any of the free editing software available now days. It's almost like he just YouTube'd "how to be a photographer" and thinks he's an expert now. Save your money and instead buy a bottle and an iPhone 12 and leave it to aunt Debbie... read more

We have recently engaged Darryn to take photos for our business. After having used several different photographers over the years, we knew what we didn't want. In came Darryn. Everyone knows what a good picture looks like, but few people can actually explain to you why it looks good. More importantly, few can reproduce quality photographs. Darryn Consistently produces quality photos of our product in a timely and professional manner. I see a lot of unhappy wedding posts about his service. One wonders about the expectations of the people involved because we have always gotten exactly what we asked for. Anyway, consider this a recommendation for Darryn St John Photography. -Henry read more

We have fantastic pictures! My husband-to-be and I met Darryn at a vendor mixer put on by our venue, and liked his low-key personality and his sample books. We ended up contracting with him for both our engagement pics and wedding day. The engagement pics were taken in downtown San Diego and Coronado; we were very pleased with the results. On the big day, our wedding party was made up of our five blended children (aged 16-23) and he did a good job directing them what to do and where to go with humor. My 6'4 step-son was nicknamed "giraffe" for instance. Darryn handled the rest of the family shots efficiently and professionally. With us, he worked hard to get the most artistic shots in the best lighting with lots of creativity. His fees were reasonable compared to other photographers I'd shopped, and we received our proofs quickly. I wouldn't hesitate to use him again. In fact, we hired Darryn's wife Lara to handle our day-of coordination and flowers. Lara has a background in hospitality event planning and she was wonderful as well, going above and beyond what we expected. We seriously had the perfect wedding day. I've already recommended them both to several people I knew were getting married. Pro tip: think about what family photo combinations you want in advance. In the moment, my brain was mush and a few I would have liked were overlooked. read more

My family and I booked a portrait appointment with Darryn Mid-December. It was such an amazing day, and we decided to do the session at Balboa Park. He was very cordial, relaxed, and we had a great session. We had our two children (8 and 6), and he was so cool with them, really had patience and a way of getting them to smile. He had a great email link that allowed us to see all of the beautiful pictures (more than 100 at least), and overall had a wonderful experience. We would go back to him in a flash, maybe in a few years! read more

Booked a photo both for wedding 8/2012. It was a hit! It was an open one where you could take group pictures in. The props were awesome. I really have to thank the person who worked our wedding (sorry I don't remember your name) Our wedding guest blew up the wedding booth. It was non stop from the time it opened until out 3 hours was up. She was amazing handling the volume and always had a smile on her face. I was against spending the money at first. But my wife was right it was well worth the money spent. read more

Darryn St. John captured the natural beauty and unique surroundings of Quail Haven Farm in the photographs of us at our wedding reception. Darryn is very creative and took advantage of the blooming wisteria, which he knew would add so much to our photographs. He also selectively changed the focus of the backgrounds as we moved around the farm. Darryn was efficient and made sure we were able to get photos of family and friends before the festivities got under way. He also took time to capture those photos that aren't planned - the grandchildren dancing with the bride, friends and family celebrating and more. Darryn was pleasant to work with and we enjoyed our time with him. We received an email link within a couple days so we were able to view and share our beautiful photos with family that were still in town. We would definitely work with Darryn again. read more

Darryn and his assistant did a fantastic job photographing our wedding. We just received the photos earlier this week and I am blown away by their quality! Colors are sharp and the images are captured from the perfect angle. They both definitely have an eye for detail and the touches are done really well. One thing I was really pleased with was how efficient Darryn was--he knew the names of family members and the group portraits we wanted (I had sent him a list) so he was able to call out names for the next picture and everything went quickly. My husband and I were even able to join the last few minutes of the cocktail hour! I've been to weddings where the cocktail "hour" goes for an hour and a half or even two, so I was really glad that didn't happen with ours! At the end of the night we did try to do those sparkler photos where you spell out LOVE and they didn't really work out; he had warned us they might not look great and they didn't but honestly I don't really mind. The rest of the photos were amazing! We are so happy to have such a great way to remember our beautiful wedding! read more

it's a shame there aren't negative stars! my daughter won a free photoshoot from this guy from her school, and after leaving a msg. he responded that he doesn't give out gift certificates. well then what am i holding with your name and number on it? i asked about unique locations around the county and he had zero ideas. aren't you the "professional?" multiple texts exchanged and many without response from darryn. after finally getting a date i cancelled due to comiccon and we didn't want people in our family pictures. more texts from me unanswered and i finally told him to go play in traffic cause his customer service sucks! he tried to blame it all on me cause i cancelled. bottom line. hire someone who answers you and knows how to interact with other people. read more

I never write poor reviews, but I have been thinking about this for a while. Darryn was very nice to work with, but I was disappointed after receiving the photos. Very important pictures were lost and I felt as though he was not sympathetic. I was very upset by how he handled the situation. Wedding memories cannot be recreated. read more

I had pictures taken for my college graduation with Darryn yesterday in Balboa Park and could not be any happier! I have to admit, I was a little nervous getting professional pictures taken, but he made me feel very comfortable and was very professional. While we took standard graduation pictures, he also is very creative with backgrounds and poses; they are unique and unlike any others I have seen online or that my friends have taken. I had shopped around for photographers before settling on Darryn and have to say his pricing is phenomenal! I absolutely cannot wait until I see the shots later this week but regardless, I am sure they will turn out beautifully. I will definitely recommend Darryn to anyone needing pictures for any occasion and keep him in mind to document future milestones! read more

I booked Darryn for my wedding back in January and he was amazing! He was very polite and professional during the entire process with the family photos. Our entire wedding party is a handful and likes to have fun and he just went along with it. I got a perfect mix of breathtaking timeless photos along with photos that show our personalities. To me the photos you get from you're wedding were my number 1 priority since it is all I will have to remember the most important day of my life and I couldn't be happier. I would highly recommend Darryn to every bride, take a look at his website and his work speaks for itself and the prices were reasonable as well. read more

After a lot of thought I decided to write this review. I am the mother of the groom, who was married August 2014, and was very disappointed with the pictures. I asked (twice) if I could give Darryn a list of photos I would like taken. I was told that he didn't need a list, that he knew what he was doing. Well...missing pictures were grandparents, minister (a personal family friend), and groom's sibling. There was also a lack of reception pictures. Additionally, there were not any pictures of the bride and groom with aunts, uncles, and cousins. Overall, the family was extremely disappointed with the photos. read more

Hired Darryn St. John for a wedding photobooth 9/8/12 and it was SUCH a hit!! My guests haven't stopped raving about what fun it was! I've been to several weddings that have a photobooth and most are the automated kind that just one or two people can get into and you have limited time with your picture. This booth was so different and such a great change from the standard kind. It's a fully open area so a large group of people can fit in and there is an actual photographer taking your picture! It's incredible! The photographer was so helpful and instructed people when the shot wasn't right and gave all the pictures that extra touch. The props that were provided were great and my guests seriously could not get enough of it. On top of it all, the set up and take down was done so well and discreetly that they did not disrupt a thing. It was great. I would highly recommend using this company! read more

Truly amazing! Darryn did an awesome job! We have used him for our engagement party, engagement pictures and just recently he did our wedding! He is very professional and creative! My husband and I absolutely loved how the pictures turned out! He takes his time and does a great job at capturing all the details of the party and what mattered most to us. Looking thru the pictures I can honestly say he did not miss a thing!! He was also very timely. We got married on August 15 and by September 1st we already had the images available to us online. He came highly recommended to us and we were very pleased. read more

Darryn St. John Photography is the best! I had family pictures done by them about a year ago and when I graduated from college I knew just who to call! They captured the most unique photos and they turned out fantastic. He was very quick to get back with uploads and edits and is a very personable photographer. Gives you what you want, where you want it and in a very quick manner! These photos were for memories that last a lifetime and I am happy that Darryn St. John captured them perfectly! Definitely recommend for weddings and all occasions. A couple of my friends have used them in their weddings and the pictures turned out amazing! The quality of their work is one of a kind and the pictures came out looking breathtaking (lighting, environment and scenery). Definitely a must use photographer! read more

Last year, a friend gave me a gift certificate for a portrait session with Darryn St. John Photography. I booked a session with Darryn for a family portrait in Balboa Park. I wasn't sure what to expect but it turned out to be an incredible experience. He made us feel very comfortable and liked to joke with my kids. He used the most creative backgrounds and poses, and he must have taken at least a couple hundred shots. During the session he would show us a preview of the shots and explain some of his techniques. We were so impressed with how they all turned out that we purchased them all. When my daughter needed senior portraits this year, it was a no-brainer who was going to take them. Last Sunday we met Darryn at his studio in Old Town for a half-session, and then walked over to the park for another half-session. We are anxiously waiting to view them online this week. Darryn is a true artist behind the camera and will continue to use him for all of our professional photography needs in the future. read more