I had the most wonderful experience with Emily as my wedding (and engagement photos) photographer, and I wholeheartedly recommend her to others! I found her work online, and I was initially drawn to her photography website for her ability to capture candid moments, beautiful scenery and architecture, as well as lovely portraits. During my first call with Emily, I was immediately impressed by her natural professionalism coupled with her warm personality, which instantly made me feel comfortable - as if we'd been lifelong friends! I think Emily's rates are quite fair for the quality of her work. Her turnaround time was excellent (and she provides teasers!). She was even respectful of our wish not to have photos uploaded to social media without our consent (and she was willing to add this to the contract, which was very accommodating). My husband and I opted to do engagement photos with Emily to get to know her better and to get used to being professionally photographed together. Prior to the shoot, Emily was extremely communicative by email. She provided suggestions for where to do the photoshoot in San Francisco, and I'm so glad we went with her recommendations! She knew wonderful spots for scenery, composition, and lighting. She provided some general suggestions for clothes, etc, and then went above-and-beyond to help me pick out my outfits. She really did feel like a lifelong friend helping me pick out my wardrobe! She was excited about us having multiple outfits and locations to make the most of the shoot. During the shoot, she provided enough direction to make us feel comfortable and get fantastic photos! We were very much at ease with Emily! The engagement photos (way more than expected) turned out amazing, with a variety of locations and styles, and a nice combination of portraits and candids/walking shots. Leading up to the wedding, Emily remained in touch, and she was again helpful when discussing details of my wedding dress, hair and makeup. The day before the wedding, she even helped me figure out the best location for our outdoor wedding ceremony based on lighting for photos & guest comfort! Her opinion was invaluable. On wedding day, Emily and her assistant arrived early and immediately got to work (for the 8-hour session)! She scoped out great places for first look, portraits, sunset, etc. She took wonderful getting ready shots, detailed shots, portraits, as well as ceremony, sunset, cocktail, dinner, and dancing shots! For portraits, she worked efficiently and gave excellent direction to friends and family to help everyone look their best. She captured amazing ceremony moments without ever feeling intrusive during the ceremony. During dinner and dancing, she captured wonderful candid shots (often I didn't even know she was there until I saw the photos). The "golden hour" sunset shots with my husband were also incredible - she really knows how to use the lighting to her advantage! Emily provided almost 1000 wedding photos (way more than expected)! The editing was fantastic! I LOVE the photos so much, and it's making it very challenging (in the best way) to put together my favorites for a wedding album. Altogether, I am so grateful I chose Emily as my engagement and wedding photographer! (She also became my go-to person for wedding-planning advice and a new friend!) She is a wonderful, kind, genuine person and an amazing photographer! LIke many others who have worked with Emily, I hope to work with her again in the future! read more

Emily was fantastic to work with from our first call to the delivery of our wedding photos. We truly appreciated her straightforward approach to everything, her transparent pricing, and her willingness to lead two uncomfortable subjects through the day. She was responsive when we emailed her and very easy to talk to -- we knew from our first call that she was going to be our photographer of choice. Neither my wife nor I love to be photographed but Emily helped make the process easy and comfortable and was seemingly able to capture every aspect of our wedding and reception by herself. She took advantage of every moment she was there and gave us mementos that will be with us for the rest of our lives. Most importantly, the photos are fantastic -- the hardest part has been choosing which to display around our house. We shared some of them from the reception with our guests and all have said they appreciate how great the photos are and we are just so glad we hired such a great documentarian for the day. read more

Emily is the best! We used her for our wedding and now she takes family photos for us every year. Her style is classic, modern, and natural. You will get well lit photos that really captures the essence of you, your loved ones, and the whole vibe of the event. She is super versatile from weddings, lifestyle, to commercial shoots. She's also very down to earth and just a nice and warm person. Might I add...very patient with kids! We actually just took photos with her last weekend, and can't wait to see them! Highly recommend her! read more

I found Emily Merrill through my sister who is also a professional photographer so right away I knew I was being referred to the best of the best. From the moment we met Emily during the first steps of our wedding planning, we knew she would be such a great fit! She was professional, calm, sweet and so grounded which is exactly the type of person you need on your hectic wedding day. Throughout the planning process, she was communicative and helped us with details with timeline as well. But what speaks wonders was having her there on our actual wedding day. There were moments when I started to get flustered about details and anxious about timelines and guests; Emily's composed and caring demeanor helped us get through everything! There were so many moments where she would just say "don't worry I've got it" or "I'll find him/her/etc" or even "it's okay just breathe" and I could be at ease knowing Emily knew what she was doing and everything was going to be okay! Wedding days are chaotic and having someone with her wonderful energy and spirit is so necessary. To top it off: the final product is amazing! We love our wedding photos and loved so many of them we just couldn't narrow them down to show our friends and family and ended up showing them every single shot! Her work is natural, beautiful and she captured such great moments and memories. I am so glad she was there to really catch all the best moments of our big day. read more

Emily was, without a doubt, the best part of wedding planning. She not only made a good impression from the moment we started talking with her (giving advice on other possible vendors, cafes near the venue to try when we were in the area, etc), but she followed through every single time. Our photos, both from the engagement shoot she included in our package and of course from the wedding, are stunning and truly reflect us. They don't feel posed (though when she suggested things sometimes there was momentary awkwardness because we're not used to being posed, but those came out looking more like us than if we had just stood there as we were so go with it!). She listened to what we were looking for and was able to adapt, she was a calm and friendly presence throughout the engagement shoot and wedding day, and via email and phone when we needed to plan together. We also have stayed in touch post-wedding as even on the day it felt like we had lucked into inviting another friend. If you're looking for a photographer with warmth and character and who will put you at ease so you can enjoy beautiful moments with people you love, Emily is for you. I can't wait to have another excuse to work with her! read more

Emily Merrill - Engagement - Event Photography Near Me

See all

I adore Emily Merrill!! I was referred to her by our wedding planner, and I am so incredibly grateful to have met her. Emily took our engagement photos as well as our dress rehearsal and our wedding. She has captured such beautiful and intimate moments between my husband and me. Almost a year later, I am still discovering photos from her albums that take my breath away! Every detail of our wedding was captured so beautifully--she made us and our families and friends look amazing. And on the day of the wedding, she worked magic with my slightly overwhelmed 15-month-old niece! She is a genius with children. I can't wait to hire Emily again for our next big life event(s). She has earned her place as our official family photographer... for life. read more

See all

I wish they had more stars to award...Emily truly deserves them! Our destination wedding was held at the Clift Hotel in San Francisco on June 6, 2015. Let's face it, planning a destination wedding can be very stressful. It was obvious from our first meeting with Emily that she understood exactly what our vision was for our wedding. You can see how much she loves what she does! I worked with Emily closely via email on what turned out to be a very long shot list. On the day of our wedding she hit the ground running and captured every single shot on my list and more. Words can not express how much we LOVE the moments she captured from our wedding day. Moments which we can now treasure always!  Working with her was an absolute joy!  We didn't just receive amazing wedding photos, we got to meet a truly talented artist who we now consider our friend! Thanks Emily! Wayne and Anthony read more

Emily Merrill - Photographer: Emily Merrill http://www.emilymerrillweddings.com - Event Photography Near Me

As I look over my wedding photographs, it's hard not to come to the realization that I just plain can't say enough wonderful things about Emily and her work. To say that she did such a beautiful job of capturing our special day would be a gross understatement, as she did far more than that. She went out of her way to really seize the whole tone of our event and make it something that I will now gladly look back on with almost the very same newness as if it had only just occurred. That she was able to catch such subtle things as the fact that my father and I have the same smile, or that slight twinkle my husband has in his eye when we share a goofy moment is not just something for which I'm glad; it's something for which I will be forever thankful. read more

As an update, the photos from the wedding are incredible. Wow. Emily did an wonderful job of capturing the spirit of the day, and each special moment. Everyone who has looked at the photos has said they feel like they were right there feeling the love and energy of our wedding - that to me says a lot. Emily's photos of our wedding exceeded all of my expectations and hopes. And also of note, many of our guests commented on how they felt like they could just be themselves with Emily - even those who usually don't like to be photographed! Truly, I can't recommend Emily enough. read more

I've never been comfortable having my photo taken and when it came time for my maternity shoot I was nervous as hell. Not only is this a personal moment but as a pregnant woman you're just plain emotional. Then in walked Emily, I had never met her prior to the shoot date but she made me feel like we were old pals. Any fears I had were swept away thanks to her sweet personality, professional attitude, and love of her craft. Emily took the time to listen to our ideas and incorporate her artistic vision. She even brought over fabrics she picked up just for this shoot. She was very good at directing me and getting me to pose in flattering positions. She also is very good with lighting. I really wanted a studio shoot but after seeing her work, I agreed that the natural lighting in my home was wonderful and just as dramatic as it would have been in a studio. Not only were the images she delivered to us absolutely amazing but she got us an edited batch to look at in under a week. We were so impressed. Bottom line, if you're looking for a great maternity/lifestyle photographer...give her a buzz. You won't be disappointed. read more

My family absolutely loves Emily! We found her through my sister after she captured an amazing day at their wedding and have been working with her ever since, at least 4 years! She is by far the best professional photographer in the Bay Area and really has the ability to capture you and your family in a beautiful way. Emily is exceptional at this art and on top of that is very sweet and easy to work with. We highly recommend her! read more

Emily recently shot our engagement photos. The pictures came out amazing. My fiance & I are not the most photogenic people you've ever met so I was a bit worried that out of all the photos we would take, there would only be one or two that come out nice. So glad I was wrong! We got so many shots down by the Golden Gate and surrounding areas and they all came out so great. She was very professional and easy to work with. Totally made us feel at ease. Our cheeks were sore from laughing so much. After seeing our engagement photos, I have complete faith that our wedding shots will be gorgeous - and high quality. I'd really recommend her to those that are looking for a truly talented photographer (not a random off Craigslist) but don't want to break the bank with the some of the more spendy SF photographers. She's a gem! I'm so glad I found her. read more

Emily photographed my wedding and did an AMAZING job. She's both fantastic to work with and we loved our photos. She's the first person I'd call to capture another big life event. Highly recommend! read more

We met Emily when she shot our wedding in St Helena (which she did beautifully!) and immediately knew we wanted to work with her again for baby and family photos. She is warm and so makes you everyone feel very comfortable behind the camera. She provides the photos in a very timely manner and uses a wonderful printer for high quality prints that look as professional as she is. She's shot our family at many occasions over the years and we look forward to using her again and again! read more

Wmily Merrill is a very talented photographer and a lovely person. As the Event Sales Director at The CLubhouse at Peacock Gap I am pleased to have her on our list of highly recomended vendors and event partners! read more

I highly recommend Emily Merrill who shot my pregnancy photos! She is a master of lighting and found the perfect places in my home to capture warmth and beauty. I was the first time I have done nude and semi-nude shots and I found working with her completely comfortable. The hardest part was that there were so many good photos... I had the hardest time deciding which ones to pick! read more

Emily is the photographer to go to for beautiful, natural portraits that make you look super sexy in a very "I'm just hanging about, being beautiful and naked" sort of way. She also does more posed photos, for a striking, artistic result. Check out her site, but also Google her -- she's already won awards for her work. I wanted photos to give to my fiance on our wedding night. It's boudoir photography, I suppose, but I did not want to look like a harlot, feel uncomfortable, or break the bank. Emily talked me through the process beforehand, and on the day of it was as comfortable as humanly possible, given that I was disrobing before a woman I'd only met once in person. The shoot was in my home (bonus) and she made sure to not only explore her vision, but to also follow up on each of my ideas, as well. And the results are AMAZING. Emily's tactful, discreet and really eager to make the experience as fun and relaxed as possible. Definitely check her out. read more

Emily Merrill is such a talented photographer and truly a wonderful, lovely person to have as part of your wedding day! Your search is over! We had such a great experience with her. She's great at giving direction and helping you relax and be yourself in front of the camera. None of our photos look overly posed. Everything and everyone looks natural and her use of light is fantastic. The framing and composition come naturally to her. Her style is unique yet classic at the same time. We loved th emix of classic portaits and candids. Black and white were a bonus too! Your wedding day is stressful and timing is everything. Emily was able to quickly pick out the best settings and background for our photos and captured everything on my list all before the ceremony! It was great to have the family and bridal photos done so that after our "I Do's" we were able to focus on our wedding portraits. She had so many great ideas for us and I was completely blown away by my emotions when I saw the results. Her photos look rich, alive, and you can truly feel the love and happiness from your day when looking at them. You can tell she is truly passionate about capturing people just as they are. I cannot recommend her enough. Such a gem. Thank you, Emily! read more

I work in the wedding industry and have both worked with Emily and hired her to take photos of me. Her eye for details is matched by her fun and easy going personality. She made me feel completely at ease in front of the camera while capturing some fabulous shots. When I work with her professionally I find her to be calm, focused and detailed. I recommend her with complete confidence. read more