#1 PHOTOGRAPHER - I could not recommend a photographer more. I've had the pleasure of working with Heather 3 times since 2019, starting with our engagement shoot (https://heatherscharfphotography.com/conniekevin-engaged-san-francisco-engagement-session/). We planned a 2020 wedding with Heather as our photographer and had to postpone our wedding not once but TWICE for COVID, with Heather being an incredibly supportive and empathetic partner each time. She photographed our small wedding minimony in 2021 (https://heatherscharfphotography.com/conniekevin-married-nestledown-wedding-photos/) and then our full wedding celebration in 2022. It suffices to say we know Heather and her work well! Heather is the perfect blend of many things: (1) professional, organized and responsible (2) great at making you feel comfortable with a knack for posing you to get the most natural, candid-looking shots (3) incredible eye for lighting, she is the literal queen of golden hour, at our wedding she constantly prioritized her shots around lighting and it 1000% pays off in the results (4) versatile, not just with lighting (she was the only photographer we saw after looking at hundreds for our wedding that could skillfully handle both daytime and nighttime/flash situations well) but across weddings, maternity, family, underwater (!!! so cool), and more as she is always looking to grow her skills and creative outlets. She truly does it all, and Heather has definitely become our family photographer for life. We have recommended her to all of our friends (6+ of our friends have now worked with her for their own weddings/engagements, especially after seeing her work with us). Don't hesitate to work with her -- just do it! You won't regret it. read more

THE ULTIMATE (WEDDING) PHOTOGRAPHER My husband and I could not have been more over the moon with the amazing job Heather did capturing our wedding ceremony. Seeing our special day through Heather's lenses was truly magical. Our pictures are absolutely stunning and would highly recommend her to anyone looking for someone to capture their special moments/day. Working with Heather was also a breeze, she was very communicative and I loved how passionate she was about not only her work but clients stories as well. Her energy is infectious! I'm not super great at posing and looking graceful in front of the camera but Heather made sure I looked like a pro and can't thank her enough. She gave great direction and cheered us on which made the whole experience even more fun! Honestly can't say enough good things, if you don't believe me just check out her amazing blog! read more

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We are thrilled with the results of our underwater photo session with Heather. My three boys were a challenge (one had just been stung by bee before arriving) as we started the session. However Heather wasn't phased as she is a mother of four and was able to easily connect with my boys and capture an incredible array of photos. Her turn around on the sneak peak and final photos was expedient as well. I highly recommend Heather! read more

Heather Scharf Photography - Event Photography Near Me

Amazing, one of a kind experience with a summer underwater maternity shoot. Highly recommend if you are looking for a unique way to remember your pregnancy. Heather was excellent at communicating expectations and preparations before the shoot as well as directing throughout. read more

Heather is awesome! She did a great job getting our kids to listen and pose. She was so easy to work with throughout the process and the quality of work is the best. Highly recommend. read more

Heather has a gift! If you're considering a photographer, book Heather! We have been fortunate enough to work with Heather for our engagement shoot, wedding, and now maternity shoot and every time we get her photos, we are awed. Heather has a talent for capturing the emotion, lightness, and joy that has permeated each of these moments. Her art is a reminder that life really is good! Thank you Heather! read more

Heather is phenomenal. My husbands cousin hired her for their wedding (engagement shoot, wedding, baby photos) which is where we met her. Their photos were amazing and they loved working with her, so she was our first call once we picked a wedding date. She was thoughtful, friendly, detailed and amazing with all planning. The day of our wedding went exactly as she prepared us for, and she captured amazing natural moments all day. We love our photos, even seeing 800 of them, we loved them all! Heather has my highest recommendation. read more

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Heather did a wonderful job photographing both our engagement session and our wedding -- capturing a lot of candid, fun, impromptu moments -- plus all the more formal photos we wanted to make sure we had from our wedding. She does a good job putting couples at ease on a hectic wedding day, and the final edited photos were really beautiful. Nice balance in exposure / colors, interesting and thoughtful composition. Highly recommend the engagement session ahead of your wedding -- it let us get to know Heather and be more comfortable on the big day. Looking back on our wedding photos she sent us, it was *exactly* what we wanted in a top notch wedding photographer. read more

Having Heather Scharf shoot our wedding was an absolute pleasure. She was recommended by our Venue and as soon as I opened up her Website to view her work I knew she was my dream photographer. We live in AZ and she's in SF so we Facetimed a few times leading up the wedding date to iron out details, timelines and what our goals were for our wedding photos. She was very thorough and detail oriented. She showed up the day of the wedding excited and all smiles. She creative and shot the most amazing photos of my dog and I (even better then I pinned or envisioned). She just knew what to do: in directing the family photo, to capturing the sunset in the vineyard just right. I can't gush enough about how incredible she is! For anyone looking for a photographer for engagements or weddings, she has that special touch for making the photo lighting perfect and romantic. That was one of my favorite things about her work, her lighting is so flattering and happy. Once she's captured your special day she puts the photos in blogs so you can easily share them with your friends and family. I highly recommend Heather Scharf. She'll exceed your expectations and you'll be so thrilled you chose her. XO Nick & Fawn in AZ read more

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Heather took the most amazing maternity photos of my family and I. She worked so well with my little one and made it such an enjoyable experience! She helped style our look and picked a stunning location. I highly recommend her for maternity and family photos. read more

Heather Scharf Photography - Event Photography Near Me

Heather did our engagement shoot and wedding pictures and all I can say is she is an amazing photographer in every way. You can tell she is doing this out of pure love for photographer and love for weddings. It shows through her pictures and the way she is and makes you feel while shooting. Photography was one of the most important things to me for my wedding. My husband really didn't want to do engagement pictures and didn't even really care about having nice wedding photos. But, Heather was able to make both of us feel so comfortable in our engagement shoot he was actually looking forward to having her shoot our wedding! We used our engagement pictures on our weddingwire wedding site and we had many people tell us our site was the most amazing site they have seen and several people asked if we hired a professional to make the site- but it really was all just thanks to her awesome pictures. For our wedding I really wanted to make sure I had a photographer that didn't get in the way and was able to capture our wedding day without making us or the guests feel like the entire day was just for the pictures. She has an amazing eye and is able to do her own thing without ever getting in the way or making anyone feel uncomfortable, yet still really captures the true feeling of the day. Even when we were doing our portraits (shortly after the ceremony) she let us just be so natural that it was actually a really amazing time for the two of us to be away from the guests and have a moment by ourselves while she was getting some great shots. She also somehow managed to get good family pictures where everyone actually does look good and every single person has their eyes open- even of my large (20+ person) family! And she only spent about 5 minutes per family- quick and efficient, just what you need at a wedding! If you look at her blog and galleries it speaks for itself- the pictures are amazing! My cousin said "I was at the wedding and I can't even believe these pictures, they look like a movie set!". One last thing that's important to keep in mind- some photographers will only give you watermarked photos. Heather does not, she lets you have and own your own gallery without her water marking on it. HEATHER- you are an awesome person and an amazing photographer- we can't wait for you to capture our family events in the future :) read more

Heather Scharf Photography - Behind the scenes pictures of Heather gathering the 20+ family for a picture. Only took her 5 mins per family!! - Event Photography Near Me

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We can't thank Heather enough on how perfect our wedding and engagement photos turned out. You can easily see she loves what she does when she is behind that camera. Heather is funny, professional, easy-going, and flexible. She has different packages for weddings. She can accommodate you based on your needs. We recommend Heather to everyone who wants quality pictures to remember their memories. read more

Heather Scharf Photography - Bride & Groom - Event Photography Near Me

HANDS DOWN the best photo experience I've ever had. First off, the pricing was totally comparable to (and even better than) most other East Bay photographers. In preparation for photoshoot day, Heather sent over a ton of advice and helpful hints for having a successful shoot, and even provided a style guide for choosing the best outfit styles, colors, and accessory ideas - complete with links on where to buy. As if that wasn't enough, she actually has flattering clothing that she lets you BORROW! I've never heard of a photographer doing that! We borrowed a dress for my toddler, which Heather dropped off at our house and picked up after we were done. Talk about 5 star service!!!!!! The photoshoot itself was easy and fun. Even my husband (who is anti-photos!) commented on how quick and easy it was! He was totally impressed. At this point, I was already sold on using Heather for all future photo needs - but then I received the photos back! They were phenomenal. The lighting, poses, location .... It all came together for the best photos we've ever gotten. I seriously could not be more pleased. read more

As a new mom to baby girl who had arrived 2months earlier than her due date, I was absolutely terrified of the moments to go out and have fun times capturing images of us as a family due to the fear of covid, or upsetting my baby girl's schedule or something unknown?! But right from the beginning of signing up a photo shoot with Heather, she made me feel comfortable on every level. Her reassurance of understanding about unpredictability of everything with a premie newborn made me so comfortable. Heather was flexible with everything, the rescheduling if needed, the timings of the session on the shoot day as well as understanding my baby's little moods. We were so pleased with the results of our family shoot. read more

Heather photographed my engagement and wedding pictures. Working with Heather is a dream. She makes you feel comfortable even when shooting in public places. She works fast and is thoughtful on placement of both the Bride and the Groom. She listens to your wants and is flexible when you want to incorporate personal touches (for instance our pug, Gia Bear). I had a specific picture in my mind of us and she captured it so beautifully, I cried. Heather's artistic eye is invaluable. Rather than focusing on our smiles or arm position she focuses on the elements. Mixing texture, nature, color and lighting Heather is able to create the perfect shot. I recommend her to all of my friends and look forward to using her for family photography in the future. read more

Heather Scharf Photography - She captured the shot I have only dreamed in my head! Well done heather - Event Photography Near Me

We recently did a mini-family session with Heather. We have three kids under six years old and my husband admittedly doesn't love being photographed. But as soon as we got started, the energy Heather created for our family was so impressive. The kids were having a blast, holdings hands, kissing each other (which never happens!), laughing, smiling, etc. You would have never known we were in a photography session. Similarly my husband had fun too - he commented several times on how quickly the time flew by. We genuinely enjoyed the experience. But it doesn't stop there - the photos we received exceeded our expectations. The lighting, the genuine smiles, the feeling of happiness that the pictures conveyed was so impressive. I highly recommend Heather and can't wait to do it again. read more

Thank you so much for all of your hard work. We were really blessed to have you be the one to capture and record our day. Your photography is truly an art form, because only art ignites a complex array of emotions and your photography does that and in a unique away that has you relive each moment of our wedding from beginning to end. Each image tells the story of the wonderful time that we had and how we really lit that place with love and happiness.Your art has really touched and will continue to touch the lives of our current and ongoing friends and family. Thank you Heather really from the bottom of my heart. Franky Nuñez read more

Heather Scharf Photography - Only problem is trying to find your favorite picture. Good Luck! - Event Photography Near Me

Working with Heather was amazing and exactly what we had hoped for in a Wedding Photographer. When planning our wedding, we knew there were a handful of super critical elements, and even on that very short list, the photographer was at the top. It's the one person who's work you will likely see, share and celebrate almost every day for the rest of your life. We couldn't imagine a more important element to get right in your wedding. Heather is a very talented photographer, personable and friendly. She is a true professional. More than that she's immensely likable, and someone who you will quickly find comfort and rapport with. Which is equally important as the photos they shoot. If you don't feel comfortable around someone, you're not going to look your best in the photos. Bottom line; choose carefully. We did, and we're very grateful for Heather, and her beautiful photos we look at every day. -Ryan&Sophie read more

We were so incredibly lucky to have Heather photograph our wedding in Golden Gate Park. Not only does she have the warmest, sweetest personality, but she has an impeccable eye an some serious skills. Heather posted a sneak peek of our wedding the day after, and a larger blog post shortly after that, and the photos were breathtaking. She deftly herded our families, capturing great group shots, and then grabbed the two of us to wander around our site for candid and posed shots. She was fantastic at directing us into our most flattering poses, while also allowing our personalities and genuine love and happiness shine through. While June in San Francisco is supposed to be dry as can be, we were lucky enough to have our wedding at the start of three days of rain. Heather was not phased, and her shots immortalize the moment with ethereal and atmospheric beauty. On her website you will see her state that she loves capturing love stories - her tasteful, beautiful, editorial style does just that. I could not recommend her more wholly. read more

Hiring Heather as our wedding photographer was the best decision we made in planning our wedding. She was easy to work with, personable, and took amazing pictures that she got back to us AHEAD of schedule. Through every step of the process she was easy to get along with, while still being very professional, working with her was easy and pleasant. Our wedding was un-traditional (in a campground, no bridal party, we got ready and walked down the aisle together) but she was nonjudgmental and even rolled with us as the schedule changed throughout the night. Also, her prices are fair for the quality of her photos and how efficient she gets them to you, with print rights (she gives a code to print any pictures without a watermark for non-commercial purposes). Megan, the second shooter at our wedding was wonderful too! I know it's a long review, but it really can't be overstated how highly I recommend Heather Scharf Photography for wedding photography. read more

Heather Scharf Photography - one of many beautiful engagement photos! - Event Photography Near Me

Heather was wonderful. She is very friendly and professional and the pictures she took are stunning. I would recommend her to anyone looking to capture their special day with beautiful photography. read more

My fiancée and I used Heather for our engagement photos and couldn't be more delighted. We actually didn't plan on doing any engagement photos but after meeting Heather we changed our minds. Heather has a very creative and energetic personality and she made us feel comfortable with trusting her to photograph memories that we'd have with us for the rest of our lives. Our shoot itself was a gas. Heather knows a lot of great spots for taking shots and more importantly makes it all very very fun. There were times when I was wondering, "What the hell are we doing?" but the final product explained why I was contorting this way and that and looking soulfully into the middle distance. Heather's style is both documentary and posed and her post production work is top notch. Overall we were EXTREMELY delighted with our shoot, artistic direction, production, and turn over time (which in my opinion is one of the most important). I HIGHLY recommend Heather to anyone that is looking for amazing memories. read more

I found Heather by accident. I was googling The Cliff House as a possible venue for our wedding when I came across a couple who had been photographed there. I fell in love with the photos and saved the website on my computer. After several months and setting a date I went back to the website and researched more about Heather's work. We met with Heather twice before the wedding to discuss details and go over agendas. Heather is very organized and I could tell she wanted to be prepared so that everything would go smoothly. The one thing I appreciated about Heather above all others is that she was able to put me at ease. I am super shy and hate being in front of a camera much less in front of so many people. She gave me the direction I needed and was able to keep me from having an anxiety attack on my wedding day. She is super sweet and made me feel so comfortable. Many of my guests commented on how professional and hard working she was because she never stops shooting. We are very happy with our photos. We got some very candid, unique shots, not just the cookie cutter poses you sometimes see. I cant wait for Heather to do baby photos for us in the near future. read more

Heather Scharf is truly a talented photographer and a genuinely great person to work with. Her attention to detail and always being one step ahead of me in anticipating and planning to capture the right shots on my big day were unbelievable. She knows how to make clients feel valued and is always attentive and responsive. To top it off, she's fun to be around and I look forward to having her as my lifelong photographer to celebrate and capture each and every special moment. Heather is truly the best!! read more

I got married on September 15th 2012 and had the pleasure of having Heather be my photographer. She was SO professional and on top of things. Within a couple days she was sending me sneak peeks of the pictures on Facebook. She created a slide show, and made an easy to use account for my guests to see and purchase the pictures if they wanted to. I feel like I could go on for days about how great she is, but take my advice and go to her website. The pictures speak for themselves. All you need to know from me is she is a normal, caring person with a heart of gold, who is lovely to be around and an absolute joy to have be a part of your special day. You won't regret it :) read more

Heather did the photography for both my engagement photos and wedding. She is wonderful!! From the beginning she made my husband and I feel welcome and comfortable. She was only taking 2 weddings a month at the time, so we knew we would get great response time and attention. :) My husband hates to have his picture taken, but Heather was quick and open to help put him at ease. She also was very helpful when we showed up with our brand new puppy. He was also included in our pictures. The results of both engagement and wedding pictures are amazing!! Words can not truly express how beautiful the pictures came out. I highly recommend Heather to all!! read more

My fiancee and I were fortunate enough to work with Heather Elise for our engagement pictures. She had a way of capturing our personalities and love. Everyone who sees our pictures says that they love how our pictures show our true selves not just posed people. She is an amazingly talented photographer and a terrific person. For portraits or events, I highly recommend working with Heather Elise. You will receive prompt service, excellent professionalism and most importantly- gorgeous, intimate pictures ready to share with your loved ones. read more

Heather photographed both our engagement and wedding day. She did a phenomenal job on both and captured exactly what we wanted and so much more. Seeing her pictures on instagram and her website showed us that her job is her passion. When we received our own photos back, that statement was blown out of the water. She really is passionate about making sure every moment is caught. She is available via email and phone for any last minute changes and was so professional, but made the engagement session and wedding day so much fun with laughter and love. Heather is an amazing person and we highly recommend her! read more

Heather is a bride's best friend on her wedding day!! She is everywhere without you even knowing. We used Heather for both our engagement photos and wedding photos and I could not be happier with the photos. I have received so many complements on our photos and will continue to recommend Heather to everyone I know. On the day of our wedding I was worried I was going to be stressed directing people as I was getting ready, Heather needed no direction and just jumped right in and started snapping away. She is also very accommodating. We got married in a very remote location and she was a trooper during the whole thing (10-15 minute walk out to the ceremony location). She also has a way about her that she makes everyone feel comfortable in front of a camera. My husband was very hesitant about taking engagement photos but by the end of the session he was loving it. You will not be disappointed in Heather's work and her prices are very reasonable. read more

Heather is an amazing person and a phenomenal photographer. Photography was one of the most important things in our wedding so we decided to find the best possible person to shoot for us. Heather did not disappoint. In fact, she exceeded every expectation we had for a photographer. She has an amazing eye for shots, was really fun to shoot with, organized our crazy family for group shots, and was very professional. It won't be hard to find a photographer the next time we need one. read more

Heather is amazing! First I was nervous about having someone take so many pictures of us who we didn't know. In a matter of minutes of meeting her, she made us feel comfortable and relaxed, and before long it felt like we were just hanging out with an old friend. She worked so hard to get all of the shots we wanted and with her experience created more we were blown away by. I would recommend Heather to any friend or family member looking for any type of photo shoot with confidence. She helped capture our special day and made it so much fun while doing it. We will definitely use Heather again and are so grateful for everything she has done. Thank you so much! read more

You cannot go wrong! Heather is the best. She is super sweet, responsive, professional, warm, and amazingly fast. I have heard horror stories of photographers taking up to a year or more to deliver photographs to their clients. Heather is the total opposite of that. She knew we were in a time crunch and was able to edit, touch-up, and provide us with amazing photos in a week from our engagement shoot. We were super late to our appointment and she did not seem upset with us one bit. She even spent hours and hours with us for the shoot. I had so much fun that I didn't even realized it was 7PM when the shoot was done! Just take a look at her website and talking to her personally you'll instantly want her to document your wedding. You know how a girl knows when they found the perfect man...dress...It felt the same way when I contacted Heather. I knew instantly that I wanted to hire her. She was super accommodating, thoughtful, and has an eye for capturing beautiful images of an important moment in your life. I know I'm gushing over her, but she is truly worth it. I genuinely enjoyed working wit her. That is how happy I am. :D read more

Heather was such a joy to work with...i read some of the other 5 star comments below and couldn't agree more with all of them. She was always on time, professional, caring and kind...who knew the last 2 were important qualities of a photographer...but they are! Heather (like mentioned below in another review) was EVERYWHERE the night of my wedding...but I never even saw her...she got shots from up high/ down low and even got shots outside i didn't know about!! She was calm and collected the entire night. I was a little nutty about sticking to my time schedule for the evening, and heather was so calm with me, when I started going a llittle crazy about being off timing a few minutes...I can't thank her enough for rolling with the punches... OH YEAH...and her work is AMAZING, and she is super FAST at getting sneak peaks and photos out...I can't recommend her enough! read more

Heather is great!! When we first contacted Heather, she immediately suggested that we set up a meeting. This really impressed me because she was willing to take the time and effort to meet with us before we even decided to book her! After speaking with Heather and looking at some of her past work, we knew that we wanted her as our wedding photographer. I thought Heather was great throughout the whole process. She communicated with us before the big day and showed up very prepared on the day-of. She is also very nice and friendly! Heather took our engagement and wedding day photos and we have so many favorites from both! I can't help but smile when I look at our wedding pictures because I am reminded of the many happy moments from that special day - to me, this is a sign of a great photographer because she was able to capture the day so perfectly. Thank you so much, Heather! -M&M read more

Heather was AMAZING and so are our photos. During the shoot she made my fiance and I feel really comfortable. She has a wonderful eye for capturing the beautiful surroundings and incorporating it into the shots. We both had a lot of fun doing this and would definitely recommend Heather to friends and use her again in the future! She also has a quick turn around for getting all our photos to us. read more

Heather took our engagement photos two weeks ago and we were so pleased with how it went! We were afraid that we were going to be awkward in front of the camera and not know what to do, but Heather made us feel so comfortable. We requested that she direct us and tell us where to stand what to do and she did awesome! She was constantly coming up with new ideas for locations and poses for us. Everything felt really natural and we ended up having a great time! She had several pictures up on her blog within a few days of the shoot. It was so great to get a sneak peek of the photos just days after they were taken. Within a week, Heather put together a beautiful slideshow of our photos set to music. All of our friends and family loved it! Within two weeks, we had a DVD of all the photos from the shoot. The photos were fantastic and Heather is truly very talented. We cannot thank her enough! We are having a destination wedding in the Bahamas, so we already have a local photographer for the wedding photos, but when we start a family, we will be calling Heather! She does the most amazing family and baby photography, as well. I found Heather Scharf Photography through Yelp and hoped the fantastic reviews were true. They definitely were! read more

Where do I start with Heather Scharf and her many talents. First, I will start with her amazing talent as a photographer. It's almost as if Heather sees the world in perpetual snapshots. We received our ~1000 photos from our wedding day online and have not been able to narrow down the ones we would like to print as they are all so good. Secondly, her overall positive demeanor was exactly what we were looking for. At our introductory meeting her smile and humor immediately put us as ease, which is exactly how she was on our big day. She quickly, but kindly directed us, our families, friends and bridal party during the cocktail hour shots--which came out flawlessly. Finally, her professionalism and going above and beyond. The engagement session was excellent, which was followed by a surprise calendar with printed engagement shots for each month. She was early to the engagement session and wedding day and just owned her craft the whole time. She was in the right place at the right time and captured all of our wish list photos. Thank you Heather for your incredible job of photographically documenting our day. You were the best decision I made about the wedding (aside from marrying my hubby). Thank you again! Jamie and Cameron read more

Heather did a family photo session for us. She is an amazing photographer. She was so good with our two kids said they were having fun, which is not easy. Her style is so natural and really captures the the family day out the way I requested. The whole process of booking, communication and delivery of the photos was very smooth as everything was done online. That's another plus in my book. Highly recommended. read more

Heather is amazing and comes highly recommended. She has great energy, is extremely professional, creative and a lot of fun. What I thought would take a couple weeks for pictures only took 2 days!!! I can't say enough good things about her as well as the excellent level of service she provides. I have used other photographers in the past who dragged on their feet to get us our photos and Heather makes them all look bad. We took baby/family portraits and Heather joined right in with us in making funny animal sounds to get our 8 month old to laugh. We all had a great laugh. We will use Heather for all fututure photography needs. Her work is incredible! A+! read more

I couldn't be more pleased with the newborn photo session I had with Heather! The photos were amazing! She is very talented, kind and patient with a true gift of capturing unique photographs. Her rates were very reasonable and I plan on having her take future photos of my son as he grows! read more