If you only read one line from this review, please read this;…read more Kelly and the team are the best photographers in the business and you should absolutely hire them. Encor previously shot engagement & wedding photo's for my brother-in-law's and the pictures came out absolutely wonderful, so we decided to also go with them for our engagement and wedding photography needs. They made the engagement shoot extremely easy, providing a list of recommended shooting locations and even scoped out the perfect area for us based on our request. On our wedding day we were worried as heavy rains were forecasted. The team did a great job of scouting out the area and giving us plan B's and plan C's in case we needed alt shooting locations. The photography was amazing and did a great job of helping us keep our energy up while keeping everything relaxed. The photographers were so creative with different lighting effects and camera angles despite not being familiar with the new wedding venue we chose. We feel they certainly got the best photos possible and were great with making accommodations for requests during the ceremony and reception. We received a few sneak peeks of our photos and are absolutely blown away so far! We couldn't be happier with choosing Encor and would encourage anyone that is looking for the best possible team and pictures to utilize them!

Thank you Encor Studio for taking all of our beautiful photos for our wedding! We loved them all…read moreand I can't stop looking at them haha It was such a pleasure working with the Encor team. Kelly and tony were kind and followed up with my timeline I had created with my day of coordinator for the wedding and leading up to the day they were great to work with. They also did our engagements which we loved since we feel like we could be awkward but they were wonderful for our reception. I will cherish all these photos I have with family and friends and we can thank them enough for spending a 14 hour day with us. We can't wait to see our video from the best day!

We found SHMILY on yelp, and planned to take pre wedding photos in June 2020. We contacted them…read moreover email but they preferred wechat. Due to COVID we did have to reschedule for an unexpected time, and the company was very flexible. We had our photos taken in July with Frank, Annie, and Ethan. They were very professional, and kind. Frank (the photographer) really has an eye for the way the natural light works in every setting. You can really tell he loves his job. Annie was the make up artist, and help me select a dress. She was so sweet! Ethan was the photographer assistant and he was joyful to work with. There is a slight language barrier, they spoke Chinese but everything was communicated well. All the photos turned out amazing. And we had such a good experience! We recommend it to anyone in the area to take their prewedding photos with them!

My husband and I found Shmily after months of debating whether to go back to Taipei for our…read moreengagement photo shoots (with more considerations now with Covid situation), and we just finished the photo shoots yesterday!! It was well planned by Frank(photographer) and his wife Annie(make up artist), to capture the most beautiful moments we had in the bay area! Frank did lots of research and prep for the shoots, from iconic SF downtown to the scenic Muir Woods. he captured every moment so well! I was able to see some of our pictures and they were all breath taking! Annie is hands down one of the most amazing make up artists! she played such an important part of the whole experience as she listened attentively to what I'd like to look like (I showed her some pictures of the vintage look, and she used her "magic" and everything turned out gorgeous and beautiful!),and doing anything she can to make sure things move smoothly! Thank you Shmily Photo, especially Frank and Annie, who have made yesterday one of the best memories I will always look back and savor! Highly recommend this team to my family, friends, and anyone who's looking for high quality and unforgettable photography for a life time memory :)

Tanya and Katy and simply amazing. My family planned a trip to Newport Beach, CA. I searched Google…read moreto find a local photographer. What I did not know was I was hitting the photographer jackpot when I booked with Tanya and Katy. Tanya and Katy did a conference call with me a few months prior to our trip. We picked a date and time that worked best for our trip. They were very flexible. They also had great advice on the hours that would have the best lighting. They also made me laugh during the conversation so I knew they were going to be fun to work with. We met Tanya and Katy at the beach. They instantly made my 1 year old daughter feel comfortable with the camera. They helped us carry all of our baby gear. They were creative in choosing where to take the photos. I told them I wanted beach photos. However, they exceeded my expectations by thinking outside of the box. They took pictures of us on the beach but also took photos of us near buildings that were very beach like. They did not make us pose like I was forced to do as a 90's child. They truly wanted to capture every day moments of our family in a beach setting. I received the photos two weeks later. They are stunning. I know my family will treasure these photos for years to come. Third Coast Photography will always be the West Coast photographers for this East Coast family.

I went to Tanya to get some professional head shots done. She was very flexible on when and where…read morewe could meet, which was great. I'm not a very photogenic guy, and was a bit worried that the process would feel like a school photo. But Tanya was AWESOME. She made the whole experience a lot of fun, and kept throwing jokes out there to make me laugh and "act naturally." I felt like she was able to catch my actual personality in the photos - that sounds weird, but the photos ended up looking very organic and not staged. I would highly recommend Tanya. My head shots turned out great and I will definitely go back to her for any future photo needs.

Wish we could have experienced the rave reviews that everyone else had - just to get a phone…read moreconsultation I felt like I had to keep following up with them. Booked a call with Shilpa, and then today she is totally unreachable (including anyone at the studio). This was for my parent's golden anniversary and this group was the first on my mom's list. Received an email response from her explaining about covid and last minute emergencies, which I get. Stuff happens, but next time a simple email/text/smoke signal would be just common courtesy. But as you can see from her email, didn't seem like a huge deal to lose a customer. Must be nice. Needless to say we will be going with someone else. Taking this as a blessing in disguise!

Wow, where to begin? Ok - starting with the general photos and vibe. When browsing for a photo…read morevendor, I'd been seeing a lot of airy pictures or color that was orangey - meh. I wanted something that looked like the cover of a romance novel. A romantic vibe. During this journey, we were introduced to this Lin and Jirsa (referred by a venue I think? Not quite now). Fast forward - I had an amazing experience with Juliana for our engagement photo shoot. Honestly, I wasn't even going to do the engagement photo shoot but the more I looked at Lin and Jirsas photos the more obsessed I got. Once you commit, you fill out a questionnaire and they even ask for inspo photos, good AND bad which I thought was cool! I'm so so so happy that Juliana will be with me on my upcoming wedding day. She was really great at coaching poses, which I was super nervous about. She showed photos in real time. Might I add, it's absolutely fascinating what settings on a camera, and someone holding a lighting stick can produce. The photos she showed me in real time looked like the magic that was produced in our viewing album! She was receptive to feedback about how I felt about myself in pics. Me: "My arm looks skinnier but when my hand is on my hip but I don't want to look like I'm trying to be skinny and have the same pose so like um, I don't know what I want." Juliana "I got you! Let's try this!" No hesitation. She also was very purposeful with the photos she took. She wasn't aimlessly snapping her camera with hopes of a good one - she was intentional and thoughtful. Julianas personality was great - engaging, funny, thoughtful. Her lighting assistant Diana (I think that was her name, so sorry I don't quite remember!) was super easy going too and took the direction of whatever vision Juliana had. The support team that emails you is very nice and efficient. I feel bad that I've not gotten back to them nearly as quickly as they replied to me! The original beach we selected Victoria Beach, ended up having super high tide so when we got there, she immediately had Plan B, no time wasted. When we got to the beach, we really wanted a picture with this seal we saw on a rock (from a safe distance of course so as to not bug). It looks like CGI but she got the pic!! She was climbing over rocks and really putting in effort to get good shots! At the end of the shoot I spontaneously wanted to get in the water and she happily snapped some shots and they came out great! (Visible in my post here). If you have any thoughts or concern about the cost or if it's a good idea - ITS THE BEST IDEA, do it!!! Before I ever saw their site (well, stared at it for hours) I never knew this was something I would want, or feel comfortable with. If you're getting married and are unsure because hey, weddings are insanely expensive, remember that your pics with live forever. So just commit, enjoy the process, and look forward to being absolutely in love with the magic this company creates!

I write this review with much thought and mixed feelings.... Let me first way I am not completely…read moredissatisfied with Kona Blue, we do have some really nice shots, but I would not hire her again for a few important reasons and I will just cut to the chase with the pros and cons then elaborate after. Pros: Affordable (soft of), prompt, friendly and pleasant in person, wedding photos were delivered within 3 weeks of the wedding, were given over 2325 photos Cons: Very poor editing, quantity over quality, poor customer service when editing issues were brought to her attention, poor eye for details, no effort to make corrections. Our Package: We did receive a lot of photos but we paid for 7 hours of "professional" photography at $325 an hour and wouldn't expect anything less for that many hours of photography. What we did expect and did not receive, was print ready photos. Nope, much sorting, editing to be done before we can print these, something you expect a professional photographer to do. Several important photos have to be cropped and or lightened up. So many photos would have benefited from her editing them prior to sending to us. Quantity over Quality for sure! Lighting issues: I understand lighting is not the fault of the photographer as she states in her contract, HOWEVER, how am I to know there is a lighting issue if she doesn't say a word or suggest a better photo location due to lighting? There were many other options for better lit areas to take these photos. When these issues where brought to her attention her response was that lighting was not her fault (as states in her contract). Really, then do some editing and lighten up the photos you did take before sending them out to the customer! Cropping issues: We had many formal/portrait photos that either had guests in the background or the other photographer, seriously, the other photographer and these were not candid photos! When this was brought to her attention as I sent her 2 samples (not all of them) her response.... "oh sorry missed cropping that photo" but it wasn't just one it was several. But, then she said that all photos received "basic editing".... how is that possible if you missed several obvious cropping issues? She also said "Bridal portraits received extra editing".... when I asked what the difference between basic and extra editing is I received not response. Very few of the photos received the "extra editing." Basic Eye for Detail: Many of the candid photos of our guest were of them standing around and the backs of their heads, less than a dozen out of over a hundred, of them actually looking at the camera. Why would you not ask guest to look at the camera on the majority... So many wasted shots. Also, we had a free prop included in the package.... she took very few photos with this beautiful blue chair and the ones she did take, you can barely see the chair, why??? I want to point out that I am the mother of the bride, not the bride. However, I am the one that planned/executed this wedding for my daughter and son-in-law as they lived in No Cal until a month before the wedding that was in So Cal. When we met with Cindy prior to hiring we did discuss her doing the engagement photos and I believe our package offered a discount for that service, however when it came time to take them. She THEN informed my daughter that she doesn't do them on the weekends at all..... HELLO, you know she lives up North why not mention that in the first meeting and ONLY meeting she offers. Lastly, let me finish by saying there are some really beautiful shots that we did receive. Most of them were included in the sneak peak and added to her site, great! All of them seem to have received the "extra editing".... But, sadly this is only a small portion of the photos we received. Bottom line, had these photos (or at least the majority of them) been professionally edited (received "extra editing"), OR had she offered to do so after this was brought to her attention, this review would have been so different because the majority of our photos would be print ready. But, now I have to go and do her job and edit them before we can print and create the album and it will be quite a bit of work. Not my job, not OK.

Cindy and Haley were absolutely amazing. They were a dream to work with and I couldn't have asked…read morefor better. With all of the wedding photographers out there, I can't be more thankful that we chose them. I'm still in awe while looking through our photos. I can't thank you ladies enough; you're awesome!

I found Kara on Pinterest and was so pleased to find out she does film photography. I didn't want…read morean overwhelming amount of photos because who ever really looks back at their wedding photos? Film is definitely what I was going for & I had a tight budget because we didn't want to splurge on wedding stuff. Kara knew exactly how to accommodate me, she definitely understood the inspo I was going for. She was so easy to work with and was super communicative. I would definitely love to work with her again for any of our future events that may need an experienced photographer such as her! Thank you Kara! Xoxo

Love, love, loved HAVING KARA as our Wedding Photographer!!! She was super laid-back but entirely…read more professional. She delivered the most stunning photos of our day! Such a calming presence and highly talented! Super easy to communicate with and her process to get the photos YOU want and desire to see was really great. I actually felt like I got to communicate my whole vision to her. Cannot wait to see all our photos!!!!! Eeeeek! The previews she already shared make us cry everytime we see them. Our day was super magical so I'm just thrilled we could host Kara for it. (I only wish we could've worked together more (than just our big day!) perhaps we'll do a future photo shoot just because!) HER WORK IS AMAZING! You will LOVE working with Kara!

Kristie Decker (Cheryl's daughter) was an excellent photographer for my wedding last June. She was…read moreextremely flexible, professional, organized, and calm. I am so pleased with every picture! The album is absolutely stunning. She was by my side the entire day. Her mom and daughter were also helping out that day and did an excellent job. She was also the photographer for our engagement as well. We were on a boat in newport at sunset. The pictures turned out great! Kristie created a personalized 8x10 for our engagement and our wedding that she sent to us the next day! It was perfect to send out to all of family and friends. I will definitely use Kristie again.

Cheryl does the photos for us for our real estate marketing. She is a great photographer and…read morefriend! Pamela and Amanda of www.HortonsInLaguna.com

I recently had the joy of working with Nona, an exceptional photographer, for my daughter's…read moregraduation photo shoot on the beach near the Huntington Beach pier, and the experience was beyond wonderful. Nona captured my daughter's milestone moment with such beauty and creativity, especially in her Georgia Tech sweatshirt; proudly celebrating her acceptance into the university. Her warm, professional approach made the session fun and relaxed, while her keen eye for detail wove the pier, ocean waves, and golden light into every stunning, vibrant shot. We will cherish these photos forever, I highly recommend Nona for any special occasion! These pics are from my iPhone, not Nona's camera. Thank you Nona!!

Nona is a skilled photographer and artist. On her timely arrival to the location of the shoot, she…read morewas ready with several different types of camera lenses and ideas. Nona was able to instruct and direct the shoot helping me to achieve the look I was going for and bring out fine details. At first, I wasn't sure if Nona would be worth it, but once I met her and especially after I received the final product, I was impressed and my expectations were surpassed. If you want to take a look at my website for the photos Nona helped with you can find it at oozoonianlaw.com. I'll also upload one of my favorites here. Definitely consider Nona for photography needs.