From the start, we realized that having a great photographer was one of the things that was important to us when planning our wedding. We wanted to make sure that the moments special to us were captured beautifully. Lisa came highly recommended, and from the first moment we interacted with her we could tell why. She immediately put us both at ease by not just asking specifics about the wedding; but by taking some time to get to know us...and what was important to us. We immediately felt a connection and knew she was the right person to photograph our wedding. As the date got closer, we met to discuss logistics. Whatever other planning issues might have been happening; we always had complete confidence that the photography would be taken care of. From the moment we hired Lisa, there was one less thing to worry about. During the wedding and reception itself, she was the consummate professional. Fading into the background when necessary and framing photos just enough to get the shots we wanted when necessary. The best part however was the day we got our photos. We could not have been happier! Lisa had captured every moment we had hoped she would (and many we hadn't thought to ask for)...and every photo was beautifully composed. Never have I had so many friends and family comment on how much they loved photos of themselves and others. We're so glad we hired Lisa to be our photographer. read more

It's tough being in a band. Ya got yer three or four or five or six or however many people's schedules and opinions and viewpoints and styles to juggle, ya gotta do the gigs, ya gotta rehearse, ya gotta pay for the rehearsal space, and it'd be nice to take home some cash every so often. Oh, yeah. And ya gotta have pictures. So, on top of all this other stuff, ya gotta figure out who's gonna shoot you and when yer gonna do it, and who has to tell the bass player not to wear THAT shirt, and so on. Big pain. ...Or so I hear. I wouldn't know, personally, because one of our guys knew this girl Lisa Wiseman, who's this fancy schmancy photog. Okay, whatev, call her up, let's do this thing, and I call NOT IT on talking to the bassist about the shirt. We show up at the studio, and it really is fancy schmancy. Big white walls like photogs like, and lots of lights and cameras and all that swag. Everything's ready to go, which is almost too bad, 'cause I'm lookin' at the donuts on the table. Mmm, donuts. Anyhow, she's joking around with all of us and having a great time, hey go stand there, yeah, perfect, what were we talking about? and so on. For a couple hours, we're basically all hanging out shootin' the breeze while she's shootin' shots. So we stop for lunch -- mmm, lunch -- and she shows us a few of the shots she's taken. Which was pretty funny, because we haven't been DOING anything, and yet, there we are on her camera, lookin' like a freakin' Rolling Stone cover, ready to have the text dropped over us. Mmm, Rolling Stone. We all got a little serious then, 'cause it's like, wait a minute, maybe we should have been paying attention, when the bass player points out that we weren't paying attention for THAT shot, so why don't we just keeping hangin' out and let Lisa do her thing? I noticed Lisa cracking a little smile just then. Which is when I noticed that the bass player had a new shirt on. Noticing me notice the shirt, the bass player mumbled, "Lisa told me to wear it. Looks pretty good, doesn't it?" read more

I searched high and low for just the right wedding photographer for our SF summer wedding. Some of the photographers never got back to me, some priced exclusively for deep pockets, and some just gave a bad vibe. I knew Lisa was the one after 30 seconds on the phone with her. She responded promptly and was so attentive and reassuring all the way through, not to mention upbeat, personable, and completely professional. Lisa is organized and has a methodical process to ensure she captures your day the way you want, without being pushy or persuasive. She is truly an expert in her craft. Just look at her work. Her ability to capture the details is unreal. If you're looking for a truly artistic eye to immortalize your day in photos, look no further! read more

Briefly came in contact with this woman and thought she was the RUDEST, most absurdly abrasive person to walk the face of the earth. Didn't care to be in her negative presence. Funny that she preaches love and kindness but is truly beyond angry. So sorry something in your life went so wrong you felt the need to take it out on others. You should be more considerate as a business owner and how people perceive you read more

When it comes to getting my photo taken, I'm about as self-conscious as they come. It's all too usual to find yourself being scrutinized behind a lens by a photographer who's telling you either too much or too little. The result? An unrecognizable me staring up from the prints. Not so with Lisa Wiseman. Lisa's open-minded, "let's see what we can catch" approach brings out the best in her subjects - there's none of that "This Is A Very Serious Photoshoot" stigma. When you look at Lisa's photos, you see the people you know, empowered and at ease to be fully present in their frame - and that, my friend, is the key to a kickass photo. read more

Lisa's brilliant work speaks for itself. Go to www.lisawiseman.com. Be prepared to get your world rocked. Reading her reviews on yelp and then seeing her work was how I first came into contact with Lisa. I was a commercial actress venturing in the modeling world who needed some more dramatic images for my portfolio. Lisa's contemplative, ethereal aesthetic perfectly fit in with what I was going for. She is skilled and well-versed in the art of photography, inspired by modern day greats like Gregory Crewdson. Lisa is a professional to the core. We emailed and talked multiple times weeks before the shoot to prepare the look, location, dress, makeup, hair - she is totally organized. Once at the shoot, she's just a juggernaut of creativity maximizing the potential of the surrounding environment. Her direction and feedback as she shot was extremely valuable and contributed to so many wonderful images for me to ultimately choose from. And Lisa's a great person overall. She's so fun and energizing to be around - it will definitely bring out the best in you for your photos. Go with Lisa. She's a rockstar. read more

Lisa and her assistant came to our house to do family portraits celebrating our 40th anniversary. There was 15 of us, from 15 months to 60 years old, including the happy couple, 4 daughters, 4 son-in-laws and 5 grand daughters. It was a big group, not know necessarily known for its ability to follow instructions when there is fun to be had. And the weather was rainy. Lisa took dozens and dozens of family groupings, inside and outside between the raindrops. Different groupings. Different settings. Got us all to follow here excellent instructions. Somehow, through getting us together in the right combinations, she managed to take dozens and dozens of candid shots. A few days later, we received a file with 270 shots. They were spectacular. The quality was amazing. All the shots were keepers. It's rare these days to find a product or service that exceeds expectations. Lisa exceeded ours. Everything worked; everything worked well. We have done shoots like this in the past. They too, were good. Lisa, however set a new standard. She is the photographer of choice in the Bay Area. read more

I booked a consultation with Lisa recently because I was looking for a little bit of career guidance, and additionally I really respect her work so I thought I might get some photography guidance as well. Well, we ended up talking for almost two hours straight, which I think says a lot in and of itself. We discussed business, networking, clients, her photography, and of course my own work. Certain themes were revisited multiple times, mostly because there were ideas that I was resisting or not fully comprehending. In the subsequent weeks, as I've had time for the conversation to sink in, her remarks really hold up and ring true. My approach to photography definitely has a bit more clarity now, which is, as they say, kind of a big deal. read more

Lisa photographed my summer wedding in San Francisco and I could not be happier with the photos. They are candid, beautiful, tender, and capture all of the joy of that day. Not only did the photos come out beautifully, she was a true professional on the day of. She knew how to keep things moving quickly and on time. Everyone at the wedding thought she was great to work with! Also, Lisa is so great to work with while planning your wedding. I had no idea what order things should go in, how the day of schedule should be, and she really helped me figure these things out. I highly highly recommend her. I mean, her photos speak for themselves! read more

I recently had a consulting session with Lisa. It was the best investment of my time and money that I've put toward my art career in a long time. I left the meeting amazed by her expertise, impressed by her professionalism and upbeat nature and armed with loads of useful information and a long extremely helpful to do list that is fantastic. Two thumbs up. read more

I booked Lisa for a couple of consulting sessions and she was extremely helpful to me. I am a professional photographer who recently moved back to the Bay Area and am starting over from scratch. I have never paid that much attention to marketing and branding and just kind of do things on a whim without really thinking it through. Lisa helped me to focus and saw things in a different light that made a lot of sense. I revamped my website, business cards, portfolio and have other ideas now after working with her. Totally appreciate her insight! read more

Lisa is an amazing photographer, who is not only skilled and detail oriented, but has an amazing ability to make the subject feel comfortable. Lisa shot photographs of me for an issue of Marie Claire and the first thing I told her was I didn't like to have my picture taken. I'm not a model, not even close, and as someone who is used to being behind the scenes was not really prepared for a magazine photo shoot. She immediately put me at ease and made me laugh. After the shoot, I felt like not only had she taken some of the best photos of me I'd ever seen but that I had gained a friend. read more

I really admire Lisa Wiseman's beautiful images. However, she helped me not by taking my picture, but by helping ME to take better pictures. Lisa provides a consult service for beginning photographers (http://lisawiseman.tumblr.com/post/371182757/photography-consults), and she is so helpful! I will admit, I was totally nervous and kind of intimidated because well, her work is freaking amazing, but she was so nice and we talked about my work and where I wanted to take it in the future. She even advised next steps for me to take to reach my goals and suggested who to contact and what kind of resources I should look into. Her Critique: Now, I attend photo school, so I get critiqued on a regular basis, but Lisa's critique was very honest and completely one on one, which is so nice compared to an entire class witnessing what you screwed up or (hopefully) did really well. She mentioned a lot of things I think I knew in my gut, but was afraid to admit to myself, or thought I could get away with. And if she saw something that worked, she mentioned it, and most importantly, WHY it worked. The result, my work improved! It was a totally motivating experience. I highly recommend. read more

6 months after receiving our stunning images from Lisa I just spend the weekend framing our favourites ... Looking through them I was right back there in city hall in those beautiful moments that perfectly captured our emotions and the story of the day ....which was exactly the brief! We had a private wedding with a total party of 4 (incl us!) so it was important to us to capture the event in a way we could show our family and friends and make them feel like they were there. Neither of us are comfortable having our photo taken but Lisa put us at ease right from the start. We organised the whole thing from the UK and found Lisa to be an excellent in her communications - it never felt like she was miles away. Lisa also provided us with loads of helpful ideas and suggestions for venues and timings which enabled us to make the most of the day and of course the most perfect photographs. I am sooo pleased we choose Lisa to be our 5th guest : )) Claire & Steve read more

I am a photography student at a local art college that I think has taught me quite a lot. However where they are lacking is in teaching their students about the business of photography. Essentially the question of how to begin a photography business. I recently contacted Lisa because I am a fan of her work and wanted to get her thoughts on what I could be doing to prepare myself for running a photography business. My question to her was essentially. What do I need to do to become a photographer. Vague enough don't you think ;). I suppose my question could be reworded as "How do I start laying the ground work to be a successful photographer after school" Mind you I have asked my professors this question and the answers are always sort of vague and not very helpful and usually begin with " well when i started in the ...... " Lisa's answers were simple and powerful. No mumbo jumbo cryptic nonsense. Just simple hard facts about running a business. Things that as a someone who doesn't run a business I was clueless about. Additionally her wisest words of wisdom " It takes hard work" Her work is lovely and she is sharp as a tack. I am grateful for her advice. read more

I write this review as both someone Lisa has photographed and someone who owns several of her photographs. I would like to comment on the key aspects, aside from her obvious talent, that I feel makes Lisa a great photographer. 1. Lisa is extremely organized. 2. Lisa pays great attention to detail and quality. 3. Lisa puts together a strong team for photo shoots. 4. Lisa educational background in photography (Academy of Art) and sociology (UC Berkeley) contributes to the professional style with which she conducts business and ultimately to high caliber of work she produces. read more

I hired Lisa for a photo consult after feeling a little lost with the direction of my photo career. Lisa took the time to look at my work (lots and lots of it) and gave me practical advice on my next steps. The written follow-ups were really helpful because we covered so much info during the meetings that I couldn't remember it all. It was a great refresh and helped me to develop a clear picture of where I want my business to go and new ideas on how to get there. Thanks Lisa! read more

So amongst the many reasons I was thrilled w my decision to book lisa as my wedding photographer, my top three are: her professionalism. Lisa was efficient, organized, thorough and knowledgeable. The day of our wedding, nascar at sears point made a bunch of people late to our wedding, including my dj. I assumed lisa would be too but she walked in one minute early despite the horrible traffic! Second: she has a great balance of suggestions verses taking input. She clarified what our photo priorities were ahead of time but clearly took spontaneous photos to caputre moments as they occurred. Third: have you seen her photos!!!!! Nuff said. Beautiful. read more

Lisa recently photographed our wedding, and she did an absolutely beautiful job. I was looking for someone who would capture the beauty and joy of our wedding in an honest, artful way - not in the forced, manufactured style of so much wedding photography. Lisa exceeded my expectations. When I got my pictures recently, I was stunned by the details and moments that she captured so beautifully. And she was such a professional during the entire event - just assertive enough to make sure we stayed on track to get the pictures I wanted but most of the time I didn't even know she was there because she was just behind the scenes - capturing all the special moments. Anyway, obviously we had a great experience working with her,and i'd recommend her for any type of phtography need. read more

I love Lisa's work and felt so lucky to have her shoot my headshots. She is a consummate professional and helped me organize every detail of the shoot. The day of was really fun. I felt at ease behind her camera - in part because I so enjoyed watching Lisa in action. I was thrilled with the images she captured and look forward to getting to work with her again. read more

We were looking for a wedding photographer and our wedding planner recommended Lisa. From the minute we met her we knew that we were in good hands. Lisa is professional, down to earth and a true artist. We couldn't be happier with our photos. Lisa captured the feeling of the moment and left us with a mix of natural looking portraits, candid shots and outstanding details. She is also completely non-invasive which allowed us to be in the moment and enjoy the day. We have gotten so many compliments on our photos and can't stop looking at them. I know we will enjoy showing them to our children and grandchildren someday. I would absolutely recommend Lisa to anyone who's looking for a talented photographer to capture their special day. read more

Working with Lisa was a pleasure, not only is she a truly gifted photographer but her business practice is sound. She shows up on time, is very organized, and is very straight forward with what you can expect of her. I am extremely happy with the photographs and would recommend her to my friends, family, and business associates. read more

We called Lisa with an extremely last-minute family photography session request when our other photographer bailed on us. Though we were unable to make it work out, she was very sympathetic to our situation and genuinely wanted to help us out. She seems like a great person to do business with, and we plan to keep her in mind the next time we need a photographer. read more

Lisa was a guest at my daughter's wedding. We asked her to take photos to supplement the hired photographer. She captured some very special moments in an artistic way and also got great candids. Her photos are memorable and continue to give us pleasure. read more