Sam is an excellent photographer and such a pleasure to work with. He was professional, polite, had everything set up on time so he could help me make the most of our session. I called him for a last minute appointment and he was able to fit me in the same week as I am heading back to college next week. Even before the session, he emailed me once to confirm the session and another to remind me of the session that was happening the next morning. His emails were professional and helpful because they include tips on what to wear and payment information. The total session only took about 45 minutes and he had the shots retouched and completed by the end of the same day. I highly recommend him for any professional head shots you may need, he took my head shots for my LinkedIn page and they came out amazing. I am very pleased with my overall experience and result! To see one of the head shots that Sam captured, you can view my LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meghanmarks read more

See all

While looking where to go for great corporate head shots I came across endless great reviews for Sam. From start to finish Sam was attentive, kind, and took the time to get to know me and what I wanted from the photos. When I arrived Sam was very thorough to tell me the process and gave great direction to angle the pictures just right. He was engaging and insightful in helping make a decision which was difficult as I liked so much of his work. The shoot (no pun intended) felt like a flash and at the end chose three amazing photos. One of which is on my LinkedIn as I speak. Sam was also very punctual as I received my photos exactly when he stated I would, if not earlier. I love my pics and truly enjoyed the process. I highly recommend Sam and will definitely use him again!! Thank you Sam! read more

Sam Willard Photography - My corporate head shots Sam took. - Session Photography Near Me

I had the pleasure of working with Sam at an SMPS event in San Francisco, SMPS was providing complimentary headshots for whomever signed up. Around that time my company was looking for a photographer to take full body pictures of our team for our new website. After working with Sam at SMPS, and receiving my headshots from him, I immediately knew I wanted him to work with our office. He was very prompt and kept the environment very easy and lighthearted. He helped everyone relax and made us all feel very comfortable. Our company had all of us do one standard pose and one "fun" pose. He worked with everyone to ensure that our personalities were capture in the shot and highlighted all of our different hobbies with a use of props. He was absolutely great to work with and I am so ecstatic with how the pictures came out. He made all of us look fantastic! I highly recommend working with Sam if you are in need of professional photos. You will not be disappointed!! read more

Sam was such a pleasure to work with. Taking professional head shots can be intimidating. Sam was very kind and personable. He not only was incredibly talented with an eye for details, but also possessed a warm personality to make the entire experience conversational, natural and fun. Sam was also very easy to work with and accommodating. I was curious to see another pose for my second photo at the end of the session. Even we were going to pass the one hour session time, he went ahead and took a few more shots and showed me the differences. I highly recommend Sam to anyone who needs professional looking photos. read more

We hired Sam with little notice, and were tremendously happy with his services. He came to our office with his assistant and photographed 10 executives. Sam was prepared, pleasant, and professional. We made changes to our line up and added more heads to our shoot halfway through and he handled it all perfectly. We were in an extreme hurry for the images and he turned them around, edited, in right around 24 hours. All of my execs commented on how "painless" the shoot was. The images turned out great. I look forward to working with him again. read more

My husband and I had a wonderful experience working with Sam to create a set of family portraits, and we could not be happier with the results. Sam was professional and personable, he communicated clearly about the process, and was flexible, responsive, and fast! Sam did a great job of asking questions up front, and asked to see examples of what we were looking for so he could clearly understand our expectations. The location for the photo shoot was at our house and once Sam arrived, he experimented with a number of different places, angles, and poses so he could figure out our best options. While taking the pictures, he engaged us in conversation - and was funny - so we were not only at ease, but we also ended up with some candids that we are really pleased about. Afterwards, we reviewed the pictures on Sam's computer and he walked through the process of selecting the best pictures so we got exactly what we wanted. Sam had done such a good job that we had way too many great photos to choose from, and this was the most difficult part of the photo shoot. His turnaround was lightning fast and within a couple of days, we had the pictures. My husband and I are impressed with Sam's professionalism, patience, and passion for his work - and we cannot recommend him highly enough! read more

Sam does amazing work. The level of professionalism is reflected in the quality of the pictures. I highly recommend him for corporate or professional head shots or any pictures for that matter. He is meticulous and knowledgable and knows what he's doing. read more

Sam Willard Photography - Session Photography Near Me

I recently got my professional head shots taken with Sam. The following is what happened. Tuesday, I called. Wednesday, I went. Thursday, got the pics. The whole process only took 3 days!!! He was able to accommodate my need for a fast turnaround. He made the entire process very easy (this was my first experience with a professional photographer), as well as fun. He kept me engaged during the shoot and the whole process felt very natural. Lastly, the photos came out great! I now recommend Sam to all my friends who need professional photos taken. Give him a call, you won't regret it! read more

I needed new head shots for my website and social media, and hired Sam on the recommendation of a friend. I wanted a very specific type of shot (blurry background with an industrial-looking office space complete with Post-it's on the walls), and Sam helped me create the exact background I wanted at his studio, down to the Post-it's and artwork on the wall. He also did two head shots with other backgrounds, one outside and one in the studio, and even recommended what to wear for each type of shot. He was very efficient with our time and I left with exactly what I wanted! He's also extremely pleasant, and he even uses his improvisational acting skills to put his clients at ease. read more

Sam really made the process of having a professional head shot much easier than I imagined (and much easier than I had once experienced many years ago in the '90s). He is my go-to photographer! Sam took the time to accommodate my rather immediate need (for a quick turnaround within less than a week), outlined the process and pricing and expectations, and calmed my nerves throughout the portrait shots. He made the experience enjoyable and fun through just his pleasant and authentic conversation and curiosity. My expectations were exceeded. Great value, quality work, and wonderful customer service. read more

I needed some photos both for business and social media use and Sam was able to provide me with both. From my first email to my first meeting and beyond, Sam was prompt, professional and sensitive to my needs. He was flexible in scheduling as I wanted my appointment for the shoot to coincide with my hair appointment - he accommodated my time restraint perfectly. His studio (which is located at his home) is not at all intimidating, and put me at ease immediately. He took time to get to know a bit about me, allowing questions to elicit a more natural, candid demeanor. We worked together in choosing the best shots. He offered me technical advice that assisted me in making my decisions. The final products arrived just a couple of days after the appointment. Best of all - I love the results. read more

The start-up I work for needed a group shot of about 35 people, as well as some additional miscellaneous shots for our website. I was impressed with Sam's portfolio and got in touch. From the beginning, he was a pleasure to work with: he invested time up front via email and a phone call to really understand what we wanted, and was very responsive despite having other clients. I went into the day of the shoot feeling very confident that he could deliver what we were hoping for -- and that was absolutely the case. Sam came to our office in Sunnyvale to shoot on site. He took the time to set up properly, snapping some test shots, checking out the lighting conditions, and framing out our large group shot. Sam has a laid-back style that puts everyone at ease, even the camera-shy. He took an idea we had and improved on it, leading to a photo that is already serving us incredibly well. In addition to the all-company shot, he spent a few hours shooting smaller-group photos in various configurations and locations. Sam has a natural eye for composition and lighting, and we got some great results. At the end of the shoot, we sat down together and selected the shots to finalize. It was great to see proofs right away -- and the final shots were delivered in a very timely fashion. Sam is incredibly professional, talented, efficient, and friendly. We are looking forward to working with him again. read more

Sam is a great photographer who cares about his clients, and makes sure you leave nothing but satisfied. He is very friendly, his delivery is expeditious, and most of all his photos are great! Jerry read more

I can highly recommend Sam if you are looking for headshots. He made the whole experience comfortable and professional and I am really happy with the shots he took. On time, good reminders and clear directions - I would thoroughly recommend Sam and would definitely use him again! read more

Sam's a great guy and accommodating as well. I took head shots on a weekend with him and he did a great job at getting a pretty non-photogenic person like me to take pretty good pictures. I was pretty new at the whole process and Sam made it easy for me. All pictures come nice and touched up, ready to use. Give him a shot it'll be worth every penny. read more

Sam was fantastic to work with! I was in a pinch - moving to cover a new sales territory and needed new headshots STAT. I reached out to Sam and he managed to fit me in for a half session on Saturday - with the time available, he still managed to get three great shots. He had the prints to me two days after our session, including a low-res version for LinkedIn, and they look fantastic. One word on the studio - it is unmarked and just looks like a house, which was a little confusing at first. But once I figured out where to go, Sam was so kind and professional it all went very smoothly from there on out. Definitely recommend Sam for all your photography needs! read more

My improv troupe hired Sam to take group and individual shots of all of us for our website. He helped us come up with design concepts (sending example shots through email!) and coached us throughout the session. Not only did Sam know exactly what he was doing, but he also maintained a professional, cheery countenance through almost six hours of photography. We just reviewed the shots last week and they are excellent. I even ordered some extra shots to keep in my portfolio because they were that good! Bonus: rates are completely reasonable. read more

Same did a fabulous job taking portraits of my wife and I. Getting photos taken of me is not my favorite activity, but Sam was fun, relaxed, took great shots and really captured our personality! Couldn't be happier with our portraits, highly recommended!! read more

I love yelp. I use it more often than I contribute to it, I am going to work on this in 2011. So, when I wanted to update my head shot to promote myself and my business I searched the reviews for a photographer in my area. I was drawn to Sam Willard Photography because professional portraits are his niche and I like someone who knows what they are good at and they specialized in that. I didn't want someone who really does weddings but does head shots too. My business partner husband and I went to Sam together and he quickly had both of us comfortable with the process. He made the process really easy, I didn't feel that same awkwardness that I have in the past with forcing a smile or tilting, leaning or whatever just right. I haven't gotten my picture yet, we just went today, although we got to review the pictures right on the spot and he was great about providing time to pick the one that was the most authentic and genuine representation of me. I am really happy with my new pic and can't wait to update my website. If you are looking for a professional head shot I highly recommend Sam Willard. read more

Sam was flexible with his scheduling to fit me in with little notice and was not only personable, but extremely competent. I am not the most comfortable when sitting for any kind of portrait. Thankfully, Sam was able to get me to relax and was also able to guide me through several different looks. He also patiently walked me through narrowing down the pictures to a final set of 4. Most importantly, he also did a great job on touching up the images and even provided high-res and low-res versions. He also did this in just a couple of days. Much quicker than I was expecting! Also, when I asked for additional tweaks, he took care of it quickly and always wanted to make sure I was happy with the results. Thanks to Sam, I now have the perfect professional portraits I have always wanted and have received many great complements! When looking for the pictures to make your best virtual impression-I, hands down, recommended Sam! read more

I've had to opportunity to work with Sam twice within about a month's timeframe, so have seen him at his craft in two different scenarios. My first session with Sam was for an hour at his studio. We spent an hour doing headshots with a variety of looks, outfit changes, and even backgrounds. I came in with some ideas in my head of what I wanted. Sam started there, but we explored a little bit beyond my initial comfort zone and guess what? He was right! I ended up selecting shots that I would not have thought I wanted. (To be clear - we started with all the shots I stated I wanted -- so he does listen.) Great session and the proofs were back very very quickly. Little did I know, there was a second session coming... My second session was a series of corporate headshots run by our marketing director. Sam traveled to our location for this. Since Sam was shooting our leadership team (somewhere around 20 people, if not more) we were limited to short time slots. We banged mine out pretty quickly, helped by the fact that I was familiar with Sam already. But throughout the day, I heard plenty of compliments from the executives about the shoot being quick and professional. Our marketing director loved the shots. Sam's personality is very calm, so has the ability to put people at ease in front of a camera, which is important for subjects that may not be comfortable or used to being in front of a camera. His professionalism is second to none as well. I've worked with a lot of photographers across various types of work (from wedding to fashion to portrait and headshots), and Sam is as professional as they come. read more

Sam is a truly gifted portraitist who's also lot of fun to work with. He is also wonderfully efficient. We briefly talked before the shoot about what I was looking for and he asked me to send him some sample images I liked. With only that he was able to capture several great head shots of me at two separate locations during our 1 hour appointment. A really great value!! read more

Worked with Sam to update my corporate head shot. Sam was fantastic to work with. We worked on a number of different options and paused between to do real time reviews to make live adjustments. He understood what I was looking for and was able to bring out the best through the photoshoot. Extremely happy with the results and would recommend Sam to anyone without hesitation. read more

If I could give Sam 6 stars I would! We needed headshots for our new website and Sam did a phenomenal job. The process could not have been any more simple and was exactly what I was looking for. After the session, he reviewed all of the photos with us so we could determine which shots we liked the best. He has a very good eye and helped us identify the best shots. After we picked the photos we wanted to go with, Sam worked his magic to edit and clean-up the photos so they looked perfect. His turn around time was lightning fast. I have had several headshots taken for work in the past, but the headshot he provided was far and above the best. It is obvious that Sam really enjoys what he does and it comes through in his work. He is very warm, personable and professional. I personally am very camera shy and am not a fan of having my photo taken. Sam did a great job of making me feel at ease and coaxing me out of my shell so that he could capture a great photo. Overall, he exceeded my expectations and I would recommend Sam to anyone needing a headshot, portrait or any other photography needs. I know we plan to hire Sam again soon! read more

Found Sam on yelp and scheduled a one-hour appointment for some professional business head shots. Sam is a personable guy and is really easy to work with. The hour flew by and I left very happy with the shoot. I got the final photos a few day later after some touch ups and I was very pleased. I posted them internally and on LinkedIn and I got a lot of "the new photo looks good" from colleagues, always nice to hear. A+ for Sam. read more

I had never gotten headshots before, but I needed photos for my new author website and social media accounts. Sam was very helpful in choosing from the outfits I had brought, and he immediately put me at ease. He took the time to find out what I would use the shots for, and what I wanted my photos to convey about me. I was able to do two outfits and get two photos for the price that some others charge for one outfit and one photo. Sam looked at the photos with me, and together we chose which ones seemed to work the best. I was very pleased with my photos, and I received the final versions the next day. read more

Sam is awesome! I was looking for a local photographer to take some headshots and stumbled upon Sam and couldn't have been happier with the results. Sam was very professional, but at the same time very personable. I had some scheduling problems before the shoot and Sam was very flexible and responsive. I was a little apprehensive at first, as it was my first time doing anything like this, but Sam quickly put me at ease. He also got the job done much quicker than I anticipated. He asked the right questions to make sure that I got exactly what I wanted (that is a huuuge plus since I can be very picky with pics of myself.) He tried a bunch of different poses and angles and then actually let me review them on his computer right away so we could see what worked and what didn't. The turnaround was fantastic! By the next day he had already sent me a couple of the photos that we really liked and then got me the rest of the photos (including ones that I ended up liking better) soon after without any charge. Class act. I can't recommend Sam enough! I would have easily paid more for the quality of pics and service that I received. If you are looking for a professional headshot, or any kind of portrait, go see Sam in Berkeley. read more

I am the Marketing & Media Relations Director for a California statewide law firm. I first hired Sam several years ago to do headshots of our attorneys. Since then, I have worked with him many times, and he has become our go-to photographer. Sam is very professional, detail oriented, accommodating, and makes everyone feel comfortable and relaxed. He works with his clients to assure that their personal opinions are included and their needs are met. I appreciate Sam's communication style as well. He plans ahead with specific information and recommendations, and is flexible and willing to do just one person in his studio or come to our office to do many people at once. Most importantly, we love and feel confident with the final images that have been produced by Sam Willard Photography! read more

I needed to update my professional headshot so a colleague suggested I reach out to Sam. Sam made a strong first impression in my initial contact with him. He was friendly, patient and answered all of my questions. I ended up hiring Sam and was very happy with photos. Sam was fun and easy to work with and made me comfortable during the shoot. It really made a difference in the shots. He was also quick to turn around the final touched up images. I would hire Sam again! read more

My theatre group had our headshots done by Sam. He created a really relaxed environment, and I wasn't even aware he was taking pictures we were having so much fun, but the final product was professional and flattering. I like when a photographer can take pictures without my being acutely aware of every shot. I liked his work so much, I invited him to put up a photo exhibit at our medical practice. Quite a few moms and moms to be passing through our office have mentioned he'd be perfect for headshots of their kids, and I agree. read more

Incredible photos. Sam seems to have an intuitive sense for dance photography. I got great photos that have a distinctive dramatic look. Best part was being able to see the photos at critical points during the shoot to make sure we would be happy with the results. Fast, totally reasonable prices, convenient location, totally fun, and AMAZING PHOTOS. YAY! read more

Sam took my portrait for my business. I needed to look professional, yet approachable and Sam knew exactly how to guide me. Sam's background in business, paired with his creative eye, yielded excellent portraits. I highly recommend Sam--he is engaging, professional, attentive and talented! read more

Sam is a true professional. I showed our portraits to my sister, and she was impressed by the natural look and the quality of the photographs. read more

I had Sam take some new pictures for use in my work, and I have to say the experience and results could not have been better. Sam is friendly and professional and takes fantastic pictures. He has a great eye and does a great job of capturing and bringing out what you would like to communicate about yourself. For a business-person in particular he could not be a better fit. He is professional, customer-oriented and time-sensitive in a way that is hard to find in the photography community. And especially hard to find in someone that has such a talent for taking exceptional photographs. I would happily endorse Sam to any of my friends or colleagues. read more

Thanks to Yelp I found Sam while on a desperate search for non mall studio portraits of our family, that we needed ASAP. I've never written a Yelp review before, but I'm so taken by the painless process, and terrific results, that I really wanted to add to his stellar reviews. First off I really hate having my picture taken (almost as bad as my teenage son) and somehow always end up stiff and unnatural in front of a camera. I couldn't beleive how easily all of us smiled and felt comfortable in front of Sam. No posing or uncomfortable breaks while lighting is adjusted, and best of all, no fake smiles (miraculous for me). I'm still really amazed at how well 98% of the shots came out, and so tasteful too. It was actually really difficult narrowing down our choices. Wow am I glad we didn't end up at the mall... I had been intimidated to even call on such late notice, and really anticipated that even if by some miracle I could find a photographer willing to take us on the next day, that it would be a long and arduous process. Sam was very nice and understanding on the phone, and even suggested that we do the shoot at our house. He arrived right on time and patiently waited while the family assembled. The shooting process, which included three different groupings and about 200 shots ( with a 3 month old baby in the mix), only took about 45 minutes! I will definitely be calling on Sam for any and all future photo needs for my business or family! read more

Sam was excellent! He provided a quick initial response and was able to accommodate my session to meet my work schedule. He took the time to select the best shots with me and his prices are very competitive. I definitely recommend him! read more

Sam took some great shots of me a few years ago, so when I decided to update my website with some new photos, he was the obvious choice. The new photos he took are amazing and are going to look great on my website. I highly recommend Sam if you want some stellar photos that make you stand out. read more

Sam is a great photographer. He is able to put you at ease in front of the camera and effortlessly coax out just the right smile. I've had him take photos both for personal and professional use, and I've been delighted with the results--this coming from someone who HATES seeing themselves in photos. I hope to go to him for more portraits in the future. Thanks Sam!! read more

I'm not one to enjoy having my picture taken, especially in a studio. More than any photographer I've worked with in the past, Sam did an outstanding job of helping me relax and speak to the camera. He was also excellent at helping choose eye wear, shirt color, tie color and combinations, etc. I highly recommend him. read more

Before I left California I wanted a headshot from someone I knew I could count on.....someone who would do top quality work AND give me a reasonable price. Sam is exactly that photographer. He was fun to work with and even helped with my hair! We listened to music while he worked and then picked out the best shot. When I received the final product I was so happy. Thanks again Sam. read more