I found Sarah early in the wedding planning process, after searching for photos taken at Lake Merritt. I loved the idea of the lake as a backdrop for our couples portraits, but I felt like it would be best to find a photographer who was already familiar with its various features and angles. When I found Sarah's portfolio I was delighted and immediately knew I wanted to work with her. This was a fantastic decision and I would unequivocally recommend her as a wedding photographer. We spent 12+ hours together over the course of pre-wedding couple portraits, rehearsal picnic, and the day-of. I didn't think ahead of time about how much time that is to spend with a stranger, but after a very short time she didn't feel like one. She's warm, cheerful and professional. She gave excellent direction, while still working to keep shots very natural, and very willing to take our input throughout the process. She was easy to communicate with by phone and email, her business info was well organized and it was easy to handle contracts, etc. I found her prices to be very reasonable for the quality of service and product, and I really loved the photo book she put together at the end of the process. read more

Seriously the greatest photographer you can have on your side for your engagement photos and wedding photos. Sarah herself is such a genuinely kind and amazing person, truly an expert in her work. She made us feel so incredibly comfortable during our photoshoots, and we truly enjoyed her. Of course, her work itself is simply incredible. Whenever we saw her finished shots of us, we were so blown away. Many times we were like, "OMG is that us?!" Or, "WOW, that doesn't even LOOK like the same place we were at." Sarah has this ability to make her subjects and backgrounds look epic or incredible, or basically all the amazing adjectives you can think of to describe a photo. I have received numerous compliments from friends and coworkers saying how impressed and how much they loved how all our photos came out. Props to her associate photographer, Doreen, as well. She photographed our wedding day alongside Sarah, and she was also such a delight to work with and to have by our side. So much talent in Sarah and Doreen. A HUGE thank you for everything. You won't regret booking Sarah. read more

sarah was the perfect choice for our wedding and i'm so thankful we went with her. after speaking with her, you'll understand and won't really need to look any further. i'm so glad we chose and found her and now have the most beautiful moments captured. read more

It's been over a year since we worked with Sarah and my husband and I still say choosing her as our photographer was one of the best decisions we made for our wedding. From the beginning, Sarah was up front, informative, and just "got it." We met with a few photographers but none of them seemed to strike the same balance between personable and professional as Sarah did. One of our biggest concerns with having a photographer is feeling like your life was on display and sometimes disrupted just so someone can get "the perfect shot." With Sarah, it never felt like she intruded or disrupted any of the activities-- there were more than a few times we forgot she was there! Most importantly, I cannot even begin to describe the quality of the photos she took. They are stunning and truly captured the spirit of the day. Her abilities in both portraiture and storytelling are amazing! I would (and do) 1000% recommend Sarah to anyone who is looking for a photographer in the Bay area (or NYC/ Paris.) read more

Sarah did our engagement and wedding photos and they turned out so well. She even came down from Sacramento to Pasadena to take our engagement photos, which made our engagement photos so special because we got to capture shots in the city where my wife and I met. When we got engaged, the first thing we did was find out if Sarah was available on the date that we chose to get married because it was so important to us to have Sarah as our photographer. My wife had been looking at her photos online and just loved her work. So many people have told us how wonderful our photos are. This is because Sarah is so talented! Not only is she talented, but Sarah is so sweet and very easy to work with. Sarah puts her all into her work and it really shows! I would recommend Sarah Dawson Photography to anyone and everyone! read more

Sarah Dawson was our photographer for our wedding at the Vintage Estate in Yountville, Ca on May 28, 2011. She came recommended from another photographer in the Sacramento area. Sarah worked with me on my budget and did a fantastic job on our photography. Sarah and her team made the bridal party and our families feel comfortable while taking our photos. Sarah is a total sweetheart and has a very creative eye. I loved her photos of our wedding! She captured our day in the most beautiful way. Bottom line is I trusted Sarah to get the job done and she came through with flying colors. I HIGHLY recommend Sarah Dawson Photography. read more

(To cut to the chase - Sarah is wonderful, our photos our incredible, and I cannot recommend her highly enough.) I truly cannot articulate how grateful we are for Sarah's incredible photography! As much as we wanted guests to enjoy themselves (food, drinks, music, venue), I feel like the photography was my biggest priority because ultimately, aside from the memories, that's what you're left with after the day is over! Sarah is absolutely lovely. She met with us prior to the day to get a sense of who we were and our story. She also gave us some flexibility as we didn't need engagement photos so we were able to credit that part of the package towards our wedding day. Sarah is so kind and pleasant, and incredibly talented and professional. Our photos are just beautiful! She was really great working with us on the day of as it was a crazy downpour and i had my heart set on a particular outside photo location, and she ventured out to scout it and made it work for us! We feel so fortunate to have worked with Sarah and will cherish our wedding photos forever! read more

Sarah was a pleasure to work with. She was flexible in arrangements, made us feel completely comfortable (and I hate taking pictures), and had a great turnaround time for getting pictures back to us. Most importantly - the pictures were fabulous! read more

Just got our engagement photos back and am really happy with the shots. My fiance and I had a lot of fun with Sarah in down town, and it was great becuase she really had a plan for how she was goign to shoot throughout the day- never an empty moment. Thanks again Sarah! read more

We contracted with Sarah to do a photojournalism shoot of our second wedding reception. She told me that photos would be mailed to me in a week, and it took me contacting her 6 weeks after the event to find out that she supposedly mailed them but I never received them. When the CD finally got to me, I had to pay the post man to even get it due to too little postage. When I finally got the images, I was not at all impressed. They weren't at all what I had talked to her about and I wasn't at all with them. Frankly, they are being put on my server and I probably won't print any of them out. Sarah had no contact with me to speak of before the event, which I find rare for photographers prior to events like this. If I could do my reception again, I would definitely go hire someone else, or have flown my photographer from the wedding down to the Sacramento area and paid her for the photos. read more

We hired Sarah for our San Francisco City Hall small wedding. I was really upset the day of when she didn't really give much direction. I would have loved to have images that showed how grand the space was where we said our vows and we didn't even get great images of the stairs. The other photographers that were in the venue were doing the most and I felt like ours was pretty stationary. There are pictures that I absolutely love and will obviously keep forever, but I truly think some things could have been done better and in a more creative way. Maybe it was an off day for her, it's just unfortunate that her off day was my wedding day. read more

Well, I warned my boyfriend that I could fall in love with Sarah and it happened. Although I love to take pictures, they're usually of other people so when I found myself in front of Sarah's camera lens with my boyfriend, I felt somewhat awkward. But she is super sweet and made me feel as comfortable as I could be. And the pictures turned out great! So great in fact that my family thought we were in front of a green screen! Our impromptu pictures turned out amazing! Besides the fact that she has amazing pictures, Sarah is a sweetheart and can take your pictures anywhere in the world! read more

Sarah did our wedding photos and we were really happy with her process and the finished product. She's professional, worked to stay within our price range and made sure she knew exactly what we wanted. I even remember one picture I gave her and asked her to get "a shot like that". I forgot about it for a long time but looking through our pictures later, I saw that she had gotten the exact shot to the T! read more

We highly recommend Sarah Dawson! My wife and I were very serious about selecting our wedding photographer. Out of all our vendors, we decided having the right photographer was the most important, since you will never have a second chance at getting the pictures right. After interviewing several photographers, we decided Sarah had the best combination of quality, price, personality...all crucial elements when selecting a photographer. Sarah did a great job, she really went all out for us. She scouted out our engagement session locations the day before, and even rented us a tandem bike (per the wifey's request)! On our wedding day, Sarah and her crew were ready to shoot the minute they arrived. They got all the requisite shots, was very patient with our family photo requests, and stayed well through the partying/dancing at the reception. No doubt, five stars! We would recommend Sarah to anyone looking for a photographer. read more

Sarah's work speaks for itself plus she is such a positive and calming person to have around on your wedding day. She manages to add sophistication to even the most basic of photos. She is incredibly nice and was able to come photograph our rehearsal dinner and get to know everyone before the big day. The pictures turned out beautifully! I'm usually critical of how I look, but I honestly liked every single photo! I want to frame them all. She and her assistant were able to capture moments and items from our wedding that I didn't even get to experience and I'm so grateful for it. I would hire her again and again if I could and am recommending her to all my friends. Thank you Sarah! read more

Sarah Dawson Photography did my wedding photos and I couldn't be happier with the pictures, the service, the communication, or the price. Sarah is professional, kind, and takes really great photos. She is artistic and original and made my photos special, unique, and beautiful. My husband HATES having his picture taken, and still Sarah and her assistant were able to catch him smiling. I would definitely recommend this photographer to friends and other brides. read more

Sarah Dawson did a family portrait session for me and my family and also did my mother's wedding. Words cannot express how much I treasure her works of art being displayed around my home. Her gifted eye captures every moment the way I hold those moments in my memory. Sarah Dawson will truly give you everything you are looking for on your special day. read more

Sarah did our wedding photos- we loved how they came out! She definately takes time to find out what is important to you and actually used some of our dream ideas (like taking some pics on the railroad trax next to our church)! She has years of experience and education- we trusted her with our special day! read more

Sarah photographed my daughter's wedding three weeks ago. Her work is absolutely amazing. Completely gorgeous. She is artistic and innovative, but still the wedding photographs are classic, romantic, and depict beautiful and timeless elegance. She captured all the emotions of the day perfectly. She was a sweet, calm, helpful, experienced presence both in the days leading up to the big day as well as on the wedding day. The photos of the groom and his groomsmen taken by her assistants before the ceremony are spectacular, too. Sarah somehow managed to intuitively get an amazing picture of an extended family member that was important to us but that we'd forgotten to request of her. Sarah is simply wonderful, and if we could give her twenty stars, we would. read more

Sarah is amazing on all levels - professional, extremely talented, kind, inventive, and she continually surprises everyone with her wonderful, classy photos. She's the real deal. My family treasures our family photos so much, we've already referred others to her. The only problem we've had is trying to pick our favorite shots... That's an awesome problem! Thank you, Sarah! read more

Sarah worked with us through every step of the process - from helping us envision what kinds of shots and atmosphere we wanted - to facilitating the nuances and relational dynamics of the 'day of' drama with the utmost professionalism and finesse. Sarah is so personable! A real delight! My wife and I were "jaw drop"... "mind blown" when we saw the final product. STUNNING! Sarah's forte is capturing a couple's unique story! Since our wedding I've also had the privilege of seeing some of Sarah's photo-journalism and it is breathtaking! Sarah is, in a word, gifted! You will not be disappointed!!! read more

Wow where to begin... my #1 priority with the wedding planning was finding a great photographer. I spent days searching through photographers all over California and knew I had to have Sarah do our wedding and engagement photos as soon as I looked through her portfolio. I immediately contacted Sarah and could not have been more impressed with her enthusiasm and professionalism. She even worked in her schedule to drive to San Diego so that we could take pictures where our lives started. After we got the engagement photos back, I could barely wait to see what she had in store for the wedding photos! She is beyond creative and has a natural eye for artistic imagery. Our wedding photos turned out phenomenal. She was very patient throughout our wedding day (most of our day did not go according to schedule). Never once did we feel like she was looking at her watch waiting to get out of there. She was smiling and snapping photos until the last moment was captured. We have BEAUTIFUL wedding photos that are going to be cherished forever. I cannot tell you how many compliments we get on them! I will definitely be using her in the future and my sister in-law will be booking her as soon as she gets engaged. Thank you for all of your hard work Sarah! read more

We absolutely loved working with Sarah! We hired her for our wedding at the Los Altos History Museum and she did an amazing job. Neither my husband nor I had ever taken professional photos before, but Sarah made us feel more than comfortable -- we did add the engagement session to our package, which we highly recommend doing, and I think that was such a great way to get to know her and a for her to see a bit of our personalities before the big day. We really wanted to spend as much time enjoying our wedding as possible, and Sarah and her assistant photographer were awesome with getting gorgeous portraits before the ceremony and then quickly corralling our (crazy) family and snapping a few intimate post-ceremony pics of just the two of us so we could join the party. What really stood out when we got our photos back were all of the candid photos of our guests and the whole reception. They captured so many moments that my husband I and would have otherwise not seen and that was so nice to be able to look through and see how much fun everyone was having on our big day. We have received endless compliments on the photos and I would hire Sarah and her team again in a heartbeat! I have to stop myself from plastering our photos all over the walls of our house! read more

Sarah is a very special individual with amazing energy! I had been following her career and work for years and knew for a long time that when I got married that I wanted her to capture our day. Our wedding in October was small and intimate and Sarah was a perfect addition. I was amazed at her ability to direct and pose us while still creating such a relaxed atmosphere which showed thru in the pictures. Her confidence was inspiring and her ability to capture each moment without us even knowing was amazing. She is such a genuine and graceful individual. The experience was perfect, and the pictures were so incredible! I couldn't have been happier with our photos and her keen ability to find the "perfect light" and capture all the special moments throughout the night. I would recommend her above all others. read more

Sarah Dawson was our photographer for both our engagement photos and wedding several weeks ago. We have had an absolutely wonderful experience working with her. She was very professional and responsive to our needs. Having our picture taken by her was actually a ton of fun. She is super sweet and up for anything. We pulled her through the sand, mud, and onto a backroad where we saw a bobcat during our engagement session in the Santa Cruz Mountains! My husband doesn't generally like attention or standing still, but he was actually looking forward to our photos on our wedding day. I am having a hard time picking engagement photos to print because there are so many that I love. She really picked up on what we were comfortable with and who we are as a couple. I can't believe how great we look in the photographs in addition to the way that each one seems to tell a story. Sarah is a true artist! read more

We would hire Sarah again in a heartbeat. She was communicative and helpful from day one, had great suggestions for how to spend the photography time but was still very hands off. On the big day, she was very professional and so kind. I felt comfortable the whole day. Afterwards she was still very responsive, and our photos came out incredibly. There were over 700 photos, all of them beautiful. Great photographer! read more