Charissa is AMAZING! My fiancé and I took some engagement photos several months ago that weren't…read moreour favorite. Charissa came to the rescue this past weekend when she took some of the most candid, authentic, beautiful photos of us! I found her on Instagram, she's super affordable, and she put us right at ease. We actually had fun in front of the camera (which I never thought would happen) and made the whole experience so pleasant. Within an hour of the shoot, she texted me 5 gorgeous sneak peek photos of the session. She then had the entire gallery edited and posted within a week! I highly recommend Charissa for a fun/energy filled shoot, candid shots that capture he subjects' relationship and personality, and an overall fabulous experience. Thanks, Charissa!

Jana was amazing and great to work with. She brings out the beauty in everyone she photographs. I…read morehad such a blast being photographed and the photos turned out to be the best I have ever seen. I recommend if you want to have beautiful photos and also have fun working with such a talented, warm and friendly professional look no further.

My experience with Jana was illuminating. In the course of the session, she captured different…read moreaspects of my personality. What an enjoyable process to collaborate with her. Then came a surprise. She caught a moment of sheer happiness. When we reviewed the photos, she said how much she liked that picture. Given all the social-political turmoil and fallout from the pandemic, I responded: "I'm not in touch with that side of myself. I wish I was." Since then, I've thought about that joyful photo, grateful that she created an environment that enabled it to happen. When you work with her, I hope you get a pleasant surprise too.

Adriane was a complete joy to work with! We initially loved her work and then after one phone call,…read morewe knew she was the right photographer for us. She is professional, creative, so so fun, and just an all-around-joy to work with. She remained in excellent communication with us from the beginning of our planning and was available with ideas and support whenever we needed it. We LOVE her beautiful photos and feel that she perfectly captured the energy of our wedding! 10/10 recommend Adriane for any photography needs!

Adriane was the PERFECT photographer for our wedding. Neither my wife nor I like being the center…read moreof attention, and Adriane made us feel totally at ease. When we were looking for a photographer, we really liked her style - she not only captures people and moments really well, but also the tiny details that we love (e.g., the trees at the venue, dessert cookies, table settings, etc.). She knew the venue (Amphitheater of the Redwoods) very well and took us to a hidden spot on the property that made for wonderful candid photos after the ceremony. Adriane was also really thoughtful and organized on our wedding day. She made sure we thought about whether we wanted certain photos and moments captured when we hadn't thought about them at all...and many of them ended up being our favorites! She was effectively our guide throughout our big day, making sure we knew we were to move to the next phase, letting us know when her time was near its end for any last photos, etc. Can't recommend Adriane enough!

Ashley is a professional! She spent hours with us on the beach to get the perfect maternity shots…read more We have received so many compliments on our photos by her and are really looking forward to our newborn shoot. I can't say enough great things about our experience. Kelly Enghofer

If I could give 10 stars I would. Took some engagement photos with Ashley at shark fin cove in…read moreSanta Cruz. Let me tell you these photos look amazing. Ashley definitely knows how to catch your good side. Photo shoot didn't take long at all, and she got there early. Two thumbs up for Ashley. Thank you

I would give Sun and Life six stars if I could. These two aren't just classic vendors, they really…read moreare artists. They have an eye for light and framing that I have never experienced with anyone else. They played an integral role in our wedding day. Some photographers would be in the background, but these guys are simply amazing at their craft, and were able to find angles, framing, and lighting that made us feel like pieces of art in a museum. Aside from that, they're simply lovely people and so fun to work with. I feel so lucky to have been able to have had them for our wedding day, beyond grateful!

This husband and wife duo are THE BEST. Sun and Life did our engagement photos and our wedding…read morephotos in March 2023. They were so fun to work with - we genuinely enjoyed hanging out with them. Doriana met us at our hotel for the girls "getting ready" photos and my sisters had a blast with her while I was getting my makeup finished. My husband and I are suuuuper awkward in photos and they made it work (even despite my grumpiness and fatigue with photos by the end of the portraits). The photos are 100% what I wanted. I wanted them to be more candid, editorial and tell the story of the day vs. lots of posed shots, to really represent LA, capture fun and unique moments, and to feel just a bit dark and moody vs the light airy look I see with a lot of wedding photos. I'm attaching some my favorite examples of this style.

(Formerly known as Michelle Zuniga Photography)…read more My wife and I used Michelle as our wedding photographer in late December of 2007. She was great to work with, had competitive rates, and showed genuine interest and care for saving the events memories digitally. She even included 3 wallet sized photo albums free; one for each of our mothers and one for us.

Can I tell you I love Michelle? Well I do. I love her. I…read morestarted planning our wedding in 2008, and had gone through every photographer I could find on The Knot and Brides. I did google searches. Everything. I hate standard wedding photography. Crap that looks overly posed and nasty. And then I cam across Michelle on the last day I could look for a photographer - my husband, then fiance, said I had until the end of February or we were going with his first choice. I looked through her website, and oh bolly bolly oh my golly! SHE is what I had been searching for. Gorgeous shots of people, nothing overly posed, every shot looking like a dear friend took the picture. They captured the essence of each individual and I felt like I was there, like I understood how the people in the pictures felt. That was all I needed, I sent out an email. Two seconds later, Michelle had responded. Here was a vendor who was used to using technology, she told me I could contact her on gchat and since our schedules were packed we could conference call our first meeting. I nearly cried. The day of the teleconference came. The only question I really had was, do you make any provisions for military, what if my husband got deployed unexpectedly. She reassured me, we would not lose our money, she would hold onto it and reschedule. She also reassured me that she would shoot until every last major event in the wedding was captured. She wouldn't just take off. That was it, we hired her on the spot. We also hired her (for an insanely reasonsable fee - think Crazy Eddy sells electronics) for our engagement shoot. We wanted her to get to know us and vice versa. She was amazing and incredibly fun to work with. We were all geared up for our wedding in 2008 when the worst news came through, my husband was being called up for service early. We had to postpone everything. I was running around contacting vendors, family, bridal party. Trying not to melt down, and when I called Michelle she was so sweet and understanding. When we rescheduled our wedding for late in 2009, I called Michelle. She was so excited to work with us again. And so was I. She is so incredibly professional - Annie and Bill were out of town on the day of my wedding so she asked her friend David Esquire to fill in. I never even knew that there was a problem. She just handled it, like a dream vendor. Again, on the day of the wedding, Michelle was professional as can be. She was there on time, and even tolerated the fact that I didn't get her her shots list until that morning. She was funny and energetic (a difficult feat when it is raining and so cold you can see your breath and it is an outdoor wedding). She was like a ninja, I don't ever remember seeing her, but when she gave me the pictage link to our wedding photos, there were all these amazing shots she had taken. She took these amazing shots of us too, posed me perfectly, hid flaws played up assets. Honestly, I don't think of Michelle as my vendor. I think of her as a friend. Every major photo op I have in life will be shot by her or her studio. Heck I even added her on facebook. If you pass her by for another studio (maybe with the exception of Esquire Photography because David was pretty cool himself) you are a total fool. Studio Z will capture your wedding day exactly as you saw it, exactly as you experienced. And really, isn't that what a photographer is supposed to do?

Sarah went ABOVE AND BEYOND for our summer camp wedding weekend. Not only was all of her help with…read moreday of coordination helpful, but she answered questions along the way and helped out when our van carrying our luggage and wedding materials broke down. She also brought such a calm, organized presence throughout our wedding day, which put us at ease and gave us the confidence that everything would go smoothly. And it did! Thanks so much Sarah!!

Sarah was amazing to work with from beginning to end! I knew I could trust her with all of the…read moredetails of our wedding in November at Cowell Ranch Hay Barn. She has so much experience and knowledge of Santa Cruz area, vendors and wedding coordination. She was involved in everything and I knew I could ask her anything and she'd have great advice (my flower vendor was her suggestion and I couldn't have been happier!). We had a really big wedding party and family and she handled everything seamlessly. She very much made sure our vision and dreams of our wedding were at the forefront of all decisions. Her team was so great and our wedding was super smooth throughout. I appreciated her communication style and her process from the start. Her husband set up our lights and papel picado (we brough our own, but he even had extra!) inside and outside of the venue and was super efficient. I am so glad we had Sarah and her crew, I highly recommend their services. For all brides, this will be the best investment you make, I promise!

I needed a professional headshot and went with Portia randomly because she had some kind of groupon…read moredeal at the time -- but what luck! Definitely would have been worth full price without the deal she was offering. I tend to suck at getting my picture taken, especially when I'm on the spot. Even at my own wedding when I was otherwise having a great time, the photography session was a pain because I just couldn't seem to smile without looking like a creep. So I was very worried about paying someone to spend an hour trying unsuccessfully to get me to look into a camera and smile and not look like an idiot. I needn't have worried. I was immediately at ease with Portia, and she made the whole experience fun. It was almost as if the fact that there was a camera in the room was irrelevant -- we were just having a good time. In the end there was a plethora of excellent shots and the only problem was trying to limit myself to three (that particular deal limited it to three digital prints). The rest of the experience, the logistics, scheduling, payment, etc., was all very smooth and uneventful. I will definitely return to her next time I need any kind of studio-quality photography.

I was looking for a local photographer that would do a series of portraits for a performance art…read morepiece I was completing for my Masters Thesis. Portia's photographic style was what I was looking for - simple yet elegant and her color was excellent. Portia took a total of 60 portraits for this project and the work turned out beautiful. She was extremely patient with me and was always able to give me exactly what I wanted - She really went beyond my expectations. Each session was quick yet relaxed. She made sure each pose was just right and was easy to work with during the whole process. Portia is great with her customers - professional and friendly. I continue to recommend her to my friends who are looking for an excellent photographer!