Fast forward through my original 6000 word review, which I already trimmed down and a few months to the night before our wedding, Luke was to make the drive to Carmel, CA and meet us in our wedding cottage in which we offered him a room. (PLEASE look for my *full* review here: http://www.lukesnyderstudio.com/2013/12/17/carmel-wedding-elopement-of-brianna-and-rodney/ ) I'm impressed with my ability to control my enthusiasm even down to 6000 words. Yelp won't allow me that much space, but it's worth the read, especially if you're reading these trying to decide if he's "the one." HE IS.) The second he showed up I knew in my heart our meeting was meant to be. He was every single one of my gut feelings I had about him and more. He showed up at our door with so much sincere passion to be there. He had an amazing attitude and an amazing smile to show it- the kind that lights up the room. He sat down with me and my husband and listened to us. He listened to us beam about our magical trip so far, he listened to our excitement over the coming wedding and he listened to every single detail we pointed out about our cottage and how "meant to be" it all was.... all while taking candid shots we would eventually be surprised to find. I don't know of a single photographer that would take this much time and careful thoughtfulness. Those are now some of my favorite wedding photos as they would come to be our last photos of being engaged. We hadn't even thought of it. We would come to know how much he listened and how much he retained when we eventually went through our wedding photos. He somehow captured every detail from the glass doorknobs to the dutch doors... Luke listens. This, we believe, is one of the most important qualities you can find in a photographer. If you look at his work on his website it's easy to see that he does; no two weddings are alike. They each look so characteristic of his subject's unique story. To say a few things more about his character, we had only one guest at our wedding and my two sisters who were our ministers. The energy, authenticity and personality of the photographer was very important to us. We chose every single detail with such meaning and symbolism- even the photographer. I still cannot believe we found this in him. It's SO MUCH to look for and he provided all. He was the PERFECT ENERGY to add to our special day and there is not a single person that could have taken his place. He was even there for my pre-wedding makeup when I freaked out having not been used to wearing so much. He was the calm energy there to validate that me washing all of my friend's great work off was OK. It sounds small typing it, but it was huge. I just appreciate Luke so much... which I'm fairly certain is obvious. I almost forgot to mention that Luke showed up with a bottle of wine for us and a "moon" of honey- because did I mention he is a bee-keeper? Yes, not only is he an amazing human being, he's also a gifted photographer and beekeeper. The honey was one of my favorite wedding presents EVER and delicious, too. I love remembering it! Now that I have gushed over my sentimentality for Luke, let me move on to my wedding photos. I'll probably cry through this part. They're beautiful. They're stunning. They're magical. They're authentic. They're creative. They're moving. They're REAL. They're artistic. They're enchanting. They're one hundred million of the most incredible adjectives you can think of. We are IN LOVE with them... every one of them... even the ones where my hair is windblown and my makeup was wiped off from nuzzling into my husband. Luke drove us to a beautiful spot I hadn't been to in years to take more photos. We didn't take posey, creating a moment photos- he took photos of us IN the moment, enjoying one another. This is why I say they are real. He even surprised us with a bottle of champagne. He blew us away with his angles. I am sincerely telling you that we are still puzzled by how he captured photos from the angles he did. We didn't even notice him snapping away. He's so talented! I simply cannot say it enough. He was the best photographer we could have found and our pictures prove it. You really will get what you pay for when it comes to wedding photography. I'd have paid Luke double for what we received from him. It was worth every penny and more. If you're looking for the total package in a photographer trust my review and the reviews of many others. He is your answer. Thank you again Luke! You have touched our lives and enriched our special day. We will always be grateful to you! Thank you for giving us TRUST in our photographer- it's one of the BEST parts of working with you! read more

This is definitely "as good as it gets." Luke and his brother Sky recently photographed my friend's wedding this labor day weekend and their work was beyond what I expected. Helping plan the wedding from Chicago I found Luke on Yelp. I sent his website link to my friend and they absolutely loved him!!! Luke and Sky have a great eye that catches the most unnoticed moments of the day. Creating a "delicious" vantage point that is captured in their pictures. Beyond their photographs, Luke and Sky are thoughful, kind, and passionate about their work. I highly recommend them!! read more

Sonoma Light - Sky and Luke at Viansa Winery!! - Event Photography Near Me

I hired Luke to shoot my wedding and included in the package was an engagement shoot. I wasn't sure what to do with it, especially since my man is camera weary. So we all went out to the A's Coliseum, where said man works, and had a great time. Luke kept us upbeat and having fun without being intrusive. You can see the results for yourself here, http://www.flickr.com/photos/47373523@N00/sets/72157608339539256/ Can't wait for the wedding! read more

Sonoma Light - Event Photography Near Me

Wow. Where to begin. Luke amazed my (now) husband and I right from the get-go when we went on his site and saw how his pictures just seemed to stand out from others we looked at. The moments he captured were so much more. We really wanted someone with more of a photojournalistic point of view as opposed to "okay, now everyone stand in a group and smile" for our intimate wedding. We had an engagement shoot and I think we both felt a little awkward with the idea of being photographed, but Luke made it very easy. I left thinking that he probably got some decent shots. When we got the pictures, I was shocked! All of our friends and family mentioned how these pictures were "so us" and they absolutely were perfect. I'm still floored at how he was able to grab hold of these stunning photos in what seemed to be a totally normal effort on our part. We had Luke and Sky come for our wedding recently and those men worked their butts off! They weren't afraid to get dirty in order to get those awesome shots. All of the guests felt very comfortable with them and even were talking about their ninja moves in order to get those candid pics. I cannot recommend Luke enough. He loves what he does and it absolutely shows in his work. It's like when you see a musician and you think, wow - he gets to do what he loves and get paid for it! That's what I think of Luke - he seems like he is just so happy to be making a living off of doing something that is so natural to him and that he enjoys so much. read more

Sonoma Light - Event Photography Near Me

I haven't started writing my review but I apologize in advance for how long I know it's going to be. When planning our wedding, the first thing we nailed down was the venue and the immediate second thing was photographer. To me, this choice was quite possibly the most important part of the wedding. Now that you understand how important photography was to me, hopefully you won't think I'm crazy when I explain the incredible process we went through. 4 months. 50 photographers. Luke Snyder. We started with 50 photographers online. From there, narrowed it down from online portfolios to 15 to meet in person. Narrowed it down again to 5 close choices taking into consideration: photography style, personality, and cost. At this point, the choice was becoming very hard and overwhelming. We made a spreadsheet. We assigned categories and rankings. We weighted scores and gave each photographer an overall score. But no, this was not enough. I wanted to make sure we got the BEST photographer for us. Then we had a cool idea. Blind photo test. My fiance took different photos from our favorite photographers and mixed all of them up. I ranked my favorites, gave it to our family to also look through to get another opinion. People seemed to enjoy the game we came up with. Or thought we were crazy. Forget those people. Anyway, Luke and one other photographer ended up being finalist. Luke was slightly cheaper but what really pushed it over the edge was Luke's personality and style. He is so easy to work with and so responsive to communication. (Note: We were still worried about cost and were able to negotiate with Luke a little bit but I got the impression he doesn't like that part of the process.) After our initial meeting, we knew we would pick Luke. After the engagement session, we were SURE we made the right decision. August 2011. Auberge Du Soleil. Luke is one of the best vendor choices I made for the wedding. His photos were beautiful and I couldn't be happier. His style is friendly, non obtrusive yet leading. Many MANY of our guests and other vendors commented on his professionalism. I wanted someone who would take the lead without bossing us around and making us feel uncomfortable. When I look back on some of the photos, I don't know how he got the shots he did. Most of the time, I didn't even notice he was there! I think his photos speak for themselves. We are definitely more into modern, artistic, photo journalistic style photos. I could always write more but I think it's really up to the couple to find the right photographer that fits their style and personality. Luke was absolutely the best choice for us and I hope you can find that too! read more

Let's put it simply: Luke Snyder rocks. When I first found Luke's website and portfolio, I knew he was the one to photograph my April 6 wedding. His eye shows a mix of enthusiasm and technical flair, an ability not only to see the unusual but to help us experience it through his camera lens. In the weeks leading up to the wedding, Luke was very receptive to the ideas Adam and I shared in terms of our photo-related sensibility. He was communicative and encouraging, and by the time of the actual day, I felt like I already knew him ... though we hadn't met before that day! Luke was awesome the day of the wedding -- from the moment he walked in the door. He was extremely diplomatic in putting up with our, ahem, colorful family members and guests, and he was all over the place taking shots while at the same time working in a very unobtrusive manner. Many guests commented to me that Luke seemed to be everywhere at once and yet worked very much under the radar. That couldn't have been easy, but Luke pulled it off beautifully. We were thrilled when we got Luke's photos -- more than 300 shots (I think) that captured our day with humor, profundity, and a wholly unique slant. Not only that, but he offered us a free post-ceremony shot up in Napa, from which we got another 200 shots! Working with Luke was one of the best parts of getting married! I highly, highly recommend him -- as if you couldn't already tell! read more

I should preface this by stating my review is based on our interactions with Luke Snyder in trying to interview and find a wedding photographer. We did not use Luke in the end, but would consider this an endorsement for his work. As my wife was quite busy in planning for our wedding, I felt one of my big contributions would be to do extensive research and comparisons to find the ideal photographer for us. I spent at least a few weeks poring over pictures, spreadsheets, web pages, galleries, etc. and we interviewed a number of photographers throughout California as well. Luke's pictures caught my eye early on and after an initial interview with him, we liked him even more. He certainly has a photo journalistic background which blends well with his passion for wedding and engagement photography. You could tell he had an artistic energy and thoughtfulness about him. His pictures have power, emotion, and depth to them which is complemented by his post-processing as well. Pictures did not have a cheesiness to them that plagued many other photographers' works I'd reviewed (however, some couples may prefer this depending on their tastes). Additionally, I enjoyed the fact that he was quite conscious about use of lighting in his pictures, esp with either natural or offset lighting which makes his pictures stand out. He seemed very easy going and easy to work with as well. After our interview, we had several exchanges during which he offered us additional galleries and samples in order to help us decide on our best match for a photographer. We had many questions about style preferences and other details that I suspect many couples may not even think of, however he was quite responsive and willing to try and accommodate. His pricing seemed comparable to the mid-range of wedding photographers serving the Napa valley region. This was in consideration that he'd been doing wedding photography for only a few years, but brought extensive experience and knowledge from his prior work in photography. Unfortunately, after multiple exchanges in trying to nail down many details between my wife and Luke, we were told that he felt he would not be the best fit for us and he declined to be our photographer. It's been months since our wedding and we were quite happy with the photographer that we eventually used. I have no hard feelings for Luke and am not surprised that he has many great reviews on Yelp given his quality of work. I think he will continue to impress as he gets even more wedding photography experience. Best of luck, Luke! read more

We hired Luke for our wedding based on the great reviews and the fact that his sample work on his website was the best around. We were not disappointed! Not only does he have an amazing eye for "lines" and "energy" - he could seriously work for a major magazine - and most importantly, he was a pleasure to work with. Thanks Luke! read more

just recieved my DVD's from the wedding...1300 shots of bliss. Incredible. Plus his "best of" slide show hosted on his website is tasteful and again brought out some 'moisture' near my eyes... it was just so beautiful. Thank you Luke. Just incredible shots and everyone else who has seen his work of our family and friends all agree that it's as good or better than they have ever seen-- I wholeheartedly agree. Can't wait until we get our albums too... read more

Luke is great and a brilliant photographer! My husband and I narrowed our wedding photographer search down to a select few and we were just so drawn in and moved by Luke's photos. There was just something about the way he "gets" light in photographs, and movement, and certain special little moments. I encourage you to check out his site as that is where we were sure we wanted him to do our photos. And he is just super nice, fun, and energetic. And very quick with his camera. We were beyond happy when we got our sneak peaks the next day and knew that the rest of the photos would be just as amazing. We had a lot of little details too that I thought maybe I hadn't even mentioned to him, and emailed him about in a slight panic after the fact, and he got EVERY detail. It was amazing. And everyone looked great in the photos: me, groom, family, bridal party, guests. Thank you Luke! read more

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This guy is GOOOOD! You wont find a photographer like Luke... he's really got that special "somethin'" that sets him apart from the rest. Luke, your work is second to none! From the moment we met you at our friend's wedding in the Summer of 2010, we knew there was something special about you. We were thrilled when we were able to book your services, and felt confident in knowing you'd exceed our hopes and expectations. Your zest for life and photography translates in your work- on both ends of the camera! Not only are you incredibly talented at your craft, but your enthusiasm and jubilant demeanor brings out the best in your subjects. From the engagement session, to the "I dos", we enjoyed every moment of the journey! Thank you for beautifully capturing every aspect of our Big Day! We look forward to booking photo sessions with you in the future! Ria & Ryan read more

Luke was our photographer for our wedding at V. Sattui. From the moment we met him and saw his work we knew we wanted to work with him. Luke arrived right on time and was very professional throughout our wedding day. He was there to take photos every step of the way but was never intrusive. It was as if we didn't even know he was there and we really appreciated his style. Luke was prompt in sending us a few "sneak" photos just a few days after the wedding and we spent hours drooling over them. We were thrilled to see more proofs a few weeks later on his website and were elated to receive the final product of 500+ photos. We still can't believe how beautiful the photos are! Luke captured the beauty and magic of the day and gave us everything we were looking for in our photos. He is extremely artistic and creative and we are thrilled to have been able to work with him. We highly recommend Luke! If you are considering Luke as your photographer, the best decision you can make is to work with him. read more

My wife and I were looking for someone to take some photos of our newborn babies and Luke came referred to us through a friend who had used him to shoot their wedding. They said he was an amazing photographer who had a great eye for the perfect shot and had a knack for capturing a moment's true essence. This sounded perfect for our rowdy and always on the move twin boys! We first used Luke to photograph our twins when they were only a couple of months old and Luke displayed infinite patience as we worked to get the perfect shot. The boys were not on their best behavior but Luke was oblivious to that fact and kept snapping away photos as he sang and made faces to get the boys' attention. Luke's turn around time was fantastic and in only a few days we were looking at hundreds of high resolution photos that perfectly captured the beauty of the boys and the chaos of twins!! We have showed them to numerous friends and they always gush over the quality of the photos. Those early days with kids are so precious so it is so worth it to get someone like Luke to help preserve those special moments. We we so happy with Luke that we once again used him to take pictures of our boys when they turned 10 months old. With even more personality but much harder to distract, the boys were still no match for Luke's creativity and energy. He was crawling along the carpet, switching lenses, and jumping in and out of the playpen, all while holding an Elmo puppet in one hand to attract the attention of the boys! You should have seen Luke, I honestly wish there had been someone to take photos of him!! The photos this time around were even better than the last set - spontaneous photos of laughter, soft moments in our arms, faces full of food as we fed them lunch, and action photos as the boys army crawled across the living room. The photos are magazine quality and are once again such a great way to preserve the beauty of these early moments in our boys' lives. If you're looking for a photographer, then look no further than Luke Snyder! read more

This review is for engagement pictures Luke took for my fiance and I in November, 2010. Simply put, Luke is awesome. I imagined that taking engagement pictures would be really awkward and too staged, but Luke was great about making it a natural and enjoyable experience. He was very easy to work with, went out of his way to shoot at a couple different locations, and got us some amazingly well-done pictures very quickly. My fiance was thrilled with the quality and we have received countless compliments on the pictures from our friends and families. In addition to providing outstanding service for the engagement pics, I was most impressed with Luke's thoughtfulness. We brought our English bulldog with us to make a cameo in some of our pictures and it turned out amazingly well. Unfortunately, our old dog ended up dying 3 weeks later. All it took was one email to Luke to see if he happened to have any extra pictures of our dog from his rolls and within an hour I had a response with some extra pictures to help us remember our pet. If you want a high-quality, personable and caring photographer, Luke is definitely the guy to see in the Bay Area. Thanks, Luke! read more

Absolutely Amazing!! I was just looking over our wedding photos and felt complied to rave about my experience with Luke Snyder Studio. My wedding was June 201. I was super happy with how at ease and comfortable he made me and my wedding party feel. It was fanatic day of prepping, picture taking, marrying and partying. I mean fanatic like the best day of my life thus far. I'd ever felt so beautiful and happy! Over a year later I'm still thrilled with all our pictures. So happy I'm having a hard time deciding which ones to hang. I may just rotate them for the rest of our life for Luke supplied us with gallons of priceless shots! Thank you Luke and Sky!!! read more

Luke was an pleasure to work with from the moment we met him. He is very flexible and I even think he stayed longer at our wedding then contracted. When I was getting ready, the day of the wedding, it was chaos and Luke was a delight to have there, not to mention very helpful. We loved our photos and so did our entire family. I would recommend him to anyone. Thank you Luke!! read more

I wish to bring an evaluation from the photographers perspective as I am also a wedding photographer in San Francisco and have assisted Luke with three weddings. so... 1. Luke is professional. Besides challenging me to appropriately dress for a wedding, Luke also showed a business side of wedding photography that I had not yet seen. He is serious in what he does, knows what needs to be done in order for the day to happen, and does not throw a fit when something goes wrong. He can flow. That is something I see above most things. 2. Luke is fun. From the beginning, luke was always trying to make the people he was working with have fun in what they were doing as well as connect with them. He also did an incredible job at making the bride and groom both feel comfortable with each other as well as having a camera in their face (which from my experience is not always easy). 3. Luke is great at what he does. After having conversations with him in regards to where this industry is heading and where he fits in that, I can only assume that his passion and zeal for photography is what drives him to capture what he is able to capture, and if he fits what you are looking for, then stop looking for other photographers because he is the right one. I HIGHLY recommend Luke as a photographer. read more

We can't say enough good things about our experience working with Luke. As someone who has prior experience teaching photography, I did a basic google search of wine country wedding photographers and was instantly drawn to Luke's style, artistry and attention to detail. My Mom and I met with him and upon meeting him, he was the only photographer we ended up interviewing. You need to hire this guy if you want artistic, stunning photos of your special day. Luke did some engagement shoots at my uncle's ranch in Napa and I have never received such rave reviews about photos in my life. He was spontaneous yet professional when photographing my husband (then fiance) and I, even crawling into a 100 year old barn to risk life and limb for the perfect shot. Additionally, he is a calming, wonderful presence to have on your wedding day. He listens and gently guides at the same time. We HIGHLY recommend working with him. Our entire wedding party loved him and we will forever treasure the magnificent photos he created during our engagement shoot. We have only seen wedding sneaks thus far, but if the album is anything like the sneaks, then these are photos we will treasure forever. Love, Katie & Aron read more

About a week before my fiancé and I went back to Napa for our one year engagement anniversary, my fiancé asked me if I wanted us to take professional pictures while we were there. Of course I said Yes (again)! I wanted a specific type of photographer. We did not the typical, traditional, pose-y (cheesy) pictures. I started searching the internet and I came across Luke Snyder Studios. I immediately fell in love with his photos and his style was exactly what I was looking for. One of the reasons I chose Luke was because his photos catch the moment, the feelings, the love that his subjects have. You can feel what they are feeling. Since we were going to be there in a week, I crossed my fingers and sent an email to Luke, hoping he would be available. He responded saying he was and his rate was more than reasonable, so we booked it. My fiancé and I were pretty nervous when we met up with Luke for the shoot, since neither of us had ever done professional photos, but Luke made us feel at ease and immediately had us calmed down. The shoot was amazing! I loved how creative he was with us. He wanted to do new shots, things he had never done before. He had incredible energy, running around making sure he had the perfect shot. He took anything we suggested and ran with it. By the end of the shoot, my fiancé was asking if Luke traveled for weddings. Knowing my fiancé, that says a lot. He would usually have left something like that up to me and not thought much about who was going to be our wedding photographer, but he was pretty adamant about making sure Luke could make it to our wedding. We do not have a date or venue yet, but I assure you when we do, Luke will be the first to know. Needless to say, we had an amazing time and our photos came out better than we could've expected. The amount of compliments we have received are overwhelming. I cannot wait to have Luke's photos all over our house :) read more

All great art has a wonderful inevitability about it, as though it could not be imagined another way. This is Luke's work; masterful, elegant, thoughtful, and as though it could be no other way as it is essentially perfect. My wife and I had our wedding celebration in Napa in July. We wanted to capture time, place, and celebration with someone who wasn't just local, but had a sense for Yountville in his or her bones. Terroir matters for wine, it matters for food, and it also matters for the captured image. Luke's portfolio is amazing but what won me over was his insistence on meeting with us a week before our celebration - to see who we are, watch how we interact, and to understand what it was that we wanted to capture. This delighted me, and it showed in the results from the next week when we had our party at Ad Hoc. Working style: Direct but also sensitive. Direct is good; direct is a pro at work. I liked being told what to do to make the best shots. So, too, is sensitive. Sensitive to color and light and textures, sensitive to our interactions and those of our friends. Images: lush without being overwrought, and close-up without seeming staged. The feel of the time, place, emotion of the event are all captured thoughtfully and in detail. His work is really lovely, and it's really lovely to work with him. Cannot recommend Luke highly enough. read more

We did NOT cancel our contract. Eight months (eight months!!!) before our original date, we emailed him a request to RESCHEDULE, which was not addressed in his contract. Luke accepted the new date via email on a Friday afternoon, and since we had already sent him a 50% payment five months earlier, our date should have been locked in. We then spoke to all of our other vendors, and they ok'd the date change. Three days later however, on Monday morning, Luke told us that the new date we had locked in was taken, and then refused to give us our money back, unless he could fill our old date. Only after we contacted him several times for updates, did he finally agree to send us back half of our deposit. He mentioned that he had changed his contract because of our situation, which to us, said that he knew it was incomplete and needed to address rescheduling. We also got tired of repeatedly being told that we had purchased his cheapest package and there were others who wanted more expensive packages on the date we had chosen. Why offer it if you're going to make people feel bad about purchasing it? And how was it that a photographer of his "caliber" (his words) was not able to find new clients for the middle of summer after eight months of supposed aggressive advertising, but found it appropriate to almost double his rates in the midst of a down-turned economy? We have no way of knowing whether he actually filled the date or not, although we'd like to believe that he wouldn't go THAT far. I actually tried to keep my first review quite mild, despite my feelings. But with his response, comes my counter-response. We have all of our correspondence in writing, and would be happy to share it with anyone considering Luke. read more

Awesome, awesome, awesome. And amazing too! Luke photographed my brother's wedding in the redwoods this earlier this month and he captured every nuance of every moment that made the wedding special to my brother and his wife. read more

Look out Ansel Adams and Annie Lebovitz, here is Luke Snyder! Luke's professionalism, personality and creative eye are a powerful trifecta that makes him one of my favorite photographers! He has taken photos for my sister's twin babies and my friend's kids---and he's also taken wedding photographs for one of my best friends who got married in Calistoga, CA. They were incredible photos! I have been a part of many weddings over the years, and I can honestly say, his shots were tops. He does incredibly unique shots with incredible equipment. He's not afraid to go for that perfect shot, and he thinks of everything along the way. He's passionate about his craft and completely professional about his business. If you're looking for unique and gorgeous shots for your special occasion, I'd highly recommend Luke! read more

Luke is a bride's dream come true photographer. I have attended a number of weddings and seen countless sets of wedding photos now and our experience by far surpassed anyone else I've seen. Luke captured the perfect mix of gorgeous portraits and photo-journalistic style candids. He was everywhere at once, capturing every angle, every expression and yet, I barely noticed he was there. He is an artist first and a wedding enthusiast second, and the combination made for wedding photos far beyond my expectations (which were very high!). I would recommend him without a single reservation to any couple who values beautiful, artistic, complete wedding photos of their day. With continued interaction with Luke, he is even better than I imagined, He has been timely with delivering final, gorgeously edited photos and is ever friendly and helpful. I am still recommending him to all my engaged or soon-to-be engaged friends with no reservations! read more

We loved all the images Luke and his assisting photographer took for us! He's excellent at capturing the moments without having to pose every picture like other photographers. His approach is very journalistic and he works like a ninja. He would be in stealth mode as he captured many moments that we were able to see once we got the cds. All my guests couldn't believe how hard he was working and how well prepared he was. I've already sent Luke's information to many of my friends so I'm sure I'll be seeing him again at a future wedding! Punctuality/Response Time: Replied to every phone call, email, inquiry very quickly. Was on-time and taking photographs the whole time. (I hope he got to enjoy the dinner:) We got the cds well in advance of when they should've been delivered. Within the week, we had already gotten some beautiful sneak peaks! Cost; He's worth every penny! There's no need to shop around. Photos: We love his artistic approach/artistic eye! As a bride/groom, you don't get to see everything that's happening during you wedding since you're so busy. Luke gave us the opportunity to see all moments we missed through what he captured. Thoughtfulness: Yes, Luke gets extra brownie points for being such a thoughtful person! He gave us a jar of honey that he made (technically the bees made it but you get the idea) as a gift. He also sent us a card after the wedding and threw in some prints with the card. Luke is great at what he does and you can immediately tell once you talk to him. He's so enthusiastic about what he does, it completely comes through in the photos. read more

Luke is a brilliant photographer.He made me forget there was a camera on me all day while somehow managing to capture so many moments that I didn't think anyone even noticed. He memorialized our wedding in a way that was so personal and so beautiful. You can FEEL the moment when looking at his pictures. I can't say enough about how kind, passionate, professional, funny, calm and experienced he is. I knew I was in good hands with Luke before I met him because my brother had recommended him to me. (My brother is a wedding videographer so he's worked with Luke several times) but when we had our first phone call with him, I instantly recognized that Luke was really into making lasting memories for us. He took the time to figure out with us what we wanted out of the photos. He listened when we explained we wanted some obligatory portraits but mostly we were looking for candids of the special day. So, that's what he gave us. But not just regular pictures; he was in trees, on the ground, in the air, all OVER the place (I never noticed, of course) In the end, we have powerful, emotional, funny, sweet, perfect images of a perfect day that I will have forever. I know there are a lot of wedding photographers to choose from but I can't imagine anyone else having photographed my wedding the way Luke did. I would trust him 100% with your event (He shoots more than just weddings) Btw, I normally hate myself in photos so I love him even more for getting me at all the right angles!!! read more

Attended my friends' wedding this weekend, and I have to say I cried more looking at the pictures than at the actual wedding! Luke really captured the mood of the events-- made them crystalline without being precious. Couldn't imagine better documentation than this! read more

We had the pleasure of having Luke at our son and daughter in laws wedding . He attended the friday night rehearsal dinner and the wedding starting at 3 PM on Saturday. Luke was unobtrusive, kind thoughtful, easy to work with, made everyone feel comfortable, and as a result got beautiful and natural photographs. He is more than a pro, he is a photographer who is sensitive to the people and world going on around him and is able to provide you with moving and intimate photographs without being intrusive. Luke is a gem and we would be grateful and happy to use him again and again read more

I just received my CD of photos from Luke and they are AMAZING! We hired Luke to photograph our rehearsal dinner in Napa and I am beyond thrilled that we did. His images are absolutely beautiful, artistic and just different than your typical run of the mill wedding shots. The lighting and the emotions that he captured were unreal.... especially considering I hardly saw him at all that night! How he managed to be so discreet and get such up close, personal shots is amazing... He was incredibly easy to talk to and showed such enthusiasm for his work... I truly felt like he wanted to be there shooting our dinner. Highly recommend Luke! read more

Luke is hands-down one of the greatest wedding photographers you can find. We hired him for our late summer wedding at Auberge du Soleil in Napa Valley. We had looked at several online galleries of prospective photographers, when we noticed that Luke's images were different than anything else we've seen. These aren't just your usual "prom" style wedding pictures; this is art. Luke brings an artistic, photojounalistic, and a romantic point of view to his images. He sees things and finds beauty that no one else can, and this this really translates to his images. Luke captures beauty and emotion that tells a story. When we met Luke for our engagement shoot, he brought so much energy and excitement and we could tell that he truly loves his job. It's actually crazy how excited he gets when he shoots a perfect image/scene. I wished I loved anything even half as much as Luke enjoys photography! The engagement shoot was great because we really got to know him, and made us feel really comfortable in front of the camera- very useful for the wedding day. On the wedding day, Luke captured the event in an unobstructive way and the pictures were just drop dead AMAZING! As the sneak peaks leaked out, our friends an family were amazed at the pictures and can't stop talking about them. On the business end, Luke was very responsive, timely, and efficient. I knew I wouldn't have to worry about the photography portion of our wedding day. Luke Snyder is simply an outstanding and thoughtful individual, and I dare you to find a better person and photographer out there. I look forward to hiring him again to capture future milestones! Thank you Luke! read more

We just got our photos from our wedding, and all we can say is "WOW!!!" Luke really is the real deal! He was fabulous from the start - engaging, personable, a great listener and really interested in capturing our story the way we wanted. He has such a warm and engaging personality, he was so easy to work with. And the photos.... he has such an amazing eye for detail and capturing not only beautiful pictures but people's personalities. He captured little moments (like my husband joking around with his sons, or my daughter photo-bombing her new big brother with her bouquet) that we'll always treasure. Luke was also incredibly professional, delivering the photos and video exactly when he promised them. The morning after our wedding, we woke up to a handful of sample photos to get a taste of what was to come. We just couldn't be happier! Book him - you'll end up with artistic, gorgeous photos that capture everyone's personalities, and you'll be in great hands! read more

We hired Luke for our wedding in late summer 2011 and were very, very glad that we did. After deciding to get hitched, we started comparing photographers (in the end, my spreadsheet contained information on 23 options) and interviewed our top four or five. No one else seemed to match his quality, price, and personality. We met for coffee in Napa and viewed more of his images and were further impressed by his professionalism and demeanor - he seemed genuinely excited about this work - not jaded like many of the other photographers we encountered or creepily overeager about photographing our big day. We finalized a contract shortly thereafter. As our wedding approached, we traded more emails and he met us at our wedding site to scope out the place. He continued to put us at ease, scoping out the best spots and troubleshooting for potential problems. On our wedding day Luke was fantastic. He was very professional but clearly enjoying himself. That enthusiasm helped everyone drop their guard and just enjoy the day. It was really quite magical how he got everyone to be relaxed amidst all the formality of photography - a bit like the pied piper, leading us and encouraging us, which makes sense since he was a Montessori School teacher in a former life. The photos were terrific and working with Luke afterwards has been great too. And check out his videos about his honeybees! read more

Luke is amazing! He did an outstanding job on our engagement and wedding photos! My husband who does not love taking photos felt completely relaxed with Luke. He captured every moment of our day so that we can relive the special day over and over! We will use him for every major event in our lives! He is so enjoyable to work with and has a great eye for photography! Truly a very talented artist! read more

Luke Snyder shot our wedding last month, he went above and beyond his duty, and exceeded all of our expectations. Luke is a wonderful photographer and great to work with. He is friendly, funny, efficient, helpful, directive, and just makes you feel very comfortable- definitely the type of person a bride needs around on the big day! He cares about capturing the moment and will literally do anything to get the perfect shot! Everyone who attended our wedding commented about how great and hardworking he was! The final product is also amazing, and the editing is spectacular! He did everything he said that he would do. We absolutely love the pictures. Our photographer was the most important vendor for us to choose, and we are so glad that we picked Luke, he is simply amazing! read more

I was recently married in Napa and Luke was our photographer. One of my tasks while wedding planning was to research photographers. I have been a groomsman in several weddings and I used to be a wedding videographer so I knew exactly what I was looking for. After talking with him and seeing some samples of his work, here are some reasons that we decided to go with Luke: - His pictures look natural and beautiful. I've been in far too many weddings where the photographer tries to pose us in weird and uncomfortable poses. It takes FOREVER (sometimes in hot weather or while we are all starving) and I know that nobody is ever going to hang up those pictures - ever. But Luke's pictures were definitely frame worthy and he told us he doesn't take long to take them (and he was exactly right). - He captures the moment and emotions so well. His pictures are definitely worth a thousand words. - He was so personable when we talked with him for our phone interview. It was a little overwhelming at first since we had to choose one photographer from the list of many photographers in the area. But after seeing his pictures and talking with him it was an easy decision to choose Luke. After the wedding, here are some reasons that we are so thankful we picked Luke: - I have never been mistaken for being photogenic and I was not excited about having to pose for the engagement pictures. But Luke knew how to put us at ease and allowed us to be natural. Luke captured the love that my wife and I have for each other. We received so many compliments about our engagement photoshoot. - Taking pictures can be very draining. But Luke has such a positive energy that we all really enjoyed having him around. He was such a blessing to us. He was always smiling and/or giggling. It's very contagious. - He works very hard to get the right shots. One minute he's crawling on the ground and the next he is literally up in a tree. He is everywhere but he always stays in the background. He knows how important it is to capture the moment and not to take away from the moment. - He takes posed group shots quickly. Like most weddings we really wanted a few group shots with different combinations of family and friends. This can be a very painful process. But we went through the entire list in 20 minutes. Everybody was so appreciative of his quick work and positive demeanor. - We ended up with several hundred of the most beautiful pictures of our wedding. Every single one that he sent us tells a story of that day. It never gets old to look through them and relive that special day. I can't tell you how many times people ask, "where did you find that photographer? He is amazing!" It makes us so thankful we found him. So if Luke is available for your wedding then consider yourself lucky. You are going to be so blessed. You will cherish your pictures for the rest of your life. read more

Luke covered my son Darren's wedding in beautiful Napa valley California. His pictures are the best I have ever seen. He seems to have an instinct and talent that allows him to capture the feelings of celebration, poignancy, solemnity and fun of our event. He sees beautiful pictures everywhere that our untrained eyes pass by. When we saw the first group of pictures after the event we were blown away. The whole event came rushing back and we were in tears all over again. His pictures are a treasure. He captured much more then we experienced at the event because he seemed to be everywhere and yet unnoticed. A rare talent for a very special event. He is, by far, the best we have ever seen. Our next event, Luke is our first and only call! read more

Luke Snyder is a kind, energetic, and compassionate person who is totally enthusiastic about his work. You can tell this as soon as you begin talking with him, the implications of which are twofold. First, it means that you shy folks (like myself) will almost immediately feel comfortable in front of his camera, which seems to disappear just as he starts to work. Actually, "work" is the wrong word to describe what Luke does . . . Which brings me to the second implication of those aforementioned qualities. Not only will you feel comfortable being photographed by Luke, you will have fun. As a result, something you may realize only more gradually about Luke is that he is also extremely disciplined. This quality manifests itself unobtrusively, first in his patient dedication to capturing just the right light and emotion, and then again as he diligently and promptly prepares a set of proofs for your review. On a somewhat different, though I think still relevant note, is Luke's dedication to building a healthy community here in Napa. Luke Snyder Studio is a certified Bay Area Green Business, but less formal indications of his good intentions are perhaps even more telling; he is passionate about his organic garden, chickens, and bees, can be seen walking his baby girl all over town, and supports local growers and artisans at the valley's many farmers markets. So in short, Luke Snyder is a just the kind of artist, businessman, and person I love to see here in Napa. We are very lucky to have him. read more

Above and beyond! The best vendor we used for our wedding, hands down. My husband and I had Luke Snyder photograph our New Year's Eve wedding in northern California. From our very first call with him through the wedding, he was amazing. Upbeat, professional, thoughtful, warm, and paid great attention to detail. The first thing Luke did was ask my husband and I how we met, about our wedding, what we wanted the day to be, the kinds of photos we wanted. He was communicative throughout, right up to the wedding. We had him photograph our welcome reception as well as the day of our event. He and his brother got hundreds and hundreds of amazing shots. He put so much time and care into getting original and beautiful photographs. He never stopped working throughout the reception. He kept finding amazing places for us to pose, lit incredible shots of the venue, and was omnipresent. Not only is he a spectacularly talented photographer, but he is a joy to work with and have at your wedding. Several guests asked us where we found him. We have already framed and hung so many of Luke's photos and they are works of art. He has a brilliant eye and a deft touch. He is always there, snapping away without ever being invasive. He's a great guy and an amazing photographer. I can't imagine having the wedding without Luke there to capture it. Book him. Book him now. You won't regret it. read more

We felt so lucky to find Luke to photograph our wedding. We found him through the recommendation of another photographer, and when we saw his photos, we knew he would deliver great work. He was very flexible with our planning and our budget from the start. While Luke's rates are very reasonable for wedding photography, it was definitely stretching our budget to hire Luke. Yet, when the day came around, I was so glad we had put our money toward Luke. He was such a great presence at our wedding - very unobtrusive, yet very in command. I was struck by how aware he was of little details, like if a carpet had flipped over, he smoothed it for the shot, or if shadows had shifted, he moved people into the light. He also was great with kids - not afraid to be a little silly and make a few faces to draw a smile. We also knew we wanted someone who would provide his digital images to us, and he easily agreed (as is not the case with many photographers). Luke and his second photographer Robert were an amazing addition to our wedding. We hope that others take advantage of their great work. We would easily hire them again and again. read more

luke photographed my wedding at the end of august and the wedding party couldn't stop raving about how awesome he was - they all commented that luke and his assistant had amazing energy, great personalities, and were a joy to work with. luke stayed with us for over 10 hours from starting at the hotel, to different picture sites, to the ceremony, then a few more picture sites then finally to the reception venue. he was always positive and a pleasure to smile at. he sent us a few sneak peak pics while we were on our honeymoon and they blew us away. he recently shared more pictures and we were floored at all the special moments he captured, we felt like we were reliving the day again. the rest of the photos are on their way and i can't wait to see them! if you're looking for a photographer that is not just talented but also has a great personality, that takes soulful photos , book luke! read more