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    Vivian Chen Photography

    5.0 (84 reviews)
    Closed 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

    Services - Vivian Chen Photography

    Event photography

    Family portraits

    Headshots

    2 More Services

    Maternity photos

    Portraits

    Vivian Chen Photography Photos

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    Recommended Reviews - Vivian Chen Photography

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    @vivianchenweddings
    Kimberly S.

    Viv is an amazing artist and the perfect photographer for our wedding. She was everywhere at once yet not obtrusive or in the way. Vivian captured the vibe and energy of our celebration with so much skill I can hardly believe my eyes. We loved her portfolio from the start but what she delivered for our wedding topped even our wildest expectations. She is a joy to be around and we loved sharing our wedding day with her. Worth every penny and then some!

    It was important to us to find a photographer that felt safe/comfortable for a queer wedding and was experienced shooting people of color. We had a great experience with Vivian shooting our August 2025 wedding in Carmel! She navigated the event flawlessly and I am obsessed with the 900+ photo gallery that we received less than 4 weeks after the event. We hadn't thought much of the film scans when booking, but the B&W ones are some of my favorite!

    I highly recommend working with Vivian Chen and her associate photographer Erin Prado for your wedding! Both of them were wonderful from start to finish and our photographs came out gorgeous. I really wanted a photographer with a natural look (not the overly bright/blown out look you so often get in wedding photos) and a focus on candids, and they came out just as fantastic as I expected from looking through their portfolios. We worked with Erin for a mini engagement session and our wedding and she was lovely on both days - really relaxed and personable while still giving us great direction on poses and positioning. Small things so we were still moving naturally and acting like ourselves, but really helpful (ie: having my husband put his hand in his pocket, reminding me to hold my bouquet lower). She also did lots of candid-style/natural positioning, like having us look at each, talk, laugh, walk, etc... and all of those are my favorite shots. She's also just really nice, professional, and respectful - we did private vows and she gave us some space for privacy while still getting some lovely shots of it. The final edits done by Vivian came out beautifully, her style feels very cinematic and I love it! She also turned them around much faster than I expected, we got teasers 4 days after our wedding, and the full gallery of over 850 photos in just two weeks! She advised us to expect 4-6 weeks so that was a lovely surprise (probably helped by our wedding being a bit before busy season). I'd absolutely recommend them both to anyone!

    This is a long belated (but well-deserved!) review as we took our engagement photos with Vivian in July 2024 at Filoli and then had her photograph our wedding in September 2024 at Ruth Bancroft Garden. We loved all of our photos, and we appreciate that instead of posing us too much, she lightly gave guidance and reference for the best photos. We are self-confessed a very awkward couple when taking photos, but we never felt awkward during our engagement session and wedding. Vivian also took amazing photos that highlighted the beauty of the venues that we selected and really allowed us to remember our special day. When selecting a vendor for photography, I reached out and inquired with many photographers. Vivian was extremely responsive from the first initial outreach, and she shared links of portfolios done at our wedding venue so we could get a sense of her work. We had a great virtual meet and greet with her, and her authentic photography style really resonated with us. Some of the best photos from our day were candid moments that she had a great eye for capturing! With so many wedding photographers around these days, her years of experience and professionalism really reassured us. We had a small micro wedding (less than 15 guests), and a photographer could easily stick out when the guest count is that low, but she was able to stay back and just photograph the day, allowing us to breathe and enjoy this special moment with our families. Viv also delivered our portfolios so quickly - my family could not believe the quick turnaround! The variety of photos that she was able to take at Filoli for our engagement session also impressed a lot of our friends and family. They could not believe they were all taken at one venue. I also encourage other self-confessed awkward couples to do an engagement session with Viv before the wedding - it allows you to work out the kinks and figure out what you liked about your photos and what you didn't like so you can apply that knowledge to the wedding. It's also good practice for the "walk towards the camera but give each other a kiss" which took us a little to practice and sync up. ;) We would wholeheartedly recommend Viv to anyone looking for a photographer. On top of her stellar photography skills and keen eye to capturing great moments, we loved that we were supporting an AAPI owned business.

    The beautiful couple
    Marisela S.

    I am reviewing as I was a part of the wedding that Vivian photographed. Our friends eloped and had a small guest list of their closest friends to attend and Vivian was soo nice and fun and really relaxed. In a past life, I was a videographer, and some photographers were very prude or had this super strict timeline and all these checked poses, which is nice overall, but sometimes can be a bit pushy and Vivian was just like, oh lets do this, or lets be candid, don't mind me, ok, I have an idea what do you think. I mean she was just soo laid back, it was a breathe of fresh air and her pictures turned out beautiful!

    Gloria C.

    Vivian was available for our engagement session, and we worked with Erin, her associate photographer, for our wedding day. Both photographers were delightful to work with. Logistics Vivian handled most email communication, payments and logistics. Even before contacting Vivian, her website is so detailed and comprehensive--it only gets better from there! Vivian and her team are quick to respond, clear on expectations, and really just a breath of fresh air during a stressful season. Engagement Vivian is decisive, but in a calm and compassionate way. My husband and I were nervous about the engagement session because we had never done a professional photo shoot before. Vivian offered tips on hair and makeup, directed us through poses on the day of, and really made it easy. The engagement session helped us get comfortable in front of the camera ahead of our wedding day. Wedding As we came closer to our wedding, we worked directly with Erin to discuss timelines, portraits, and other details. We appreciated Erin's flexibility to capture moments like our tea ceremony and large family portraits, and were really happy with how our photos turned out!

    Rebecca H.

    Not only is Vivian an incredibly talented photographer, she is also an amazing person. My partner and I just got married on 4/23/22 at Point Reyes National Seashore and it honestly felt like we were in the middle of a tornado it was so windy! We were so very happy, but also incredibly cold and exhausted. All to say, Vivian's photos made us look like carefree models in a magazine and that takes some talent! Vivian was also vey supportive in helping us think through the timing of the wedding day, when would be best for photos, where to go, and all of the finer details. I really appreciate Vivian's professionalism, easygoing personality, and orientation toward philanthropy and giving back to our community. I honestly can't recommend working with her enough! Thank you, Vivian!

    Mikaela E.

    6/5 stars. Vivian was all around wonderful for our wedding! Organized, professional, communicative, thoughtful, on time (early), and most importantly, her photos capturing our special day were absolutely stunning. We will cherish them for a lifetime. Highly recommend working with Vivian!!

    Where do I begin? Vivian photographed our September wedding in Sonoma on 09/03/22 and every picture is STUNNING! We love the portraits, but her candids is what really took things over the top. All of our guests look like they're glowing in her photos! She truly captured the joy of the day. I could not stop smiling scrolling through our gallery. She went above and beyond to include a photo of all of our guests. Vivian is super cool. She made sure everyone was comfortable and she kept things on time on the wedding day. We were tight one time, but she got my "getting ready" pictures done in minutes. You would never know by looking at them what a short timeframe she had. Vivian already had a strong working relationship with our wedding videographer. That partnership made things run smoothly from a logistical perspective, but more importantly showed how respected Vivian is in the industry. We're so happy we booked her for our big day!! You won't be disappointed working with Vivian.

    Working with Vivian was fantastic! First off, her photos are absolutely stunning. She shot at many different sites across our Santa Barbara wedding day -- hotel, beach, two different parks -- and what stood out is how diverse and yet complimentary the whole album is. All the shots are wonderfully composed and highlight the natural beauty of the place. Vivian is also a dream to work with. She is super warm, chill, and made us feel comfortable for all the staged photos. She also has just the right amount of assertiveness to make sure the day stays on track and you get all the shots you want. Throughout the process she was very responsive, on top of everything, and helped us think through various locations for our first-look and portraits. We're so happy to have gotten to work with Vivian. Thank you for capturing our wedding as beautifully as we remembered it!

    Hallie K.

    We feel so fortunate that we chose Vivian to capture our wedding and engagement photos. She's a true professional: communicative, experienced, while also possessing a clear sense of warmth and intuition. Before any pictures were taken, she knew the right questions to ask to gain a sense of our vision and preferences. She served as a valuable sounding board as our wedding got closer, and an incredibly reassuring presence for us on the day of. After our ceremony, we had a long list of family portraits to get to with a lot of unwieldy family members, but she was equal parts patient and assertive in getting everyone in line. In fact, for most of our wedding day, we were actually ahead of schedule, and I believe we have her to thank for that! Vivian was also extremely prompt in sending us both sets of photos -- we received our engagement photos within days and wedding photos within two weeks. As you can see, her work is extraordinary! We truly couldn't have asked for a more talented and capable photographer. I think my mother-in-law said it best when she called her an "inspired" choice!

    We are so so happy we decided to go with Vivian as our wedding photographer based on recommendations from a friend. She spent plenty of time getting to know us as a couple and our vision for what we wanted in our photos. She suggested a beautiful hidden redwood grove in the park as a second location after City Hall -- she really knows the ins and outs of the area! We were very nervous on the day of, and Vivian really held our hands and led us through it all. She helped us get to the right place to get our marriage license, told us where to wait, and led us to all the good spots for pictures in City Hall. We were also so sure we were going to feel awkward posing in public, but Vivian did a great job directing us and making us feel so comfortable with her calm presence. We had some specific pictures we wanted to get and she was very accommodating. We were super pleased with how the pictures came out. She is so knowledgeable and was switching through 4 different cameras! She was even able to get us a sneak peek super quick and delivered the final pictures earlier than promised. She's also overall just a cool person. We will definitely pick her again for any photoshoots we want in the future!

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    Page 1 of 3

    Ask the Community - Vivian Chen Photography

    Review Highlights - Vivian Chen Photography

    Viv came to our home the morning of our daughter's ninth day in the world and immediately seemed like a friend.

    Mentioned in 25 reviews

    Read more highlights

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