Last fall, we got our friend's wedding announcement in the mail. A good friend would call their…read morefriend and say "congratulations!" but what did I call to say? "WHO WAS YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER?" Oops! My bad. Sorry, friend -- by the way, congratulations! Enter Erin Leigh of http://www.thebowerygirl.com who I instantly booked a session with. My husband and I went mini-golfing for our photo session 'cause we're cute like that...and it was incidentally that day in San Diego that was like 107 degrees with 100% humidity. Oops! My bad. The camera has never lied so beautifully. I mean, it was 107 and we're out mini-golfing -- you can put 2+2 together and realize we looked and felt sweaty and DISGUSTING...but the photos somehow came out incredibly! We are blessed with many friends who are amazing photographers, but Erin took one of my single most favorite photos of my husband and I of all time which I will attach to this review. & shooting with her was a blast!!! Ask Erin Leigh about her super cool heirloom techniques like daguerrotype! Or just google daguerrotype and then stare slackjawed while you think to yourself: "holy shit, there's a photographer in San Diego who can do this? DO I REALLY LIVE IN A CITY THIS COOL?" The answer is: yes & yes.

Erin is a well-kept secret that shouldn't be! When I sent my recent engagement shoot to a friend,…read morethe rapid-fire reply I got was a request for her number to do their family photo shoot. She's *that* type of good. In fact, I learned about Erin from someone else's photos, too. The way she captured the light and the unique background of how they met in their engagement photos stayed with me for years. (Let's be honest, how many other people's photos do you remember? Exactly.) That was back in my jaded single days, when I didn't bother to save photographer names! Luckily, it was my turn to start The Great Wedding Photographer Hunt and someone sent me Erin's way again last week. Fate! My fiancé and I are not the posey posey traditional wedding photo types. To be honest, finding a wedding photographer was at the top of my Dreaded Wedding Tasks list. I was nervous about meeting up with Erin (and here I thought first date jitters were done!), but she was so understanding and fun in the initial emails that I started to warm up to it. Next thing I knew, we booked a Sunday shoot and ended up laughing our way across San Diego, snapping pictures in secret locations I can't believe she found. She had creative ideas and was so easy to be around that when the pictures came back, I was stunned at how much I saw ourselves in them. She hadn't just captured us looking our best, she had captured us *being* our best. Everyone who has seen the photos has been impressed at how real they seem (and yet, flattering, ha!) She is solid talent, and the fact that she's an absolute pleasure to work with is just bonus. Trust me, your search is done. This lady has a gift for photography and I can't wait to entrust her with capturing the most important day to come. I'm doubling down on Erin. I'm not sure if this is a fan letter or a Yelp review, but do with it what you will, Yelpers!

Holly and Bruce did my engagement and wedding photos. They were so fun to work with…read more My fiancé and I got a referral for them through our wedding planner. Our main concern was we needed a photography team that was just as excited about our same-sex wedding as we were. After visiting with 3 potential photography companies we knew Holly Ireland was the most fun and of course had the best style to their photography. During our engagement session I think we worked them for the entire time we were entitled to. Three different locations all over San Diego County. Never once did they complain. Finally, for our wedding, they worked their butt off and produced photos that were beautiful and Instagram worthy. Being "customers for life" Holly shot our Christmas photos as well. She was great with kids. I can't wait to work with them again.

While planning a quick family getaway to Carlsbad this summer I was lucky to discover Holly during…read moreon-line searches. I knew immediately that she was the right photographer for our group by her friendly responses and her expert shoot location recommendations. She exudes positive energy and happiness and truly made our shoot FUN! I look at our pics and think we all look relaxed and genuinely happy and a big part of that was Holly's laid back but professional demeanor in managing the process. You can't go wrong having Holly behind the lens A+++ experience!

Heather and her team at Shadowcatcher imagery are truly AMAZING! Her photos are beyond gorgeous,…read moreshe's so patient and so sweet. Would def go back here for more pics :) she's amazing.

Wonderful experience and photos at great price! Heather did an amazing job getting great shots of…read moremy dog as well as photos of both my dog and me together. So pleased and definitely recommend. I truly thought I was too old for professional photos but Heather made me look good believe it or not and my dog, well, amazing as always!

Oh my goodness, I cannot speak higher of the Pauleen and Dustin duo. My wedding day was…read morekick-started PERFECTLY with their guidance and energy and I would not imagine my wedding day with anyone else. The second photographer, Jenn, she killlled it with all the groom's photos. So many awesome snaps were taken for me to look back on moments I missed throughout the day. Some amazing shots of my guests just enjoying themselves have been my favorite to look back at. Thank you so so much to Pauleen , Dustin, and Jenn!! Also, before Dustin entered my bridal suite, Pauleen asked if it was okay for him to enter, and I think even her going that extra step to ask if he could enter really was so sweet and I am so touched she was so thoughtful. During my big day when I just felt like Mickey Mouse smiling for the crowd, Pauleen and Dustin kept the energy upbeat and kept reminding me to breathe. Loved them so much!! Can't imagine my day without them. We also snuck into the Windmill Food Hall arcade to sneak some photos since we were so good on our timeline and they turned out to be some of my favorite photos! Hello new profile photo! Thank you so much to your team.

We had a wonderful experience with True Photography & Video! The turnaround for our photo gallery…read morewas incredibly quick & we could not be happier with the results. Paul especially went above & beyond. He was a pleasure to work with & made sure we had all the shots (including some fun, bonus ones) to capture our special day perfectly. Our pre-wedding planning session was super helpful to ensure the entire event went smoothly and we were prepared to make the most of our time. We would 100% recommend True Photography & Video. Lots to choose from but attaching some of our absolute favorite shots...

This was our second time having Summer Rae Photography capture our family photos, and once again…read moreshe exceeded our expectations. Summer is an outstanding photographer with an incredible eye for detail, and she has a special talent for working with little ones. She made the entire session relaxed and fun, and somehow managed to get beautiful, natural shots of our family--even with two energetic littles in tow. We're so grateful for her patience, creativity, and kindness. We absolutely love our photos and highly recommend her!

We absolutely loved our experience with Summer! She was wonderful with our family of four, she…read morerecommended a beautiful location, had great communication and made our experience stressfree and enjoyable. I really appreciated how understanding and kind she was with our small children. My husband and I really liked the way our photos came out and were so impressed how soon we were able to receive our link with edited photos. Thank you Summer for being awesome and so lovely to work with.

OH MY GOD. STOP READING THESE REVIEWS. Your search is over and just book Ryan already!…read more I was initially drawn to his style because he can capture "in the moment" shots. The small looks and giggles between the staged shots. He was able to capture all of that. One of my favorite things about my photos was that he was able to capture my guests' genuine reactions during the wedding. He truly can rock the momemt. So talented! He knows how to pose people in small, medium, and large groups. He'll remind guests if they need to button any jackets to get that great shot. He knows how to incorporate the background so he isn't just taking pictures of people but really the entire environment. There is great balance in the photos. He was extremely flexible the day of. We had minor schedule changes and he just went with the flow. I am SOOOO grateful he was able to photograph our big day. THANK YOU RYAN!!

This review is a long time coming, it's been 4 years too late :) Sorry Ryan, we have just been too…read morebusy. If you have read any of the positive reviews and still in doubt, trust us they are all true. We had an intimate wedding in Disneyland and wanted only one photographer as it was quite a small gathering. From the get go, Ryan was terrific. Excellent and quick communication, very reasonable price and great personality. Got along with all our guests, videographer, wedding staff and yeah, the photos were great too. It is rare to find such great work ethic, personality and quality work in one person at such reasonable prices. Also, he wrote us a very lovely blog post with photos that we shared with all our friends and family. Definitely recommend Ryan for all your wedding needs. He is a rockstar!

We've had so many amazing family photos over the years. Cindy does a great job making her clients…read morefeel comfortable, and the end result are the most magical of photos! I've used other photographers and have maybe 3 photos that I love, but I have dozens from the sets she produces.

Cindy is a 10 star photographer! The moment I saw her work I knew I wanted to book with her. I LOVE…read moreher artistic vision. Her use of light is unparalleled as is her use of nature as the background. Her photographs are majestic, expansive, soft, golden, magical and real. She captures great candids. We have 2 kids and that is always hard but she had several tricks up her sleeve to get the kids to look and she got some amazing shots of the whole family. I just want to frame all the photos she took and cover my house wall to wall =) She's also patient, easy-going and just a overall pleasure to work with. I never share photos of my family on yelp. But I'll break my own rule so you can see how amazing she is.

Heidi is awesome!! So positive and extremely professional. The things she does to get the best shot…read moreare mind blowing and she is really quite interesting to watch when she works. Her photographic vision on what fits the theme and how to capture the best attributes is second to none. She is nothing short of absolutely amazing to work with and is very conscious of time. She did my Daughter's senior pictures in 2019 and she did such a great job we used her again in 2022 for my son's senior pictures. Very fair on price and excellent quality. I recommend her hands down!

I have worked with Heidi at Slice of Life Photography on many of her photo shoots, she has a…read morenatural eye for making her clients look their best. Always super upbeat and encouraging. Highly recommend her for what ever your photo needs are, she'll go out of her way to make the best portraits of you and your family . Check out her website to see her gorgeous talent!

There aren't enough words of praise in the English language for Shaun of Top Shelf Photo! We were…read morelucky enough to find him on Yelp for our engagement photos, and in mid-November of 2024 he braved the chill of Palomar Mountain to take spectacular photos of us. Nonstop compliments from friends and family, and received much quicker than anticipated. Once we got into wedding planning, Shaun was the obvious choice for our photography needs. Along with his second shooter Jess (Jessica Christie Photography), he again knocked it out of the park. Couldn't have asked for more perfect photos. On a more personal note, Shaun is the above-and-beyond type of person to take the absolute best shots possible. Like, fixing the boutonniere on my suit himself for the exact right angle, or gently shoo'ing away stinkbugs while helping my wife to re-tie her wedding shoes type of person. His passion and dedication for his craft are inspiring, and I guarantee if you don't love being in photos as a general rule (like myself) he will absolutely put you at ease and make it look like you've been modeling all your life. Thank you for everything Shaun, from the bottom of our hearts.

Top Shelf was truly top shelf. We used them two separate years for family photos. Loved it.read more

Well where do I start, Leo is an Old School type of Guy that likes to take his sweet time on…read moreeverything. He's not on your time, he's on Leo's time and he's team is also so unprofessional. Team will find themselves sitting down, relaxing while they should be working ( as what you pay them for ) also on their phones with feet up during the Venue. Leo will charge you for every little thing for example, you want Leo to go to a location for before photos pass 10 miles from his studio, he'll try to convince you to do somewhere near by or else it's a fee for every mile after 10. He's also going to take FOREVER on getting you the photos and video and than putting a time frame to choose what you want or else it's a FEE, if you don't choose in he's time frame ( 30 days, with photos having his logo on it to so you won't be able to see the photo clearly ).. FEE, FEE, FEE That's all you'll hear from Leo. For the amount of money you're paying you would expect to get everything you want. If you feel like your getting a Deal do your research a little more and ask questions and say what your looking for or else you'll get hit with Extra unexpected Fees.. Customers should be Happy for the full experience, thanks for not doing that LEO. Look at the amount REVIEWS LEO has, Two.. myself and another that got posted OVER 3 years ago. If this doesn't say anything then I don't know what else to say..... 09/02/2024

Very professional and amazing photos! My daughter celebrated her Sweet 16 and we really enjoyed…read morehaving Leo Photo Studio photograph our event. His undivided attention and beautiful photos brought everything together for us. Our guests enjoyed the photo booth he provided also! I highly recommend Leo Photo Studio!