-
Getting married at home in SF
These are the businesses that helped us put together our wonderful wedding in May…
Lydia Daniller Photography
Category: Event Planning & Services Photographers Photographers [Edit]
San Francisco, CA 94103(415) 420-9311
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 10 am - 9 pm
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
69 reviews for Lydia Daniller Photography
69 reviews in English
-
Review from kari j.
San Francisco, CA
1/26/2012
Lydia is not only an AMAZING photographer, but we found her to be extremely professional and a joy to have around on such a stressful (yet beautiful) day. During our couples shoot she gave wonderful direction, made it fun, took us to beautiful scenic locations, and was fast. During the ceremony and aftermath she was very discrete, I never even noticed she was snapping photos. So even before we got the photos back, we already knew they were going to be incredible. And when we got them back (in a timely manner) they exceded all expectations. You can see some of her work in an article our wedding was featured in in the SF Chronicle. click bellow:
http://www.sfgate.com/...
We have already recommended her to several couples that got married this year and they have had similar fantastic experiences. We would recommend her a thousand times over!!!! We cannot express it enough....Lydia is brilliant at what she does, she is talented beyond belief, she is professional and fun, when you choose her to document your wedding or life, you won't be sorry. -
Review from Chad H.
Updated - 1/16/2012
Recently got our albums for our wedding in 2010, and I wanted to update my review to reflect that. Working with Lydia over the past year to get the albums has been great! The only reason it took a year to get the albums was because I really dragged my feet in picking out which photos we wanted for the albums. Once I finally did that, Lydia edited the photos expertly, removing some tricky sunburn from my wife, blemishes, etc. Then she sent us a proposed order for photos and asked us if we wanted to make any changes. After we sent our changes, we had the finished versions of the albums within a few weeks.
The albums themselves look fantastic. When my wife saw them her eyes lit up. The photos looked great and the album itself is very high quality. In addition, Lydia gave us digital copies of the photos she had touched up (read my previous review to see how important I think digital copies are).
Anyway, read my previous review for more, but great job all around by Lydia.Listed in: Wedding
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
2/2/2011
Can't recommend Lydia highly enough. She was amazing.
To be honest, I wasn't totally concerned about… Read more »
-
-
Review from David M.
San Francisco, CA
12/17/2011
I'm fairly selective about who I write Yelp reviews for...and it's usually for the extremes. Either your service is abysmal and people should avoid you, or it's above and beyond and deserves extra recognition.
With our experience with Lydia, I wish I could give her even beyond the 5 stars. We've had professional photographers before but she was OFF THE CHARTS AWESOME!! Never mind the actual photographs - which are stellar (we did a family shoot for the holidays) - but her as a person...her professionalism, her personality, her warmth, how on top of everything she was, from following up on our calls to getting proofs back to us, to how she new how to handle us and the changing dynamics of our various requests, set us at ease (pictures can sometimes feel awkward, etc) All of it. We wanted to take her home with us and make her our live in friend.
I am so thankful my colleague recommended her to us...we can't say enough great things and look forward to finding another excuse to work with her again! -
Review from Annie S.
San Francisco, CA
2/2/2012
We loved Lydia Danillers photographs of our wedding. She went above and beyond and was great to have around. All our guests loved her too! I majored in fine art photography in college and know good photography when I see it, and Lydia's eye is a well trained artistic eye. Clearly she knows lighting and composition with the best of the best. Thank you Lydia!
-
Review from S. H.
Woodland, CA
10/23/2011
Let's just start off by telling it how it is: Lydia is AWESOME. And I mean that in the truest sense of the word, not just because I am incapable of learning new adjectives after having lived in California my whole life.
We found out about Lydia because she photographed our friends' wedding on the beach in Point Reyes. Three things struck us about Lydia as a wedding photographer: 1) she moved seamlessly through the ceremony and reception in a completely unobtrusive way, yet 2) she somehow still managed to capture the most intimate and beautiful images of the day, and 3) she tackled the challenging light, wind, sea spray challenges incredibly well.
So, when we decided to get married in a remote northern California outdoor setting, we knew who we wanted immediately.
We were thrilled in every way. Lydia is such a kind and fun person; we considered her as much a guest as our photographer. In the throes of our ceremony, we had no knowledge of Lydia or her assistant, yet, as with our friends' wedding, she captured it so beautifully and intimately. Having experienced the ceremony first hand, we are amazed at how well her images captured what we were actually feeling in the moment.
We were not so excited about a ton of posed pictures, but rather had the expectation of wanting lots of candid shots of just about everyone. It was easy to communicate our expectations to Lydia and she completely fulfilled them. Yet, even the few posed shots were greatly appreciated and well done!
In a purely professional sense, Lydia was an excellent communicator and business person and fulfilled all expectations. She thoroughly captured our event as it moved from an afternoon ceremony under an overcast sky, to a foggy reception and onto a poorly lit barn reception.
In an artistic sense, her images are beautiful, intimate, emotional, and hilarious.
Everything about our experience with Lydia was truly fantastic. -
Review from Sean D.
San Francisco, CA
10/20/2011
CONGRATULATIONS, YELP READER! Because if you're reading this review, then you have just found THE best photographer in San Francisco for your wedding, personal, family or artistic portraits! I truly mean this.
I have been working with Lydia since 2005, and I cannot recommend her highly enough -- I am consistently THRILLED with her work and her spectacular warmth. I have hired with her to do all of my Dance Company's photography (studio, promotional and performance photography). We also hired her to shoot our wedding.
Guaranteed: with Lydia, you will get GORGEOUS results that will truly exceed your expectations. Without exception, ALL of Lydia's work for me over the past 8 years has been:
- beautiful
- innovative
- creative (she does 'Classic' well, but also is super resourceful and fun and loves doing non-traditional, playful shots)
- moving
But here's the thing: Lydia is also an exceptional human being. She radiates love, positivity and exuberance. She will get just as excited about your wedding/project/family as YOU are! She has the uber-high-level-technical-skills that would easily qualify her to be a snobby stiff photographer -- but instead she is incredibly open, warm, sweet and a DREAM to work with!
Lydia is GIFTED -- and she loves what she does. And her love and exuberance are contagious! She makes sure her clients are listened to, cared for, and super comfortable throughout the whole process.
Hire Lydia and you will get photos that exceed your expectations and that you and your family/friends will RAVE about ... and you'll have a blast in the process, and most likely find yourself back here, raving about Lydia on Yelp! -
Review from Amy D.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 12/9/2011
Here's the thing- if you want gorgeous, unique pictures taken by a photographer with tons of wit and zest, hire Lydia Daniller!! She is amazing. Really. Truly.
Lydia recently photographed our wedding which was no easy feat since the day was broken into several different parts all over San Francisco. Lydia remained highly organized and punctual as the wedding migrated from one end of town to the other, and Lydia was there to catch all the important and sentimental shots. Lydia was dynamite at capturing candid moments (especially on the dance floor!) and she was fantastic at facilitating all of the planned and posed 'wedding party' shots, particularly with our families who were especially slow-moving on that day.
Lydia knows how to get involved in *the moment...* This is what enables her to take the shots that she does. She becomes part of the party and allows herself to have fun. She picks up on 'who means what to whom' and is able to get that special photograph that will last a lifetime.
In terms of doing business with Lydia, it was a definite pleasure. The highlight was a few weeks before the wedding. Lydia was on a shoot in London and proposed that we Skype in order to discuss my expectations for the wedding day. I offered to talk with her when she got back into town but Lydia insisted that we speak while she was away because she didn't want to burden me with talk about the photography details in the days and weeks leading up to the wedding. I was impressed that Lydia would make herself available from overseas to talk about seemingly minute details of my wedding. Lydia's commitment to her work is outstanding. The contract she drew up was clear and timely. The website she uses once the photographs are up online is bright and easy to use (ahem.. especially for our not-so-online savvy parents).
I will never forget posing for a picture with my 92-year-old grandfather and hearing him say, "that young lady photographer of yours is a real zinger!"
A zinger Lydia is.
I cant recommend her enough. Professional, talented, fun. What more could you want?1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
9/5/2010
Help! I cant stop looking at our engagement pictures! Am I a narcissist? No, Lydia's photography… Read more »
-
-
Review from Charlie P.
Los Angeles, CA
11/28/2011
Lydia is an outstanding photographer. I was in quick need of portraits for a website promoting my private psychotherapy practice. She was flexible, professional and very efficient. She also did a great job of making me feel relaxed and at ease and provided me with some wonderful, quality and professional looking pictures under a really tight deadline. I would highly recommend her for any photo project, no matter how big or small.
-
Review from karen C.
Denver, CO
Updated - 11/20/2011
**LYDIA WAS A NO-SHOW ON OUR WEDDING DAY**
I apologize in advance for my lengthy review, however, I feel it is necessary...
Around 2:30pm, (a half hour after she was supposed to show up to take "getting ready shots") I thought she might be running late due to traffic. Around 3pm, I texted my fiance and asked if her assistant was with him to take the groomsmen shots and he said no and just figured they were both with me. That's when my nerves kicked in. I called her cell, my fiance called her about 28 times (in a half hour), we texted, we emailed and there was no response. Lydia and I had even emailed the week of the wedding to discuss final details and I mentioned we were excited to see her! I started giving her the benefit of the doubt and thinking maybe something really bad happened to her but when we didn't hear from her, I was speechless. I couldn't believe this was happening to me. As an event planner myself, the only thing I had going for me was that I was surprisingly calm as this was beyond my control. I was just completely shocked. This day isn't some annual holiday party, a birthday, a baby shower, it's a f-ing WEDDING. You could only imagine what was going through a bride-to-be's mind. I'll let you guess. Just put yourselves in my shoes an hour and a half before you're supposed to walk down the aisle, one of the most important days of your life.
We started second guessing we had signed the contract with the wrong date but we checked the contract she drafted and the date was correct. Luckily, my caterer and day of coordinator started calling any photographer they knew (on Labor Day weekend, mind you) and found 2 that were available that they had previously worked with and said they were on their way. At this point, I don't even know if these photographers specialize in weddings, culinary, children's portraits, corporate events but I didn't have the time to question as I was thankful they had come to our rescue. Even though I knew they were coming, I still refused to get into my dress until I saw a professional camera. There were times when my bridesmaids brought out their cameras to take photos and as soon as I would crack a smile, tears would come to my eyes because I was so upset at Lydia and way too emotional.
It is now 4pm and my fiancé receives a call from Lydia apologizing saying she had in her calendar the wedding was for the next day, Monday. Who gets married on a Monday? She was with her family 3 hrs away and had no reception and just received the missed calls and texts. My fiancé hung up on her. Around 4:30pm (when the ceremony was supposed to start) the first photographer arrived and the lump that had been in my throat had finally disappeared. There was no time to really take any "getting ready shots" as we felt we had to hurry as guests had already been waiting for 45 minutes. There were no make-up shots, no getting your hair did shots, no pretend laughing with the bridesmaids shots, nothing. There were no detail shots of the flower arrangements or flower bouquets, there were no venue shots, there were no detail shots such as the escort cards, the table names, etc... the type of stuff you thought were so cheesy in your friend's online galleries. But those were the cheesy things I wanted photographed since I had planned every single detail of our wedding for the last 6 months.
At some time during the cocktail reception, Lydia's assistant showed up and apologized for the wrong date and started snapping away. She was very nice but I didn't want to deal with it so I just let her do her job.
I spent a lot of $$$ on hair & make up (an amount that is only justifiable for a wedding) mainly for the pictures so there would be something to look back at in 25, 50 yrs and to really treasure the moment. We received the photos from her assistant and everyone came out blurry. Apparently, due the to "last minute" notice she received from Lydia, she didn't have time to charge the batteries for her flash so she was working with half-charged batteries.
Lydia sent us a very apologetic email and said this has never happened before (but we still question, why this had to happen to us.) She refunded our deposits, paid for the photographers who came to our rescue and offered future sessions, basically anything we wanted. As much as we liked her, we didn't want to see her again and be reminded of what happened. We received photos from our rescue photographer (that turned out great!) but to be quite honest, every time I look back at those photos or any photos taken by our family and friends, I will always be reminded of that feeling, that lump in my throat. I will NEVER ever forget the feeling I had when she didn't show up on our wedding day.1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
9/4/2011
Today is my wedding day and Lydia promised she will be here at 2. It is now 4 and I'm about to walk… Read more »
-
-
Review from Joram S.
Brooklyn, NY
1/30/2012
In many ways the photographer for your wedding is the most important decision you will have to make; long after you forget what the food was like or what songs the DJ played, you will have your photos to show your children and grandchildren. That's why we were so happy to have found Lydia. She was amazing to work with the day of; friendly and warm without being cheesy or overbearing, and conscious of time management without being pushy or rushed. We were put so at ease it was like having a close friend taking the pictures. And the end results were just phenomenal. Lydia has an incredible knack for capturing natural, real emotion; I don't think there was one forced or stagey photo in the bunch. Not a single pic was missing from our wish list, everything from the ceremony to the portraits to the details were stunning, what more can I say? We couldn't be happier, and we're positive you will be too.
-
Review from Britt S.
San Francisco, CA
12/27/2011
Lydia took my wedding pictures on October 1st 2011, in Aptos, CA. In summary she was fantastic!
My family and friends loved working with her, I have heard many compliments from them. She arrived on time, was professional and very easy to work with and the end product is excellent.
I can't stop looking at my wedding photos, I just love them. If your looking for someone easy to work with and takes great pictures, hire Lydia!
Britt -
Review from Brenda B.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 12/8/2011
We recently got all our wedding pictures back from Lydia. We LOVE them!! I cant thank Lydia enough for her awesome eye, prompt delivery of pictures and cool, down to earth demeanor. I'm sad to see a negative review on her cause she was super prompt our "day of" and captured so many great candid shots. We're all human, we all make mistakes. I highly recommend Lydia for your wedding photography!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
11/2/2011
Lydia is awesome!! We could not have asked for a cooler, more talented photographer than Lydia for… Read more »
-
-
Review from Lyra W.
San Francisco, CA
10/31/2011
I can't say enough good thing about Lydia. I have seen her work for a while now and I loved that she can take such beautiful artistic pictures in all sorts of situations. She always comes up with something original that fits the moment perfectly.
She is fun, very reliable, professional and she makes you feel confident. She also is very good about giving small advices if you want them. She is very calm and calming! I felt at ease right away with Lydia. She was also very communicative so that I wasn't going to have any surprises and listen to what I wanted.
I am hoping that she will always take the pictures when I am in need! -
Review from Alex S.
San Francisco, CA
10/11/2011
I have worked with Lydia Daniller on two different projects. She took profile pictures of me for my business website and most recently photographed an outdoor event that I coordinated.
The pictures Lydia provided were fantastic. She seemed to capture such unique and special moments that really brought out the beauty and poignancy in the event and among the people involved. She helped put me and everyone else at ease with her authenticity and sincerity. Lydia was sensitive in attending to particular needs I had regarding my profile photos. She helped me feel happy about the way I look. Overall I was highly pleased with her work. -
Review from Laura D.
San Francisco, CA
10/18/2011
Lydia took head-shots and photos for my massage and bodywork website. She is professional, genuine, calm, creative and tasteful. She made sure everyone at the shoot was taken care of, down to glasses of water and fabulous taste in music. I'm pretty high on the scale of 0 to camera shy and she managed to take such natural and perfect photos anyway!
Every part of the process was easy and thorough. She listened and asked the right questions about the style and aesthetic of my work and how I wanted to present it. Even though she was out of town quite a bit during our process, she was very responsive to emails and let me know when she'd be away.
I could go on, but it comes down to how well she captures the essence of her subjects, how easy she is to work with, and how comfortable and natural she makes the process. Also, you get all this for a completely reasonable price.
I'm so happy with my photos and would work with her again in a heartbeat! -
Review from brian j.
San Francisco, CA
11/21/2011
Lydia took amazing photos at our wedding that we continue to enjoy today. She has a unique ability to take intimate and creative shots without intruding on the moment. It's like she is there, but you can't really see her. Magic!
-
Review from Phil H.
San Francisco, CA
10/11/2011
Lydia is a great photographer and a great personality. She recently did a photoshoot with our newborn baby girl. Lydia's attitude was fun and spontaneous and really brought out the sparkle in our baby's eyes. She totally put us at ease so that we had a lot of fun too. Most importantly, the photos look really great. She has a great sense of light and obviously knows her gear.
Lydia is a pro. -
Review from Vania R.
7/31/2010 2 photos
From start to finish, Lydia is extremely professional, helpful, patient, and kind. Yes, kind! Our initial meeting felt like I was sitting with a friend. She answered all my questions about her work, how she started out as a photographer, pricing, and packages. As I looked through her sample albums she brought to show me, I knew we had to hire her.
We went into this knowing our wedding photos would be an investment. They would be the only reminder we would have of our wedding day, having opted not to hire a videographer for budgetary reasons. Lydia's prices are reasonable, and she turns out incredible work. She captured the most memorable moments of our wedding, cocktail hour and reception, without being intrusive. We got some unusual, urban shots in SOMA. She even walked us over to the carousel at Yerba Buena Gardens, but sadly, because of licensing, they would not allow a professional photographer to take pictures there. When I asked the lady running the carousel if we could use a cell phone to take pictures and we were given the okay, Lydia was gracious enough to take pictures with my iPhone!
I could not, in good conscience, give Lydia anything but a five-star rating for the photography work she did for me and my husband. Lydia gave us the gift of getting to relive our wedding day, and for that we really are grateful. -
Review from Corynn K.
New York, NY
9/25/2010
We hired Lydia to photograph our outdoor wedding in the Presidio. We couldn't have asked for a better photographer, in every way. Hire her! She is amazing, and I am so, so glad we were able to book her for our wedding.
Lydia was flexible, patient, responsive, and fun to be around. Her photos are beautiful too -- but you knew that from her online portfolio. It was fun to see her creativity in action as she arranged us for our various outdoor shots.
My husband and I were very tense before the ceremony, but the hour we spent with her before the ceremony (to do our couple's shots) saved the day! We both completely relaxed in her company, and the rest of the day went smoothly after that, thanks to her. We were able to relax and enjoy the ceremony, and the pics she took are amazing.
I provided the barest of guidelines for her, and yet she managed to capture everything important, not to mention everyONE important, despite my lack of organization. She successfully herded uncooperative groomsmen, ADHD relatives, and a bevvy of complicated, divorced-parents family groups in to the right arrangements. She was nice to EVERYONE, even the people who were in the way, despite a tight deadline. You know how weddings are -- there were plenty of opportunities for awkward moments or hurt feelings. Lydia sailed through with the ultimate in graciousness.
Also, she has a super-cool car.
If you want style and grace, hire Lydia. You're getting more than a photographer -- you're getting someone that helps your chaotic day go that much more smoothly. -
Review from qx t.
Los Gatos, CA
1/3/2011
Lydia did an amazing job taking photos of our wedding. She was prompt, reliable and extremely personable. She was so patient taking photos of our guests even when it seemed a bit laborious. Her wonderful, positive mood made it much easier on a day that could be overwhelming. She even busted some moves on the dance floor before the day was over!
And of course, she has an uncanny ability to catch just the right moment and it all looks so natural and uncontrived. Lydia's photography will definitely make anyone's wedding album memorable. -
Review from Manuela Valyrie Z.
8/21/2011
Really nice ... :-) I like it !
-
Review from Jessica G.
San Francisco, CA
6/26/2010
I have been waiting to Yelp about Lydia until I saw how my wedding pics turned out. I wanted to rave about her right away because she's so cool, but then I thought, "what if I get my pictures back and they're terrible, won't I feel silly?" So I waited. But I'm happy to say, she just sent me my wedding pictures, and they are fantastic. Phew!
I had a few recommendations when I was looking for photographers, but they all seemed ridiculously expensive, so I turned to Yelp and came across Lydia. Her prices were reasonable and her portfolio looked good. We met for tea (she happened to suggest my favorite tea place too) and ended up chatting for about an hour and a half. It was like I was just hanging out with a friend.
The day of the wedding, she and her assistant were so great about getting a ton of shots without being obtrusive. Lydia has a great eye and comes up with some creative shots (you may feel silly while you're doing them, but they're worth it when you see the final product). Plus, she has such an easygoing demeanor and a great energy about her, so you are happy to have her around taking pictures of you.
The pictures turned out beautifully. My husband is not always so photogenic, but she managed to get some great shots of him. And, most importantly, I look great. There were also quite a few little kids at our wedding, and she captured them so well.
I would happily recommend Lydia to anyone. -
Review from Rebecca M.
Emeryville, CA
2/4/2009
Lydia has a natural talent for envisioning compelling images, and for translating them into a photograph.
I have hired Lydia both to help me on wedding shoots and to photograph my own wedding, from which we have so many great photos that it's hard to choose what to put in our albums. She is easy to work with and truly enjoys what she does.
One of her real strong points is getting intimate looking portraits without intruding at all into the flow of the event. She also has a great eye for light. If you're looking for a fun and disarming presence, someone who will think creatively and make family portrait sessions feel like a picnic, then cross your fingers and hope that she's available for your date! -
Review from Amber A.
Oakland, CA
1/28/2009
Lydia was amazing. She was the first and only photographer we interviewed because when we met her we knew we would be comfortable having her follow us around for eight hours on our wedding day. We did most of the wedding DIY style, so the only vendors we used were a caterer and Lydia, and I was very particular in choosing them both. Lydia blew me away, I felt like she was a long-lost friend. In fact, after corresponding with her pre-wedding and doing engagement shots, I felt like I would want to invite her even if she wasn't our photographer! Since we had 200 guests Lydia brought along an assistant photographer, Danielle, who we also loved working with. I can't imagine two better people to have documenting such an important, momentous day for us.
Of course Lydia's photographic skill is just as impressive as her sweet, easy-going manner. The pictures are beautiful, captured EVERYTHING, and are so us. I had so much fun re-living the day through the photos, which caught so many little details I didn't notice that day. It took me ages to narrow down my favorites to put in frames and albums because I had hundreds of favorites! Almost every shot was crisp and clear, had a perfect background and caught everyone with open eyes and big smiles.
I just can't say enough good things about Lydia. Actually, neither could my wedding guests! My husband and I got lots of compliments on our choice of photographer after the wedding, and everyone loved the photos. I would hire her again in a second and I highly recommend her to anyone. I think I'm going to stop gushing now and go look through our album! -
Review from Hilary S.
San Francisco, CA
10/6/2008
I am SOOO happy with the way our wedding photos from Lydia turned out... and that is coming from someone who hates to see photos of myself! :-)
I whole-heartedly second, third and fourth all the great things people have said about working with Lydia. She's clearly the best photographer in town.
My (now) husband used to hire her when he worked in Nancy Pelosi's office for community events and so she was an obvious selection for our wedding.
Lydia was the smoothest part of our wedding- she has a relaxed, artistic style that gets the job done. She is friendly, fun, amazingly talented, and able to get along well with any and all crowds of guests. -
Review from rebecca g.
San Francisco, CA
1/3/2008
Lydia is awesome. She's so easy to work with, totally rolls with what comes and gets amazing shots from it.
Example: She created a whole boudoir shoot out of nothing at my friend's bachelorette and the pics are HOT. She took pictures of us in our underpants in a windowsill and it was all giggly fun. So giggly, in fact, that she took off her pants to keep in costume. That's not scary, that's AWESOME.
Lydia is brilliant and grabs light from the heavens to make you sparkle just right and then at the end you're like "I'm fabulous! I'm beautiful!" and then she leaves and appears a little later with proof that you were right: here's a whole CD and a whole website (password protected of course, and prints are easy as pie) showing that you ARE fabulous and beautiful! And heaven-lit. Hire this woman. -
Review from Jonathan M.
Seattle, WA
1/30/2008
Lydia is great. 6 stars!
She took the pictures at my wedding and we are very very very happy with how they turned out. She's a pleasure to deal with, everyone loved her, and she has a gentle touch that doesn't ruffle feathers.
I could not recommend her enough. -
Review from Mike L.
San Jose, CA
7/27/2008
This review doesn't yet cover Lydia's photography, as we haven't had our event...but...I have to say that we used Yelp to take a look at Lydia for booking, and were impressed with everything we read. She's got an incredible sense of customer service, is always on top of her game with questions, and as with many creative folks, shows a great deal of flexibility. Will be back to review our photo experience in October, but for now, looking forward to a great event.
I've been remiss. I'm back to update....Lydia's photography is as phenomenal as everyone yelps about. This is the real deal, true to form, believe it! If you're contemplating spending the money, believe me, you don't want to look back on this day and have only so-so photos. Lydia is worth every last penny! -
Review from mizcat c.
Oakland, CA
7/31/2008
We had Lydia do a family portrait shoot for our son's one year birthday and she was amazing. She works wonders with toddlers/babies and brought funny, cute props to the shoot to coax smiles out of our serious little man. The photos came out beautifully, with many portraits of a laughing, smiling baby. From an hour photoshoot, we got about 125 digital photos and an album of 50 prints.
Lydia also went above and beyond the call of duty when I asked if there were more family pictures in the unprocessed photos. After checking through her stock and reporting back that the extra photos she did have of all 3 of us were too filled w/glare, she offered to swing by for a mini shoot. She came by several weeks later and spent another 30 minutes shooting just the family and delivered a smaller set of exactly what we were looking for at no extra charge. She is a consummate professional with a beautiful artistic lens. Lydia rocks, I highly recommend her! -
Review from Y. G.
San Francisco, CA
10/12/2011
I had a lovely professional portrait taken by Lydia. She had many ideas and suggestions about posing and lighting, and an easygoing, professional manner as a photographer that made it easy to enjoy the creative process together with her. The final photos were incredibly nice, colorful, and contained beauty and a sense of humor. Lydia's photos might be the nicest I have had taken in my adult life. I enthusiastically recommend her services.
-
Review from Sarah R.
Oakland, CA
Updated - 10/12/2011
Lydia has an amazing eye, an amazing attitude, and a professionalism that makes her one of the best photographers in the Bay Area, in my opinion. She did such an amazing job on our wedding photos that not only do people admire the content, but they always comment on the photographic style and polish. Hope you can book her before she's booked up!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
10/4/2010
Lydia is a super-star photographer who works with grace and ease and a certain je ne sais quoi. She… Read more »
-
-
Review from Sarah C.
San Francisco, CA
10/11/2011
Lydia was great to work with. She was very professional and had a great way of getting people to smile for the pictures. Even though there was so much going on that day, I totally trusted her to just take the key pictures (and the fun, spontaneous ones) that I wanted. We were super happy with the results.
-
Review from Hadley Y.
Berkeley, CA
2/15/2008
Having done my boudoir shots with Lydia was an exceptionally fun experience. She's easy to talk to, creative, and simply wants you to have fun when being in front of the camera. I liked how she directed me from time to time to try different poses while retaining a natural look and feel.
The surroundings made the session feel very homey and comfortable, too.
I got my CD and print outs a few weeks ago and couldn't be happier. -
Review from Melissa A.
San Francisco, CA
7/16/2010
We hired Lydia to photography our wedding this April.. She made me feel so comfortable in font of her camera, something I usually hide from! And the photo's turned out even better then we had hoped.
She was so wonderful and responsive to all the question we had before the big day and on the big day she was a true pro getting all the shots we had asked for and lots of them. She was so unobtrusive when it came to the ceremony I didn't even know she was there, but she got the shots! When it came to the group photos Lydia did a great job at keeping our unruly guest and family in-line and once the posed shots were done, she truly blended into the party taking tons of great candied photos that really captured each person.
I really can't say enough nice thing about Lydia, and neither could my guests we've received tons of comments from our guest saying how great she was!
I'm so happy we went with Lydia and look forward to any future opportunities to work with her again! -
Review from Angelos K.
San Francisco, CA
8/17/2009
Lydia was fantastic! We hired her for our wedding at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco last October. Leading up to the event, she was friendly and engaging. During the actual event, she was charming, flexible, and unobtrusive - she delivered exactly what we were looking for.
When the photos came out, we were really happy with the variety, the quality, and the quantity. Lydia was very fair on price, and worth every penny. When the holidays rolled around, we decided to have her create "parent albums" for both sets of parents, and the albums were a hit! They are both featured prominently in our parents' living rooms.
We highly recommend Lydia as a flexible, creative, friendly, and professional photographer! -
Review from Sid V.
San Francisco, CA
1/18/2010
My partner and I got married in Mass Sept 4th 2009 ! We had Lydia shoot a bunch of photos of us at our lovely home with our pup and then we changed form our wedding attire to comfy clothes and she took us around the city for several really fun and some REALLY beautiful shots.
She made us feel super comfortable and it was a very fun time. Then the photos arrived on a disc ! They were very nice quality and she sent them in a format that was easy to download to iphoto.
We HIGHLY recommend her and we look forward to having an excuse to working with her again ! -
Review from Hannah L.
Emeryville, CA
7/5/2007
When my partner and I decided to get married, we knew we wanted to find a photographer who shared our offbeat style and wacky sense of humor - and from the moment we met her, we knew Lydia would be perfect. She listened when we described our wedding plans and gave us great ideas for making the day even more beautiful. Her portfolio was gorgeous - she has a great eye for finding beauty in unexpected places.
I had not expected to enjoy the photo sessions during the wedding weekend so much. We were both skeptical when Lydia told us that the photos after the ceremony would be a special time for the two of us, but she was right. Lydia made both of us feel relaxed and beautiful - and the photographs she took really capture the feeling of the weekend. It's a year later now, and I still find new favorites every time I look back at the pictures. -
Review from Becky C.
Oakland, CA
2/17/2009
We actually found Lydia through yelp, so know that this really does work!
The minute we met Lydia, we knew it would be a good match - she had such a wonderful calmness to her and all of our personalities just clicked. This was good since we were pretty frazzled with trying to plan a relatively elaborate wedding in just three months (before the silly voters decided we shouldn't have the right to get hitched).
The day was absolutley wonderful and we felt totally at ease with Lydia. She took amazing photos! It was hard to decide our favorites from the 600+ images we recieved, since all were great, but we managed...somehow!
Really, really, really happy with her work! -
Review from Lisa F.
San Francisco, CA
4/5/2011
From the moment we met her, Lydia's kindness and professionalism stood out. We interviewed a number of photographers for our wedding, but knew immediately that she was the one for us. She was (and is!) interesting, engaging and so much fun to be around.
Her work was sensational. In spite of things going anything but smoothly, she rolled with it and captured the events of day brilliantly. We are so happy with the work she did for us.
I would HIGHLY recommend working with Lydia any chance you get! -
Review from Shelly H.
Sacramento, CA
7/30/2007
Our wedding day was truly "the best day of our lives" and Lydia captured every moment. Not only is she a visionary artist, but she practices her craft with professionalism and sincerity. Our day was made all the better knowing that she was there to record our memories.
-Saralyn & Shelly
