Haley is such an amazing person and an even better photographer 🫶🏻 My husband and I are from Arizona but we got married in Maui, Hawaii on December 29th, 2025. We were hoping to find a photographer who would travel from our home state, and not only capture the beauty of Hawaii, but the beauty of our love story as well. Haley definitely exceeded all expectations by far. Haley had a way about posing us that made everyone feel comfortable and confident in themselves as well. Our group was fairly small but a bit chaotic, Haley managed to gather everyone together to get all the family photos and even got the attention of our 18 month old baby to focus for pictures! The time and effort Haley spent on editing and taking these photos is extremely clear just by looking at the photos. Every feeling, smile, gesture, and detail from our special day was captured so beautifully. Haley, we cannot thank you enough for not only capturing our love and wedding day, but for being a part of it as well 🤍🤍
Amber R.
5.0
Haley was an absolute joy to work with and such a talented wedding photographer. She made us feel comfortable from the start and struck the perfect balance between giving direction and letting moments unfold naturally. On the wedding day, she blended right in and captured so many genuine, candid moments we didn’t even realize she was there for.
The photos turned out beautiful, natural, vibrant, and full of emotion. We couldn’t be happier with how she documented our day. Highly recommend Haley to anyone looking for a friendly, professional, and truly skilled photographer
Alexis P.
5.0
About this vendor
Haley Mendenhall
OWNER
Typically responds within 24h
AWARD WINNER (3X)
Thanks to recommendations from couples on The Knot
Based in Surprise, AZ, The Lion Lens Photography is a premier wedding photography company dedicated to capturing life’s most meaningful moments. Whether you’re planning a destination wedding or a hometown celebration, The Lion Lens will preserve every detail with artistry and heart. Long after your special day, you’ll be able to relive the joy, laughter, and love through a beautifully curated gallery of timeless images and products you’ll forever treasure. Rooted in values of family, equality, and inclusion, The Lion Lens is passionate about celebrating people and their unique stories.
The Lion Lens is owned and led by Haley De Leon, an award-winning photographer with over 15 years of experience. With a background in photography and graphic design, Haley combines technical expertise with a creative vision that brings each couple’s story to life. As an Arizona native, she draws inspiration from the state’s breathtaking landscapes, infusing every photo with a sense of place and authenticity.
The Lion Lens offers a full range of services, including engagements, rehearsal dinners, wedding ceremonies and receptions, day-after sessions, and intimate boudoir shoots. Using a modern and candid approach, Haley captures images that are as genuine as the moments themselves. Couples can choose from a variety of keepsakes, including high-resolution digital galleries, fine art prints, and heirloom wedding albums designed to be cherished for generations.
The Knot independently assesses vendors for this award—it’s never self-reported. We base it on firsthand experiences from real couples and guests, and they must have a 4.5-star average across 7+ reviews in the qualifying year.
Join couples who chose award-winning vendors for their wedding
Meet the team
Haley De Leon
Owner
Born and raised in the beautiful state of Arizona, I fell in love with its stunning landscapes and vibrant culture. With over 15 years of experience in photography and a background in Graphic Design, I’m passionate about capturing life’s most meaningful moments. Family is everything to me, and I strive to create images that evoke the same warmth and connection I cherish in my own life
Reviews
5.0
out of 5.0
30 reviews
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Review Summary
This AI-generated summary is a snapshot of this vendor's ratings and feedback.
Haley is exceptional—professional, friendly, and easy to work with. She calms camera‑shy couples, directs groups (even kids), adapts to weather and travel, and captures candid, emotional moments. Photos are stunning, well‑edited, delivered quickly, and highly recommended.
Review photos
Showing slide number 1 out of 9
Hannah N
Highlighted review.
5.0
7/15/2025
Haley was OUTSTANDING!! I can’t recommend her enough. Photography is a massive decision when it comes to wedding planning, and she made the process so easy. Amazing communicator, e...
xtremely kind, made us feel comfortable on camera. She arrived at my venue before I did, and got lovely detail shots and getting ready photos. She led us through our first look and those photos are priceless to me. She captured every moment of the ceremony, got our family shots, walked our venue with us to get couple shots, and captured the reception beautifully. Her editing is gorgeous, and she did some extra magic to make a couple of our shots truly perfect. Haley, I can’t thank you enough for giving us the wedding photos of my dreams!!
Response from The Lion Lens Photography on 07/19/2025
Thank you SO much for this incredibly kind and thoughtful review! It truly means the world...
to me. From the moment we connected, I knew your day was going to be something special and it was an absolute honor to be a part of it. Thank you for trusting me with such meaningful moments and allowing me to document your love story. I’m beyond happy to hear that your photos are everything you dreamed of, that’s exactly why I do what I do! Wishing you both a lifetime of love, laughter, and beautiful memories. ❤️
Amber R
5.0
1/18/2026
Haley is such an amazing person and an even better photographer 🫶🏻 My husband and I are from Arizona but we got married in Maui, Hawaii on December 29th, 2025. We were hoping to ...
find a photographer who would travel from our home state, and not only capture the beauty of Hawaii, but the beauty of our love story as well. Haley definitely exceeded all expectations by far. Haley had a way about posing us that made everyone feel comfortable and confident in themselves as well. Our group was fairly small but a bit chaotic, Haley managed to gather everyone together to get all the family photos and even got the attention of our 18 month old baby to focus for pictures! The time and effort Haley spent on editing and taking these photos is extremely clear just by looking at the photos. Every feeling, smile, gesture, and detail from our special day was captured so beautifully. Haley, we cannot thank you enough for not only capturing our love and wedding day, but for being a part of it as well 🤍🤍
Any questions?
Alexis P
5.0
11/25/2025
Haley was an absolute joy to work with and such a talented wedding photographer. She made us feel comfortable from the start and struck the perfect balance between giving direction...
and letting moments unfold naturally. On the wedding day, she blended right in and captured so many genuine, candid moments we didn’t even realize she was there for.
The photos turned out beautiful, natural, vibrant, and full of emotion. We couldn’t be happier with how she documented our day. Highly recommend Haley to anyone looking for a friendly, professional, and truly skilled photographer
Erica L
5.0
11/17/2025
Haley was brilliant to work with! My husband and I are both camera shy, but she made us feel comfortable and captured the magic of our day. The photos turned out absolutely perfect...
ly; we couldn't be happier!
Cam P
5.0
11/14/2025
Haley is an EXCELLENT photographer. Her attention to detail, artistic sense, vision, and communication with her clients is unmatched.
Absolutely loved working with her!
Mckenna W
5.0
11/13/2025
Haley is soooo amazing to work with. She understands the value in capturing the most important and precious moments. And making them look so magical and like you can relive them ag...
ain and again.
Liza S
5.0
11/11/2025
Great communication and perfect service!
Tylee M
5.0
11/11/2025
haley is ALWAYS the best especially with the kiddos!! Very professional very fun and loving. She is literally the sweetest! Pictures always come out amazing and exactly how i pictu...
re them to be! :)
Marcela N
5.0
7/19/2025
Working with Haley was so easy. She did a great job with the photos. There are some specific photos that we are going to print and I wanted to edit them a bit more before we print....
Haley was so awesome open to my edits and worked on them right away. We are so happy with them!
Javier C
5.0
6/04/2025
Haley M Photography is absolutely phenomenal! From our engagement shoot to the wedding day, Haley made us feel so comfortable and at ease. Her professionalism and communication are...
top-notch, and she has a remarkable talent for capturing truly stunning and creative photos. We were so impressed with her ability to accommodate our style and requests, and the quick turnaround on our photos was a huge bonus. Haley's positive attitude, flexibility, and keen eye for detail make her an incredibly reliable and highly recommended photographer for any special occasion.
Ariel W
5.0
1/24/2025
I had such an incredible experience with Haley as our photographer for our wedding day. She was so friendly and very professional. She really helped direct us and our loved ones wh...
ich was great, because the day was so hectic and she really made the photo portion so seamless. AND not to mention that the photos turned out absolutely STUNNING! I could not be happier with the work she did. Highly recommend!
Response from The Lion Lens Photography on 07/19/2025
Thank you so much for your kind words! It was such a joy being part of your special day. I...
know how fast everything moves on a wedding day, so I’m so glad I could help make the photo process feel easy and stress-free. Hearing how happy you are with your photos truly means the world to me! Thank you again for trusting me to capture such beautiful memories, wishing you both so much love and happiness in this next chapter! 🤍
Elise V
5.0
12/07/2024
There are no words to express how happy we are that we found Haley! She took both our engagement and wedding photos, and they are absolutely stunning. Neither of us had ever done a...
photoshoot before and were pretty nervous, but Haley made us feel so relaxed and comfortable. On top of that, we had a lot of fun! On the day of our outdoor wedding, it rained nonstop and even hailed at one point, so we were fairly stressed, but Haley helped to calm us down and assured us that everything was going to be okay. Luckily, the rain just added to the vibe of our moody goth wedding and made for some amazing pictures! We can't recommend Haley enough.
Response from The Lion Lens Photography on 07/19/2025
Thank you so much for this incredibly kind review. it truly means the world to me. Being p...
art of both your engagement and wedding day was such an honor. Even with the wild weather, your day was so full of heart, and I’m grateful you trusted me to capture every moment! It was the PERFECT moody gothic vibe 😁
The way you embraced the rain and leaned into the vibe made your wedding feel like pure magic, I’ll never forget it. Thank you again for letting me be part of such a special chapter in your lives. 🖤
Sierra R
5.0
9/21/2024
Absolutely loved working with Haley! So kind and fun and made us both feel super comfortable. Definitely plan on using her for more pictures in the future.
Britny S
5.0
8/23/2024
Absolutely love Haley! She did our engagement and wedding photos. Neither my husband or I are very photogenic and can be awkward during picture time. However, she gave us perfect d...
irections and made the process quick easy and stress free especially on the big day. Could not be happier with how the photos turned out.
Response from The Lion Lens Photography on 09/12/2024
Thank you! It was so amazing being able to capture your special moments! I wish you the mo...
st amazing journey ahead.
Whitney T
5.0
8/07/2024
Haley is the sweetest. We loved working with her, great communication and stress-free planning.
Cam C
5.0
7/01/2024
Haley did a fantastic job! She really helped us feel natural! She did our engagement shoot and I couldn’t be more excited for her to do our wedding!
Silvia R
5.0
6/28/2024
Haley was extremely professional with me even though I was a nervous wreck! She was patient and treated me like a person and not just a customer paying for her services. Anyone wou...
ld be lucky to have her - Not to mention her work is amazing and speaks for itself! Will definitely be returning to her for my future photography needs.
Rheanna K
5.0
6/28/2024
Haley was by far the best choice I could have gone with for my photography! Not only were my photos everything I wanted and more, she makes you feel so uncomfortable and has fun wi...
th it. I’m obsessed with my photos and so glad she was able to capture everything I wanted. She has great communication and shared great ideas with us. Definitely won’t disappoint!
Sarah G
5.0
3/31/2024
Haley did an amazing job capturing our wedding day! We aren't very at ease in front of a camera and she made the whole process very smooth and painless. She was able to deliver our...
photo gallery before the date promised in her contract. She was always kind and responsive when we had questions leading up to our big day. We would definitely recommend her to others and would hire her again if we were in need of professional photos.
Response from The Lion Lens Photography on 03/31/2024
I am so happy you fell in love with the photos as I did! you and Will were so caring and f...
un and even down to your vendors and guests making sure I got everything I needed... it was a pleasure! Your wedding was super magical and really reflected the love you both share. Best of wishes!
Chie N
5.0
3/04/2024
My fiancé and I just had our engagement shoot with Haley and we absolutely loved the whole experience! It was our first time having a professional photo shoot, but she gave us a lo...
t of guidance and made it so that we weren’t feeling awkward. Haley was also kind enough to accommodate to the photo styles that we were looking for even though it wasn’t what she normally works with, which we truly appreciate. We cant express how much we love the turnout of the photos and can’t wait for our actual big day!
Response from The Lion Lens Photography on 03/31/2024
Thank you so much! You two were amazing to work with and had such fun energy :) I cannot w...
ait to help capture your stunning wedding!
Leia W
5.0
1/20/2024
Haley was so easy and fun to work with!! She understood our vision perfectly, and had such beautiful ideas for our photos. I can’t stop looking at the pictures!!! Highly recommend....
Eli M
5.0
10/24/2023
Haley was exceptional. Very communicative and helpful and just all around wonderful to work with.
we didn't have a specific vision when it came to the picture so we just let her gu...
ide us. All the photos are amazing and they were ready in a timely manner.
we cannot recommend her enough!
Nessa H
5.0
4/21/2023
Haley was amazing! She worked with our budget, she understood our vibe, she had great organization before the event, she showed up on time, she was flexible, she asked repeatedly i...
f there were any other shots I wanted to get before she left, and her work was BEAUTIFUL. Could not have asked for more, especially with our budget. 10/10.
Rachelle H
5.0
3/13/2023
Haley took our engagement photos this weekend and was able to come on short notice, very early in the morning, and had amazing turn around time getting our photos back to us! Highl...
y recommend, she takes incredible photos and makes you feel very comfortable even in poses that feel silly in the moment
Lizzy K
5.0
1/24/2023
Haley is amazing! She did a wonderful job situating all the photos to include just me and hubby and also included my family! She is very patient and made sure we looked good! The f...
ew edits I did request she did a fantastic job at (I.e fly always and little things).
Response from The Lion Lens Photography on 02/01/2023
Your family was amazing and it was such a pleasure working with you! I appreciate the kind...
words
Elena R
5.0
1/24/2023
We were so happy we found Haley! The photos she took of our wedding were incredible! We even booked her for our maternity shoot and once again she did an amazing job! She makes you...
feel so comfortable and really listens to what you want. I would 100% recommend!
Response from The Lion Lens Photography on 02/01/2023
I am so excited for you and your new life adventures :) It has been amazing to see from we...
dding > your growing family.
Kaeci W
5.0
1/24/2023
Haley was absolutely amazing. She did everything we asked for and then some. And was super affordable. Turn around time was amazing as well. Would highly recommend her.
Response from The Lion Lens Photography on 02/01/2023
Thank you lovely! Your wedding was beautiful and was a pleasure working with you
Heather S
5.0
1/24/2023
We had the best experience with Halet! She did our engagements, my bridals, and of course our ceremony and reception. She was on time, professional, very nice, and worked with us w...
hen we had to reschedule due to weather. I can't imagine anyone else doing a better job! She also made sure everyone's face was visible when taking the large family picture after our ceremony. She remembered the little details we shared about what we prefer in our poses. I would definitely recommend her to anyone! My family & friends also really liked her too, and thought we did a great job in choosing our photographer.
Response from The Lion Lens Photography on 02/01/2023
Thank you lovely! It was amazing working with you and sharing an awesome journey.
Jeralyn S
5.0
1/24/2023
Haley is amazing and so creative. We had an “out of the box” idea for our engagement pictures and she NAILED it. She met us hours outside of Phoenix to the location we wanted and w...
as so professional and helped us with how to pose and where to look. I’m OBSESSED with how great our photos turned out. We hired her for our wedding because of how great our engagement pictures came out.
Response from The Lion Lens Photography on 02/01/2023
Thanks Jeralyn! It was a blast traveling with you for a fun adventure <3 I am so excited t...
o photograph your wedding!
Nic S
5.0
1/24/2023
We booked Haley for our engagement and our wedding photos. We asked her for some odd request for our engagement photos, Friday the 13th themed photos in the literal middle of nowhe...
re out in the woods. And she came through with the most beautiful photos and genuine enthusiasm for the shoot. She was so much fun to work with and showed so much care. Can’t wait to see how wonderfully she captures the moments of our big day.
Response from The Lion Lens Photography on 02/01/2023
I am always down for an adventure, and you both KILLED it! It was such a blast and I love ...
that you trusted me with the creativity. I am so looking forward to your big day :)
