Shines Photography

Best of Weddings (1x).

Northern California, ALL California, will travel

About this vendor

Wedding photography lights my fire! I absolutely adore capturing the pure love between two people. I want you to be comfortable and enjoy the moments with your love while I capture the images…Our style is real, raw and passionate... encompassing the unique relationship between each couple - in the surroundings that they chose to celebrate their love.

Details

Destination Weddings

Destination Wedding Packages

Photo Shoot Types

Bridal Portraits
Day After Session
Engagement

Photo & Video

Digital Files
Online Proofing
Photo
Printed Enlargements
Printed Proofs
Social Media Sharing

Photo & Video Styles

Artistic
Documentary
Lifestyle

Wedding Activities

Getting Engaged
Rehearsals & Parties
Wedding

Awards and Affiliations

2023 'Best of Weddings'

out of 5.0

23 reviews

Search reviews

Lauren M

We hired Steph for our July 2025 wedding and from the first phone call, we knew she was the perfect person to capture our day. Her energy is so warm, welcoming, kind, and laid back...

. She has an amazing eye for detail and her style is beautiful- she captured the natural beauty of our venue as well as the true emotions of every moment. We LOVE our album and will cherish these photos forever! Steph is so great to work with, very responsive and soo helpful throughout the planning process. If you’re searching for an amazing photographer Steph is the exact right person- can’t recommend enough!

Jerrah O

Steph is amazing! Throughout the day she was everywhere and all over the place at once. She got shots of everything from every angle and it was done beautifully. we were excited to...

receive our photos. They are absolutely gorgeous.

Taylor B

My husband and I feel so incredibly lucky to have had Steph as a part of our wedding day! Even though we only booked her a few months before the big day, it felt like we had known ...

her for years. Before the wedding, I did a Fempowerment shoot with her, and from that moment, I knew she was the real deal. Steph has this amazing ability to make you feel completely at ease, even if you're not someone who loves being in front of the camera. On our wedding day at Tannenbaum, she worked absolute magic with the outdoor scenery. Her eye for light, angles, and posing was everything we had hoped for and more. Even when one of my bridesmaids was significantly late, Steph remained calm and professional. Multiple guests commented on how stunning her photos were and how beautifully she captured the natural light. Since my Fempowerment session, several of my bridesmaids are now seriously considering flying in from Connecticut just to shoot with her, that’s how incredible she is! Steph made our day so special and captured moments we’ll cherish for a lifetime. I got married on June 26th, and not a few days go by without me looking at our photos; they bring me so much happiness every time I look at them. Beyond her incredible talent behind the camera, Steph is also incredibly thoughtful throughout the process. She sent sneak peeks along the way, kept us excited, and even delivered our full album ahead of schedule. With Steph, you’ll never have to worry about when your photos are coming. Booking Steph was one of the best decisions we made!

Brianna R

We truly lucked out with our photographer—Stephanie was freaking awesome in every way! From the moment we met her, we knew she was something special. She’s charismatic, kindhearted...

, and genuinely invests in building real relationships with her clients. By the end of it all, she didn’t just feel like our photographer—she felt like a forever friend. On our wedding day, a wild hailstorm and unexpected rain could’ve thrown everything off, but Stephanie handled it like an absolute pro. She stayed calm, creative, and somehow managed to capture the most stunning shots in the middle of all the chaos. And then—she got our photos back to us so quickly and with such incredible quality. Every image felt thoughtful, vibrant, and full of life. Stephanie went above and beyond to make sure our memories were captured beautifully, no matter what the weather threw at us. We’re already planning to book her again for our next shoot in Tahoe—because when you find someone this talented and genuine, you hold on tight. We’re so, so thankful for her!

Michelle S

We worked with Steph for both our engagement photos and wedding photos and had such a good experience! She is so talented and her photos were so beautiful. We had no idea how to po...

se for photos, but she gives great guidance and makes you feel comfortable, and we had so much fun shooting with her! She scouted out each location ahead of time and sent us photos for what she was thinking to get our feedback, which we really appreciated. And she sent us sneak peaks and got our photos back to us so quickly! For our wedding photos, she had so many amazing shots-- she's really great at capturing candid moments so nicely along with beautiful posed shots. We had a great experience, would highly recommend working with her!

Mikala S

Steph is a ray of sunshine! (Plus an amazing photographer!) I would hire her again in a second to take any photos. She made our wedding photos fun and smooth. And WOW her photos ar...

e incredible and truly capture the day. Hire her!

Alicia L

Steph is incredible! From the start she was quick with communication and made everything seamless. We never take photos so we didn't really know what to do but she made it fun & ve...

ry easy, we laughed all day long with her! Our photos came back faster than we'd ever imagined & were everything we'd imagined. Were so grateful to have found her & couldn't be happier with our decision to book her for our wedding. We couldn't recommend her more!

Jenna W

We loved working with Steph! She is so fun, creative, and she helps you feel at ease. The photos turned out so beautifully and she perfectly captured the day. After the wedding, St...

eph gave us sneak peeks to keep our wedding vibes high. She also gave us access to the wedding album in a great turnaround time and a really easy platform to view, download, buy, and share. Thank you Steph. We are so happy to have chosen you as our photographer!! We highly recommend Shines Photography! - Zack & Jenna, 10-22-22

Alan S

Steph is amazing! We were looking for someone who had a great eye for capturing both the intimacy between the couple and the natural beauty around them. We chose to work with Shine...

s for both our engagement photo shoot and on wedding day and we could not have been happier. It felt like we had been friends forever and we had total trust in her to capture our special moments. She’s easygoing yet efficient (we had large wedding parties and were able to finish all the shots before the wedding so we could enjoy the party without getting pulled away), super professional, and will do anything for you to get the perfect shot (including climbing and standing at awkward angles on uneven rocks… she really is incredible). If you have the chance to work with her, DO IT! You won’t regret it.

Meg A

Steph handled both our engagement photos and wedding photos and did an amazing job. I had concerns about feeling comfortable in front of the camera and her low-key demeanor really ...

put us at ease. She helped with some posing and framing of shots but overall kept things feeling really genuine and the photos reflect that - real smiles, real expressions. The pictures are gorgeous and capture things as they are which is exactly what we wanted. Communication was quick and easy, we even had to reschedule our engagement shoot to an entirely new location after all the smoke in Tahoe last year and Steph made it work no problem. Can't recommend enough!

Eddie L

Steph was amazing and we love our wedding photos! Working with Steph was wonderful and she got beautiful pictures of us. She really captured the beautiful outdoor area where we got...

married, she was the perfect photography for the in the Truckee/Tahoe area. She also got so many unique pictures that we didn't even ask her to shoot. We highly recommend Steph!

Sabina L

Steph photographed our engagement photos, and we couldn't have been more pleased with the entire experience. From the clear and swift communication, to her warmth and energy on the...

day of the shoot, and of course the amazing photos that we received were all above and beyond. She really spent time to get to know us, and I feel that allowed us to feel so comfortable in front of the camera. We shot outdoors, and she has a talent for capturing the beauty of the surroundings while keeping the subject (the couple!) thoughtfully composed within the shot. Furthermore, Steph went the extra mile to find an amazing second location for us, and spent extra time with us there. In the end, her turnaround for edited photos was so much faster than expected, and we absolutely love the results. Thank you so, so much Steph! We look forward to having you capture more moments in our lives in the future!

Lauren W

Steph is absolutely amazing! She is an incredibly talented photographer and she is also just a wonderful person to be around. I knew I’d love her from our first chat on the phone. ...

She made me feel completely comfortable and instilled confidence from the beginning. My husband and I opted out of a videographer for our wedding so Steph had the full responsibility of documenting our memories and she has totally delivered. She has an incredible way of bringing out the best in her couples. She was able to give us quick cues without making anything feel posed or forced. Our guests were also thrilled with her. We got so many compliments at how efficient she was during family photos and they were so impressed with her ability to be documenting all the important moments without blocking these moments for our guests to experience as well. We could not have picked a better photographer to share our wedding with!

Ricardo L

Thank you Steph for capturing such amazing images, it was amazing working with you, we are so thankful to Jackie Phillips (Our Officiant) for recommending you to us, we remember cl...

early what Jackie had said to us about your work, you have a magic touch and capture amazing moments in time. We were so excited to see the final product and we were so WOWED! by it. Your pictures and recommendations were to creative and artistic. Any one who works with you are in for a treat, your work is amazing! Thank you so much for working with us and capturing all the special moments that we can forever re-live and share them with our families and friends.

Claire H

Steph’s work speaks for herself, she’s amazing! Our wedding day was crazy windy but our photos are fantastic! She is a dream to work with, she is easy going, made us so comfortable...

and gave the easiest cues to help us look like we knew what we were doing somehow! She has this innate talent of including the environment/nature into the shoot, her photos leave your jaw on the floor. Our wedding photos are incredible, I can’t stop looking at them over and over. I look forward to family photoshoots with Steph in the future! If I could give 6 stars I would!

Lauren E

Steph was amazing!!! We originally found her through WeddingWire and loved her pictures. We had an on the phone interview/chat, and she was so down to earth and easy to talk to. Fr...

om there, she was great to work with every step of the way. We were a “destination” wedding, and she was able to help refer us to other vendors she trusted- we ended up hiring them as well! We hired her to photograph our Friday night rehearsal dinner/meet and greet party as well as our wedding day. Both days she was like a photographing ninja, unobtrusive when everyone was emotional or partying it up, but so friendly and kind when taking one on one shots. The Friday night pictures were wonderful to have- she took so many photos of our loved ones from all walks of life mingling together. For the wedding, we loved every picture- the colors were amazing and she captured a down to earth feel that we really wanted- nothing felt or looked staged, and we have never looked better in a photo! Steph sent us sneak peak pics straight away. It’s only been 3 weeks now and we have all of them! We would recommend Steph over and over again for your photographer for any event.

Alexi D

We absolutely LOVED working with Steph for our wedding. From our very first conversation she was incredibly warm and instantly made us feel so comfortable and we knew we had found ...

the right wedding photographer for us. She is kind, professional, thoughtful, creative, and insanely talented. She even took the time to go to our venue in the weeks before our wedding to scope out the best spots for our photos. Within days of our wedding she started sending us sneak peeks and she sent us the full gallery of our photos within just a couple of weeks. She captured our wedding day so beautifully and genuinely, we truly could not have asked for more.

Alicia K

I’d give Steph 10 stars if I could!! If you are lucky enough to find that she is available for your wedding day, snatch her up! Not only did she make us feel comfortable throughout...

our engagement shoot and on our wedding day, but she provided us sneaks peeks leading up to the completion of our albums and shared in the excitement of it all with us. She truly loves the work that she does and it’s evident in the way she interacts with the people she works with. On top of that, she’s incredibly efficient! We were able to enjoy more of our reception than I imagined because of how quickly she moves, and we received our wedding album several weeks before I imagined they would be ready. And it goes without saying that her photos are absolute perfection. We’re convinced we have a photographer and friend for life!

Megan S

Stephanie was absolutely amazing! She got all the shots we asked for and kept us at ease the whole time. She shoots super quickly so it doesn't feel like you're being taken away fr...

om your guests forever. She made us feel like family- I will be using her for family photos forever!

Susan B

I had no idea what a blessing it was to find Steph to photograph our elopement. I wanted to remember the day, and Steph's seemingly effortless and instinctive eye brought magic to ...

every visible moment. She sees the light and shadow, and catches the mood that's merely floating on air. This woman loves what she does, and it shows in her photos. What's more, she's a pure delight to work with and to have around--requiring nothing more than subjects and setting, and no art direction. I was completely free to bask in the bliss, without the slightest concern for what she was doing. The result? I can barely believe we were as lovely as she showed us to be. She captured not how we looked, but how we felt. Thank you from our hearts, dear Steph. Your spirit and soul have preserved the magic of our wedding day.

Sarah R

There are not enough words for me to express how much I have loved working with Stephanie. She is by far the best photographer I could have asked for. She was kind, creative, profe...

ssional and such a pleasure to be around. She listened to me and what I wanted as a bride, had extreme flexibility with our schedules and planning visits, and my family has raved about her personality and demeanor. And then, on top of it all, my images are INCREDIBLE. Stephanie was willing to go the extra mile for us, LITERALLY STOP TRAFFIC to get the perfect shots. She caught the perfect images of us. And, because I know every bride wonders, her work is incredibly affordable. I can't say thank you enough, Stephanie, for traveling across the country to be with us on our wedding day and capturing our amazing moments. I will forever be in love with our photos.

Robin G

I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am that our officiant, Jackie Phillips, recommended Stephanie! She was so quick with her responses and very friendly. Just speaking wi...

th her through email you can tell how easy going she is! Her talent and services are worth far more than what we paid. She's worth every penny. I mean just take a look at her photography website! I took one look at it and I said "This is her! I know she'll be able to capture us precisely how I want!" & she totally did, and then some! Steph YOU rock! Thank you so so SO very much for expressing our special day through your talent :)

Cayla R

Stephanie is phenomenal! She goes out of her way to caption every detail of your special day. You hardly even notice that she's in the room. She wants to capture you at your absolu...

te happiest and most beautiful. She will do whatever you want in regards to photo. LOTS of great non-traditional photos. HIGHLY recommend.

Contact

Northern California, ALL California, will travel