About this vendor
With a candid style and two decades of professional photography experience, my passion is capturing authentic moments and creating images that tell your story. I work in digital but also love the art of film photography. I have a degree in photography from the Academy of Art in San Francisco and communication from UC Santa Barbara. My specialty is documenting real candid moments that reflect you as a couple and your family and friends, while keeping a low profile. I'll keep you at ease in front of the camera and help draw out your most natural selves while having fun! Getting to know my clients and building trust is the key to creating beautiful photographs that will feel and look like your wedding. It’s been an amazing journey and I’ve had the pleasure of photographing over 500 weddings in my career.
Living in the San Francisco Bay Area, I am proud to work in the diverse communities here, and welcome the diversity of my clients who are looking to both honor past family traditions as well as create some of their own. I am a fan of inclusivity, sourcing local, and sustainable weddings.
My approach to wedding and portrait photography is simple; the day of the wedding is about two people coming together to celebrate their marriage with their loved ones, and photos are about connection and trust. My goal is to have your photographs remind you of how you felt that day. When you look through your photos, they will bring back the feeling of those meaningful moments, both the big ones like the ceremony, or quieter ones like an unscripted quick kiss on the cheek. Think of being photographed in motion; I ask my couples to keep moving, interacting, and most importantly, have fun! Freezing for the camera was for the 1800's! These days it's all about feeling natural and being yourselves, and the BEST photos will come from when you are feeling relaxed and present in the moment together. Know that you will get guidance and direction from me, but I'll let you settle into a moment and encourage you two to be silly, romantic, serious, etc.
Your journey will start with an engagement session where we can get to know each other a bit and have some fun. Then I can photograph your welcome or rehearsal dinner before the wedding. Then the wedding day arrives and I offer a second photographer for more photo coverage if you like.
Once you receive your photos, I recommend to my clients that they print their photos and make an heirloom wedding album. I can help you with both so that your photos will live as keepsakes that you can hold and enjoy.
My goal is for you to have a stellar experience from start to finish. And when you look back at your photos, they will look and feel authentically like your wedding weekend and bring back all the good feels and memories with it!
Details
Business Attributes
- Woman-owned Business
Destination Weddings
- Destination Wedding Packages
Photo Shoot Types
- Bridal Portraits
- Engagement
Photo & Video
- Digital Files
- Film Photography
- Online Proofing
- Photo
- Printed Enlargements
- Printed Proofs
Photo & Video Styles
- Artistic
- Classic
- Documentary
- Dramatic
- Lifestyle
- Modern
Wedding Activities
- Getting Engaged
- Rehearsals & Parties
- After Party
- Wedding
- After Party
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Reviews
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5
out of 5.08 reviews
We worked with Sonya for our 2022 wedding and are so glad we found her. We did our engagement shoot at Lake Tahoe, a SF city hall shoot when we got our marriage license, and our w...
edding day in Half Moon Bay. Sonya was always professional and had a way of getting us to open up in front of the camera. As a couple new to professional photography, we appreciated how kind and relatable she was and how she could make us comfortable for the photos.
Her photos are absolute works of art! We love each set of them and are so glad that we opted to have each set. If we had any feedback or questions, she was always happy to explain the technique and also take our requests to heart. If you’re wondering if you should get an engagement or other shoot before the wedding day, do it! It gives you and the photographer time to get to know each other and ensure the wedding day photos are exactly what you want.
Sonya was so helpful in finding the right locations and light for shots. We were scoping out certain spots but then did day-of adjustments due to weather - she’s fantastic at finding the best spaces and light. Our city hall photos are spectacular- she knows that building inside and out and can make them phenomenal. We had lots of different spaces at our wedding venue and she found the shot in all of them.
We loved all the photos from our shoots and are so glad we got a full wedding album. Sonya had excellent layout ideas for our album and was able to augment our selected photos for the best story and book possible. It’s one of our most treasured items.
We would jump at the opportunity to work with Sonya again and if you’re thinking about booking with her- do it! She’s a true artist and professional and you won’t regret having her on your wedding team.
Sonya is an absolutely amazing wedding photographer! We are so grateful for the incredible photos that she captured of our special day.
When we first reached out to Sonya, she sen...
t us her wedding photography collections to get an idea of her style, and set up a call so we could chat about what we were looking for and ask any questions. Sonya’s photography style is natural and beautiful, and initially prompted us to reach out. After talking with her, we knew we wanted to work with Sonya – we could tell we would feel very comfortable with her, and her experience and creativity with taking photos in different environments really came through.
Leading up to the wedding, Sonya helped us put together a timeline for the wedding day. We wanted great photos to remember the big day, but it was really important to us to be fully present at our wedding, and not feel like we were having to interrupt the experience to take pictures. Sonya figured out a timeline that worked perfectly. She also sent us a worksheet for figuring out which family photos we’d want to do, so the day-of went really smoothly. Sonya also gave us several great ideas for first look locations near our wedding venue, with details and example photos so we could figure out what we wanted.
Our venue was the California Academy of Sciences, which has some complicated lighting restrictions because of the live animals, as well as some dimly-lit spaces. Sonya did a walk-through with us ahead of the wedding to make sure she’d be ready to shoot high-quality photos within these requirements in all the spaces we were planning to use.
Taking photos with Sonya was the first time we really took any couple photos. We felt a little uncertain about how to pose at first, but Sonya made us feel so at-ease and we were able to have fun with it.
On the day of our wedding, Sonya was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. She captured all of the important moments, as well as the little details that made our day so special. She also took many amazing candid shots of our friends and family. The photos are all so beautiful, even more so than we could have imagined. Sonya also made us a slideshow with highlights from the day. It’s been so fun to relive the wedding, and all our family and friends loved the photos as well!
We cannot thank Sonya enough for giving us such beautiful memories to cherish forever. If you are looking for a wedding photographer, we highly recommend Sonya for your special day!!
We are so glad that we picked Sonya as the photographer for our wedding. We had her photograph our two day wedding celebration and have really enjoyed all of the photos. She is war...
m, responsive, organized, and easy to work with. She really knows how to capture the best moments without anyone even realizing she was there. We would highly recommend Sonya for any event/occasion!
Sonya was truly a pleasure to work with and we are extremely glad we went with her over all the other photographers out there. We were first interested in her when we saw her onlin...
e portfolio and liked her style. Afterwards, we met her in-person to ask questions and go over the whole process. Sonya was extremely pleasant to talk to with her warm and professional demeanor. She answered all our questions and went over the contract with us in great detail.
After deciding to go with her, Sonya reached out to set an engagement shoot date. The engagement shoot went smoothly and Sonya never rushed us or seemed in a rush. Even when we went over the designated hours set for us, she stayed until we finished going throughout the entire place we went to. Of course the photos all turned out great and we even used a few inside the wedding as features.
On the day of the wedding, Sonya showed up exactly on time with her assistant photographer. She is very professional, personable, and wonderful to work with! In between our ceremony and reception, we were able to do a 20-min photoshoot. Sonya knew immediately which shots to take and the photoshoot went very smoothly. She has amazing attention to detail.
After we received the photos back from her, we loved her work and had so many amazing photos to choose from! Overall, we give our highest recommendation to Sonya! Additionally, she replies very quickly to inquiries and when we were planning the wedding. It was great to have that quick communication. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you Sonya!!!
Working with Sonya was fantastic from beginning to end. Everything from the initial meeting through engagement shoot and actual wedding was well communicated. She did a great job o...
f putting us at ease with the camera (no easy feat) and the pics so far have been wonderful. Definitely would recommend.
Really wonderful experience with Sonya for our 2-day wedding! As a couple who dislikes being photographed and posing, Sonya was really patient with us on our wedding day, sensing ...
our anxiety to get back to the fun but ensuring we got great photos. Communicating with Sonya before the wedding was really easy, and she provided very helpful worksheets on the photo groups & types ahead of time, to ensure our events were efficient and we didn't miss crucial photos.
Hiring Sonya for our July 2015 wedding was one of our best choices. From meeting her, signing the contract, doing our engagement session, communication leading up to the wedding, t...
he day of, and seeing the wonderful photos, working with Sonya was so easy and comfortable each step of the way. My husband and I were so impressed with the quality of the photos, from the portraits to the candid shots. Sonya's photos are now my most cherished possession, and I can't thank her enough for her extraordinary work.
"Woohoo! As good as it gets!" about sums up my feelings about Sonya's participation in my big day. Full disclosure: I've known Sonya for a while, as we worked together at "The St...
oryteller" bookstore while both in college. I knew early on that Sonya would be an incredible photographer- and, years later, she was one of the FIRST people I called when I got engaged, and certainly the first vendor I booked!! When my MOH wanted to make sure I wasn't just hiring her because we were friends, I showed her Sonya's work and she was immediately won over.
1st- the quality of her photos is astounding. Her crisp, clear shots perfectly capture both large groups and tiny details in stunning lighting and arrangements. She covered everything from the time I was getting ready with my maids until we were dropping with exhaustion at the end of the night and clearing the dance floor. There are shots of all the tiny details that, as a stressed-out bride, I can barely remember appreciating at the time, but certainly didn't want to miss, and now have a gorgeous record of I can look at any time I want!! Also, Sonya's business practices are above par- she'll be clear and up front in her contract, and really gives you the goods- digital copies, a fair amount of retouching and b&w conversion, AND a great slideshow to the song of your choice! Can't beat it!
2nd- The personality of a photographer and how she can fit in with the crazy schedule of a wedding day are equally, if not MORE important, qualities in a photographer, and Sonya gets top marks for this as well. She weaved seamlessly around all the groups, including several minor crisis (including my mother yelling at her about backgrounds and my dad playing backseat photographer ...thanks guys...) with grace and ease. She got all the details of the rings, my dress, shoes, bouquet, etc., as well as GREAT moments of the guys together, then did some beautiful shots juxtaposed against a really distressed old building and knew exactly how to get people to pose and move together.
Bottom line, hire Sonya and you'll have at least one vendor who will get EVERY detail right. How much more can you ask for out of a wedding? (trust me, not much.) She's a bride's best friend, and you'll treasure the results.
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