It's been over 5 years since I had my last casual headshot and 10 years since my last professional portrait, so it was time to do a shoot since I just started 2 new business ventures this year. I had several friends ask Simone to shoot their weddings so I wanted to try Simone as well. Simone was very friendly and her portraits and finished wall art and albums were beautiful. Since my photos are just for my online presence, I ordered digital photos only. The entire process was pretty easy. I communicated with Simone online, and everything was arranged at my own time. We did the photo shoot in my back yard as my travel time was limited. Simone's services also includes makeup and hair styling which was a big help for me as I no longer use makeup or hair styling this year due to COVID. We spent about 3 hours in the photoshoot, and I got to shoot with a few different outfits that I could pull out and change into quickly. Simone directed the shoot, guiding me into many different poses and settings. We would have kept on going, except my family had to remind me that it was getting late. Reviewing and ordering the photos happened just 1 week later online, as Simone had a new website to preview and select photos. That was the hardest part - choosing which ones to order out of so many good shots taken. I recommend staying focused on knowing what you want to help you quickly decide on which photos and products suit you best. Now that I've refreshed my photos, I've already started posting them in my websites and in my posts to my clients and friends and it's a great refresher to launch my new business ventures. Photography is a service often under appreciated, and lots of work and preparation go into good artistic style and quality results. Yes, anyone can take a photo these days, but for important photos it's worth the investment to make something to be treasured for many years. Feel free to contact me directly if you wish to learn more about what I experienced in my photo session. My photos from Simone are attached! read more

See all

Darn, I wish I wouldve looked at the two one star reviews before I desperately scheduled this photographer. BEST ADVICE - RUN - I can elaborate further on my experience but I will just say this. The outrageous price absolutely DOES NOT match the quality provided. The end result does not match the cost in any way shape or form. The whole experience seems exuberant & she gives you a lot of distractions that pull you away from whats happening yet it is all a fascade and seems appealing but in the end you'll feel douped and robbed for your money cause again the cost just does not validate the results. RED FLAG #1 - You pay $799 for a session fee for newborn (DOES NOT INCLUDE PHOTOS) RED FLAG #2 - Photographer does not ask for feedback or communicate about what type of images you may want or desire. RED FLAG #3 - You are offered a "discount" on products that you HAVE to purchase to get any images. RED FLAG #4 - Said discount above is offered BEFORE & ONLY before the images that are captured are seen by you. (You see the price and you think to yourself - ioh the images have to be good for that cost. YOURE WRONG) Sooo many more Red Flags... too many to list. I feel preyed upon as a new mother. (If youve ever had PPD and made a horrible choice... chosing this photographer was one of the worst most costly decisions Ive ever made in my life.. and that is saying something!!!) If I was conscious and not fresh out of the hospital desperate for a photo of my newborn I ABSOLUTELY wouldve looked deeper into this choice. To respond to her mention below of me getting more images. We had a once in a lifetime chance so the poor quality photos are ALL we have. Which again adds insult to injury. When I mentioned the issues... she claims its style difference. Its not. Its quality expectations compared to quality delivered. All sales final cause ALL sales are fucked. SHOP AROUND for another photographer that gives you photos with the session. This ladys format is like extortion. read more

eyeCatchLight Photography - Here are your insane prices... - Session Photography Near Me

See all

Amazing!! I can't rave enough about my professional photos done by eyeCatchLight Photography. Not only are they professional, courteous and gracious, they are so skilled and the studio is beautiful. read more

eyeCatchLight Photography - This is my newest headshot! - Session Photography Near Me

Simone was patient and got some wonderful shots at my difficult family shoot. My family now has wonderful photos to treasure all of time, a gift that keeps on giving! She is thorough and professional. Definitely recommend! read more

Simone is very professional and take time to create the perfect setting and pays close attention to detail She is very responsive and goes the extra mile to create the best photos and ensure you are completely happy. read more

eyeCatchLight Photography - Session Photography Near Me

See all

I had such a great experience getting my headshot taken. I literally the MOST unphotogenic person on the planet. My husband is a professional photographer and creative director and he can't even get a good shot of me. I did the headshot minis package and and so blown away by the photos she took- best photos ever. I also loved that hair and makeup were provided which made it super fun and added to the quality of the pics. Thank you Simone for such a great experience. read more

Simone photographed my husband and I for our 2019 Christmas card. It was seriously one of the best photos taken of us in years (we're 70)! The process was professional, but the result was a comfortable and casual photo. I think Simone knows just when to press the shutter! She even managed to keep our pup engaged! We're lining up our 2020 session! read more

Simone is such a darling! She has a very sweet demeanor and is so patient. She was kind enough to offer suggestions for locations with picturesque settings that captured my niece's spirit for her graduation pictures. Forever grateful.... read more

Me and my family really love the pictures and enjoyed the photoshoot with Simone. Simone is an extremely talented photographer. She is also very patient and creative when it comes to choosing the right spot to take pictures. From the great outcome, I can tell that she puts a lot of passion and time into her work. Simone also offers a great selection of prints and album options, which is great as I tend to never print out the digital pictures and they just get lost on my hard drive. I highly recommend Simone and will definitely book her again in the future. Thanks Simone for your time and the amazing pictures!!! read more

I recently decided it was time to rebrand my business, and with that meant new photos. I typically can't handle family photos, or even casual pictures with my friends. My anxiety was at an all time high with my recent BDD relapse and stresses in life. But, I thought to myself, if I was working with a counselor, what would they suggest I do? They would challenge me to take steps towards facing my fears. I decided it was time to schedule a photo session with my new friend Simone at Eye Catch Light Photography. I warned her about my extreme photo anxiety (I left out the real details until photo day). I typically see myself as extremely deformed and overweight. As I opened up to her about what was really causing my anxiety, she did not judge me. She did not squirm or get uncomfortable. She provided a safe space for me to take these small steps towards tackling this debilitating monster that lives inside of my head. Simone talked me through the tough moments, held space as I cried, and patiently waited while I had to take (many) breaks to calm down. Her kind beautiful soul, and 11 years of photography experience (trust me- she had to pull out all of her knowledge to get me through this) created a therapeutic photography session for me. This is just one of many steps I have vowed to take for myself, and I am grateful that such a wonderful person was there to hold a safe space as I begin to work through it. I can not express enough gratitude for Simone being there for me. read more

Amazing service! Elena was able to take a beautiful family photo and Simone was very accommodating and made the session happen while our family was in town on Christmas Eve!! It was fun to have Meg do our hair and make up before, she brought all the supplies to our home and was so sweet and thorough. Very good quality and professional. Thank you eyeCatchLight Photography!!! Highly Recommend! read more

Having ones photograph taken professionally is a very personal experience. I just had photographs taken both professional shots as well as personal. I found the experience of working with eyeCatchLight Photography a delightful experience. All aspects were on a professional level along with beverages. Small edible treats were available. A professional hair stylist and makeup artist were the first steps in a relaxed atmosphere. I highly recommend this level of professionalism for photographs for any and all occasions. A very satisfied customer. Dr. Marion Somers read more

This was our first time getting family photos & Simone did such a great job. It was a full service experience, from helping us find the location to providing hair & makeup to hanging the pictures for us. She was so kind & patient, especially with our wiggly kids. I would definitely recommend! read more

I was very pleased with how my portraits turned out. Simone is very professional and responsive. She got things done on time and responded almost instantly to my every email. She has a beautiful studio which also has a nice outdoor setting. I loved that I could have someone do my hair and makeup so I could look my best! read more

Simone is a highly skilled photographer, but goes far beyond that with so many thoughtful touches. I loved that she asked me to create a color palette for myself, and to come up with some adjectives that represent me -- and that I wanted the photos to reveal -- these can be different aspects of our personality depending on the purpose of the photos, so that was an interesting exercise. It seems to me she really has thought of everything. In my case, my package included someone to do my hair and makeup. I'm so particular about those things, and after decades of refining my taste and knowing my own hair, skin, look/style, I thought there was no way someone could please me. But I absolutely loved it. I also am not that photogenic (at least I hope I look better in real life than in most photos I see of me!) but I was thrilled at the woman in the photos Simone sent. And I told her to let my age show. I don't want to be one of those people who, when the viewer meets me after seeing a photo, thinks I used a 20-year-old shot. The idea is to look good AND my age. read more

Consider eyeCatchLight Photography for your photo needs. I recently had a mini photo shoot with hair and make-up. Both the phots and the experience exceeded my expectations. Simone is personable and enjoyable to work with. the studio has beautiful outdoor nature area that really photographs well. And having your hair and make-up done takes all the work and worry out of it, just bring a few outfits and enjoy the pampering and the photo shoot experience! read more

Photographer Simone was very professional as she was knowledgeable about where to do the photo shoot to celebrate my wife and mine 25th wedding anniversary. She informed us of what is best to wear. She was very willing to take photos that we suggested. We ordered wall metal photos and we were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the works. We felt that the price was fair for Simone's time and the quality of the photos. Simone has a variety of products. We did appreciate the discount that she gave us and that she got our order ready i time for our party. Finally, Simone is very pleasant and patient. We plan to use Simone again for future photos. read more

Simone is so professional and wonderful! She did a fabulous job and even went above and beyond on a few touches that made the event, and the experience, extra special. The quality of the work is spectacular, and we are so excited about the products she offers. Simone also has a cheerful smile and joyful demeanor which made our wedding day, and the entire process an absolute pleasure. We cherish all the photos she took, especially a truly special (and unexpected) photo she captured of our dear fur baby at the wedding. Thank you Simone! read more

I hired Simone to take pictures of my family and she was amazing! Simone was so accommodating and worked with our schedule as we had a limited amount of time to take the pictures. She came up with the perfect location (Land's End in San Francisco) after our first location wasn't going to work due to weather. The entire shoot took less than an hour which was impressive given there were 22 of us (including a few kids) and Simone was artful in getting all of us to stop talking and look at the camera at the same time! The process to review and pick out the pictures I wanted was effortless and I'm absolutely thrilled with how all of them came out, especially the beautiful album! I highly recommend Simone and will definitely use her again in the future. read more

Simone was amazing taking the photos, and paid a LOT of attention to make sure the baby was comfortable and happy during the shoot. She was really patient with her, and gave us all the time needed to sooth and feed her whenever she needed. She even arrived earlier to the location, and made sure she knew the surroundings and great potential spots. A couple of days after, she sent us the final photos, with easy access for us and our family, as well as the option to order the pics printed in various formats. read more

Pricing for this service is as below- 1) $250 for One Hour - Note:- You don't get anything here..Not a single digital picture. You only pose for the photographer's camera 2) $150 for One JPEG image to be bought after step 1 above separately. For eg. I wanted 15 images, so I was charged $150*15= $2250(Two thousand two hundred and fifty dollars) for 15 JPEG images download link. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I contacted this merchant eyecatchlight photography owner Simone, for photography service and she arranged for a one hour session charging 250$ which I paid in full for 1 hour service on 16th May 2018. This just included clicking pictures and I did not get any pictures, because she said pictures cost separate. Later she came to show me the digital pictures on her laptop to purchase on 22nd May 2018 when she billed me 2250$(Two thousand two hundred and fifty US dollars) for 15 digital pictures (pricing 150 USD per Digital photo) on my credit card on 22nd May 2018 the Tuesday noon around 12PM. She said, she will send me the download link later that day. But soon after that, within next 4 hours, I contacted the merchant to hold the sending of pictures to me, as I had changed my mind and did not want to purchase them anymore. And I requested my order be cancelled and I not be billed for it. But the merchant refused to do so saying the sales are final. This is a very unfair business practice, where merchant refuses to cancel the order before product was even delivered. Inspite of me requesting multiple times to cancel my order and refund my payment, she went ahead and sent me the link to photographs on May 24th 2018 2PM, which I have refused to access, and I am persisting on the refund. read more

We commissioned Simone to photograph our wedding. She is not only an extremely talented and artistic photographer - she also is compassionate in telling your story in the way you wish it told. She is incredibly personable and really aims to understand your individual story. Simone was extremely flexible with her scheduling and timeline of our shoot - including on a holiday, starting in the early morning to capture the change of the night to morning (with Christmas lights in the background), and shooting in two different locations. The initial dark lighting was an impressive challenge that she undertook - and the results were absolutely stunning! At our second venue, she again faced a challenge with the harshly overcast sky - but she overcame the lighting challenge once again. The presentation of the photos was timely - less than two weeks after the wedding. Simone presented a lovely slideshow video that captured our special day perfectly. She then showed us the different options in which we could choose to purchase our photos - and she helped us narrow down those options once we felt overwhelmed by the many and beautiful choices! Even the presentation of our gallery URL and flash drive with our photos demonstrated just how much she cares about her clients. Once we decided to purchase an album, Simone was incredibly punctual and patient while we went back and forth on revision notes. (And, I had a lot of revisions merely because I couldn't decide which beautiful photos to print. It was hard to choose!) We haven't received our photo products yet, but Simone again punctually placed an order for us. We can't wait! If you want an incredibly personable and talented photographer for your Bay Area events, be sure to run, don't walk, to Simone and Eyecatchlight Photography for all your photo needs. read more

We had Simone take our wedding photos. Despite an early start to the day, she was there early to greet us with a smile (despite us running a few minutes late). We had a great experience with her as she used her artistic sense to recommend various positions and backgrounds to capture the beauty of the surroundings for our special day. At the same time she was patient with our own requests. The images themselves came out looking great! Definitely much higher quality than standard photos. Simone spent the time with us to go through various product options and gave her recommendations while working with our preferences to build an album. Thanks to her we will have images to help cherish our memories. read more

I'm beyond satisfied and happy with Simone for the amazing job she has done. We had and incredible session and were able to capture amazing moments for my baby girl that will last a lifetime. We had been looking all over for a place to take pictures of my baby, and couldn't really find one that was as easy available as eye catch light photography. She is an incredible and professional photographer who will work with you to make sure you get exactly what you want. I really recommend her, and I know that for future event we will be getting her services. read more

Simone photographed my newborn daughter recently. Different from other photographers, She is very personable and approachable. She spent time talking with me about what kind of photos/props I wanted before the shoot. On the day, she showed up o time ad well prepared. She is also very responsive in emails/texts, and delivered the photos quickly. Again, we were very happy about her services! read more

We did a mini session with Simone and are very happy with the experience. She was patient with our 8 month old daughter, and helped capture both candid and organic images of our family. She had great communication throughout the process and our family loves the the prints we gave as gifts. read more

Some of my best running picture ever. The best part was the ease ordering and the price. I follow the Facebook page and love The variety of jobs in the people in them. I definitely look forward to when they are going to be at one of my runs as I know I will get a great picture Todd read more

Simone created a set of professional portraits for me. I asked her for headshots but she sold me on this much better sounding name! Hah! She was very professional, suggested a set of locations all inside or around the perimeter of a building and used a variety of backgrounds to make the photos interesting. One of them had nicely blurry reflective window fronts in the back, making it my preferred shot for the more corporate, yet fresh look. The second set was taken with greenery in the background, and I loved this one especially for the more casual professional photographic need. We also took photos inside, and this can be a great place for casual photos working on a computer, or doing some of the work one wants to promote. Overall I'm so excited. Throughout the session Simone was very professional and made my awkward self feel at ease with the camera and the minimal posing. We even had fun, which made this a memorable session apart from having yielded top notch headshots (uh... Professional portraits!), Which I will likely use for years to come (if only I could pretend and use them for decades!) read more

Incredible work.. Hire ECL Photography! Eye Catch Light Photography has done the photographs for our family at two separate events now. Simone's photographs were beautiful, and she was incredibly professional. Both times she included a wide variety of shots: black and white, color, individuals, groups, and scenery.. getting the pictures afterwards I found that she had beautifully captured intimate moments, interactions, and expressions. I'm definitely feeling grateful for her wonderful work!! read more

Simone was recommended to me by several friends in the SF Bay Area (independently), when I was looking for a photographer to take family portraits with my baby. Since it has been the time after shelter-in-place, everything appeared so complicated with a baby, but she made it really easy, and came to our home where we also took outdoor pics in front of our house. Two weeks later, she presented us the photos and we selected the ones we wanted for an album and for wall-art. About a month later, we received all the products we had selected, including a gift voucher for future photo sessions. She also gifted us birth announcement cards with our favorite family portrait. All the products were very professionally made and we are happy with them. We'd definitely recommend Simone!! :) read more

Simone was awesome! I hadn't thought about getting newborn pictures until after my new granddaughter was born so contacted Simone at the last second. She was very flexible with scheduling to accommodate the times we could make even though it was a last second request. The session was great, she brought everything she needed, and was able to guide us to help get amazing shots. Then when she came over to show us the pictures they were amazing! We gladly picked out our favorites and let her know the options. It was VERY reasonably priced for what we ordered. She even provided an extra special photo gift for us as the grandparents. Will definitely use Simone next time we need special pictures taken read more

We worked with eyeCatchLight for photos for a family reunion and Simone was incredible to work with, demonstrating such grace and ease while posing 20+ family members! And the photos turned out beautifully! I recently got married and hired her for the wedding, and again, she was wonderful to work with and captured so many special moments. I highly recommend eyeCatchLight! read more

our session with Simone was really sweet. she is very easy to be around very charismatic and warm. my friend was very camera shy and warmed up to the moment. her studio is gorgeous and felt very comfortable and easy to let down our guards and just live our best life for a minute. highly recommend Simones work. the final head shots were exactly how we imagined them and made my friend feel beautiful. thanks simone for your grace!! read more

WORST so called "Photographer" ever - EXPENSIVE, DECEITFUL AND IRRESPONSIBLE. TLDR: Simone is extremely unprofessional with horrible sense of ethics and complete lack of communications. Do not be fooled by her insincere friendliness and display of all the products, and make sure to ask her to list the EXACT PRICE of each item she is trying to sell you even if you have to ask more than once because she will not tell you at first. Her work is below average and she outsources touch up work while CHARGING A FORTUNE, when it is not worth it. I REGRET asking her to take pictures of our newborn. I am writing all details here so others can learn from my experience since all other Yelp reviews were so good(I don't know how come?!). We sent a note to Simone through Yelp asking for information and quote for a maternity shoot in May 2017 and I was due in Sept 2017. Plan was to get maternity shoot done in August 2017. Simone was very responsive at that time and came over with all her products right away to show us, we were impressed and asked her for the PRICE and she was very VAGUE and told us it is not much and not to worry and that she always provides a lot of digital copies, which was all a LIE that we realized later. She made us pay her an advance of $125 right on that day and she charges $250 just to take pictures, this fee DOES NOT INCLUDE any digital or prints. I had the baby much earlier than expected and did not get a chance to do a maternity shoot, I contacted her and asked her to do just a newborn for us in SEPT 2017. After a lot of rescheduling and claiming she always BUSY with travel, she finally came for the photoshoot. After taking pictures she made us WAIT for 5 WEEKS to tell us she charges $1500 for a simple album with 20 photos and ONLY provides digital copies of pics in album if you BUY the PRODUCTS and the trap is, she charges the same amount for the digital photos anyway, which means if you don't take the album or the products and only want digital, you will still pay the same EXORBITANT PRICE of the product. On questioning the price she refused to explain how both the prices are same and rather said, this is what it is and she will not explain her "BUSINESS PRINCIPLE". Never told us the cost earlier despite of us asking her repeatedly and it is not listed on her website or yelp. I am writing this with dates for better perspective of time. On 9/22 - She did the photo session at our place and we paid her $250 for the session and she DID NOT TELL us the PRICES of the products. She was supposed to come back in a week to show us the pics before we order prints.She never communicated after that, and I followed up after 2 weeks asking her when is she coming to show us the pics, to which she said she was traveling "as usual". 10/26 - Almost 5 weeks after the photoshoot she came over to just SHOW the pictures. She clicked hundreds of pictures and pre-selected 30 of them without giving us a chance to choose any. At this time she actually told us it would cost $1500 for the album with ONLY 20 pics! We were SHOCKED, but obviously that time had passed and we lost the opportunity to redo a newborn session so we were COMPELLED to pay the entire amount and she didn't even give us the digitals at this time. We paid FULL AMOUNT before we received anything, and she went silent on us. She was supposed to deliver the album in 3-4 weeks. I reached out to her after 3 weeks on 11/16 asking for items we paid for. She said she was on a honeymoon - Which was crazy because she never mentioned that there would be delays because of the honeymoon earlier! I reached out again after almost 2 weeks around 11/25 and she kept stalling me by giving various LAME EXCUSES like "I am waiting on a small gift as an APOLOGY for the delay" and the next EXCUSE was "Sorry there was a DENT in your album and I have to reprint it". 11/30 - She FINALLY came with the album and 2 prints and a folded card as apology. The print had a white speck and we asked her to redo it and send it back and the album looked pale and dull, but she said that was a matter of STYLE. Later, I noticed that in one of the pictures the baby's FACE had a WEIRD PATCH on it and I emailed her about it right away. It was in the digital and the album. She again apologized and said "I had a RETOUCHER help because of the honeymoon" this was RIDICULOUS. I paid a fortune for her services and she is outsourcing the work and delivering poor quality products WITHOUT even INSPECTING it. She resent the album after 10 more days on 12/16! And has asked me to mail back the previous damaged album WITHIN 2 weeks to avoid EXTRA CHARGE! Unbelievable that she has the audacity to ask me to send the damaged a back with a DEADLINE! when she has no sense of timeline herself, also has threatened me about charging extra if I do not send it back. This being our first baby and with newborn photos time is of essence, she took UNDUE advantage of our situation and swindled $1750. read more

We booked a "mini session" with Simone for family photographs. Throughout the process--from booking to delivering our prints--Simone was friendly, responsive, and professional. She took a variety of shots and came prepared with props and ideas! Simone's thoughtfulness and creativity comes across in the photographs and we're so happy with how they turned out! read more

I totally recommend Simone. She made a family portrait for us while she was traveling. I love the way she is so enthusiastic and energetic when it comes to taking our photos. She is definitely fun to work with. read more