We couldn't have been happier to have Betsy and Justin capture our engagement and wedding photos…read more I had really high standards (thanks to Pinterest), and Essence Photography far exceeded them. After experiencing engagement/wedding photography, I would actually have to say that the pictures are NOT the most important part. The most important part is how well the photographers and the subjects (us as a couple) work together. We totally dug Betsy and Justin. They are both so low key and relaxed, but at the same time, they get stuff done. They pose you and also take your suggestions for what you'd like to see. They are open to suggestions, but are also professionals, so they know what works and what doesn't work. They have such great personalities and are so good at what they do that my whole family was so appreciative of them on our wedding day. Having photographers with a good personality and disposition is so important, because they help you feel at ease, and therefore, take more beautiful pictures! I also have to say that Betsy is so kind for working with me. I have a pretty direct personality, and sometimes that doesn't always go over well. She was very patient in working with me and always listened to what I was looking for and did her best to accommodate me. I was very appreciative of that! The pictures they took for us will last us a lifetime. They are so beautiful and are also backed by good memories of working with Betsy and Justin. Thank you, Essence Photography!!

To me...the most important part of a wedding comes after, it is the photos. The most important…read morething in life, is photos. That is largely due to the fact that I only remember bad things, and I struggle to keep any memories that are joyful. Life is nothing but moment after moment and I needed someone who would help me always remember. I knew that I would search and search and I would find a way to get the money together to pay for my photographer, whoever they may be. I searched every photographer in California and Nevada. But it is was always Essence. As soon as I saw their site, I knew. Everything about their photos are timeless and quiet, and lovely. If photographer soulmates was a thing, I swear they would be mine! My husband and I were never able to meet Betsy or Justin till the wedding. While Betsy was nothing but kind and wonderful in her emails, I was still a little apprehensive. Mostly, because my husband hates taking photos and I get anxiety from photographer appendage placement instructions! Haha Our wedding, originally in Georgetown, CA, switched to Foresthill, CA, both locations hours from their home, but they didn't mind! Betsy was so understanding and reassuring when I told her of the venue change 4 days before the wedding! (Yeah some madness happened LOL) Come the day of the wedding and Justin and Betsy are sweet, relaxed, fun, and totally in control of the situation! They both provided polite helpful instruction and kept us laughing and smiling the whole time. They really became part of our wedding. They mingled with all of our guests! And all of our guests had nothing but the nicest things to say about them! I don't want to say how quickly we received our photos, in case they can't always achieve that, but holy cow, it was fast! I have heard horror stories of brides getting photos 6-12 months later, but not Essence! :) I didn't cry on my wedding day (hubby didn't want me to and kept making funny faces), but looking back at our beautiful photos I finally get a chance to reflect all the love we have for one another and get a good cry going! I have never encountered a business that I wanted to keep for the rest of my life! We cannot wait for maternity photos and family photos later down the road! So, in short...hire Betsy and Justin, the dream team! They will not disappoint!

I cannot recommend Lisa enough! She always finds the best locations and lighting to make our family…read morepictures look magical! She is creative with ideas and is patient with my crazy young boys! She sees the pictures in her head before you can and knows just the shots to make the lifestyle pictures work. They don't look like boring posed photos. The smiles she catch are genuine and so special to have captured. We love working with Modern Image and can't wait for each session we book!

Since I moved back to Redding I've used three photographers and Lisa is by far my favorite! She…read moreedits the photos beautifully, and captures many different poses/settings of our family. She is also wonderful with our little kids and really gets them to open up.

I was very happy with the dj services I received with Steve. He was very flexible and always…read moreavailable to me by phone or to meet with me. He even rescheduled when we had to postpone due to the Carr fire. Emerson was our dj and he did an amazing job keeping us dancing and switching up the song styles all night. I will definitely use them in the future.

DJ sang 4 songs karaoke during the reception, it was really weird and not expected... and we gave a…read morewhole playlist of songs and barely any of them were played :( people definitely enjoyed dancing as did I, but it wasn't what we had discussed by any means. Nice enough guy just not what we were expecting in terms of DJ-ing.

Jamie is a fantastic photographer!! I had the greatest experience with her for a boudoir photo…read moreshoot. Before the shoot, I was super nervous - I'd never met Jamie & I was going to be wearing lingerie in front of a camera... what did I get myself into?! However, once I arrived at her studio & talked with her, I felt so comfortable. It wasn't awkward & I am kind of awkward lol. She helped me understand certain poses and was encouraging throughout it. She also helped me pick out what to wear, that would look the best with her different studio sets. I felt so relaxed because of how she talked me thru everything. She followed up after sharing the photos with me & was very helpful during that process as well. Even thou I got them as an anniversary gift for my husband, I feel like it was also for me as it boosted my self-esteem. I usually don't like the way I look in photos, but she was able to capture my beauty in a way that made me feel confident & sexy, just the way I am. The quality of her work is stunning. She knows how to work with angles, light & shadow to flatter you. She is so creative. Now my husband & I have a cherished gift & we couldn't be more happy with the photos.

Jamie's talents know no boundaries! She took SO many…read morebeautiful pictures of my daughter for her Senior Portrait Session. She captured images that show my daughters personality and soul. By the time I was done reviewing the photos, I ended up with happy tears in my eyes. They were so moving and full of feeling! Not only are her photos and talent amazing, she gives the best advice and direction! She made sure Bailey was comfortable and always having fun! Jamie Solorio has a gift that Redding, CA is lucky to have! I will never go elsewhere for my photography needs!

Dianna and David are a great team! They are very friendly and professional! They wore black and…read morewere flying around our wedding capturing all the special moments! I saw them working hard! When I got the pictures, I was delighted! They are beautiful! Thank you for capturing one of the best days of our life! You two are friends for life! God bless you:)

Dianna is an awesome photographer, she has a great eye for and we loved all our photos. She goes…read moreabove and beyond and constantly communicated with us throughout the process and going the extra mile to shoot our hair and makeup session. We really enjoyed working with Dianna and David they are so kind and the pictures are GORGEOUS. We are so happy we chose Simply You for our wedding! Would use them again in a heartbeat.

Holly Kiker Photography captured my maternity photos with my husband and 1 year old daughter. She…read moreis amazing and utilized our outdoor surroundings and lighting so creatively. Working with a 1yr old is challenging enough, let alone posing a pregnant belly with one and the photos are just the sweetest thing. I would recommend Holly to anyone! She welcomes your ideas, while being prepared with plenty of tricks up her own sleeve.

Holly and I have worked together on numerous weddings. She as the photographer and myself as the…read moremakeup artist. I have ALWAYS been thrilled with her professionalism, ability to create a warm environment for her brides and with her beautiful photography skills. I highly recommend her services and am glad to work alongside such a talented individual!

We had a family mini session in Chico, CA and it was perfect. We got photos of the four of us and…read morethe kids solo. I am so grateful to Audrey for capturing my family so beautifully. We even tried the tik tok trend to "skip" as a group and it came out cute and was fun, Audrey was up for the challenge. Christmas cards are out and photos are being framed for the house. Thank you Audrey.

Audrey is a wonderful photographer who really knows how to work with families in creating a calm…read moreand easy experience! 1 year olds are not the most cooperative when you need them to be, and she managed to get our little boy to laugh and smile and focus on the task at hand. But that is all just a big bonus to her photography style and skills and her natural feeling edits of photos. We will definitely be using her again in the future!

Katie and the Shani team are amazing. I've head so many good sessions with her for my family. My…read moredaughters are on the Autism spectrum and it's difficult to get them to pose and take instruction. Katie's patience was amazing. She has captured my girls and their personalities, both on land and underwater! We love her work so much, I hired her to do new headshots of me too. Now, I hate photos of myself, but she made me look and feel beautiful.

Katie, the principal at Shani Studios, is so good that I've used her four times so far: twice for…read morefamily portraits and twice for professional events. None of the shoots were easy. But all of them were brilliantly and beautifully handled by Katie. We first hired Katie when we heard she did underwater portraits. Our daughters are virtual mermaids, so we loved the idea of photographing them in their "natural habitat". But the photos of them in the depths of our pool were so much better and more beautiful than we ever imagined. After all, we never get to really see them underwater from an underwater perspective. Everyone who sees these pictures is amazed and enchanted. The professional events were large fundraising events: one at a major tech company in San Francisco and the other at a VC firm in Palo Alto. Lots of crowds, lots of VIPs, many of whom were publicity-shy or publicity-demanding. Katie handled it all with grace, charm and skill to produce excellent shots. Much better results than far more expensive event photographers I've worked with. Finally, I had Katie do some more traditional portraits of my daughters. Since they're both on the Autism Spectrum they can be hard to capture on film--reluctant to pose and hard to engage. But Katie did a fantastic job of engaging them and beautifully capturing their personalities. Shani Studios delivers every time. I cannot wait to work with them again.

Mario's vision for photography is visually eloquent and creatively stunning. I'm always nervous…read morewhen looking to choose a photographer. Mario was very pleasant to talk to and to work with. He is excellent with creating a easygoing mood with everyone. If I need another photographer I would be very happy and comfortable working with Mario again. Thank you again Mario.

From the owner: Photography is not just a hobby for me. It's more than that. What I see is an image that's going to…read morelast a lifetime! An image that you can see over and over without it blurring away. Memories are being made one click at a time. Me being the person that I am, will always put you first. I want my clients to laugh, and to be emotional, and also show that joy when they look back at that special day when we captured that special moment! I pour my heart out to this. This is what it's made of. This is who I am.

Wow Wow Wow. Heather is truly a master at her craft and such a warm and kindhearted person. It was…read moretruly such an honor to work with her from our engagement photoshoot to the day of our wedding. Background: On August 10, 2019 at Mount Shasta Resort, Heather and her team captured every essence of the best day of our lives. We had a lot of moving parts from the bipolar weather shifting from rainy to clear blue skies to densely packed program of our reception to managing photos with 230 guests. Yet, through it all, she managed to maintain her composure and had fun with us through it all. Style: Heather did a phenomenal job of capturing us and our goofiness as well as our gushy love and affection for each other. In addition, she was able to capture the traditional photos with family members and such. Process: She's great at communicating throughout the entire process. I never once felt like I wasn't in the loop. I HIGHLY recommend having Heather serve as the photographer for any event. She's got an impeccable eye for capturing all the right shots! We're absolutely ecstatic about our photos!

I have never in my life been so pleased with any service as I was with Heather Armstrong's…read morephotography at my wedding. Heather is the best sort of artist--the artist who creates for love of both the act of creating and the subject. Though I dabble in photography myself, I am admittedly not photogenic. Heather took the best photographs I have ever seen of myself, and made me feel profoundly comfortable all the while. Though Heather is based out of Redding, California, she was willing to travel to our wedding in Southern California. I have many friends who have spent far more on wedding photography than my wife and I did and in my opinion, our photographs are the best I have seen. You will not regret choosing Heather for your wedding, or for family or senior portraits. Check out her website, and particularly her constantly updated blog to get a taste of what an excellent photographer she is.