Taking family pictures can be a fun, memorable experience that captures the heart and spirit of…read moreyour family. It can also be stressful to get your family to cooperate and get great pictures if you don't have the right professional orchestrating your photo shoot. I've used Christina Straw Photography multiple times for many reasons and couldn't be happier. I am particularly impressed with Christina's great style, technical skill, professionalism, ability to control the photo shoot, and the quality of her finished product. I love Christina's style. She gets great formal and candid shots that capture the love and personality of my family. She does a nice job in both color and black and white. Christina's technical skills with regards to color, sharpness, clarity and lighting are impressive. Many of the photos she took for me are great. My kids' skin and hair were brilliant from the golden lighting she captured. Christina is very professional and gets wonderful photos that last a lifetime. The first photo she took for me was for my daughter's birth announcement a few years ago. That picture is timeless - a beautiful black and white of my then two year old son holding his new born sister. Christina said to me, "isn't it wonderful when the stars align for that perfect photograph." I have never forgotten what she said and I am grateful to her for capturing that perfect photo (that brings up such happy memories for me) when those stars aligned. Christina knows how to put my family at ease and gets the great shots I'm looking for. As a mother of a young child she knows how to engage my children. She keeps them focused but relaxed and gets their natural smiles and personalities to shine through. She captures fantastic individual and family photographs, and she gets them before the kids lose interest. As a parent of young children that is invaluable. She is easy to work with and helps bring my creative ideas to light as well. Each photo shoot she has done for me has been unique and personal. One year I worked with Christina for my family photo shoot I wanted to take pictures in the new city in which we had recently moved. I wasn't familiar with the park but learned it was quite busy on the weekend. Even though there were many background distractions at the park Christina was still able to get some great shots. They turned out much better than I expected. I like that she helps you pick out your venue and coordinating family outfits if you need help. The next year I worked with Christina we worked together and chose a great venue. The pictures were amazing! There were so many wonderful shots with beautiful backgrounds and perfect lighting. I had a difficult time choosing only a few for our holiday card. Last year the quality of the photos she did for me were excellent. They were even better than the year before. I was so pleased with them I submitted them into a contest (with permission of course). Christina got so many wonderful compliments on her shots. Family and friends thought they were for a professional advertisement campaign from a magazine. The pictures Christina has taken of my family over the years are priceless. We easily spend money on clothes, shoes, and handbags and tend to cut corners on artistic outlets. But a great family photo shoot is totally worth it. The photos for your family memories, scrapbooks, albums and family tree are worth it. Having Christina take good quality photographs of your family is an investment you will not regret. The only difficulty is getting an appointment because she books up fast especially during the holidays. I highly recommend you call and get on her calendar as soon as you can.

This was an absolutely terrible experience for our family. Christina didn't listen to what I wanted…read moreat all, and when I told her I was uncomfortable in a certain pose (Sitting on a jagged rock on a steep hill, in a dress and heels, while holding my newborn), she threatened to quit and wouldn't continue shooting until I did the pose she wanted. She was terrible at giving directions (just turn, turn the other way, no the other way, move your hand, etc - entirely unclear) and would get mad at us when we didn't guess correctly what she meant. When we didn't pose the way she wanted, she would make sarcastic and snippy comments that made us all SO uncomfortable and made the whole shoot so awkward. And then she'd bark at you to smile! We did not get one single photo that we will ever use. I am so very sad and mad, not only that we wasted $500 but that we can't go back and get photos that we can actually use of my baby at this age again. We can never get that back. I would highly encourage you to think twice before hiring Christina if you have a baby - she absolutely does NOT know how to shoot babies. Or family groups. If you have any thoughts or opinions of your own whatsoever about what you want, she will not listen to you. When I told her what shots I wanted (which we had discussed over the phone and in email prior to the shoot) she yelled at me that she's the professional and basically I needed to shut up and do it her way because I don't know anything. I left the shoot in tears. It was truly awful. And surprise surprise, I've never seen less flattering photos of myself or my family in my entire life. There is literally not one single photo where you can see everyone's face and everyone has their eyes open! I truly believe she started taking bad photos intentionally after I didn't want to do one of her poses because even a non-professional photographer could capture at least one or two that were ok. Think twice before hiring her.

I am so dissatisfied with this so called company that I added it to Yelp to save others from ever…read moreusing this person! Paulino Miranda who is the owner is SO unprofessional. I should have known it wasn't a good sign when he arrived late to the event, arrived late to take pics of my daughter getting out of limo. We chose a package that included rights to all photos he took, an album of 100- 4x6 pictures and blue-ray videos of the whole event. I have paid him $600 total and have only received the small photo album. Don't bother trying to call him as he never answers the phone or returns voice mails. We finally went to his house and knocked on the door 2 weeks ago in search of him as he was MIA. We were promised the rest of the package and have yet to hear from Paulino after multiple attempts to call him . I have even messaged him on facebook in hope of a response and NOTHING. Sadly, I do not have not many memories of our event as someone who claims to be a professional has not done his job. I will not be a person to cross my arms and walk away, since there is a contract in place I will begin the civil process of getting my pictures and videos I was promised.

Got the final copies of the ten pictures I ordered and could not be happier with the outcome. I…read morecan't express my satisfaction and gratitude at their professionalism enough. Five stars - worth every dollar.

40/40 photo shoot! Working with Sandy and her team was an unforgettable experience. From the moment…read moreI stepped in front of the camera, she created a space that felt safe, encouraging, and empowering. I've never felt so comfortable being photographed-- Sandy has a true gift for helping you relax, be yourself, and still bring out your most confident, radiant side. The direction was thoughtful, natural, fun and intuitive--never forced. I left the shoot feeling not just seen but celebrated. The final images captured not only how I look, but how I felt--strong, grounded, and beautiful. If you're looking for a photographer who knows how to bring out your best, both technically and emotionally, look no further. Sandy is an artist, a professional, and someone who truly cares about the people being photographed. I can't recommend her and her team enough.

Femme Fatale is located inside a fitness gym, but the gym is closed when you're there so you have…read morethe whole place to yourself. I did a Pin-up Party here to celebrate my birthday with a few girlfriends. It was a super fun opportunity to have a "girls night out" but to do something besides bar hop. It's going to be 3 weeks until we see our images (that seems a little long to me), so I'm going to post based on the party experience then update when we see our images. **Update on images below** Kathryn H. did a pretty good run down of the party itself; when you book, you're seriously wondering how the heck you're going to spend 3 hours and wow does Jacque keep you busy! She'll take you through some pin-up history and "routines" which I appreciated because it really does get you in the mood and ready to put on your best pin-up face come picture time. Jacque was good about keeping things moving forward, but at times we did feel rushed rather than feeling like we had time to enjoy each other's company while we were there. (She seriously gave us "3 minutes" to use the restroom at one point- and she stuck to it!) The description to bring your own food/drinks makes it seem like you'll have more leisure time than you do, but then again I'm not sure I'd want to spend that much more time there either. We did bring food and drinks, and found the most time to enjoy them was during the photo shoot. She has a pretty extensive wardrobe selection which was great because of the 6 ladies there we ranged in size from 4-12, and everyone found something they were excited about and comfortable in. Her wide variety of props is pretty fun too; she made sure each person posed with 3 props during the photo session. The photo session was fun, and I felt like she knew how to work with us to help us get the best pictures, even if again, we felt rushed. I also would have liked if she partnered with a hair/makeup person- that would have been hugely helpful! We found a place to do some of our make-up and hair before we arrived, but it would have been that much better to show up an hour or two early and make that part of the party (for an add'l cost of course!). All in all, it is a great option to do something different for a girls night out. You walk away with 5 individual images, and a few group images, and have the choice to pay extra for all your images. Most of us decided we'd wait to see the images, and would be willing to wait another 3 weeks, before deciding to pay more for it all. **Update on images** It was almost 3 weeks to the day when we received our email announcing our photos were ready. We each had 5 individual shots and 3 group shots. If I was to rate based on my photos alone I would increase my rating to 5 stars, but a couple of my friends' photos were kind of off- some slightly blurry or weird shadowing that made me sad to think those were the "best" 5 images. I was really happy with my images but not to the extent that I wanted to pay $50 to see/own all of them retouched; they're a super fun keepsake and definitely different. It's an incredibly fun thing to do, and the images are really just a bonus to memorialize a great girls' night out. One of our group shots was truly epic and something I'll treasure for life.

Was going to give this place a 5 star review until about 10 minutes ago. A good business owner…read moreshould honor their word. The customer service is trash. My partner called and talked to the owner ahead of time before driving an hour to exchange an item that was uncomfortable to wear. The owner confirmed we can exchange the item. My partner drove out and the employees denied her the return and after they texted Angel (the owner) she then denied us the return. Why? Why waste our time. We spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars at your store. We were trying to support you and your business. Your lack of care is a disappointment to the community and the vision you expressed you were trying to create for woman's clothing. Make things right and I will take this comment down.

Christina absolutely nailed it. I'm a family portrait photographer and tend to be picky about other…read morephotographers style. I can't say enough good things about the overall experience. And the photos were just beautiful!!! If we ever have another child, we are definitely coming back!

My husband and I used Christina's photography talents to photograph our newborn boy. She's…read moreabsolutely amazing and so good with little ones. She was patient and gentle posing him...and it even gave myself and my hubby a chance to just breathe and take a little break from the little one until we posed with him. Shes the baby whisperer. She's got a great knack of colors and awesome props to go with your little one. Everything is done so tastefully and so professional. She's so good that I even wish she photographed him as he grows up. The photos came out amazing that I shared them with everyone instantly. You won't go wrong with picking her...they're beautiful and they're only this small once!

Marc was absolutely fantastic to work with. He was upfront with his pricing, expectations, and…read moreprovided some great recommendations. On day of photo shoot, he was on time, professional, kind, and just overall easy to talk to. He has a very cool and calm demeanor and just made us feel comfortable. He was great with our as well (5 and 3 year old) As far as photos, FANTASTIC!! He captured so many beautiful photos both candid and impulsive images that were beautiful. It was snowing that day in Vail and he managed to capture every image beautifully. Our photos looked like a Christmas card. So beautiful! He finished a few days before he had originally promised which is a bonus! Thank you Marc!!!

We had a superb experience with Brenda and Marc, who we hired for our wedding. They are fast…read morecommunicators, timely upon arrival, very calm and collected, know how to make you feel at ease, know great spots for photos, and more. We honestly had a lot of fun with them at an engagement shoot and our pre-wedding ceremony photoshoot in the mountains, hiking around in our wedding clothes! Their shots came out great and they sent us the full gallery just 1 week after our wedding. The services are pretty expensive, but they are very up front with pricing and it is on par with other photography services. We were happy we had 2 photographers instead of 1.

McCory was GREAT to work with! I found him online and liked the look of his website and blog. He…read morewas very responsive when I sent an email and I didn't feel pressured to use him. Once our company chose to use him (we received quotes from four different photographers) he did a site visit and was very communicative about the shoot, which was helpful because it took place in Denver and we are in Atlanta. After the shoot we received the images quickly and they were EXCELLENT! We are very, very pleased. The pictures were so great, our trade magazine picked one of them for the cover and used two pictures inside too. You can see the ezine here: http://infax.typepad.com/infax-blog/2011/03/installation-makes-cover-of-courts-today.html Thank you McCory, we look forward to using you again in the future!

From the owner: McCory James Photography offers advertising and editorial, architecture, corporate and travel…read morephotography services.