There aren't enough words of praise in the English language for Shaun of Top Shelf Photo! We were…read morelucky enough to find him on Yelp for our engagement photos, and in mid-November of 2024 he braved the chill of Palomar Mountain to take spectacular photos of us. Nonstop compliments from friends and family, and received much quicker than anticipated. Once we got into wedding planning, Shaun was the obvious choice for our photography needs. Along with his second shooter Jess (Jessica Christie Photography), he again knocked it out of the park. Couldn't have asked for more perfect photos. On a more personal note, Shaun is the above-and-beyond type of person to take the absolute best shots possible. Like, fixing the boutonniere on my suit himself for the exact right angle, or gently shoo'ing away stinkbugs while helping my wife to re-tie her wedding shoes type of person. His passion and dedication for his craft are inspiring, and I guarantee if you don't love being in photos as a general rule (like myself) he will absolutely put you at ease and make it look like you've been modeling all your life. Thank you for everything Shaun, from the bottom of our hearts.

Top Shelf was truly top shelf. We used them two separate years for family photos. Loved it.read more

Jessica is absolutely amazing! She took pictures for our maternity session as well as our newborn…read moreson. A year later, she took our family's pictures for our son's one year birthday (cake smash) as well as for the holiday cards. She has a studio at her home with plenty of snacks while you do your sessions. It's also heated for those chillier winter months. The props she has are amazing and add a lovely style to her photos. She has a natural talent for finding perfect poses and the experience to get great angles. She also does locations other than her studio for photo shoots. For our maternity pictures we were at the beach and for our family pics we went to a hiking trail. She's able to taylor yo meet your needs. Her turnover to get pictures back to you is always quicker than she stated which is so lovely (especially when you want to get out holiday cards!) I highly recommend Jessica for her stellar services! You won't be disappointed! Loop

My husband and I had the pleasure of working with Jessica to capture photos of us with our 18 month…read moreold son. The photos turned out beautifully! We were quite nervous, as our son isn't exactly always cooperative, but Jessica wasn't frazzled in the least, and just totally put our minds at ease. Even though it seemed like our son cried for most of the shoot (toddlers!), Jessica promised she got tons of great shots of him smiling, and she DID! We were so pleasantly surprised when we saw the photos, ha! Jessica was fantastic to work with from the very beginning, offering lots of help with wardrobe choices, location choices, etc. We couldn't be happier with the outcome of our photoshoot and can't wait to hire Jessica again for more photos :) Thank you, Jessica!!!!

I thought I'd show up, get my pictures taken, that's it…read more That wasn't it AT ALL. The "journey" Carrie Anne set me on leading up to the actual boudoir session was arguably a bigger part of the photo shoot for me. ;) Carrie had a time line of to-do's for me, websites for garments I might want to buy, soooo much I wasn't expecting. And on the way, I found a new comfort with myself. By the time I got to Carrie Anne's for the photography... I was ready for this! I brought extra outfits and accessories and Carrie Anne helped me dial it in for an unforgettable experience. It's been about 3 years since my session and I still recall it like yesterday. I am close to 60 and have never felt so good about myself - not in a vain way. I was absolutely comfortable with me. Carrie Anne has a beautiful way about her. She'll set you at ease, and make this moment an unforgettable and personal experience. DO IT - you'll be happy you did. (Thank you, Carrie Anne!)

Carrie Anne is an absolute gem…read more I had wanted to do a boudoir shoot for years but kept putting it off because I was nervous. She made the entire experience feel so safe, fun, and empowering. From the moment you book, she listens to what you want and guides you every step of the way. And during the shoot? Her posing direction is everything. You never feel awkward. She is insanely talented. Even the unedited photos are unreal. Honestly, the hardest part is narrowing down your favorites because you will want them all. If you are even thinking about booking, just do it. Trust.

I found Jordan on Yelp and used him for a project taking pictures for my website for my new…read morebusiness. I liked working with him and he did a great job with personal portraits in outdoor settings and business portraits in business settings. He's pleasant to work with and does a nice job with editing. I used him again recently for studio headshots and was very pleased with the results. I've also purchased some of his stock photography for use in my website. I will continue working with Jordan and would highly recommend him.

Jordan was absolutely amazing. The pictures he took for my son's senior pictures were phenomenal…read more Jordan was very professional and organized! Will use him again!!

I found Tiffany on linked in. I had spoken to about four other photographers. I wanted professional…read moreand branding photos that were not stuffy or boring. The first thing I noticed about Tiffany was her speed of response and how accurate she was in describing what she did, how long it took, where to do it and what it cost. Then came the emails and the texts with examples and a to-do list. I was to send her pictures of myself in outfits - and she commented on each one with her professional eye and we chose three. She was also incredibly flexible on where to shoot. On the day of the shoot, I was incredibly surprised at her eye to detail, willingness to take a million shots, constant change in her own positions and the ease with which she made me feel at home. It did not end there. A week later, I had a zoom apt with her that blew me away. I wanted to buy all of them but decided on five. Just excellent work! Tiffany is amazing - I am hoping soon I can get my entire team's shots with her. Thank you Tiffany!

Tiffany is a master of her craft. I could not recommend her enough! After talking with nearly 10…read morephotographers to work with us for our maternity and newborn photos, as soon as I saw Tiffany's work, I knew she was the right person to bring our vision to life. They are a perfect blend of artistic and dramatic, yet relatable. She made my husband and me (at 35 weeks pregnant!) feel comfortable in front of the camera, and her creativity and expertise gave us some truly remarkable images that capture the love, beauty, and tenderness in these important moments in our lives. If you get the chance, work with Tiffany. You'll be so happy you did.

Heather was so gracious to accommodate a reschedule of our photo shoot when we managed to get…read moredelayed by LA traffic on our way to the shoot location! We're not from the area, and we didn't expect to be stuck in traffic for 2.5 hours longer than we had planned. :( But like I said, she was sooo gracious in offering up her personal time to do our photo shoot the next morning, and the pictures are amazing. Love how she captures the light in the photos, and she was great at putting all of us (me, husband, and our two boys - 7yo and 4.5yo) at ease. Would highly recommend her for families in the Oceanside/Carlsbad area or anyone passing through, but I would not recommend trying to book with her on a travel day. :D Give yourself extra, extra time to get through that LA traffic!

My husband and I booked Vallentyne Photography for our anniversary coming up. We wanted to do…read morepictures on the beach. Let me just say that Heather the owner and photographer answer all my questions, made the process so simple, and the turn around time for the photos was quicker then I thought it would. The photos below my husband and I away. We loved every single photo and will cherish the photos for years to come. She did an amazing job capture our love. I highly recommend her you will not be disappointed and she is so professional and down to earth. My husband and I will definitely book with her again. Thank you again for making it so hard to pick a favorite photo. I mean look at how breathing taken the photos are.

Petula pea review I…read morecannot say enough positive things about Patty! We did both our engagement photo shoot and our rehearsal dinner and wedding with her, and she did a wonderful job. Not only were the photos amazing and captured our love perfectly, but she kept our timetable on point and was super helpful with keeping the day on track. She's super fun and sweet and overall just great to work with. When I look back at my wedding photos it reminds me of what a special day it was. She captured memories that my brain was too overwhelmed to register in the moment, that might've been lost forever if I didn't have the photographic evidence. I will cherish these photos forever

Patty is absolutely amazing at what she does! As a bride, you spend most of your day with her and…read moreshe is such a joy to be around. She captured our wedding perfectly, and set the mood and tone for the entire event. She was extremely professional and made it so easy to keep on a timeline so we didn't have to worry about anything that day. When I look back on my photos the joy of the day radiates out of them, which is incredible to capture in a single picture! She made the photo taking process so easy, even though my husband and I aren't big photo takers and is just a wonderful human who is so easy to work with. The next time we need any photos in the future I am definitely calling upon her. I'm at a loss for words for how happy I am with our photos, and just cannot recommend her enough.

Really love the atmosphere and the accommodating dressing room. Rick and his son are very…read moreimpressive with their photo knowledge and assistance. I am a repeat customer for a reason because it has really been so easy to get my work done there stress free.

The entry is tucked away behind Mission Avenue, a main road in downtown Oceanside but don't let…read morethis fool you, inside is everything you could want for a video or stills photoshoot. I have even used the parking lot for some outdoor alley shots. Inside, the studio manager is very attentive to your needs and to your privacy. Samuel is very accommodating with set up. If you call in advance your set up requests are ready to go, the cyclorama is well kept and painted, entire place is very clean and organized. Conference room has plenty of space for editing or meetings. I've seen Podcast's set up on the cove, musicians to golf clubs. There is a lot of space, comfy couch and a little kitchenette for water or coffee. Highly recommend to rent this studio.

My experience took place in May 2011. The photographer (a young girl) did a good job making it an…read moreenjoyable comfortable experience. I was at easy and not self conscious at all, she help guide posing and would just snap when there was something natural flowing that worked for a photo. I was not impressed with the editing done for final product of the book we received (not sure who did editing). Over all I was satisfied and my husband loved the photos which is all that truly matters; just being a photography student I have my own ideas on editing so I just wasn't as pleased as I was hoping to be. There were some duplicate photos in the book that only the color was changed or photo cropped slightly to tighten the frame. Some blemishes were not edited out as requested (including printing on the bottom of the shoes I wore that was visible in several photos and just not attractive to look at). I fully understand artistic preference and creative differences but again some photos selected for final product were not included, others where just duplicates, specific editing requests were ignores (which just came across lazy and not wanting to do it). I fully enjoyed the experience and my husband loved (still does) the photos but it was not perfect. But if you are wanting to do a shoot I highly recommend it! (Even elsewhere). It can be just what you need to give yourself a good confidence boost and just realize how amazingly beautiful you are!

I had been wanting to take boudoir pics since forever (even before I had someone to give them to)…read more I purchased this deal on living social, $49 for 1 hr shoot with 3 outfit changes and a $50 credit towards a book. I went to check out the studio and browse the outfits before I scheduled a shoot. I found out the books start at $249, however they have a mini accordion for $99. Cherish was so great beforehand, at the shoot, and was so patient while I decided what pictures I wanted. Cherish took over 200 pictures of me and surprisingly a lot of them came out fantastic. I loved them before they were even edited. I was super self conscious since I've gained weight but she made me look great. I would definitely do this again and I recommend going through her. Unless you want a book I would get the $29 living social deal. It was worth every penny.

Leigh was amazing! She was so patient with our big family, gave her input and made sure we got…read moregreat pictures! She was wonderful and we absolutely loved our time with her! We traveled from out of state and she is one of the best I've worked with! She was enjoyable to work with and knew what was best for photos and kept trying with our 7 month old! Cannot recommend her enough!!

Leigh did a photo shoot for Mother's Day of 18 family members at the Oceanside Pier! Seven baby…read moregirls under 5! Her patience and skill were amazing! We have spent the last week making beautiful photo albums and wall pictures for the entire family! Her attention to detail and the wonderful candid shots make us all so happy! We really liked Leigh's photo style and decided to have a beachy dress attire! We loved the final look. I would 100% recommend Leigh!