We decided to go to Steven Wu after checking out his yelp reviews and made a few inquiries through…read moreemails and phone calls, and we are very happy with the experience. Over the phone, steven took time to get to know you and your story, try to get a sense of what kinda pictures/portrait you are looking for and record your story through the lens. We did both city hall wedding and a private 2 hours outdoor shooting on Long island. As always, he arrived early ( earlier than us). City Hall Wedding For most couples, it's prob. their first time, so having a wedding photographer who is patient and experienced with the process definitely ease a lot of the stress. I remember Steven kinda walk me through the process over the phone before the court wedding date, giving your tips that actually helped a lot. The actually "ceremony" is quick, but sometimes the wait can be a little long, he really takes time to capture each moment for you along each step of the process. Outdoor Shooting I told Steven that I love nature, and I like artsy/cool pictures. Steven suggested morning/evening time where the light has a lot of variety. For me, he is sort of an impressionist, trying to capture beauty throughout the changing light. He is creative, and also open for suggestions. We loved our pictures. Notes: Pictures in this review were downsized, and I changed a little contrasts and light (so you can't see our faces). Ask Steven for some portfolio work, which you can get a better sense of his styles (and maybe some pose ideas).

Steven Wu is an incredibly talented photographer! My S.O. and I made a trip with our family (we…read morelive in California) to New York over the summer in May. It was my S.O.'s first trip and my millionth time to NYC. Our family had already decided that we were getting engaged and having our engagement party this upcoming November. I wanted to make this trip memorable, as it was his first trip, so we decided to do our engagement photos in NYC! I researched photographers almost everyday for a month when I stumbled upon Steven and his amazing reviews! We don't regret hiring Steven! He was absolutely amazing! We had been together for 6 years and we never did any type of photo shoot together. Our shoot was on a Friday morning in Grand Central Station and then in Central Park. Imagine a typical Friday morning at Grand Central. It is very, very, very busy and packed. We met up with Steven there and he asked us to go stand in the middle, of what seemed like thousands of people, and go pose. Needless to say, we felt SO awkward doing that. The second Steven started talking to us, we got so comfortable. The whole time we were with Steven, we only noticed him and each other. He made us totally forget how nervous we were and made us forget about the hundreds of people walking by and staring at us. I recall him saying he was in technology or something before he started doing photography but I swear, he must have some training in psychology because he like hypnotized us into feeling so calm and comfortable. Once he started clicking, we were so calm and at peace. We just focused on each other and the hilarious conversations we were having with Steven. Gosh, he kept us so entertained & happy! He truly is such an amazing man!!! I researched photographers for a whole month and am so glad I found Steven! I couldn't imagine a better photographer. And as far as the pictures go, they turned out AMAZING!!! For our first ever photo shoot, they were the most beautiful pictures I have ever seen! NY has such a special place in my heart and I'm so pleased that Steven was the one who captured my S.O. and I's first trip there! I would very highly recommend Steven to anyone who is looking to engagement pictures, family photos, party or wedding photography, anything and everything! You will not regret hiring him!

We chose Mike as our photographer for our wedding. We loved his work after checking out his…read moreportfolio on his website. We liked how he shot documentaries and his artistic style. He is a very talented individual. He and his second shooter Aaron were a joy to work with! They were extremely nice and easy going. His direction and demeanor made us feel comfortable during the whole portrait process. I would highly recommend Mike and his team for any event!

We loved the portraits Mike did for our house. Mike puts heart and soul into his work and his…read moreclients and acts with total professionalism - shows up on time and is very courteous and generous.

I can't stop looking at my photos!…read more I had such a great experience working with John Bartenhagen! He shot my wedding and my photos are fantastic! I loved that John was so responsive each time I reached out! Not only would he respond right back but many times if my questions were complicated he would ask to schedule a FaceTime so we could work out the details! Once you connect with John, he sets up a virtual meeting to make sure that you understand all he provides and his style of photos will meet your needs. He listens and plans all the details so you know exactly what to expect. He has an automated contract and payment service that makes both processes one-click simple. John also includes a engagement sitting with his service so you will have great "Save the Dates." John will prompt you for all the details at just the right time which takes the worry off you. He will discuss all the shots you want to capture and who you want more or less ;) pictures of. We did a walk through the week before at our wedding site and John's creative eye identified so many great photo opportunities, I knew I was going to have some really great shots and it got me so excited. At the "first look" I was pretty impressed when I saw John had a photo checklist tool on his phone to make sure every shot was captured. During the wedding/reception John was there to capture every shot and he did it in such a way that you never noticed him or the lighting stands. One of the best reasons to select John as your photographer is that within a couple of weeks (quicker than most) he delivers your print ready photos to his site and you can download them all in minutes. There are no additional charges to to download and share them with your guests or you can print them yourself! Although I can't say enough about John being the best choice for your wedding photographer and that he will be so easy to work with and deliver incredible photos. I will highlight that John is one of the nicest and "good hearted"people I have worked with. He is such a kind and caring person... it was a true delight to meet John. I'm so pleased that I will have such great memories of working with him each time I look at our photos!

Best photographer out there! He puts time and care into every shot! John went above and beyond to…read moreaccommodated us.

My wife and I heard about Toy Box Studios from an event coordinator who worked at Westfields…read moreMarriott. She and her fiance at the time were using TBS's services as well for their wedding. So, I took a look at their website and instantly fell in love with their work. Their wedding story videos go beyond simply showing you each part of the day. Somehow they always find a way to convey a story in the day's footage that tugs at your heart strings. Besides our final video, which my wife and I have viewed way too many times already, I would say that the best thing about TBS is that Ian and Mark were invisible during our wedding. They don't get in the way like other videographers I've seen at other weddings. There were many scenes in our video where I was marveling and saying, "Wow, I did't even notice them there! How'd they get that shot?" The equipment they used were unobtrusive in size, but still very high in quality. We can't say enough good things about Ian, Mark, and Kari. They work well as a team and were absolutely on top of everything from the very first e-mails we sent and the very first time we met to the delivery of our video and thumb drive. Our video was given to us sooner than expected, which we were thrilled about! We absolutely recommend Toy Box Studios to any couples out there reading this looking for a videography team. They are worth every penny! Thank you so much, TBS, for capturing our wedding day and giving us lasting memories and images from the best day of our lives.

Ian, Mark, Jason and Martin are amazing! The whole team have been a great support for me threw the…read morewhole wedding process when we have worked together. I was impressed with Toybox Productions responsiveness, professionalism and service from the first day I worked with them! I have worked on many weddings with them and look forward to working with them on many more! They are the nicest and kindest team I've ever worked with at a wedding. The video's are awesome and esp love love the Engagement Video's. As a photographer who works with many different vendors at a wedding, I can truly say its a treat when we get to work together. Highly recommend them! - Erum :)

Prismatic Photography was great to work with. They are very professional while being very flexible…read more I would recommend prismatic to any of my friends.

In the summer of 2019 we found Matt through a friend's recommendation and from his portfolio alone…read morewe hired him for our wedding and engagement shoot- before we had even gotten engaged! Matt truly goes above and beyond at every step of the way. When we sat down for our consult his first question wasn't the date of the event or our price range, it was who we were and what was important to us. He cared who we were as people and wanted to use all of that information to give us the best pictures possible. On top of being willing to start our engagement shoot in Alexandria on a freezing October morning, Matt was incredibly knowledgeable about the area and had an eye for selecting the best spots for the best shots! When our engagement pictures came back they weren't just beautiful, they were fast. We received a 92 edited picture gallery where we owned all of the pictures in one week. Unfortunately, we were a COVID wedding which came with a large set of challenges, particularly that we wanted to capture our wedding day, but also our big party to celebrate in 2021. Matt was understanding and on top of it. We were able to do an elopement package this year and the big thing next year for a great price. The weeks leading up to the wedding Matt was regularly checking in which we loved. He showed up early and hit the ground running. He captured our day in a way that I didn't think was possible. He found beautiful shots that made us feel like we were in a fancy venue instead of a parent's backyard. Every single shot was stunning. Matt never made us feel rushed and joyfully stayed as late as we did. While being the picture of professionalism, Matt was friendly and playing, helping us feel relaxed instead of stiff. 2 and a half weeks later we got back our gallery, this time over 300 stunningly edited pictures. As we looked through them on the easy to use web gallery we were blown away with every click. On top of this we were emailed a zip file with all of our pictures- no watermark! We were beyond pleased with Matt and Prismatic Photography and would recommend him to anyone who asked. If you are looking for amazing pictures, a professional and friendly photographer, and amazing prices you can stop- you just found him.

Michael is a fantastic wedding photographer. He is a freelance photographer for some of the most…read morerespected newspaper publications in the country, including the NY Times and the Washington Post. We found Michael through Jay Premack, another great photographer and friend of my brother's. We were looking for a photojournalistic touch that would capture the feel and mood of our wedding day. He was unobtrusive and professional. Michael produces exceptional work and is not outrageously expensive. The only downside with Michael is that, even though he photographs lots of weddings, and does so very well, he is completely non-directive. For the few portrait and posed shots we wanted, he was unable to tell us where to stand or what looked good, for example. His strength is definitely in capturing special and profound moments as they unfold. So, when deciding to use him, have in mind what you want in terms of posed shots. Also, he did not obtain a license to photograph professionally on the Mall (which is required), and failed tell us that he had not been able to do so until the day of our wedding, so we ended up having to go elsewhere on very short notice. Thanks to our videographer, Tom Bowen, who we also highly recommend, we were able to find a perfect alternative that captured the city and did not require a license. That said, when we received our CDs with over 1000 photos in November (just 2 months later), we were taken aback by how beautifully he had captured the day. Our wedding photographs looked like they belonged in a magazine spread! They were natural and untouched. Those few things that had bothered us became completely insignificant. We got more than we had expected and would absolutely hire him again.

Hire Michael. Easy. You are faced with many decisions when planning an event (wedding or…read moreotherwise). Hiring Michael is a decision you will look back as one of the better choices you made. Quality of work: Superb. Michael's background as a news photographer provides him with an eye many event photographers do not seem to have. His photos look like those taken during an actual event, not a staged photo-spread and captures moments you did not even realize happened. Cost: We reviewed service packages of many photographers for our wedding and Michael's was the best. For the quality of work, number of photographs, and material (proofs, cds) he provides it is money well spent. Michael: He is a really nice guy, and someone you will have trouble having around on such an important day.

It was an absolute pleasure having Vicki Grafton as our wedding photographer! She was able to…read morecapture each of our wedding moments in the most impactful, seamless, and beautiful ways. Because she works primarily in film her photography has a genuine and authentic quality to it that is simply unforgettable. You can tell that she is very creative and wants to sincerely make your day as memorable as possible. Not only did she completely re-define what a good photographer should be (we have never seen photographs as good!), Vicki was also available during every stage of the planning process; creating and helping us fine tune our schedule and what we wanted it to include. I cannot say enough good things about her other then you would be lucky to have her, we know we were!

We cannot recommend Anji and Pete enough!…read more My husband and I reached out to Anji and Pete to photograph our private courthouse wedding. From the beginning, they were thoughtful and attentive, making sure to note our preferences and offer their own suggestions (all of which we loved!). In addition to an initial phone consultation, Anji and Pete met with us over Zoom to get further details about our style and preferences--they even asked us to choose our favorite photos from their portfolio so they could better learn our likes. On the actual day of the wedding, Anji and Pete were easy to reach and arrived early to the courthouse. Their professionalism and preparation completely put us at ease. They photographed not only the ceremony itself, but also took photos of us at the National Portrait Gallery as well as various beautiful locations on the walk there from the courthouse. Even though we got married at a busy time of year, Anji and Pete sent us our sneak peek photos within 24 hours of our wedding, so we could share them with loved ones while waiting for the full photo gallery. Again, we cannot emphasize enough how great Anji and Pete are to work with. Their artistic talent shines through easily from their portfolio, but they are also truly wonderful people. We feel that we have made friends! Thank you, Anji and Pete!!

First of all, Anji and Pete are AWESOME!!!!! If you are considering a wedding photographer,…read moreengagement shoot, or just a lifetime shoot, look no further and book them. This power couple has some serious talent and it's to capture your day/moment in a way no one can. We couldn't thank them enough for our awesome engagement session and because we loved the shoot so much and the pictures even more, we booked them for our wedding as well. They are so easy to work with and truly know what they are doing. It shows in the quality of the images we got. Every little detail is captured and we got sneak peaks the day after our wedding! The best thing is that our entire family and all of our friends loved them. They were so respectful, personable, and friendly and they even remembered most of our family and friend's name and called them by it. Everyone loved our pictures as well. They both work incredibly together and they have an understanding like no other couple in the business. Best of all was that they moved like stealth. The last thing you want is a photographer who is constantly in your face and that you notice walking around taking pictures. We didn't have that feeling at all! In fact, we were quite surprised by some of the pictures they took because we didn't notice they were around us. Working with them is a breeze and they are super responsive to emails, phone calls, text. They are timely, friendly, listen to what you are looking for, and are truly passionate about what they do. Which is also what makes them great! Again, my husband and I absolutely LOVE them! And so do all of our family as well as all of our friends. Give them a shot or should I say, let them give you a shot (pun intended) and meet them. You will be so pleased with their work as well as their personality. I am so excited I have met and found them and look forward to a future shoot with them already :)