My husband and I just received our wedding album and we are thrilled! We highly recommend photographers Gene and Linda Bejenaru of SoCalSunshine Productions. They worked as a team to capture all the wonderful moments of our wedding day and worked with us to find the right balance between the photojournalistic style and traditional style of pictures we desired. Not only were we pleased with them, but many of our family members and friends commented on how pleasant they were and how hard they worked throughout the entire day.

We interviewed many photographers before we selected Gene and Linda. We found them to be professional, hard-working, dedicated, and passionate photographers. They love what they do! We first met them at their home when they showed us samples of their portfolio. We found them to be very personable, friendly and welcoming. They recognized the wedding was our big day and made us feel special at our very first meeting. Just as important, we found them to be fun to work with throughout the entire process. They helped make us feel comfortable and at ease in front of the camera.

As is the case with most weddings we found ourselves to be very busy beforehand trying to complete all our arrangements and Gene & Linda were very accommodating and willing to work around our schedule. We didn't have many days available for the engagement shoot but they were able to accommodate us and were even willing to travel a bit to a nearby winery where we chose to have the pictures taken. A week before the wedding they met us at the church and reception hall so we could find the optimal photo locations and observe the natural lighting that would be available during those times. They even accommodated our request to scout out possible local beach sights for some sunset pictures after the ceremony despite the fact that the weather might not have cooperated. They were very open to all our comments and suggestions.

We found them to be very efficient throughout the entire process. They were very responsive to all our questions and emails. The engagement and wedding proofs were available online much quicker than we expected. Within a few weeks of returning home from our honeymoon we were able to view all the pictures. That in itself was a nice little bonus since they had filtered about 2000 pictures to 700. There was a quick turn around on individual pictures we ordered. Once we selected our final album pictures, which was no small task to narrow down 700+ pictures to ~75, they completed the album layout design incorporating those pictures much sooner than we anticipated. Our personalized customization and minor album modifications were taken care of quickly.

Although Gene and Linda were very efficient throughout the entire process, the bride and groom weren't necessarily quite as good. Our schedule both before and after the wedding was more hectic than we could have anticipated and we weren't always on top of things. Nevertheless, Gene and Linda were very patient with us and they reminded us of when they required our inputs or actions. We never felt rushed or pressured to make any decisions and we felt comfortable taking our time when it came down to selecting our final album photos.

Viewing the individual proofs and album layout online proved to be very intuitive. We found the web site to be user friendly, easy to navigate and fairly pain free. Pictures loaded quickly via a DSL connection. Ordering individual pictures could not have been easier. The only improvement we'd recommend is to include either a way to eliminate photos to aide in the final selection process or move pictures into a separate 'faves' area.

Finally, we found Gene and Linda to be quite talented and creative. As a team they complemented each other nicely. Together they offered a unique combination of photographic talent and creative graphic artists in one package. They took numerous pictures throughout the entire day while paying special attention to shot angles and lighting conditions of each situation. They were transparent to us throughout the entire day blending in with the surroundings but visible whenever we had special requests or wanted certain shots. We were very pleased with the quality and volume of shots that were taken. That's one of the reasons we selected digital photography.

The other benefit of digital photography was that the pictures could be easily edited, modified and/or combined almost without limit. Rather than selecting a single photo for our 11x17 engagement picture we chose several that we wanted blended into a collage. We really didn't know what to expect but we were very happy with the results. It's amazing what can be accomplished with modern graphic arts software and a dedicated creative individual. The engagement pictures and collage gave us great confidence about our choice of photographers and allayed any fears we might have had leading up to the wedding.

We were extremely pleased with all the wedding day pictures!! We found it to be very difficult to narrow down our pictures to only 75 for the album. While we were struggling to make our album picture selection, much to our surprise Linda was meticulously selecting shots she thought were best and was compiling them into a wedding 'Memory DVD' for us. We were truly delighted with the final product which we received much sooner than we had expected. The DVD featured a nice combination of engagement shots and wedding day shots all combined into logical chapters. It was all set to music which we loved and the way she panned and zoomed over the photos made it look as if it were real video. It was hard to believe these were "still" photographs. The DVD is a good substitute for those people that might not want to hire a separate videographer.

Once we made our final album picture selection we could only anticipate how the layout would be designed. We were not disappointed!! Gene and Linda delivered once again. We couldn't believe that it was our album! It almost looked fake, like something you would see advertised somewhere. We must have looked at the album proofs a few dozen times. It was obvious they took great care to properly organize the pictures and present them in fun and creative ways. We only had some minor edits that they easily incorporated.

After we approved the album proofs and selected the cover material, paper type and thickness, it was only a matter of time before we received the final book. We couldn't wait. Once again we were surprised to the upside. The album was delivered much sooner than expected and it was of superior quality. We chose the GraphiStudio album and could not be more pleased. The picture quality was outstanding and far better than what could ever be shown on the web. Truly amazing. Perhaps the best testament to the album is that my husband can be very critical and even he couldn't find anything wrong. We are truly delighted.

Of course we've shown the album to just about anyone willing to look and we always get the same response from everyone who views it, "WOW, how awesome" is a typical response. Another is, "We want to redo our album now." Not much more to say than that. Rave reviews all around.

Anyway, we hope our experience might lead others to consider Gene and Linda as well. We learned of them through a web site referral and are now doing our part to commend them and to pass along this recommendation for the benefit of others. You can view their web site at www.socalsunshine.com.