Karen Leah Photography

I just got back the photos from my wedding and they were absolutely fantastic. There are so so many good photos that I can't even begin to know where to start to make an album. Every photo is carefully edited (I had some blemishes) and there's a great variety of candids, portraits, details, preceremony, ceremony, reception, etc. photos throughout. Wonderful. Karen took tremendous advantage of our old-school setting (the Los Angeles Athletic Club) and used it to her artistic best, employing natural light.

But let me talk a little bit about Karen and her second-shooter/husband, Brian. The two are a font of wedding knowledge. They know how to make - and to stick to a timeline. They know how to corral unwilling relatives and how to smooth over awkward situations with grace and humor (my family has a lot of those)... they had such great attitudes, and really treated us with dignity and respect.

An important note: We had a gay wedding - two brides. This is what's really important - Karen and Brian never asked any weird questions, had any reservations, had any moments of "Well who is going to wear the dress..." they simply let us do what we were going to do and were totally supportive and wonderful and open to our lives and the way we wanted to express our love and commitment through this ceremony and this great reception.

We had our engagement photos taken by Karen and Brian as well. They walked us through downtown and spent the whole afternoon (capturing sundown at Disney Hall) and we have the BEST pictures other than our wedding pictures. We literally made it a Christmas present for our relatives -- they were that good...

Karen is everything you want AND need in a professional wedding photographer. The pictures she took for our wedding(s!) give us so much pleasure (you can see a few at: http://www.karenleahphotography.com/blog/archive/00000023.html

She is gifted at getting that fabulous 'moment' shot while being utterly unobtrusive. She sets up and takes great portraits and skips around quietly capturing all those little details that are the essence and atmosphere of the event. She shoots a ridiculous number of images and works hard on them all.

Perhaps the best thing, however, is that Karen makes the photography bit of your wedding so much fun with her bubbly enthusiasm that it shines through in the faces of everyone in her pictures.

The only bad thing is that she's so good it's hard to get a slot in her schedule... I recommend you book early!

Picking a photographer was one of the most important aspects of my wedding planning. My ideal photographer was someone that I could trust to capture my wedding day as if it were their own. I have NO experience with photography so I wanted someone who could "take charge" while also making me feel like she was doing this for me and my husband. I met Karen through a friend and the day we met I knew she was going to be the perfect photographer for us. Her uplifting spirit made me feel very calm about our big day. She had many ideas and suggestions for us which made us feel confident in her skills. As well, we were upfront about our budget, which was not very much. Karen gladly worked with us to make sure we could afford a package. Another aspect about Karen that was so exciting was her ability to make us want to be photographed. I am not particularly excited about taking photos, I'm quite critical of myself, however, as soon as Karen was behind the camera, she made us feel so free and at ease. She let us be ourselves and captured our personalities perfectly through the photos she took. Every single picture Karen took was perfect in every way. Our friends and family gush at how amazing they are. I am grateful to have had Karen as our photographer for both our engagement and wedding photos. I could go on and on, but I think you get my point! Karen is an amazing photographer! :-)

I spent weeks following lots of photographers blogs, and when my wife and I met with Karen we just clicked. She's very comfortable to talk to and asked lots of questions about our wedding. Karen and her assistant made having our photos taken lots of fun and got along great with our friends and families. They made sure we got all of the photos that we asked for and ha some great ideas. The actual photos are amazing. She really got everything that we wanted.

Working with Karen & Brian for my wedding was a wonderful experience. Choosing the right photographer was very important to us, and we have no doubts that we chose the right team. Karen was so creative in helping us "pose" so that we didn't look "posed" and she took lots of great candids. Having lots of photos of our friends and family that traveled for our wedding was very important to us, and Karen delivered. She gave me over 1500 pictures to choose from, and they were all amazing so selection them was an easy task. The best part was that we have wonderful photos that we did not have to break the bank for. Karen is DEFINETLY worth the money....which is not enough if you ask me. I would recommend her to any of my friends and family for their special day, and I look forward to having her take our family photos through the years!!!!

My husband and I had a pretty unconventional wedding. It was very important for us to find a photographer who would "get" us and who would not give us cookie cutter wedding pictures. It was truly our best decision to hire Karen and her team. Karen did a fantastic job that day. She was fun, energetic, and totally hands-on. She adjusted to our vision and made us enjoy the whole portrait session. She had so many great suggestions, and she was also incredibly funny! As far as the final pictures, they are absolutely beautiful. Her talent is most impressive! We highly recommend her.

During our wedding planning, getting a wedding photography was the most important thing on our wedding list. My Husband and I did our research in looking for an ideal photographer and we wanted to make sure we booked with someone who could provide beautiful photos that were unique and would last a lifetime. Not only did we find what we were looking for with Karen, she was also very affordable. Best thing about her is that she really listens to all your wants and needs and she makes sure to deliver exactly what you want. Karen is extremely professional, hard working, dedicated, and fun; her artistry is beyond compare. We loved our engagement photo session we had with her and especially enjoyed how hard and wonderful she was on our wedding day because she made every moment fun and magical! She certainly went above and beyond to make sure to capture every single moment we wanted. She helped us feel comfortable not only in the photo shoots, but throughout the entire process; we trusted her completely and for us, that was the most important thing. Karen's passion, excellent creative judgment and all around warm personality made her a complete joy to work with... We have had nothing but the highest complements on our photos, and we recommend Karen to any future Bride and Groom!

Karen & her staff are absolutely phenomenal! My husband and I love our pictures! Karen took our engagement pictures as well as our wedding with her staff and they were able to capture the once in a lifetime moments that we will have forever. I highly recommend Karen Leah Photography to anyone who wants exceptional service and quality photographs.

Karen was great! I was really concerned with finding a photographer who would not intrude with the wedding. I had heard horror stories of photographers who were totally in your face all day or took so long to take your pictures you missed most of the reception. When we met her, both my husband and I instantly liked her and liked her even more after we interviews other photographers. She showed up early to do a walk through of the venue with us since she hadn't been there before - which most photographers don't do. During the wedding, she was completely unobtrusive when we needed her to be but great when directing the portraits. Plus, we got everything done in great time so we could actually enjoy our wedding. I have only seen a few samples so far since the wedding was only a couple weeks ago, but so far they are gorgeous!!!! Both her and her husband were fantastic to work with and I can't wait to see the rest of the pictures! She is a super deal as well. I highly recommend her!!!

We are super happy that we met Karen and Brian. They were very proffessional and their quality of work is fantastic! They answered all of our questions in a timely manner and were very helpful in providing useful tips (how to stand so that we don't look like we have double chins). Not only did they arrive early for our engagement session (which was lots of fun) they also arrived early for our wedding day (which was great). We would highly recommend them!

Karen (& Brian) was very professional and took AMAZING photos. Some of the shots were your typical, cheesy wedding photos, but the best were really the un-posed photo-journalistic shots. She took the best pictures I've ever seen of my husband & his family. In addition, she was able to corral the rowdy (drunk) groomsmen efficiently. I think I probably posed some challenges as well since I was wearing a kimono and had a "hump" on my back that needed to be hidden, but it didn't seem to faze her one bit! Throughout the planning process, she was readily accessible, quick to answer questions/concerns. On the day of the wedding, she showed up an hour before she was scheduled to and was in constant communication with the wedding coordinator, DJ/MC and us with regards to the schedule & shots she wanted to take.

I was recently married this September and both my fiance and I loved working with Karen. She was very flexible in her scheduling and also very fun to work with. During our engagment photo session we realized that Karen went above and beyond to scout out good shooting locations and stayed as late as was needed. On my actual wedding day, Karen was a calm and steady presense on the scene and even helped me figure out how to bustle my wedding dress! My maid of honor even commented that Karen took way more pictures than her photographer at her wedding that she now felt cheated! The pictures are professional yet fun and quirky, just what we wanted!

Karen and her husband Brian are absolutely fantastic!!!! Not only do they take amazing pictures but they helped our entire wedding day run smoothly! They made our guests laugh and we received so many compliments about them! Our pictures came out beautiful, there is not a single thing I would change! We truly appreciate their honesty and attitudes! We highly recommend Karen and Brian...... You will be in for a big treat!

They were the best! We loved every single picture they took. They made our special day even more special. We have so many wonderful shots from that day to remember. Thank you so much for everything!

Matches Made In HeavenWe are so thankful to have been referred to Karen (and her husband, Brian). They are wonderful, hardworking and loving people. The moment we met Karen at our first meeting to discuss what she offers we knew she was the ONE. We are forever indebted to Karen and Brian because we got much more than what we paid for.Initially, we did not want to have an engagement session; however, Karen insisted that we have one so we could get to know her and get use to her style/positioning. We had a blast! On the day of our engagement session (in Pasadena, CA) Karen and Brian arrived an hour early to get the lay of the land, which by the way is their style…to get to the location early to get comfortable, get ideas, etc. They put a lot of effort and pride in to their work and its shows. The engagement session lasted just over an hour but it flew by because we were having so much fun. Karen takes the main shots she wants while Brian takes action shots of the process. Let me stop here and say…Karen and Brian love each other and have a great time working together. You cannot help getting energized by their love. The engagement photos were amazing. We highly recommend an engagement session.During the months leading up to the wedding Karen was in constant contact with us. When we came up with photo ideas, or she did, we would email back and forth. About a week prior to our wedding, Karen went to our wedding location to scope out different areas, look at the lighting, etc. She is truly invested in her work and does what it takes to create a great finished product.On February 6, 2010, we were married at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Everything was perfect and went according to plan. When we look at the photos Karen and Brian took it brings tears to our eyes because they captured the energy, excitement and love throughout the entire night. We were having so much fun that time was flying by…we decided at the last minute to add two more hours of photographs and Karen and Brian were kind enough to stay. They capture some great night photos.Finding each other was a match made in heaven; finding Karen and Brian for photographers was a match made in heaven; and Karen and Brian are a match made in heaven. We highly recommend hiring Karen and Brian. You cannot go wrong with them. Christine and Chaz,Fans of Karen Leah Photography

Karen was a great person to work with. Very helpful, understanding, focused and flexible in working with me to get the best photos.

Karen & Brian are awesome. I can't imagine my wedding without them. They were so much fun!!! They make you feel so comfortable, it's like having your friends taking pictures for you. They have the greatest ideas, and they also love to hear yours. I will recommend them to everyone I know!!!

Karen is an easy person to work with and is willing to go the extra mile for you. I have never seen a photographer that climbs trees, rocks or couches to get the shot she wants. Karen was actually early to start our session which made things really easy for us. Karen is very understanding of brides and what they want. The only thing I have to add is for you brides, if you want a particular picture taken let your photographer know because they can not read mines. Thanks Karen we have beautiful and a lot might I add of pictures to treasure for years to come.

We are so pleased with our photos! While photography was really important to us, we were not looking forward to having our photos taken (we’re not the most photogenic people); Karen and her assistant made this process a lot of fun for us (and made me feel pretty while hiding everything-arms, back, etc-that I didn’t want in my portraits). She really worked with our budget and we got a lot for our money. We were really happy with the quality of work and the amount of photos we received.

I spent weeks following lots of photographers blogs and met with quite a few of them. My wife and I met with karen and really "clicked." shes very comfortable to talk to and asked lots of questions about our wedding. She made us feel completely at ease and we were confident she would do a great job and we were right. Karen and her assistant were great. They made having our photos taken fun. They really got along with each of our families and our entire bridal party. They coordinated everyone and made sure we got all the photos we asked for and more. She had some great ideas (and even went up a tree at one point to get them). The actual photos are amazing. She made all of us look incredible and got photos we didn't even know she was taking. She really got everything we envisioned

Karen did a wonderful job photographing our wedding! Her bubbly personality put everyone at ease, and we could relax the day of our wedding, knowing that all of the little details were being captured. We highly recommend Karen.

I'm not always the easiest person to please and very much want it my way, but I couldn't have asked for a better photography if I'd grown one myself!!! She met with us, she asked us just as many questions as we asked her, she was geniunely interested in how we met, about our wedding, and about us. We had met with other photographers and it was all about how they work and not so much about our vision. Karen was just the opposite, I felt like it was more of a personal friend shooting our pictures than hired help. I had certain visions and am a photo hog, I wanted it all from the first brush of makeup to the cutting of cake and didn't think one photographer was enough and Karen's response was no problem. I wanted the rights to my pictures, no problem. I want to be in many places the day of the wedding, no problem. I love you but I don't want to be intrusive to anyone, no problem. And of course my day and my pictures, were no problem. I have over 1100 pictures and now my only problem is that I want to share them with all of our family and friends and trying to find the best way to share them!!! Ok, really not a problem, but what a great problem to have! LOLWe took engagement photos in down in Corona del Mar and you'd think she's a contortionist and she climbed the rocks, balanced along the edge, got in the water and even got us onto the lifeguard tower!!! Like I said I'm a control freak and of course wanted certain pictures, like our names in the sand and us, the sunsetting in the background and different outfits just to guarantee we had the right picture. Karen was excited throughout and snapped pictures even when we thought she wasn't, some of the really nice ones are just the two of us gazing at each other talking. Ahhh, it was beautiful!It was a beautiful day and I have beautiful pictures to prove it!!! Karen did her magic and sent them to us on a cd, we quickly picked our favorite and our "save the dates" were magnets from the photo shoot which everyone just loved!!!! The day of the wedding Karen followed me around while Courtney followed my fiancee and family. I cried just at the preshots, we all met up at the Garden Grove library for family photos, which I can't wait for the holidays to start sending them out!!!As a bride you miss certain moments and it's so great to have such beautiful pictures to fill in those time gaps. I opted not to video tape our wedding day and feel Karen was the right person to capture our special day. I can't thank her enough and strongly recommend having her capture your special day. I am forever greatful for her!

Just top notch, wonderful work! Karen was professional, went out of her way to communicate with us multiple times before the big day to get a feel for who we were and what we were looking for, arrived early, put me and my family at ease, added fun and joy to the occasion. And all agree that the photos are absolutely fantastic!

I had the most fabulous experience working with both Karen and Brian. They were so fun and you can really tell they love what they do. This is portrayed not only in personality, but in the work they do! My husband and I worked closely with Karen for our engagement and wedding photos. Not ever having done this before, we didn't know what to expect, but know now we couldn't have had it and better. Everyone at the wedding commented on how they they were running around making sure to capture absolutely everything and everyone. Everyone loved them! The work was absolutely amazing and I would never use anyone else. Karen answered every question I ever had and was very quick to respond. I felt very comfortable with working with her. We will be using her in the near future as our first baby is born =0)

Amazing work and the time it took to get our pictures was really fast. The quality was amazing and the price was exceptional! Very happy and pleased with the work and everything.

Karen is everything you want AND need in a professional wedding photographer. The pictures she took for our wedding(s!) give us so much pleasure (you can see a few at: http://www.karenleahphotography.com/blog/archive/00000023.html). She is gifted at getting that fabulous 'moment' shot while being utterly unobtrusive. She sets up and takes great portraits and skips around quietly capturing all those little details that are the essence and atmosphere of the event. She shoots a ridiculous number of images and works hard on them all.Perhaps the best thing, however, is that Karen makes the photography bit of your wedding so much fun with her bubbly enthusiasm that it shines through in the faces of everyone in her pictures.The only bad thing is that she's so good it's hard to get a slot in her schedule... I recommend you book early!

Karen & Brian went out of their way to take our best pictures. They did a really good job. I highly recommend them!

Karen was very personable and fun to be with, while still maintaining total professionalism. Both our bridal party and our guests were impressed with her ability to get pictures that were right in the middle of the action without being in the way of it happening. We have many wonderful memories of our wedding, from both sides of Karen's camera.

Karen was absolutely fantastic. She was very professional, punctual, and the work she did was flawless. I would highly recommend her to anyone!

We were very happy having Karen Leah as our wedding photographer! She is great to work with and very attentive to our needs. We "interviewed" other photographers before her, but she's the only one who made us feel comfortable--like talking to a friend (which I feel is important) and her photographs were very professional and beautiful. She took TONS of photos so we didn't feel like we were missing any shots! I love that the photos she takes tell a story and they are not just the usual posed photos. We couldn't have asked for a better photographer to capture our special day!!

She is the best wedding photographer ever!!! She rocks. She took awesome pictures of my wedding. I then recommended her to my brother for his wedding and he loved her work as well. She will forever be our family photographer.. She is professional, and goes the extra mile to get those shots that will take you back to the event through the picture. My husband and I love her work as well as her attention to detail.. Thank you KAREN!!!

We are from Texas and found Karen via the internet for our California destination wedding. It was a risk well worth taking as Karen was very professional, friendly, enthusiastic, and hard working during the whole process. She was creative and worked quickly, coming up with the right settings on the spot, which made it easy not only for us, but also for our 16 groomsmen and bridesmaids. We were very satisfied and pleased with Karen's work. We received many compliments about our wedding pictures...

Just top notch, wonderful work! Karen was professional, went out of her way to communicate with us multiple times before the big day to get a feel for who we were and what we were looking for, arrived early, put me and my family at ease, added fun and joy to the occasion. And all agree that the photos are absolutely fantastic!

Karen is an easy person to work with and is willing to go the extra mile for you. I have never seen a photographer that climbs trees, rocks or couches to get the shot she wants. Karen was actually early to start our session which made things really easy for us. Karen is very understanding of brides and what they want. Thanks Karen we have beautiful and a lot might I add of pictures to treasure for years to come.

I don't have anything but nice things to say about you and your professionalism the day of our wedding! Your patience and kindness was very much appreciated with our BIG wedding party. Everyone in our party thought the same about you, so I wanted to personally send you a big THANKS for helping us get through such a busy and important day. Take care and hope to work with you again in the future!

I have meaning to let you know that we are SO happy with the wedding pictures. Words cannot describe it!!! The holidays have been so busy and I haven't been able to take the time to call and thank you for the great job you did! I can't believe how much each photo captures so much emotion! Both Tim and I experience the great memories that we had from that day just from looking at the photos. I'm sure that you have heard it before, but we are so happy that you were the photographer for my wedding.

I just wanted to thank you and Brian for the amazing wedding photos! I've had so many compliments on how sweet and professional you two were. I would like you to know that if you ever need a recommendation you can always count on me! I had unbelievable photos that I can't stop looking at. I first got the email with the link the day I came back from my honeymoon in Italy, and even after my tiring 14 hour flight I sat for 4 hours straight just looking through all the great shots! I can barely remember the day but my photos are incredible and help me remember sweet moments I had either forgotten in the madness or missed. You're both amazing people that are very easy to work with and are passionate about your photography, and believe me it shows! I've recommended you to a friend who just started planning her wedding for March 09 and will continue to do so! Thanks to you both for all your hard work, your photography is nothing sort of amazing!

Karen has always been a pleasure to work with, and it shows in her results! She is laid back and gets incredible results without being overbearing! Two thumbs up!

I loved working with Karen. She was camera ready and caught all the events and important photos. She open for changes in the timeline and was great to work with. I would suggest her services to all couples.