Lilia Photography

Lilia is THE BEST! Lilia and her husband Ray photographed my wedding in Berkeley in October 2010, and shot an engagement session for my husband and me in the Mission in May 2010.

Lilia and Ray's shots are both beautiful and personal. They're really evocative of the tone and spirit of my wedding, which we planned as a non-traditional event. Lilia and Ray did a great job of capturing all the important and traditional events and details throughout the wedding (e.g., dressing, flowers, portraits, service, toasts, first dance, cake cutting). But more importantly, they really show the perspective of time and place -- there's a point of view to most of the shots from the reception that really place the viewer in the thick of the action. This was extremely important to us when choosing a photographer, and Lilia really delivered!

But, almost as important as the product in our experience with Lilia was the interaction. Lilia really made us feel like she understood our needs and struck a nice balance of giving us what we asked for and guiding us towards the best possible way to execute. She was by far the most organized, attentive, and responsive vendor we hired during the long wedding-planning saga, and she always made us feel like she not only had the time for us, but that she actually enjoyed working with us! Lilia is super nice, warm, and enthusiastic, which are all important traits for a photographer. However, she's also smart, thoughtful, and thorough, which are characteristics that are hard to find in any person, no less a wedding vendor.

To be absolutely honest, there wasn't a single moment during our entire interaction with Lilia when we even had the shade of doubt or regret -- she constantly built our trust and delivered with confidence. We have had so many people tell us how beautiful, unique, and artistic both our wedding and engagement photos are. I would not hesitate for a second to recommend Lilia to any friend looking for top-notch event photography with a distinct point of view.

We hired Lilia and Ray as a last minute photographer when our contracted photog stiffed us (see other review). We couldn't be happier with hiring them. They captured our day beautifully and were so fun to work with. The pictures turned out perfectly! Not too overdone, just natural and completely our style. We couldn't be happier with how everything turned out-talk about blessing in disguise. They are great!

I'm a designer and love photography myself, so trying to find a great photographer for an important event like my wedding was tough. I came across two problems: 1. the best photographers were too darn expensive, and 2. the inexpensive ones didn't have the greatest photos, well to me they didn't. UNTIL I randomly found Lilia Photograpy on one of those bridal list links. First & foremost, it's all about presentation and after looking through her website I knew I had to give her a call. I figured, if I was a professional photographer, I would definitely create my website just as she did (design concept, fonts, colors, etc.). There was an instant liking I took with her style, and especially her price! My husband and I met with her for the first time at her office/home and knew just by meeting her and talking with her AND by the look in her home (similar decor taste to ours = unique/funky/dark/urban/awesome haha) we were sold on the spot. Lilia Photography is actually two people, an awesome married couple Lilia and Ray Ahner. They were like ghosts in black attire on the day of the wedding taking photos and not getting in the way. I've seen friends who've gotten married and had photographers that were very demanding and sometimes rude just to get a shot, but Lilia & Ray were real and just the opposite which is very important on your wedding day. Also, their shots were of course GREAT!! I wish there were more detailed shots of the ceremony and reception, but they definitely took many of the important ones very beautifully which is what matters the most. We would highly reccommend these two to take photos at your wedding. These guys rock!

Lilia and her husband Ray took both our engagement photos and, more recently, our bridal portraits. (We would've had them shoot our wedding too, but we had it on the East Coast... although apparently they do destination weddings!) Their shoots are always fun, and Lilia somehow knows how to make you feel natural and comfortable in front of the camera. They listened to our ideas on what sort of feel we wanted in the shoot locations, and based on our conversations, they gave us some good suggestions of places to take the photos. They also genuinely tried to get to know their couples so that they could reflect their personality in the pictures, which I think really comes through. They worked magic with lighting, angles, and creative poses, and we were very pleased with the results. Both our engagement photos and bridal portraits came out gorgeous!!!

Lilia Photography is truly a dream to work with, and they come with our highest recommendation.

We've done weddings and photo shoots with Lilia and all our experiences have always been great.
Lilia is a professional at her craft and her photos are beautifully executed. Our clients are always thrilled to get personalized and high quality photos that will give them pleasure for a lifetime.

Lilia and Ray were the dynamic duo for a wedding we provided flowers for at the De Young Museum. The photos were amazing. Not only did Lilia and Ray capture all the important moments, all the small details were documented. And as it turned out, this particular wedding was featured on San Francisco Wedding Magazine and Style Me Pretty--so, their editors also agreed that the photos were phenomenal!

Lilia is an amazing photgrapher with a unique vision that sets her work a part from many of the other photographers in the area. I have worked with her on many weddings and she has a positive, upbeat personality that makes her clients feel very comfortable. I would highly recommend her!