Deanna Dawson:
"The best!!!!
Michelle did a session with my son when he was 7 months. He is very aware of the camera and does NOT cooperate when it comes to photos, but she did amazing! My pictures turned out better then I could have ever imagined. She is literally a magician behind the camera. She was so patient and fun to be around during the session. Also she completely directed the shoot, I had no idea what I wanted going into it but she knew exactly what to do and what looked good. Overall everything was just perfect. We love you Michelle! Your talent is amazing and is so appreciated. Literally nothing makes me happier then a beautiful photo!"
Nicole Vega:
"We had the best experience with Michelle! She was professional but laid back and made our entire family feel so relaxed. She was able to get great shots even though our one year old was having a MELTDOWN (no kidding). It was so tough with our son but Michelle was calm and able to move through the shoot smoothly. We were overly excited when we received our photos! I already ordered ALL of them and have them hanging in the living room!"
Sabrina & Ally:
"We had so much fun with Michelle! We never felt awkward, or too posed when she was taking photos. She told us just to “be ourselves” during the shoot as she snapped pics, and they turned out so so good! We now have photos that we will keep forever, and can honestly say this is the best photographer in the OC/LA area. We will always use Michelle for our photographic needs for many years to come. Thanks Michelle!"
Kari & Jairus:
"To all of you who are looking for a photographer you can trust and feel comfortable with, look no further! When I was first looking for someone to take maternity pictures of me I wanted someone with unique style and of course was very passionate about their work. As well as being budget friendly. Michelle fit all my needs and was very patient to my eccentric requests of what I wanted and didn't want. Three years later, we just had our third session with her and I'm still blown away with every picture she sends me and I LOVE seeing all Michelle's work with her other clients. I can't wait to book another session with her! Don't wait, it's an amazing experience!"
Danica Pardini:
"I'm not at all used to candid photography and have never taken family photos before. I feel very safe with "posed" shots. Michelle totally got me out of comfort zone and helped me to relax and just play with our son like if we were alone. Michelle is a great listener and delivers the vision you have and stays true to that vision. If you're a little worry wart like I am...she showed me a couple shots during the shoot to make me feel more confident. Boy, did that work! She is super easy going, sweet and funny and makes you feel very comfortable. She also captured the likeness of my son so well which is hard to do. He was almost a year old so they can be tricky! Overall, I'm very happy with the price, my experience and the finished photos! I will be calling her for our next family photo shoot for sure!"
Minnie Zeigler:
"Not all photographers are cut from the same cloth. Or maybe a more fitting metaphor would be to say that not all photographers frame with the same eye. Michelle has a truly unique vision and style when it comes to her portraits. Equal parts raw and ethereal, she deftly captures more than a moment frozen in a time, but rather a emotion that transcends time.
She is undoubtedly a creative talent; but technical prowess aside, she captures treasured images because she is a dream to interact with. I have worked with other photographers who, though friendly, emanate an artistic temperament that causes shoots to feel slightly awkward and posed. Quite the opposite, Michelle is warm, down-to-earth, and natural. There is a healthy balance of giving direction and stepping back to allow for the development of organic moments. In a surprising way, it feels like you are hanging out with an old friend, who just happens to take rad photos. She is the bomb!"
Emily Peck:
"Michelle was, well, the shit. That's really the only way to describe her. We had an in-home engagement shoot with her and we were so nervous and awkward! She made us laugh and feel so much more comfortable; and got all of the best moments on camera.
I feel so lucky that I was able to snag time with her on her short trip to SLC. I am grateful that we will forever be able to look back at these pictures of when our life was just beginning together... that is truly precious."
Megan Oliver:
"Michelle, we are absolutely IN LOVE with our photos! I'm so appreciative of all the time you took leading up to the shoot to communicate with me and plan it. Chris and I were so nervous going into it (we've both never been professionally photographed) but you made it so relaxed and fun. You're an insanely talented photographer but also just a great, easy going person that made these two awkward dorks feel comfortable in front of a camera. The five hour drive to you was totally worth it. (:
I can't wait to have you photograph more of our milestones and life events, and refer you to all my friends. Again, thank you so much!"
The Yoneda Family:
"Holy moly we are insanely in looove with our photographs!!!! To quote Michelle's website... we definitely made some cool shit together!! She was so sweet & daring to try & experiment with some sparkler shots which we thought could be really rad--IT WAS! This girl not only has an amazing eye for framing & capturing priceless moments, but also for making you feel super comfortable even if you've never been professionally photographed. Michelle, you NAILED IT. You also managed to make my crazy busy two year old look like a baby model who was sitting still?! That is amazing alone hahaha!
Seriously though, Michelle, you are in another league with your amazing skills & fabulous customer service (& it's very hard to find both). Thank you for your patience & guidance through our entire shoot! We've officially adopted you as our family photographer :)"
Stefani Romero:
"My husband and I did an engagement shoot with Michelle back in 2015. I had never really imagined that our photos could have come out as beautiful as they did with Michelle. I was honestly blown away. Michelle came up with the idea to do it at Dana Point Harbor. I had never been before, but the water was the bluest I've ever seen in Southern California. There was a jetty made of rock and beautiful mountains. She picked the perfect spot. When we arrived there, Michelle was super friendly and funny. She knew exactly how to make us comfortable because I had never done a photoshoot before and my husband, fiance at the time, did not have a clue either. The entire experience was laid back and we laughed and it went by really quickly. I couldn't believe how many pictures she took in an hour. Even with a wonderful experience DURING the shoot, nothing was better than receiving the finished products. Michelle was so cute because she's just as excited about your photos as you are and she literally had already edited one or two that night and emailed them to me as like a little preview. It was really thoughtful and sweet. You guys, Michelle is THE REAL DEAL. These photographs made my heart stop. My husband and I even got huge canvases printed with our favorites to be placed in our new home. Our parents have their favorites in their homes. Michelle's work is all up in our families' houses! It just shows that she really cares and puts all her effort and LOVE into the photos she takes. She edits them in such a way that shows the emotion and intensity of the moment. It's like she's experiencing that moment and enjoying with the people she takes photos of and it's just a really beautiful/fun experience. We can't thank you enough, Michelle! To anyone reading this, DON'T THINK TWICE, experience this! Michelle is wonderful and you get what you pay for, truly."
Nikki Werner:
"I started following Michelle because a friend posted their engagement photos on Facebook. They were so creative, personalized, beautiful, and the way she worked with lighting was amazing. I called on her to take our family holiday photos and we were more than impressed. The photos were great. The timely manner was perfect. I see us working together for many years to come. I appreciate her artistic abilities and professionalism.
Thank you!"
Mallory Honore:
"Getting photos done… Sounds intimidating, right?? Everyone has there own reservations when going to go get professional photos done, especially me, about myself. Taking pictures with Michelle was more than easy as you are getting warmed up doing natural things, having real smiles, having fun. Not to mention we wanted to bring 3 (not so well trained) dogs and a 7 year old in the mix, and after about 45 min we felt we had what we needed. Michelle wrapped a few things up, got some unexpected shots of our dogs that are just priceless and we had so much more than we had expected of our Family photos. And it was a great experience so naturally when my boyfriend and I got engaged, we new exactly where to go and who to contact and we cannot wait to do our engagement photos with Michelle!!"
Erika Ferro:
"Wow, where can I start?! Michelle, I have found my new photographer for life— seriously. This girl knows what she is doing with a camera! She is so easy going & really it didn’t even feel like a photo shoot. I am a super awkward and shy person but Michelle made the process so laid back & fun. Michelle had the challenge of shooting my family which included our 3 month old baby girl & she was so incredible with all of us in making the pictures come out natural & beautiful— mind you, it was the middle of June in the Southern California dry hills (hot, super sunny, & bugs!) but you would have no idea because Michelle is that good. I’m not the best with writing things out but all I can say is run don’t walk to the opportunity to get your pictures taken with this incredible photographer. She is so talented & the quality of her pictures are bar none. My whole house is now covered with canvas prints of her beautiful work. All i can say Michelle is thank you thank you THANK YOU!!"
Joy Hamabe:
"A couple of years ago my friend took family photos with Michelle and I was instantly in love with them. Michelle was able to capture REAL moments; you could easily gain a sense of the emotions between and personalities of the individuals she was photographing. And, the lighting and colors were stunning.
We were lucky enough to have Michelle take our family photos last year and I couldn’t have been happier with the images she captured. Typically, when you take photos for an hour you pray for about five good ones. We had well over twenty AMAZING photos that we were able to share with family and friends. (This is quite remarkable considering I had a four year old and 8 month old at the time.)
We recently had Michelle take my son’s 1 year old photos and, once again, Michelle’s work was fantastic! I couldn’t have been happier with the photos we received. Michelle is really easy to work with- she’s professional and she produces your images in a timely fashion. Even though Michelle is moving away, we are going to do our best to continue to have her photograph our family in the years to come."