L.A. Coplen Photographers

It’s not about how our wedding was behind for 90 min as some people say. It’s about getting our frikking pictures and album and discs that we got and the album was horrific. Lisa, how can you screw up such a thing. I mean we were married in Aug 4, 2013 NOT 2014 and how can you mess up on our album like that. And then it take over 2 years to get it which it is all screwed up. Shame on you. No matter what you say it’s always gonna be something yet we did. We paid you over $ 5,000 to get us pictures an album and some discs. You FAILED US AND RAN WITH OUR MONEY. SHAME ON YOU AS THIS IS NOT OVER BY FAR.

She is awful– do not use her! She never gave us our photos and we had to go to court to get our album– which was done horribly wrong– including the wrong date engraved on the front! My face photo shopped so badly that I have a different chin on every page– also some of the pages are doubled and she left out photos of my brother and sister! We won our case to get our money back — but she still has not paid us despite a court order!!! I wish I paid attention to reviews with other people who had similar experiences with her!!!
She gets one star only because I have to give at least one!

Lisa Coplen was the worst decision I made for the wedding. To start she asked for half the cost of wedding service as a deposit. This should have been the first red flag. Second red flag: she failed to respond to emails and phone calls in a reasonable manner and had a new excuse each time. Third red flag: she failed to show up to a wedding meeting that I flew in for. Final straw: she failed to show up for the final meeting two weeks prior to the wedding, which I again flew in for. She could not be trusted to show up to my wedding and I asked for my deposit to be returned. She not only refused to return the deposit but requested full payment for wedding services. I ended up taking her to court to get my money back, which I justly received. It was a nightmare and extremely stressful to find a new photographer two weeks prior to my wedding, not to mention the headache taking her to court. Do yourself a favor and don’t hire her.

The best out there. I looked at so many before my wedding 20 years ago. She remains my favorite in every way. An amazing artist and person.

Horrible!!! we paid for two photographers only lisa showed up and she was 30 minutes late so no photos before the wedding, we just now got our photo album 2 years later we didnt get a disc she just sent that a month ago. My matron of honor was taking to long to do my bussell so lisa took over and it ruined my dress it dragged the whole time she cut out the straps in my dress that hang it up she ruined my dress. Out of 615 pictures 13 turned out. i am devasted it i really felt she was worth the 5600. dollars total waste. Just want others to know not worth the money or the sadness.

I I have to say that Lisa is AMAZING! I knew from the first time that I spoke with her that I wanted her to do my wedding. When it came time for us to meet in person I was thrilled that she offered to meet me half way since I live in Anaheim and she’s in Manhattan Beach. That saved me so much time and gas money so I was thankful to her for that. Once we started talking I was so glad that I had chosen her because she knew all of the little details about having a wedding ceremony at Wayfarers (the glass church in Palos Verdes). Some of these things, the coordinator at Wayfarers didn’t even inform me of!
When the day of my wedding arrived, Lisa was on time and very professional. She started taking photos as soon as she came into our hotel room. She even went from my room to my fiances room, back and forth taking photos. When she noticed that my fiancé needed tweezers for his eyebrows, she ran them from my hotel room to his to give them to him! Once we arrived at Wayfarers, Lisa did an amazing job at using what little time we had before the ceremony began (about 45 minutes). Before my walk down the aisle, she could tell I was nervous. I remember looking at her and she told me to «breathe», and she settled my nerves.
After the ceremony she again did an AMAZING job at using 30 minutes after the ceremony to take photos. When she needed all of our guests and family out of the church to take photos of me and my husband alone, she made it clear that everyone needed to GET OUT! I love people like that, and I was glad that I didn’t need to be the one to do it. She used our time at Wayfarers to the very last second… the lady at Wayfarers politely informed us that our time was up.
Once I arrived at my reception, I loved that I didn’t need to go searching high and low for Lisa. She was right there waiting for us when we arrived. I have to say that she did more than the 2 «wedding coordinators» I hired for just the night of my reception. At one point during the money dance, I see one of my coordinators pointing to my dress and mouthing «your bustle». My coordinator did NOTHING about it. I see Lisa running over with plyers in hand and fixed my bustle on my dress that had come undone. Then, about an hour later I was getting way too hot and figured I probably needed to removed my Spanx that I was wearing under my dress. I told Lisa that I was going to the restroom to remove them and she came with me! I thought I would need to remove my dress but she just lifted it up and pulled the Spanx down! This women is more than just a photographer. She told my husband and I how to hold the cake cutter properly… of course my coordinators where no where to be found during that… so Lisa stepped in!
I can not thank her enough for how amazing she was. I have literally had about 10 people that were at the wedding tell me how great my photographer was… and I’ve only been married for like 5 days! When it comes time for my husband and I to have a baby, I am for sure going to use her for maternity photos and baby photos. My bridesmaids and I loved her so much, that we wanted to hang out with her. Thank you again Lisa, you are truly amazing.

Lisa is amazing. I liked her from our very first meeting, when she asked me a ton of questions about myself and the wedding I was envisioning-​I liked that I didn’t just seem like a paycheck or an assignment to her. I also liked that she was very honest and didn’t try to pressure us into hiring her at the first meeting-​she was like, hey, look around, if you find someone you like better, I totally understand.
Moving on to the actual wedding-​she was professional and took tons of pictures without ever being intrusive-​in fact there were large periods of time I forgot she was even there. She’s very take charge and not afraid to express her opinion-​she will tell you what looks good and what doesn’t, and what you need to do to make good pictures. We had wedding guests arrive early, when we were still shooting in the garden, and she told them they had to wait until we were done. I loved that, because I didn’t want to have to give orders on my wedding day. Directly after the ceremony (at Verandas), she shuttled me and my new husband down to the beach to take some pictures. Standing there in my wedding gown, with people jogging and biking by and shouting «Congratulations!», is one of my fondest memories of my wedding day.
The pictures themselves were amazing. She took pictures of EVERYTHING and it was great to have so many shots of all the different parts of the day. Several people have commented on how nice our pictures are and how pretty I look. I ran into her at a restaurant almost a year after the wedding, and she not only remembered me, she asked about my husband and my family. That, I think, is the thing that sets her apart the most-​she and her staff truly care about every person they photograph, and it definitely comes across in her work.

If you want amazing pictures go with Lisa. She is confident, cares and gets the job done! My wedding album has been referred to as MAGNIFICENT — FABULOUS — and the OMG this is BEAUTIFUL! Heck, I had one friend tell me she wants to get married again just so she can have Lisa be her photographer! Lisa also went over and beyond at my wedding. From kindly asking one of my bridesmaids to remove her necklace (I didn’t have the heart to tell my friend that the necklace had to go) to calling the ambulance when one of my guests passed out! LOL!
Lisa not only takes amazing pictures of the moments you want — she also captures the sweet endearing moments others may miss. All I can say is my album and pictures are gorgeous. Thank you LA Coplen!

When we were looking for a wedding photographer, our venue recommended Lisa Coplen, owner of L.A. Coplen Photography, to us. We have been exceedingly pleased! Working with Lisa and her team is an absolute pleasure. They are friendly, supportive, easy-​going yet professional, and eager to please. Most of all, Lisa & her assistants seem to genuinely care about their clients and take pains to make sure that we (the clients) are satisfied during the planning process, the day of, and at any post-​event meetings.
The budget for our wedding was somewhere between modest and tight, but Lisa worked a package out for us that fit our budget very well. In the end, the cost was still slightly more expensive that some of the «budget» photogs I interviewed, but the quality of the pictures was way WAY better. I feel that we really got our money’s worth!
The portfolio at the website is definitely representative of the work they do. Though it wasn’t in our budget, they also do albums. The samples I saw in the office at the first meeting were really, REALLY beautiful.
They’re responsive to both phone messages and e-​mail, but their normal business hours are M-​Th, so anything sent on Friday will get a reply on Monday.
If you’re looking for a wedding photographer, budget-​constrained or not, L.A. Coplen is bound to make you happy!