The Goodness

As two people who do not enjoy taking pictures at all, we were most nervous about hiring a photographer for our wedding. We could not have made a better choice than The Goodness! We worked primarily with Francisco Chavira who made us feel completely comfortable from the moment we spoke with him on the phone; a feeling that continued when we met him in person. Our engagement photoshoot was actually fun and nothing like the forced stressful event we had anticipated. By the time our wedding came, we were actually looking forward to taking pictures! At our wedding, we also enlisted The Goodness’ services for an open air photo booth. Our guests immensely enjoyed this activity and the pictures that came from it were entertaining to say the least. Matt, the man in the booth created a fun, friendly atmosphere that allowed our guests to feel comfortable enough to let their hair down. Both our engagement and wedding photos were promptly delivered when promised and were lovely. This is a fantastic and skilled team that you will not be disappointed by!

Geoff was an amazing photographer for our wedding last month! The Goodness was recommended to me from a friend. Upon viewing their site, it was clear I loved their style of photography.
I only had two months to plan my wedding and was trying to keep to a tight budget, which was a bit stressful. From my first phone conversation with Geoff, through the wedding, he made the whole process easier with his great personality and level of experience. Photography ended up being my biggest single expense, but it was definitely worth it. Geoff really took the time to understand us, our wedding plans, and anything else relevant for him to do an awesome job.
Originally, I didn’t want to do an engagement shoot, but I am glad we ended up doing one. I took the time to think of someplace that would be meaningful for us. Geoff worked with our scheduling constraints and traveled to LA for the shoot. It gave us a chance to get to know Geoff and what we needed to do to get great pictures. This made the wedding day photos much easier.
Our wedding pictures turned out beautiful and natural. I didn’t have the time to figure out where to do our «first look» pictures and Geoff took care of everything. I never felt rushed or stressed about the photography. I was also really impressed by all of the great pictures of our guests… I don’t need to see 700 pictures of just me and my husband! Geoff brought another photographer with him, Dustin, who was also really great.
Overall, Geoff was great to work with and we are very happy with our investment in photography :)

I had luxury of working with this amazing couple for two years (I was the Sales Director at a wedding venue in the Sacramento region). I will preface, that the vendors did not pay to be on our vendor list, it was something they had to earn. Which they did over many, many fabulous weddings at the venue. Their pictures capture the true essence of a couple and their use of color is just so unique. When you meet with them their personalities are going to make you want to book them right off the get go ! They are warm and inviting, just the kind of people you want on your big day! Their entire team consists of true professionals and you will be so excited they will be the ones to capture your images. I wasn’t suppose to have favorites, but they were mine!!! Once you meet them you will understand why!

Where do I even begin with these two?
If you are too lazy to read this entire review, just read this: Geoff and Lisa are the hardest working, most amazing photographer duo — not only are their photos are amazing and vibrant but they are people you WANT at your wedding.
My husband and I were married mid-​May in Saratoga, CA. We had 3 months to plan our wedding and like most couples we heard, «photography is important, make the investment.» We google’d prior weddings at our wedding venue and stumbled on one wedding who’s photos made us breathless. We reached out to The Goodness and they were luckily available the day we were getting married.
Since we live in San Francisco, we set up a Skype call with Geoff and Lisa — from the first five minutes I could tell how sweet, thoughtful they were. They weren’t trying to sell us their services, they were trying to meet us and learn about us. At the end of the Skype call we felt like longtime friends.
What I love about the Goodness is that they do this out of passion. Originally we were trying to get out of doing an engagement shoot but they convinced us otherwise — I’m so glad they did. The engagement session served as a platform for us to get to know The Goodness’ chemistry and to get comfortable in front of the camera. Something I really appreciated about Geoff and Lisa is that they are watching out for you. if a piece of hair was falling in my face, Lisa would run out to move it, Geoff directed my limbs to make them less awkward (bend your leg, arm on your hip), these are the things your sister does for you — and with these direction they really felt like family. We received so many compliments from our engagement shoot — friends we hadn’t heard from in years were telling us that was one of the best shoots they’ve ever seen.
Onto the wedding. Geoff and Lisa really became a part of our friend group on our wedding day. We had large group shots and they were so patient with us and posing everyone. Our bridal party fell in love with them and were calling them by first name within the first hour. I’ve never seen a wedding where guests socialized so much with the photographers — they made everyone feel so at ease and comfortable. For our first look and couples photos, we never once felt rushed for time, Lisa and Goeff worked as a flawless team to make sure our first look was coordinated without any hiccups, they came up with so many creative photo shots and allowed us to venture all over the grounds — everything was so thoughtful. Many times I’ve seen photographers look at their watch and say «okay we have 5 minutes, just stand here really quickly» and take a few thoughtless photos. We never had that with Geoff and Lisa, we never looked at a watch, they had an idea for every set of photos, and everything went so smoothly.
Lisa and Geoff extended their own personalities into our wedding which was SO wonderful, I’ve received so many compliments about «your wonderful photographers.»
My maid of honor gave a very emotional performance at the wedding and told me afterwards Geoff came up to her and gave her the biggest hug — she said she appreciated his warmth and friendliness so much. These small touches are what set The Goodness apart from other photographers — they do this out of passion and love.
I can’t recommend them enough, their photos are so vibrant and beautiful — they truly capture the emotions of the day and they are an amazing pair to have on your wedding super team.

Ohhhhh how I love these two. They are incredibly professional, kind, fun to be around and deliver the most beautiful pictures. I am a wedding planner and have worked with them on a couple weddings. Each time has been wonderful. The pictures are truly beautiful they capture emotion and are full of life! All of my couples loved working with them!

What a fantastic duo! They could not have been a better choice for our pictures, videography, and graphic design for our wedding. We knew they were a perfect match for us when they invited us to their lovely home for an interview. They were so warm, humorous, and hospitable, we knew they were good people, and their example showed that they were good at what they do. They have many different packages, but you can do things a la carte, so you were not stuck with certain things that you were not interested in Also, they give you a disc of prints, which many photographers do not do.
For our engagement photo session they braved the cold with us on a freezing day up in Tahoe. They worked phenomenally together, and captured some absolutely amazing shots. They were creative, worked efficiently, and captured shots that should be hung in an art gallery.
Between then and the wedding, we used Lisa for all of our graphic design work. She nailed our personality and vision so well, it seemed like she was in our own heads! We used her for save the dates, invitations, programs, and all the other small décor at the wedding. Her ideas, vision, and design, was brilliant, and she enhanced the wedding three-​fold by her creative eye.
We hired them for video as well, which included coverage of the rehearsal dinner. They even came out with my bridesmaids when we got our nails done, and went with the boys when they went golfing the day of. They covered the entire rehearsal dinner with their camera crew, and worked very efficiently together to capture the special intimate moments of the dinner.
On the day of the wedding, they were rock stars. Geoff basically covered the guys, and Lisa the women. The guys had bow ties, and his crew had to help us tie all 8 of them! Again, going beyond their call of duty. Geoff was very relaxing, on point, had great idea for shots, and generally worked well with the guys. The video crew was awesome as well, having a wonderful personality that made that made us relax, especially because it is weird being videotaped! However, they made it seem like the camera was not even there.
They also have a thing called the Spot Shot, which is like a photobooth but better because you can fit more people in the picture, and they have tons of killer props

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! Geoff and Lisa are amazing!!! We had so much fun with them taking our engagement photos and on the day of the wedding. They are great at getting to know the couple and helped us feel relaxed on the wedding day. They even got my husband to smile naturally because he hates his forced smile. On top of that, they took care of issues that arose with our caterers. They really took care of us and not just the pictures. We did the shot spot too and our guests had a BLAST!

We wanted to get moving quickly on choosing a photographer for our wedding as we imagined it would be a lengthy, painful process of interviewing and compromise. Not only did we want to have a photographer that was professional and organized but we also wanted one that could capture who we are as a couple and what is most important to us… not in a cheesy staged photo way, but in a candid interesting way. It is a process in which one puts complete faith in strangers and hopes for the best.
We contacted the Goodness on a whim as they were recommended in passing by a local venue. Since our first meeting with Lisa and Geoff, we were intrigued by their artistic talent and impressed by their professionalism. But what left us in awe and led us to immediately book them and look no further was the fact that both Lisa and Geoff are two of the most kind hearted and genuine people we know. They were truly interested in getting to know us both individually and as a couple. It felt as though we were hanging out with old friends on our wedding day, which made the day absolutely awesome for us. And as a result we have the most beautiful moments of wedding and those that are most important to us captured in photographs! The Goodness is amazing at what they do because they are passionate about people and art. They have the kind of creativity that cannot be taught… it simply just comes from the bottom of both Lisa and Geoff’s heart.

geoff and lisa are wonderful people, and incredible photographers. they were so helpful from the very beginning, and more than willing to share all of their wedding expertise! from details they knew would photograph well, to how long it actually takes to corral everyone for a family picture, we truly credit them with how smoothly our day went because they were so awesome, and helpful.
i knew i didn’t want to skimp on photography for our wedding, and so thrilled to report that the goodness was worth every single penny! seriously, i cannot rave about them enough. highly HIGHLY recommend. they’re fantastic.

The Goodness is pure goodness in so many ways! We did our engagement shoot and wedding photos with them and were so blown away by the care and detail they put into their work from our very first meeting via Skype. On the wedding day, they went way above and beyond what we expected. Personable, funny, professional, and genuinely awesome people, we felt like we connected right away and have absolutely no regrets on choosing The Goodness for our wedding photography! Their work stye is amazing and everyone that sees our photos loves them. Months later and we are still finding ourselves visiting The Goodness blog to relive our wedding day or just to see what they are up and what new wedding they are photographing. They are the absolute best! Hoping for another opportunity to work with them!

The Goodness (Lisa and Geoff) photographed my wedding in May 2014. I am an event planner and graphic designer, so when it came to my own wedding I HAD to have a top-​notch photographer with style, creativity and professionalism. I didn’t have a huge wedding budget, but I knew that photography was one thing that you cannot skimp on. The Goodness was exactly what I wanted. In short, they were absolutely incredible every little step of the way and I cannot recommend them more highly. The best wedding planning advice I can give is to hire a REALLY good photographer and videographer, AND contract with them to be there the entire time.
I could go on forever about how much I loved working with Lisa and Geoff, and how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE my wedding and engagement photos! Aside from choosing the most amazing man to marry, choosing The Goodness as our wedding photographers was the best decision I made in planning my wedding! Geoff and Lisa were amazing to work with. They have incredible style and attention to detail. They feel like trusted friends which made for great pictures, and made working with them an absolute pleasure. Throughout the wedding planning process I asked a million questions through email and they were always super informative in responding. Lisa and Geoff work super hard. They love what they do and it shows. These two are a very special couple that work perfectly in sync with one another under the high pressure and fast pace of wedding photography.
First meeting: My fiancé and I had shopped around and met other photographers, but when we met with Lisa and Geoff in their home we felt the most at ease with them. It was clear that they were interested in getting to know us and our own personal love story. I loved that. They were willing to work with our budget while providing us the services and time that we needed.
Engagement shoot: My fiancé and I thought we could save some money by skipping the included engagement shoot. Geoff and Lisa convinced us otherwise because you do not want the first time you work with your photographer to be on your big day. They were absolutely right. The engagement shoot got us comfortable with Geoff and Lisa and comfortable being in front of their cameras. It also made us feel super assured that our wedding photography experience and photos were going to be great because the engagement photos were so perfect. Geoff and Lisa showed up at our home for our engagement session and I was so impressed that they’d already scoped out the whole neighborhood and selected some outdoor spots to take great pictures at sunset. And as soon as they walked in the house, they looked around and immediately knew where and how they wanted to begin shooting. Man, these guys are good! We had a great time working closely with them on this photo shoot. The beautiful wooden-​cased flash drive arrived in the mail packaged in a cute wooden box a few weeks later and we were blown away with the quality, artistry and creativity of the photos! They made us and our home look more beautiful than I thought it was! I couldn’t stop looking at them for months! We were so happy we did an engagement shoot with them.
The wedding day: This day was a total whirlwind for me as the bride. It blew by so quickly that I sadly can’t remember many of the details – there was no time to take it all in. What I do remember is that Geoff and Lisa were ABSOLUTE ALL-​STARS – THE MVP’s of my wedding production! Geoff and Lisa arrived EARLIER than contracted, and because the wedding schedule was running behind they stayed much LATER than contracted (Geoff and Lisa: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU – I could not be more grateful to you two). This was an absolute blessing because there were so many memories we would have missed out on if they’d left when their contracted time was up. They ran, they crawled, they ducked and dodged, they bent over backwards and they sweat their butts off to be there to capture each and every moment beautifully – AND they did so in style, of course. I’ve been to many weddings where the photographers show up dressed casually (I get it, it’s a strenuous job – but it’s tacky), but NOT Lisa and Geoff. They were dressed to the occasion and looked great, and they blended right in with the wedding guests. They captured all the little details I missed that day and I am so grateful. Our wedding photos showed up in a beautiful wooden keepsake box branded with the words «Our Love Story.» Opening this package was a touching experience in itself! You slide open the lid of this lovely box and inside are a thank you card handwritten by Geoff and Lisa, about 20 complimentary prints wrapped in a pretty floral handkerchief and tied with a gold string, yellow silk roses, and our wooden-​encased flash drive with the word «Married» branded on it. (Did I MENTION that these two have STYLE?!) Needless to say, the photos were everything I ever hoped they would be.
Thank you Geoff and Lisa. You’re the BEST!!!

This review is long over due!!! Lisa and Geoff are amazing! They were the photographers for our wedding as well as our engagement session. I loved being able to have an engagement session with them before our big day. It made having them at our wedding just feel natural, and comfortable. Besides being fantastic people they are extremely talented. It was so nice to have a couple photograph our day. Lisa was with myself and my bridesmaids while Geoff was with my husband and his groomsmen and captured every moment of us getting ready. (Even some very special pictures that Geoff got to take of all the boys in the underwear;)) Our pictures are absolutely beautiful, and we will cherish them forever! I highly suggest them to anyone in Northern California and beyond !

My husband and I chose the Goodness as our wedding photographers and I can very confidently say that we chose the best! Lisa and Geoff are not only phenomenal to work with they take truly awesome photographs. Thank you so very much Lisa and Geoff for creating a truly wonderful set of pictures that will always be there to help us remember our very special day!

Our experience with The Goodness was amazing. To start, our engagement session was absolutely awesome. Lisa and Geoff traveled to San Francisco and obliged in shooting us in multiple locations in our hood and around the city. Next, Lisa designed our wedding invitations and RSVP cards. Her prices were more than reasonable and she really captured the look we wanted right off the bat! Finally, Lisa and Geoff flew across the country to Boston, MA where our wedding took place. They not only understood and captured the vision of our day, but were great keeping the timeline of the wedding on track as well. It was truly a wonderful experience working with them and I’d recommend them to anyone. The quality and artistry of the photos is unprecedented!

Lisa and Geoff are FABULOUS. They did both my sisters’ weddings (mine was many years ago, or else I would’ve hired them as well); and recently did a large family shoot. They are amazing people: great to work with, personable, friendly, fun, and highly professional.
Their work is beautiful. I am always impressed with the quality of images they are able to capture and render.
I need not say much more, the other reviewers have already said it all! Check out their website for more info and examples of their work. Seriously, these two are THE BEST. You will not be disappointed.

My husband and I cannot say enough positive things about Lisa and Geoff! They are a wonderful couple, who make a fantastic photography team. We enjoyed working with them through the various stages of the wedding process. Not only did they do our wedding photos, but also our engagement pictures, invitations, programs, and guestbook. All of which were extremely well done and creative. Which brings me to one of the best things about them: they are creative! I have seen engagement pictures from other people that are very stiff, all black and white with a boring white backdrop… not Lisa Welge! They joined us out in one of our favorite spots (UC Davis Arboretum), and we took pictures all around the campus and arboretum. It was so much more personal, colorful, and creative that any other engagement pictures I have ever seen.
One of the great things about Lisa Welge Photography, is that you get both Lisa and Geoff. On the big day Lisa spent the afternoon with me and the bridesmaids getting ready, while Geoff was hanging out with the guys and getting pictures of them. So we never had to worry about shuttling around or not getting enough photo opportunities. They were very coordinated in making sure that the bridal and groom party were not running into each other while taking pictures before the wedding. They were very respectful and unobtrusive during the ceremony and the reception, and their great sense of humor kept us laughing through all of the photo sessions. My husband and I were concerned at first about how comfortable we would be in front of the camera. But Lisa and Geoff put as at ease and we ended up having a fabulous time at our engagement session and wedding.
Honestly, I cannot compliment Lisa Welge Photography enough. Lisa and Geoff are super talented and creative, and helped make our wedding special and fun. They are not a huge company, where you never quite know what you are going to get. They are a wonderful couple who have a love of photography, and a real interest in you. I can’t imagine any photographer who could give you a more personal experience, and more fabulous photots!

Lisa Welge is a FANTASTIC photographer! She’s very educated in her field of work as well. She graduated from Sac State with her majors in Graphic Design and another in Photography. So trust her suggestions, she’s only trying to help you. Honestly, you don’t want to end up with some corny photos that you will hate years later.
Lisa took some great photos of my son in Apple Hill last summer and I could not believe how hard she worked to get some good shots of him. My son was a few months shy of turning three and he had no intention of sitting down to take pictures, much less staying still. Lisa was literally running after Shae around the entire fishing pond and up and down hills. I felt so bad I could not get him to behave and I was trying everything but her good attitude made her even more determined to take some amazing pictures which she absolutely did.
Lisa captured moments of my son so happy and enjoying his youth it made me forget how I was getting so frustrated with him that day. I am so thankful I have Lisa to help me remember what I love most about my son and I would highly recommend her photography services to anyone.