La Vida Creations Photography

Betsy and Jeff at La Vida Creations Photography are such a joy to work with. They were personable, professional, and helped my husband and I to feel at ease during our engagement and wedding shoot. They were responsive to emails and I loved that they wanted to first meet before booking. This was a great opportunity for them to get to know us and get a feel for our personalities, as well as help us feel comfortable with them photographing us.
During our wedding, Jeff and Betsy kept us laughing and they really feel like they have become our friends. They delivered their pictures promptly and professionally. Our photographs truly captured who we are and how we feel and interact with one another. The lighting, editing, framing, etc. were phenomenal. I cannot wait to use them again for the next big moment of our lives. Love you both!

When looking for our wedding photographers, we didn’t know where to start. Our wedding planner gave us a list of her top recommendations, and asked us to pay close attention to each photographer’s style. We ended up loving La Vida Creations’ portfolio, and loved them even more after meeting them in person! This husband and wife team works together flawlessly to get the most amazing shots from different perspectives. We didn’t want those typical wedding shots that sometimes go more cheesy than cute; that is not Jeff & Betsy’s style. They are great at getting candid shots, so much so that most of the people attending our wedding didn’t even realize we had photographers there! We also did an engagement shoot with La Vida, something they highly recommended to get comfortable with taking professional, posed photos. It was during that shoot that we really got to know Jeff and Betsy, so that on our wedding day it was like having old friends around rather than vendors who you barely know. We have received so many compliments on both our engagement photos as well as our wedding photos, they are so beautiful! La Vida Creations does the most amazing work; we were so glad to have worked with them to capture the happiest day of our lives.

What a bunch of B. S…
… and by «B.S.» I mean «Beautiful Shots» of course!
Where to start? I guess from the start? I had just proposed to my girlfriend (at the time) and thought my job was over. Then I find out, I’m suppose to help choose vendors. We interviewed about 7 different photographers before we had our Skype conversation with Betsy and Jeff. While most photographers spent 10 minutes chatting with us, Betsy and Jeff spent an hour answering our questions and putting us at ease. It was an instant connection once we realized they also love animals and beer just as much as us.
ENGAGEMENT SESSION: So it turns out that there is something called «engagement photos». I had no idea! We did ours in San Francisco (where Anna and I live) and it was such a fun experience. I didn’t feel like I was being followed around with cameras at all. It was super fun and a surprisingly relaxing experience. I think this was mostly because Betsy and Jeff connected with us as friends, and it just felt natural. When our engagement photos came out, «HOT DAMN! They even made me look presentable! We couldn’t have been happier with the results and this just further confirmed we made the right choice.
WEDDING DAY: As you can imagine, the wedding day was a nervous one for Anna and I. We had lots of family around and were super busy. However, Betsy and Jeff took control of the situation and made an insane situation, sane and organized. They captured beautiful photos of the guests, the property and most importantly, us.
IN CHARGE: From the beginning, Betsy and Jeff played more than the role of photographer for us. They helped us choose other vendors, ceremony time, our day of schedule, and provided questions to answers we didn’t even know we had until they brought it up. They met up with us for drinks (just for fun) and really got to know us on a personal level. They also took charge on the wedding day. Not only handling their duties, they also help direct and organize the event manager, our coordinator and our videographers so that they got the best shots of us too. They really made our day go smoothly and made everyone else’s job run more smoothly. What an asset to have on a day that is hectic for the people getting married.
PHOTOS: I have NEVER had photos of me look so good. I hoped I would get at least 5 good photos of me. This is not an exaggeration; EVERY photos I’ve seen so far has been of the highest quality! They captured the beauty of my bride, our beloved pooch, the property and our guests. I have nothing but positive things to say regarding the shots. THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL! This isn’t an Olan Mills or Glamour Shots kind of photos. They didn’t «pose» us. They just captured us, being us, and captured the beauty of the moment Anna and I were sharing. The photos are rich in color and depth and the black and white’s (my favorites) show us in such an old school light, freezing that important moment in time for eternity. Looking at them, immediately takes me back to that exact moment. We couldn’t be happier.
OVERALL: LaVida creations and Jeff and Betsy are so much more than photographers. They are peace makers. That is, they make you at peace. They bend over backwards to make you happy and really are looking out for your best interest. (even if you don’t know what is best). I know it’s a cliché to say «stop looking and book _​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​», but in this instance, it’s true. «STOP LOOKING AND BOOK BETSY AND JEFF!!!» You’ll get so much more than a photographer; you’ll get an experience and gain a new lifetime set of friends.
Thank you Betsy and Jeff! Looking forward to hanging out again soon.

We had our wedding last weekend and I cannot rave enough about Jeff & Betsy! Personable, professional, organized, friendly, and an absolute joy to work with! I think I temporarily lost my sanity getting close to the wedding and they were so patient and professional with me — which is an understatement! The engagement pictures are so amazing and everyone cannot stop raving about them. I cannot wait to see the wedding photos! The day of the wedding — my sister-​in-​law, Carrie, (who is wedding pro at this point — been in at least 12 weddings) made the comment to Betsy that she was really nice. Carrie said that the majority of the other weddings she had been in — the photographers had been more like drill Sargents — and Betsy was the opposite (thankfully) of that! They are so nice!
We definitely did not have the standard wedding and quite a few moments were unplanned and we just went with it. Jeff and Betsy did too and we are so happy that they were a part of our day! They are absolutely AMAZING. You can be 100% confident that your day will be captured with an experienced and artistic eye that only comes with excellence when you book La Vida. The best. Thank you so much!!! XOXO

Jeff and Betsy are hands-​down amazing! We were about to contract with another photographer, when we stumbled upon La Vida at the last minute and I had to have them if we could. They were able to squeeze us into their schedule. With just a couple months out before the wedding they were even able to include an engagement session for us. These two are so genuine and made both of us nerds feel so comfortable and relaxed. We couldn’t have gotten more beautiful photos. On the wedding day I was so sick, but they were so accommodating and comforting that it really took the edge off. We had to change venues day-​of too, and they rocked it. Gorgeous pictures. They’ve got amazing gear, and are prepared for anything. Betsy even hooked my mom up with some industrial tape to put together the pearl necklace that broke as she was trying to put it around my neck. Serious professionals and worth every penny! Couldn’t have gotten any luckier with these two! We’re going to treasure these pictures forever.

Jeff and Betsy are TRULY professionals — fun and talented ones, to boot! We booked them as our wedding photographers back about a year and a half ago and have never regretted it for a single second. We first bonded over our love of the chow/​lab mix as we both have fur babies of that variety ourselves, and instantly felt at ease and comfortable with them. This continued throughout their work with us. Their photography is truly the most beautiful — it captures true moments, not STAGED feeling, and reflect your most intimate, candid moments you want to remember. They caught beautiful photos of our old dog during our engagement photos, and we just saw all the pictures that came out of our wedding earlier this month. GOR-​GEOUS! If you want to have fun and be yourselves while they capture outstanding moments you will treasure forever, please book them. Book them now!

Just got our engagement photos back from Jeff and Betsy! We were both a little skeptical about the whole engagement picture process because we thought that they could be a little cheesy or awkward, Betsy and Jeff totally understood our concerns and made it such a great process for us. We ended up having a really good time and our pictures came out great. I am so glad we decided to go with them, we have beautiful pictures of us and some with our crazy dog that will be treasured forever. When I say crazy, I mean out of control psycho, and Jeff and Betsy totally handled him in stride and even we able to get him to focus long enough to get some great pics! So happy with La Vida Creations, can’t wait for our wedding photos as well, I know now that they will come out great too!

From the first minute we met Jeff and Betsy, we felt 100% confident, comfortable and connected. They consider themselves «visual storytellers» and after working with them, I completely agree. They really helped to both create and capture a fun, loving and personable atmosphere at our wedding, and the photographs turned out beyond beautiful. We’ve already received so many compliments on the images! And so many comments about how hard they worked on the day of the wedding. All along the planning and all throughout the wedding day, Jeff and Betsy’s friendliness, professionalism, positivity and honesty shone through. We consider ourselves so *LUCKY* to have met them and so *HAPPY* to have worked with them! Thank you!

What an amazing experience we had! I can’t thank Jeff and Betsy enough for their professionalism, their kindness and their expertise. We actually won our ‘Senior Tails’ portrait session through a silent auction at a charity event, and I’m beyond grateful that we did! Not only did my little guy Buddy and I make some great memories together DURING the shoot, but we now have even more memories captured of us together, that will last a lifetime. Thank you guys so much for your love, and your support, and your eye for our shared love together! All the best!

Jeff and Betsy did a «Senior Tails» portrait session for me and my 13 year old Irish Wolfhound. I was SO thrilled with the experience and the images! All I can think now is why did it take me so long to do it and how can I wall paper my house with the images. Jeff and Betsy are not only talented photographers but they are such wonderful, caring and fun people. They really wanted to get down to the true spirit of my relationship with Bodie and they did. I will treasure the images they captured for many many years to come. I would highly recommend them for any photography!
Sara

Jeff and Betsy are truly wonderful. They are fantastic people to get to know, and their work is outstanding. We hired them for our Sept 2012 wedding through a recommendation from our wedding planner, and we couldn’t have been happier with the results. All of the images they got made our wedding look like we were the only people on the beach at the time. I only regret we live far away from them and can’t hang out, because they really are cool, nice people to connect with. Seriously, if they are ever in town, we would take them out to dinner and a Cubs game. Actually I like them too much to take them to a Cubs game. Maybe a Hawks game instead.

Thank you! Thank you for being our friend, photographer and story teller. From the beginning you guys took such a personal approach to working with us. It started with a meeting at your home to decide if we were the right fit for each other. After bonding over Germany and dogs there was no denying that we were the right fit for each other.
Betsy and Jeff, you are true professionals. You gave us confidence along the way and we knew we had nothing to worry about. During our engagement shoot a few months before the wedding we were both extremely nervous about hours of pictures. You made us comfortable and confident to be ourselves, love each other and share that with you.
On our wedding day you were a joy to see. You both have become such a huge part of our lives that it became important for us to share our day with each of you. Your advice on how to stay present, enjoy the day and appreciate all of those around you was irreplaceable. You gave us moments to sneak away as newlyweds to be reminded of why we were celebrating.
As we look back on that day we couldn’t have imagined being with any other photographers. You both have an amazing skill for telling a couples story through photos. You know you are working with awesome photographers when you look at their pictures and feel the emotion you did in that moment. Pictures capture a moment and with La Vida they captured many moments that told the story about our love. Forever grateful.

Jeff and Betsy at La Vida Creations Photography are so good, they will make you want to scream and cry (in a GOOD way) when you see your photos. If I could have had them as my wedding photographers, I would have my house literally wallpapered in their photos. I recently hired them to do headshots for my team, and have worked with them on several other occasions. You would be hard pressed to find a more passionate, lovable, fun, funny, cool, and talented couple. They are worth EVERY penny and more– I promise you.

I consider Jeff and Betsy friends after working with them for our engagement and wedding photography. My husband and I believe that their work really captures us at our best and most natural. I cannot express how much we love their work.
Also, these two are great people. We can’t wait to have them capture all of our future milestones!!!
We were married in August 2012 and we get complements from our guests all the time about Jeff and Betsy’s amazing work AND how amazing they are as people. We happen to agree!

Simply FABULOUS!!! We absolutely love La Vida Creations Photography. Betsy & Jeff are fun, creative and great to work with. The best part, their continued friendship… thank you for all that you do. The love and passion you put into your work clearly shows. Hands down, you rock! Thank you for capturing the memory in the making of our special day. Much love– The Blackburns =)

We met Betsy and Jeff through a reccomendation of a dear friend. They took maternity pictures for me and at a time when I was not feeling so attractive their photography took my breath away. They have since done a newborn session and a mini session for family pictures and we are just so pleaseed with the way their photos have turned out. They are beautiful and unique. their images are something to cherish. My only gripe with them is they were not available to photograph our wedding… but i’ll get over it… one day… maybe…
PS I thought I was going to pass out during my maternity session. Jeff literally ran across the park and got water for me… these two are amazing photographers but even more amazing people. :)

Jeff and Betsy are incredibly talented photographers! Their images are not only stunningly beautiful, but also manage to truly showcase the genuine moments and people they are capturing. They took the time to truly get to know us as a couple, and it really shows in the way that they perfectly captured our relationship and our personalities in both our engagement session and our wedding pictures.
For our engagement session, they picked a gorgeous location, and crafted a shoot that incorporated lots of fun details from our courtship to make our pictures unique. We felt camera shy for the first part of our engagement session, but Jeff and Betsy managed to «coach» us in just the right way to get us to relax and begin to feel comfortable in front of the camera.
On our wedding day, they were unobtrusive, but still managed to capture everything! They were easygoing to have around, which helped to calm our nerves throughout the day. They took a good mixture of posed pics and fun candid pictures of us, and our friends and family.
Jeff and Betsy are also very professional, and easy to work with. They always promptly responded to e-​mails, and kept in touch with updates on when we could expect our pictures. And as the icing on the cake, they got all of our wedding pictures edited, uploaded and ready to view super quickly!
Jeff and Betsy are great at what they do, and obviously love doing it, which really shows in their images. We could not be more thrilled with our wedding pictures, and will be forever thankful to them for capturing the feeling of our day so perfectly!

I’ve reviewed the McCue’s before for a boudoir session but now have the opportunity to do it again for a fabulous family session we had with them last month.
As in the past, they were fun to work with and über-​professional but in a way that allowed my husband and I to just relax and enjoy our photo session.
Jeff and Betsy took the time to go over the right places to capture our family and were even there to reassure me when I lost my mind and suddenly thought I wouldn’t look good in my images. These two truly care about their clients and isn’t that what we all want? A connection with those who capture our lives?
Hands down, a blast to work with and a wonderful investment in capturing your day to day life.

Betsy and Jeff are an unbelievable team of photographers. They are skilled at not only pointing the lens where it needs to go, but being both friendly and professional so you feel at ease and can take great pictures.
We’ve had an amazing experience with them and simply can not say enough good things. From our first meeting, to our event (wedding), through editing and creation of our wedding album, they’ve been awesome.
They are definitely not cheap, but are are a great value. If you care about capturing priceless memories on film, then you can do no better.

Betsy & Jeff are hands down the best wedding (and more!) photogs in San Diego! Not only do they take amazing pictures, but they are two of the nicest and most down to earth people you will ever meet. They shot our wedding over a year ago & we have stayed in touch with them and become good friends.
They make you feel comfortable in front of the camera, which is a big part of making the experience pleasant & enjoyable. Our photos turned out so gorgeous — everyone who sees them asks who did them and we have referred a number of people their way.
The prices are very reasonable. After all, they are capturing moments that will become priceless to you. My husband & I have both our engagement photos & wedding photos displayed throughout the house. In both sessions, they were able to capture the true essence of us as a couple and our relationship with our friends & family.
If we ever have another occasion where we would like professional photos taken, we will definitely be calling on La Vida!