Rachel McFarlin Photography

Rachel has photographed our family for 4 years. She is truly an amazing professional and artist. She is able to capture moments that I don’t even remember happening (and those have been some of the best photos of our children… she is always watching for the right moment). She has an amazing eye for finding the look and pulling out the personality of our kids that truly represent who they are… and that’s not easy with toddlers. Best of all, we laugh the entire time.
I recommend Rachel to all of our friends and family. You will enjoy your time with her and you will receive beautiful photos.

Rachel is AWESOME. There are no words to describe how thankful we were to find Rachel and how happy we are with the results. I googled ‘Wedding Photographers in San Diego’ and came across her website. I instantly knew I loved her work, and then upon talking with her over the phone, I knew she was the one. Once we met her, she felt like a friend we had known for a long time. Our engagement session in downtown San Diego was so much fun. Her smile and calm demeanor instantly made both of us at ease. We were relaxed and our silly selves in front of the camera.
We couldn’t be happier with our engagement and wedding photos. She knew our ceremony area well. It was a simple pop up style wedding at Wind and Sea beach. She was so helpful in giving us a great time frame and structure for our event. I was so nervous for the ceremony, I was too afraid to look at people. She captured some precious moments that I can cherish forever.
Rachel is very talented and extremely professional. We got exactly what we were looking for. High quality photos of the «real us.»
I absolutely recommend her for your wedding.
G&Y Santos

I found Rachel on Unilocal as our whole family was visiting the San Diego and we wanted to get some nice family portraits. She was a joy to work with! She really interacted with the toddlers so we got some nice shots of the cousins together.
She was super easy to work with and also very reasonably priced. I would highly recommend her. We would definitely use her again!

Rachael contacted us and explained why she insisted on a refund: so we could free up funds to hire someone else for the dates we needed. She also sincerely apologized for any miscommunication and was very graceful about the whole thing. While I would have liked to understand that from the beginning, we’re all human and make mistakes and Rachel owned up to that. WIth that said, it takes a big person to admit their mistakes and to explain their point of view in a positive and empathic way. In light of this update, I think Rachel is a big person and I appreciate her honesty and sincerity in her ability to clear things up. Thank you, Rachel.

Rachel is absolutely amazing! She’s done headshots, maternity pics, and family pictures for me… and I loved them all! I wish that I’d known about her when I got married, cause I know she would have captured our wedding day gorgeously.
She’s professional, reasonably priced, and fun to do a session with (even when it involves toddlers).
I highly recommend Rachel to capture some beautiful, timeless moments!

We were lucky enough to book Rachel for family photos after finding her on Unilocal.We celebrated my mom’s 70^th birthday in San Diego and wanted to capture the special weekend with photos. We are THRILLED with the results. The pictures are amazing — one after another and another.
My two young nephews weren’t happy about having their pictures taken. Rachel showed up with a bag of toys and many tricks for getting them to take pictures and smile while they did. She didn’t stop shooting until she was sure she had good shots. She was so patient. and creative with the boys.
In 70 years, my mom has never liked a picture of herself, and she loves these. That’s all I need to say.
Thank you Rachel!

Rachel was recommended to us by four of our friends that had previously used her services. Kris does not like to take pictures and typically is very stiff and unnatural in pictures. Rachel started with us for our engagement pictures. They turned are beautiful! She helped to make Kris and I comfortable, caught great natural smiles, and made the pictures outstanding!
We then hired Rachel for our wedding day. Our ceremony was in a Catholic church and she did a great job of getting pictures from all angles. We then went to Windansea beach for group pictures. All the pictures were stunning. She got great shots of all of the group, caught fun, candid shots and beautiful bridal portraits.
Rachel’s work is affordable and timely. She got everything back to us within a few weeks. I can’t say enough about Rachel personally. She is so kind and was just wonderful to work with. I highly recommend choosing her for your wedding!

My husband and I just celebrated our 25^th wedding anniversary in June. Rachel recorded our renewal beautifully. We could not have had anyone else who would take the time to create a relaxing photo shoot. She is very creative and will take in suggestions while she is working with you. I highly recommend her for recording any memories you care to enjoy for years to come.

RACHEL. IS. AMAZING. What an incredibly genuine, talented, kind, and professional photographer. It’s like working with one of your closest friends!
She photographed my wedding in November, 2014, and everything was seamless. Despite my stressed nature, she was cool as a cucumber. She pushed everything along, while being unbelievably understanding and positive in the process.
She has quite the eye for great lighting, backdrops and angles. Everyone in our bridal party (other guests included) were RAVING about her! She caught every moment we could have every wanted or imagined, and with such grace. Many of my guests said she was doing such a great job moving around, getting lots of great shot but never being in anyone’s way. True PRO! Her prices are also EXTREMELY reasonable for the type of photographs she produces. She is upfront and real with you when it comes to pricing, packages, etc. I really appreciated the transparency!
I would recommend her to anyone looking for a photographer for ANYTHING. I will definitely be using her in the future! Thanks again Rachel– you’re wonderful!

I hope that Rachel didn’t mind the spontaneous hug that I gave her after our recent family photo shoot. I couldn’t help myself – she was just so warm & positive, making the experience really fun for all of us.
Rachel is high energy and she orchestrated us by connecting with each of us individually, keeping us relaxed & casual even as she moved fast to get a lot of shots and to capture us in different settings and combinations.
We gave Rachel a real challenge, too: five people representing four generations of family and ranging from 6 months to 94 years old, plus one recalcitrant cat. We were just in a comfortable family home, too, not a grand or glamorous setting. But Rachel figured out how to make everything work.
And I could tell even as Rachel took them that her photos would be just right. Now I’ve seen them, and they absolutely captured us well: smiling, connected, looking our best. The final images are all bright and sharply focused, too: ideal for prints. Also, at my request, Rachel provided b&w versions, as well. In fact, it’s hard to pick favorites, because there are so many good choices.
We now have a family record that looks real & feels true. & we’ll remember how much we enjoyed Rachel creating that for us.
As for the logistics end of things, Rachel also communicated well both before & after. She was on time for the shoot and prompt in providing the final products. Her flat package price seems fair, because she obviously put in time and is a talented professional.
I’m happy to have chosen Rachel and therefore pleased to recommend her to others.

Rachel McFarlin is AMAZING!!!
Not only are her photographs beautiful, artistic, original yet classic, but working with her «in the moment» has to be one of the best experiences of our wedding, other then the getting married part :-)
It truly was like being with your close friend and creating lasting moments to share forever. Rachel made us feel so comforable and relaxed in a time that can be very stressful (dealing with the family photo time in particular), that that alone was worth having her there.
Thanks Rachel! You are terrific!

We have used Rachel to take family photos along with newborn and kids photos. We could not be happier with the way the photos turned out. Our kids love when Rachel is there and our typically shy kids open up for the pictures. Rachel is the best and we would recommend her for any occasion!

We used Rachel to take family photos this year. We never get great photos with our young kids because they get bored taking pictures. That was not the case with Rachel! Rachel was a TRUE PRO at keeping our kids excited and laughing. The pictures she shot captured their actual personalities and not their fake forced smiles. I hate taking family photos, but Rachel made the experience fun. We were at the beach and encountered one of the few and craziest San Diego rain storms which added to the challenge of taking photos, but Rachel shrugged off the set back as we waited for the rain to pass. OUR PHOTOS look great! I cant believe her eye for the lighting and her ability to capture our family’s silly moments. These pictures are incredible and I am very grateful to have awesome family photos to look back on as our family continues to grow!
Rachel is a great person full of positive energy and a true artist.
I don’t think there is a better photographer in California than Rachel McFarlin!

I chose Rachel to take our family pictures while vacationing in Mission Beach simply based on her ratings/​comments on Unilocal.She made the session fun for our kids and everything ran so smoothly! Rachel was easy to communicate with and offered site suggestions. Our photos turned out amazing! So amazing that we are having a very difficult time choosing between them! She was able to capture some great shots that really showed emotions. Thank you, Rachel!

Our family met with Rachel for portraits to celebrate my moms birthday. She was such a pleasure to work with. We spent about an hour at the beach and she got excellent candid shots that she included in the package for us as extras. She’s got a real talent for capturing the natural elements of light, water, sand and emotions. Our 2 month old struggled to keep smiling but you’d never know it from the pictures she took :) We all had a great time and would definitely recommend her!

Rachel McFarlin is exceptional as a person & a photographer!
My family & I were going to be vacationing in San Diego & thought photographs on the beach would be fun. I searched Unilocal & reviewed many of the top-​rated photographers’ websites… & kept returning to Rachel’s. There is such life & character captured in her photos. And that’s exactly what we got! I am elated with the results. The shoot was easy & fun, yet she kept it moving w/​out being pushy or controlling. She is clearly talented, yet also personable & kind. My kids loved the entire experience because Rachel made it light-​hearted. One of them said, «I didn’t think that having our pictures taken would be so much fun!»
We have yet to order our prints because we can’t decide which shots we like the most! We could fill our walls with each shot — a combination of some casually posed & the rest playfully candid. The images stopped time for us… I think that decades from now, we’ll be able to view those photos with fond sentimentality.
Rachel was easy to communicate with via email & text (admittedly, I never tried to reach her by phone, though I’m sure she’s quick w/​that as well). She offered great advice & feedback before & during the photo shoot. Her final, touched-​up, digital prints arrived when promised.
Book her now! :)

What a wonderful experience! I haven’t actually used her talents.YET. but I was in search of a photographer in short notice. She was unavailable but asked for my email so she could send some referrals and she did, within minutes! Talent and follow through?! Wow. WOW. Thank you Rachel!

I don’t even know where to start, if I could give 6 stars I would. I just got married last weekend 10÷28÷12 and Rachel photographed it all. As an avid Unilocal user, I had searched high and low and contacted several different photographers to capture our special day. Finally, we found Rachel. She was extremely easy to talk to, quick to respond, and had very competitive pricing. We met up with her only about a week after our first phone conversation and made arrangements to talk about our day. She had laid out amazing photos from previous weddings and talked to us about our different options. I felt as though I was just talking to a friend which was extremely comforting. I walked out of the meeting knowing that our day would be perfect.
We used Rachel for our engagement shots as well which turned out great. I was really nervous about doing any posed pictures in front of random people on the beach but she made it fun and it shows through in the pictures.
Rachel made our wedding day photos fun, quick, and painless (as I have several family members that hate to be in front of the camera). Every time we relaxed between shots Rachel was able to sneak in a few candids of everyone looking natural and having a good time. I barely saw her throughout the event because she was always in the background, hiding in corners, or up on stage capturing amazing shots of ourselves and our guests. My husband and I actually joked about it a few times throughout the wedding asking if she was still there because we figured it would be a day filled with cameras flashing in our faces, but once you see the body of pictures that she captures you would think it was a 3 man job.
Overall, if you are looking for a fun, responsible, and creative photographer to capture your wedding… Rachel McFarlin all the way!

I absolutely LOVE Rachel! I found her by chance when I googled «Karl Strauss Brewery Gardens wedding pictures» and was so excited after looking at her pictures and seeing that she was in my price range. After meeting with her, I booked her for my engagement pictures and wedding pictures. During our meeting I liked that she gave me a realistic estimate on how much time she thought that I really needed her for to get the shots that I wanted. She didn’t try to up-​sale me at all on time or prints which I appreciated.
My husband was kind of nervous as we were driving to meet her for our engagement pictures because he didn’t want to spend hours taking a bunch of cheesy pictures, but Rachel really made him feel comfortable and got a lot of great shots quickly.
Rachel gave me a good picture time line for our wedding day an accommodated the fact that we wanted to take most of our pictures before the wedding so that we would really enjoy the reception. Rachel was was great with our huge wedding party and was able to wrangle everyone in for the group shots. Our whole wedding party loved her and I was so happy when after the ceremony we were able to enter right away and start greeting our guests.
The day after our wedding Rachel e-​mailed me some preview shots and we got all of our pictures 4 weeks after our wedding.
Rachel also does family photographs and we will definitely be using her again!

Rachel was the photographer for our May wedding at Admiral Baker Golf Course. We interviewed a few photographers before picking Rachel, but as soon as we met her I knew she was perfect for the job. We clicked right away and we felt totally comfortable with her.
Come wedding day, she did a FANTASTIC job! She was so easy to work with, was totally professional, and just a joy to have shooting my wedding. She got all the shots I was hoping for and they turned out just beautifully!
As extra bonuses to my experience, she invited my fiancé and I down to the beach for a complimentary photo shoot during her annual «Santa at the beach» photo session. We used the pictures on our Christmas card, and they turned out totally fun!
I highly recommend Rachel for any of your photography needs!