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Zoe Larkin Photography blog

Helping Bay Area couples plan smarter weddings and better photos.

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We know how hard it is when it comes to choosing your wedding photographer! Where do you even begin? There are so many out there, and it’s difficult to figure out what really differentiates them. It can be a tough decision, especially when you consider the role the wedding photographer will take on your day. […]

10 tips for choosing your wedding photographer

wedding ceremony picture at Sequoyah Country Clubwedding with bride laughing | How to choose the wedding photographer that's right for you

December 13, 2019

planning

how much goes a wedding photographer cost in san francisco?

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Most couples getting married in San Francisco discover very quickly that photography sits near the top of their budget, often just behind venue and catering. This isn’t accidental or inflated for effect. It reflects both the cost of doing business in the Bay Area and the level of experience couples tend to seek when planning […]

How much does wedding photography cost in the San Francisco Bay Area? (2026)

December 10, 2019

planning

Downtown Oakland was the scene for this RAD LGBTQ+ engagement. Renee [she/her] and Jack [they/them] describe themselves as a queer-forward couple hailing from Oakland. These folx manage to combine absolute hipness with total goofiness in such a cute way. If ever two people were meant to be, it’s these two. The couple They both arrived […]

Queer-forward downtown Oakland engagement photos

🏳️‍🌈 Totally rad engagement shoot in downtown oakland with this queer-forward Oakland couple. 🌈 Renee, Jack and I frolicked in their home while they spun some records with their large cats, then around their neighborhood. 🦄 After crossing rainbow crosswalks we finished up at the Fox Theater's iconic Oakland sign - a must-take for your Oakland engagement shoot! | #queerforward #oakland #engagementphotos #lgbtq | Zoe Larkin Photography

December 7, 2019

engagements

minimum number of hours for wedding photography

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Sometimes couples contact us looking for one or two hours of wedding photography. In other cases, they are planning a wedding on a peak Saturday or Sunday and want substantially less coverage than our published minimum. We do offer shorter wedding photography, but we still have a minimum amount of coverage we can accept. That […]

Why are there minimum photography hours for weddings?

November 29, 2019

planning

I love bringing to light the stories of underrepresented types of couples and people. The world is changing, and there is more scope now than ever to shine a light on what has previously been kept closeted, things like open marriage and gender transition. Love is complex. Marriage means different things to everyone. To some, […]

Modern love stories: Open marriage, transition & play parties

LGBTQ couple at san francisco's corona heights one kissing the other's head

November 24, 2019

engagements

Bride and groom posing with san francisco skyline at Potrero Hill Wisconsin & 20th Streets after city hall wedding

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Outdoor photo locations NEAR San Francisco City Hall for wedding photos! 10 great location ideas, all less than 3 miles from San Francisco City Hall

10 San Francisco portrait locations close to City Hall

November 21, 2019

city hall

Where do I even start with these beautiful Cornerstone Sonoma wedding photos, at a versatile Bay Area venue set in stunning Northern California wine country? Set among the pretty birch gardens, ponds, lawns and vines of Cornerstone Sonoma in wine country, the fusion wedding really combined so much remarkable diversity. It was so much fun […]

Cornerstone Sonoma wedding photos

cornerstone sonoma wedding photography at nigerian japanese cultural fusion wedding

November 11, 2019

weddings

how to look after your wedding photos

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Receiving your final wedding photos is exciting, and it’s only the beginning! Your photos are the tangible record of one of the biggest days of your life, and how you handle them in the weeks after delivery will determine whether they become treasured family heirlooms or just another digital folder that gets forgotten. This guide […]

What to do with your wedding photos

October 28, 2019

planning

Whether or not to opt for a second photographer is one of those big decisions when it comes to planning your wedding photography coverage. Some photographers include a second shooter automatically. Others only offer it as an option. Some photographers heavily push it, some don’t offer it at all. Couples often feel unsure whether it’s […]

Do I need a second photographer at my wedding?

just married couple recessing down the aisle with bubbles

September 16, 2019

planning

2 grooms wedding ceremony at LGBTQ+ City Hall wedding on 4th floor

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I’m so excited to introduce this gorgeous LGBTQ+ City Hall wedding couple today on the blog! I know I say that every time but from the moment that Jake first reached out I knew this was going to be very special. Call me crazy but sometimes I just get a feeling about these things. The […]

Pride month 4th Floor San Francisco City Hall wedding ceremony

September 10, 2019

city hall

I’m often asked by my couples about what they should wear for engagement photos! So I wanted to take a deep dive here and give you some pointers, tips and advice on what to wear your engagement session. My specific tips in this post, as well as quick and easy recommendations for affordable choices, will […]

What to wear for engagement photos

August 7, 2019

engagements, planning

how to keep wedding photos off the internet

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When you’re comparing wedding photographers, it’s natural to want a full picture of any optional fees you might encounter. One you may see is a non-usage fee (sometimes called a privacy fee or image-restriction fee). It’s formal by design, because it’s an agreement: you’re asking the photographer not to use the images they create for […]

Keeping images private and offline: Why some wedding photographers charge a non-usage fee

August 5, 2019

planning

What affects the look of your finished wedding images? I want to get down to brass tacks in this article, and what factors affect the finished result – your wedding photos. A big part of what I do is education and generally making sure I’m the right fit for you. So let’s dive in to figuring […]

What affects the look of my wedding photos?

couple kissing at the highlands country club in oakland with the foggy skyline behind them | Zoe Larkin Photography

August 2, 2019

planning

joyful and fun corona heights engagement with gay male couple in matching sequin jackets

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These two delightful dudes are getting married (woot!) on September 14 2019! I managed to talk them into doing an engagement session in San Francisco’s Castro District where they live! The enGAYgement session was ahead of their fall wedding. For the big day, they decided to have their wedding ceremony at San Francisco City Hall, […]

LGBTQ+ Castro engagement session San Francisco

July 31, 2019

engagements

This article is intended for anyone getting married at San Francisco City Hall, but primarily couples considering working with me, Zoe Larkin Photography. It’s intended to help to manage expectations and fill you in on things that you may not be aware of, or have had no reason to ever think about before! There’s more […]

What you need to know about getting your San Francisco City Hall wedding photos

info that you need to know about sf city hall wedding photography | Zoe Larkin Photography

July 28, 2019

city hall

sweet lake merritt oakland LGBTQ engaged couple by pergola

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I’m so happy and excited to share this trans couple’s Oakland Lake Merritt engagement shoot! This was such a fun one for me, not least because Marissa and Nico had become friends of mine by the time the shoot rolled around. Read more about how we came to connect, and how this extraordinary couple’s love […]

Lake Merritt, Oakland engagement photos with trans/lesbian couple

July 23, 2019

engagements

One of the most common questions photographers get is: Can we have the RAW files? (Or the unedited jpegs)? It’s a fair question, especially in an age where digital files feel synonymous with ownership. But when it comes to wedding photography, RAW files aren’t part of the product – and there are really good reasons […]

Why wedding photographers don’t offer RAW files

can i get all the raw files from wedding

July 20, 2019

planning

touching moment as mother of groom watches gift exchange at wedding

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Shooting a wedding is a big undertaking and something that a professional wedding photographer doesn’t take lightly. Managing your expectations goes a long way to ensuring that there are no nasty surprises down the pike. Since the years I wrote this blog post, I decided to take a different tack in answering this question. Please […]

Why does it take so long to get my wedding pictures?

July 16, 2019

planning

Today I’m stoked to bring you this elegant, intimate wedding held at the Vezer Family Vineyard’s Blue Victorian venue. With just the right amount of tradition and a whole lot of intentionality, beauty & personality, it really is a pleasure to share this wedding. Vezer Family Vineyard stunning wedding venue nestled in the heart of […]

Vezer Family Vineyard wedding at Blue Victorian

collage of wedding preparation images at california vineyard wedding vezer

July 12, 2019

weddings

cute fun hip mission dolores park engagement

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This San Francisco Mission District love shoot isn’t the first time Max and Victoria have been stars of my blog.  Relative newcomers to San Francisco, this couple wanted to mark this time in their lives with photos of their new city and their beautiful home. That’s right, you don’t need to be engaged or married […]

Victoria + Max | Hip love photography in San Francisco’s Mission District

July 9, 2019

engagements

I'm Zoe and I lead a team of Bay Area wedding photographers. I still personally help you plan your wedding timeline so you can relax and savor your wedding day.

We blend an unobtrusive approach to capturing images with a directive way of capturing the posed shots of you and your guests.

With over 500 weddings personally photographed by Zoe, hundreds of reviews on Yelp and Google, and over

San Francisco wedding photographers

MOMENT CATCHERS, LIGHT CHASERS, photojournalists

As a seasoned professional and true artist, I transform wedding moments into timeless memories, captured photojournalistically. 

In short, our images make memories last forever.

Looking for a wedding photographer that will honor your unique, beautiful story?

470,000 words of inspiration and and advice on the blog, we're the leading wedding photographers in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Since 2016, I've poured my heart into Bay Area weddings, specializing in San Francisco City Hall ceremonies and shooting all love. Our goal is to create personal images with an intimate feel - images that evoke emotion and transport you back to the moment. 

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