☟ hey… don’t listen to me, listen to them!! ☟

“I was really stressed about picking my photographer for my wedding. I spent a lot of time looking because the photos were the most important thing to us. I am so happy we went with Emily. She is the sweetest person and is bursting with talent and creativity. My husband and I are super awkward in pictures but Emily made us feel so comfortable and always gave us direction. We had so much fun during our engagement session and THEN we got our photos back and I was blown away. If I was rich I would hire her to literally follow me around everywhere. I will never understand how made us look good eating tacos!

Our wedding photos bring me straight back to how I felt that day. She did such a beautiful job and definitely went above and beyond that day. Emily is definitely our life long photographer and I feel so lucky to have met her. Fair warning, you will print off every picture she takes and you may run out of wall space. But, on the plus side you can charge guests to walk through your art gallery in your home!”

from mara and reese

“Having known Emily personally many years before getting engaged, I went into selecting our wedding photographer slightly (okay, a lot) biased. Emily's work is phenomenal, intimate, and emotional. Aside from being an incredible artist, she is an incredible person who is there FOR YOU on your wedding day. She genuinely cares for her clients. She wants to know what makes you happy, what made you fall in love, what you adore about your fiance. She was always available to answer any questions or give advice on schedule throughout the wedding planning process.

It seems like anything with "wedding" in front of it adds a couple digits to the price tag, which can be overwhelming for a newly engaged couple trying to plan their perfect day. Looking back on our wedding there are many things I would go back and not spend the money on. But I can easily and happily say that Emily is worth every single penny. Emily doesn't just give you beautiful photos, she gives you back moments in time that perfectly capture the emotion- the happiness of getting ready with your best friends, the nostalgia of walking you down the aisle, the overwhelming joy when they say "married", the laughter shared on the dance floor.

I can't not recommend Emily enough. She such a wonderful soul and a beautiful artist who so perfectly captured one of the best days of our lives!”

from jenn & trav

“My family and I met Emily when I just had one daughter who was 2 at the time. She was just recovering from croup and it was a miserably cold November afternoon. Needless to say, I had a low bar for family photos. I was completely blown away by Emily’s patience and empathy of our understandably salty 2 year old and she managed to capture some of my favorite family memories of that stage in our lives. The photos were beautiful, but they were also real. They embodied all the feelings and complexity of a young family trying to make memories in a less than perfect situation and I will cherish them forever.

Two kids and several years later, we return to Emily every year for our family photos and to capture newborns and whatever other milestones we are experiencing. She is always patient with our awkwardness and struggles and even when I feel like there is no way we will get any good pictures, she surprises us with MANY beautiful pictures that sum up exactly who we are and what we are going through. That is what we want from our pictures. To be able to go back to that time and feel grateful for not only happy moments, but difficult ones too. Emily is so talented at this and we are so grateful to have her!”

from the godino family

“If you’re like me, being photographed can be awkward and doesn’t come naturally (my husband, on the other hand, thinks he’s Zoolander). When we were looking for a photographer to document both our engagement and wedding, we knew we wanted someone who would vibe with our weirdness and make us feel comfortable in front of the lens. On our first meet, I immediately knew Emily would become not only our lifelong photographer (she’s now shot our engagement, wedding, and family portrait sessions), but also a part of our family.

Her eye for the candid, tender moments between spouses/families is overwhelmingly beautiful. Emily’s passion for what she does exudes through her portfolio of work, and is evidenced by the number of families that continue to choose her to document their most sacred experiences.”

from the gigueres

“HIRE EMILY CHIDESTER!

Why? Because she is the most amazing, talented, genuine, humble, kick ass wedding photographer the U.S. has ever seen. Unfortunately, my husband John and I didn’t know about Emily when we got married or we would have hired her. THANKFULLY we found her two years after our wedding, FLEW her from North Carolina to Tennessee to “re-do” our wedding photos. Those photos are the most cherished items we own. Emily goes above and beyond to be more than just a photographer, she goes out of her way to really get to know you. As a wedding photographer myself, I am very rarely impressed with other photographer’s work. Emily and her work stand out far above the rest. The way she is able to pull out emotions from all of her couples in different ways speaks volumes of the variety of talents she possess. Not only are the quality of images Emily gives TOP NOTCH, but the quantity of images will knock your socks off. Emily doesn’t rush you in your sessions, she gives incredible direction and affirmation which is so necessary and helpful. My husband and I not only found our lifelong photographer, but also- a lifelong friend. So thankful for all of the memories Emily has captured for us. We love you, Emily!”

from kelly & john of the incredible kelly ginn photography

“There aren’t really enough words to share just how incredible our experience was shooting with Em. After following her on instagram for years, almost hiring her for our wedding (but we don’t talk about that, budget stuff ) and getting to know her as a friend online we finally met in Joshua Tree CA. As a human, I’m not always the most comfortable in front of the camera and i’m always asking “what do i do with my hands”?! Throughout our entire session i felt so comfortable and so natural, she directed us into action and real life moments - no fake laughing, no “forcing” no “posing” it was all fluid and fun! After a few minutes I forgot the camera was even there. The whole session was a dream, even if we didn’t get any photos back it would have been worth it. When the photos were dropped in my email, I couldn’t stop smiling. To date, the photos from this session are my favorite we’ve ever taken.

If you don’t hire Em, you’re actually going to regret it for the rest of your life.”

from mariah & chris

“absolutely adored the experience of working with Emily. She photographed our maternity and our newborn session. Not only were the photos we received from Emily priceless, but we loved our time with her. She is so warm and comfortable to be around. She got my son (and husband) smiling immediately and she kept us all laughing naturally throughout each session. She becomes a friend to her clients. She is the kind of person you just want to be around.

I felt like the cost for our session was completely worth it- she provided more images than anticipated- and we loved each and every image. I have recommended Emily to numerous friends, and all have shared that they loved her just as much. We will definitely use Emily again in the future.”

from katie burns of katie burns photography

“When my now-husband and I got engaged, my only specific wedding request was that we find a photographer who would capture the important parts of the day—the love, the tears, the fun—in a way that felt authentic to us. After all, the actual day would come and go, but our photos are forever. When I saw Emily’s work, I had a pretty good feeling she was the one, and after meeting her the first time, I had no doubt.

From the engagement shoot to rescheduling our wedding the week before our original day to an absolute downpour right before our outdoor ceremony, Emily was by our side being both photography superstar and wedding day cheerleader. And that’s not even beginning to cover the amount of time and attention to detail she puts into the curating and editing process afterwards to make them perfect. Yes, getting good wedding photography is a big investment. But getting a beautiful account of our wedding and working with someone as professional and fun as Em was the best investment we made on our big day, and one we’ll be able to appreciate forever through our gorgeous photos.”

from jordan & nathan

“from the moment that we met Emily, I knew we had found “our family’s photographer”! she was SO great to work with.  we felt so comfortable working with her and she helped us every step of the way starting with what outfits photograph well, to how to look completely natural while getting our photos taken. We have had photos taken before that came out…okay, but when we got our photos back from Emily I knew we would never use anyone else again. She captured US!!

I literally want to frame all of the photos. We look so natural and the lighting in our pictures makes us all look so great. You get what you pay for and your family memories are not something to try and find a bargain photographer for. Trust me you won’t be disappointed but you will definitely be spoiled.

Thanks so much Emily for making our pictures better than I could have imagined. Can’t wait to work with you this summer to photograph our anniversary!!

from heidi & mason mcclure

“Emily is phenomenal. Her work speaks for itself but the fact that she is so communicative and appreciative to her clients makes her better than the rest. We have only worked with her on mini sessions but are repeatedly overwhelmed with the fact that after only 30 minutes, she delivers so many photos!! (At least a hundred!) She’s a joy to work with, goofy and patient with the kids, & obviously cares about her work. We highly recommend Em to everyone we know! We just need to figure out getting her in a few shots because that’s all our kids want️!”

from amy and nate

“I’m not even sure where to start here because there’s so much I want to say, but I will keep it short and simple. My entire family loves working with Emily. Family photos should never feel like a chore- Photo sessions with Emily are just FUN! Emily’s talent goes beyond the camera. She deeply understands and values the love of family and is able to capture that with her eye and her lens. This is where the magic happens and what sets her apart from the rest. Our time together is always a JOY. Oh Emily- you are a gem! Thank you for capturing our love as a family. We will cherish all of our photos forever.”

from nina & mark

“We knew after connecting with Em, that there was not going to be another person we wanted to come along side us to share in the joy of our wedding day. Her empathetic professionalism and artistic eye are second to none. She captured all of the day's feelings & emotions and personally invested in us as a couple. Em gave us the space we needed to be authentic, but also made sure we didn't miss any of the moments we wanted to remember.

If you are looking to connect with a photographer that will bring her entire self to serve and honor your life's special event, we would wholeheartedly recommend Em.”

from jenn & lee

“Simply put, Emily is good for the soul.

She's down to earth, thoughtful and has such an innate ability to make you feel so comfortable in front of the lens, which is something that most folks are not great at. She is able to bring forward your heart, tenderness and natural energy to the photos she captures. We were truly blown away when we saw her work; we love how organic and real all her photos are. Our wedding photos are something we cherish and continuously reflect upon. We can still feel the emotion of that day, and we cannot thank her enough for capturing us in our most raw moments so beautifully.

She has become a lifelong friend, and someone that is apart of our forever family.”

from kaleigh and corey

“Emily has a reputation in town for being a kid whisperer in photography and for good reason.

We were blessed to hear about her skills in 2017 and booked our first of what will undoubtedly become many sessions. (I joke all the time that she will photograph our daughters’ weddings one day).

In 2017, our youngest daughter, Violet was just under 2 and is what we affectionally call a “spirited” child (aka - does what she wants in situations, especially ones on camera). She was highly uncooperative that day - running away and crying when trying to get her close enough to photograph. When the session was over, my husband and I gushed over how sweet Emily was but we were not very optimistic that she got a single decent shot of our little sassy pants.

We were so wrong.

Emily didn’t just get one great shot of Violet. She got several of her, several of Blaire, and so many that just captured just the raw goodness and joy of our family. The proofs we got were amazing and looking at them you would have had no clue the struggle we had that day. My husband and I agreed that day that she should take our pictures for the foreseeable future.

Year after year, Emily has delivered. It absolutely takes skill to take a “great” photograph with the right equipment, composition, lighting, etc. However, Emily has a gift to give you more than just beautiful photos. Her photos capture people and who they are. The sweetest love between sisters with the best bear hugs, the nose crinkles that only come from a deep belly laughs, the camera shy mom relaxing enough to be in the photo and the joy and love of a family. She knows exactly what to do and say to bring out the magic in a moment, regardless of age.

We asked our oldest daughter, Blaire, why we should tell people to hire Emily and she said it best: “she’s a great person and she is good at taking photos. She knows how far away and close to take pictures.” Clearly, Emily knows her stuff.”

from the laportas

“I am so excited to recommend Em to anyone who is considering her for photography services, but especially for engagement and wedding sessions. Our wedding was in NC, but our engagement session was in San Francisco, where we met and lived. I could have found a local photographer in CA, but I decide to follow advice to engage with the same photographer for both engagement and wedding sessions.

The reasoning is that it’s helpful for the photographer to have already interacted with you and edited a set of your photos before the big day. You’re already comfortable with her, and she’s already found your good angles ;) Anyway, we flew her to San Francisco for a night (even though we had never met her) and it was a great decision. She worked to find a flight at a good price, and the extra expense was totally worth the elevated quality of the photos. 

She was open to going wherever we wanted in the city, but also did research to find some locations we hadn’t thought of. Prior to arriving, she had reached out to her network of photographers for recommendations and learned about Sutro Baths. We had never been there, but gave it a try and arrived before sunset. The photos were incredible! I am so grateful she took the time to research before she came, when she could have easily put the responsibility on us. It’s just one example of how Em will go above and beyond to generate the best results.   

Another dimension Em has mastered: It is so important to feel comfortable with your photographer because they will be by your side during your most memorable moments. My husband and I are both introverts and typically feel totally uncomfortable in front of a camera. I was sure we were doomed to invest a portion of our budget in hundreds of very awkward looking photos. Em is so charming she was able to rescue us from ourselves! She made us laugh, come out of our shells, and feel totally comfortable and natural. It shows in the photos! I truly believe she was able to deliver superior results because she captured our true personalities.”

from jen & chris