Chung Li Photography

Chung was our wedding photographer for our wedding reception at Hakone Gardens in Saratoga last summer. We wanted a well-​experienced photographer that had photographed Hakone before and Chung came highly recommended by the event staff there.
Needless to say by this 5-​star rating, Chung was wonderful.
The morning of, he and his partner Ryan came out to photograph us getting ready and to do our first-​look photos. Neither my wife nor I have much (if any) experience with a professional photographer but Chung and Ryan made the situation very comfortable and stress-​free for us and our guests.
When we got to Hakone, it was immediately evident that Chung had worked at Hakone many times as he knew the exact locations, perspectives, and times to take each particular set of photos. Also, we both really enjoyed the hundreds of candid photos of our family and friends during the reception.
Finally, a few months after our reception, we received our leather-​bound photo album from Chung and it blew away our expectations. The album is extremely high quality. It was great to relive that day all over again.
We would highly recommend Chung for anyone looking for an experienced and highly-​skilled photographer and look forward to working with him again in the future!

long overdue review of chung who took family photos for us in late 2014. chung was so good with our daughter who was 2 at that time, and naturally very difficult. but he managed to find ways to make her laugh and smile. he was also super patient with her and her tantrums, crankiness, hunger, and (insert other typical 2 year old behavior). the result was that our pictures turned out great and we couldn’t be more pleased.
he was even great with our dog and took awesome photos of her. bonus for that.

Chung Li photographed my wedding in Menlo Park. My husband and I are SO pleased with my photos and so happy that we will have them to look back on and remember the day. Chung and his team did an amazing job capturing the people, setting, and details. He brought a lot of vision to the photos – touring the venue and determining the best locations for various shots, capturing candid moments, and design/​décor details, as well as giving me, my husband, and our wedding party clear direction about where/​how to be photographed for the posed photos. He made it fun and easy for us!
While I was planning and coordinating with him leading up to the big day, it was clear that he is extremely experienced with how various shoots would fit best within my timeline for the wedding (while also factoring in things like natural light, time of sunset, and venue details for the outdoor portion of the day). He was very communicative and responsive, which I really appreciated during the undertaking of planning a wedding! His team also was so professional when working alongside my other vendors (videographer, wedding coordinator, photobooth, etc). I could not be happier with my photos and with the chance to work with Chung and his team.

Chung has been my family photographer since 2010. My son and I have had many photo sessions with him and I’m still blown away by his skills. I didn’t do a maternity shoot when I was pregnant with my son back in 2008 and we never had newborn or early photos of him. That’s one of the biggest regrets I have. Now he is 7 and Chung has been taking photos of him since he was 2. when I look back at those pictures of him growing up, it brings joyful tears to my eyes because it preserved all the memorable moments we shared as mommy and son. I have friends that hold off on taking professional family photos because of various reasons like «oh, I take a lot of pictures with my phone» or «I rather use that money to buy something» but I really wish they see that kids don’t stop growing! No materialistic goods can compare to a beautiful set of professional family photos that can be cherished for a lifetime. Do yourself a favor and book a session today!

One of the best photographers in the bay. Any shoots he can do. Tell him what you need and want. Btw we heard he will have a new studio soon on California dr, Burlingame. Can’t wait to work with Chung again soon.

Chung was our photographer for our engagement pictures, and also our May 2015 wedding at Hakone Gardens this year.
My now-​husband and I are definitely not used to having cameras on us, and during the engagement shoot Chung was very helpful, giving us posing tips and making jokes to help us relax. That day ended up being pretty chilly and I was very cold and shivering through most of the engagement shoot, but you wouldn’t guess it at all looking at the photos!
The day of the wedding, Chung and his team were awesome — they captured so many moments and details of the wedding for us to look back on. He always had an eye out for what slight change could make the photo even better than it already was. I love the results, and I can’t wait to put together an album of our favorites!

We are so fortunate that Chung Li was our photographer for our wedding at The Fairmont SF in June 2015. My husband and I had our dream wedding and Chung captured every gorgeous moment of the day in the most beautiful storybook way. The photos display our wedding as a fairytale, which was not expected, but so easily enjoyed and graciously appreciated. Chung Li provided guidance and patience while taking the photographs and all of his time and dedication was definitely reflected in the photographs. We greatly appreciated the second photographer, Ryan, and his ability to make everyone feel comfortable while still keeping the focus on the primary photographer. My husband and I do not consider ourselves photogenic people but Chung Li and Ryan proved us wrong on our special day! We will cherish these photographs as we continue to associate them with the warm, joyful memories that they quickly remind us of.
You really can’t go wrong with Chung Li and his wonderful staff!

As a family entertainer, I have worked with tons of photographers. Many are good, but few are able to capture the joy of an occasion like Chung Li. He’s a true professional and I highly recommend him.

My wife and I was referred to Chung Li by a good friend of ours for our engagement and wedding photography. Admittedly, my wife did most of the research when it came to choosing a wedding photographer because she’s really picky about the style of photographer. Having looked at the albums of dozens of photographers from Wedding Wire, she narrowed down to three photographers that she wanted to meet in person. Chung Li was one of those and we ultimately picked him for his simplistic, photojournalistic style.
For our engagement photoshoot, we met Chung at our pre-​set location and he got there earlier to scope out the location for possible shots. My wife and I were initially nervous because we didn’t have any poses in mind but Chung kept us at ease and directed us for every shot. It was extremely windy that day so my wife’s hair got all over the place, but Chung kept his patience as he had to re-​take many shots. We shot our engagement photos at two locations and ran over time due to the aforementioned issues with the wind.
On the day of the wedding, Chung met up at the hotel my wife was staying at and started shooting getting-​ready photos followed by our first-​look. His assistant was on hand as well for accessory shots. Having built some chemistry with Chung through our engagement shoot, we were less nervous during the wedding day and the day flew by. Chung stayed over the allotted time again but didn’t charge us extra because we ran a little behind schedule for the reception. Teaser photos from the wedding day was available within two days and the entire collection was available for online viewing after about 45 days.
Due to our extremely busy schedules, my wife and I have yet to finalize on our wedding album (it’s been half a year). However, we are confident that the album will come out great, just like our engagement album.
Overall, we are extremely satisfied with Chung and his photography services so far. If you are not the photogenic type, Chung will direct you so the photos come out looking natural and not forced. His prices might not be the cheapest in the sea of wedding photographers, but as the saying goes «you get what you pay for.»

This review is long overdue. Chung Li did my daughter and me pictures last year. He is very professional, talented, kind and patience. My daughter got a little cranky after few shots. Chung did not give up. He’s very patient and try to help me calm her. He tried to do anything to make her smile (singing, make funny noise, play with her etc). I didn’t feel rush, we even take a few breaks just to calm her and bring up her mood again. I feel he really tried so hard to get the best pictures he could and HE DID. When we saw the result. You won’t even noticed that my daughter was cranky, crying, or in a bad mood. He’s very good in what he does. And you could tell when someone really loves what they do! The pictures spoke themselves. I highly recommend him! Booked your session now and don’t think twice.

I got referred to Chung by a friend to take my professional pictures for work. I am extremely happy with his service and the photos I got.
I am super picky with pictures. Once I got to the studios, Chung showed me what kind of professional pictures he has done for his clients. I got some ideas how I wanted my pictures to be. Then he started trying different shots to find out what lighting and pose would make me look nice. With all his hard work, my pictures turned out to be great! And on top of that I got the photos just in couple of days. I also saw the wedding photos he took. I wish I knew him earlier so he would take my wedding photos. I would recommend him to all my friends.

I really needed an updated photo for my online and newspaper ads. My friend referred me to Chung Li to do the photo shoot. Chung showed me how to pose for the photos, and I realized how inflexible I was. Now I know why professional models get paid the big bucks, it is definitely hard work. Chung was extremely patient and had me try out many different positions that worked. He chatted with me to keep me relax so I won’t tense up in front of the camera.
I received the photos from him within a few days. All the photos look very natural and gorgeous. I love his unique style! He is the best photographer I have ever worked with! I would definitely hire him again. I highly recommend him to everyone who is looking for a professional and experienced photographer.

My husband and I had our 2^nd wedding celebration in the SF Bay Area and didn’t need a photographer for longer than 3 – 4 hours, as we’ve already had an extensive photo shoot at our 1^st celebration earlier in the year.
Chung Li was very accommodating to our schedule, timeline of events that needed to be photographer vs. not, and our wishes in general. He never stood around — he was always snapping up photos of things — décor, outside landscapes, people mingling, etc.
He has a great eye for angles to try and get that ‘best shot’.
I would recommend him to anyone doing a wedding in the Bay Area!

We used Chung for our 2014 wedding at SF City Hall and our engagement shoot. My wife is a bit obsessive about photos, so photography was one of the most important things on her list for the wedding. Chung lived up to those high standards and more.
For our engagement shoot, we shot at various locations in Marin and SF, and Chung was patient with us even though (1) we went over the allotted time, (2) we went through several wardrobe changes and (3) we have no idea how to «act natural.» Who knew acting natural could be so hard? But we loved our end result photos.
For the wedding itself, I can not say enough about the professionalism of Chung and his team, who worked seamlessly with the other vendors. They got all of the shots that we wanted but never slowed things down. It was just an amazing day.
We’re very happy with the quality of the photos and the other elements that were included in our package, including prints, digital copies, canvas hanging and a gorgeous album. All the deliveries were made in a timely fashion. We wouldn’t hesitate to use Chung again. Thank you so much!

We worked with Chung recently for a family shoot with our one year old daughter. I couldn’t recommend him more highly! He was already at the shooting location when we arrived, 10 minutes ahead of our agreed time, as he was scoping out the lighting and best places to take some shots. He put our daughter at ease very quickly (which is saying a lot as she was in a big stranger danger phase!) and… the best part… the PHOTOS! He got some amazing shots that we’ll treasure forever. Wouldn’t hesitate to book him again or recommend him to any friend looking for a photography session!

We recently worked with Chung Li for our daughter’s 9 month photo shoot. I couldn’t be happier with the results. Chung was easy to communicate with and fast to respond over email. In person, he’s a pleasure to work with — we never felt rushed at all.
Our photos came back amazingly fast. Even though he was traveling internationally, he delivered them even earlier than promised. I loved all the photos he took — so many great shots that it was hard to choose which one I wanted to use for our holiday card. We’ll definitely work with Chung again for future family photos! Five stars is not enough!

Absolutely thrilled with the engagement, and wedding photos. This guy is a true artist and professional. All my family members (who are pretty difficult to please) commented on how attentive, and active he was throughout the whole event. I’ve been to a lot of weddings where the photographers just kind of walk around, looking at people and waiting for them to do something interesting before taking any photos, Chung was completely engaged and as a result we had some wonderfully candid (non-​staged) photos that everyone loved.
I also loved that he spent time to get to know us really well, it made for that much of a better coaching session during the shoot, so we looked natural, and genuinely happy. It was also really important to me to get a photographer who was truly accomplished in the craft, but still had a flair for the glamorous. Highly recommended. He’s truly delightful to work with!

My fiancé and I were dragging our feet when it came to wedding planning. After being engaged for some time, we realized that friends and family were expecting engagement photos and save the date photos.
We came across Chung on Unilocal and fell in love with his work. His superb use of lighting and ability to capture inner beauty was impressive. After comparing Chung’s price list to other photographers, we felt that his pricing was extremely reasonable and competitive. His schedule was also accommodating and we were able to book time that fit our schedules.
Now when it came to our photo shoot date, we were really nervous as we aren’t the most photogenic couple. Chung really made us feel comfortable in front of him and the camera and in the end, we actually enjoyed ourselves during our session. What we loved most was that it wasn’t the typical cookie cutter engagement shoot; his work is very natural and he was able to capture our personalities and interests on film.
I’ve recommended Chung to all my friends and family, and I’m already looking forward to having more photo sessions with him and our future family. I only wish that he was capturing our wedding too.

This review is definitely long overdue as we’re hitting our one-​year anniversary next month! I promised myself I would write this review once we finish everything (up until we receive our final wedding album), but I still managed to procrastinate even though we got our album a couple of months ago…(hehe).
We initially didn’t allocate enough budget to have Chung as our photographer, but meeting with Chung for the very first time really changed our perspective… Chung was very friendly and receptive and we could tell that he was «the one», so we decided to splurge — and we are SOOOOO glad we did!
From the get-​go, Chung is extremely good with follow-​up and keeping you on track with things that both you and he need to do — he’s also very quick to respond (unless he’s traveling for projects — but he will give you advance notice if that may become an issue) so you know that he is always there for you.
We had a great engagement photo shoot — we didn’t really know what we were doing, but Chung is VERY detail-​oriented and gave a lot of directions, so you definitely don’t have to worry. On our wedding day, we were very honored to find out that our wedding was his very first official full-​time project!
Our wedding day was probably the hottest day of the season, but Chung worked through the entire day in a black long-​sleeve shirt without taking any food/​drink break starting from the moment he stepped inside my hotel room and later our venue. During the photo editing process, he was very patient with us even though we had made several requests to «improve» the album. He was able to make suggestions and changes to our photos that made the album turn out even better than the initial one he had designed! Needless to say, we love the canvas and the final wedding album! =)
We loved Chung so much that we also booked him as a wedding present for one of our friends that got married at the San Francisco City Hall — best decision ever! Chung is very dedicated and passionate about his work and it REALLY shows during the photo-​taking process and also the final products that he delivers — I highly recommend!

Chung is an excellent photographer. He has shown my husband and I his passion for photography through his beautiful lens. Literally an artwork on display. He is a perfectionist and warm-​hearted.
We had our wedding on October 26, 2013 at the Flood Mansion in San Francisco. Finding a photographer was number one on our list. I was going to bridal events, browsing magazines & book stores for ideas, asking friends, and meeting with photographers in person for our wedding. I’m usually the one to follow my instincts and a perfectionist myself. I’ve had no connection and luck after meeting all of those photographers.
I’ve then decided to go through Unilocal,Instagram, Twitter, and Google, and thats where I’ve found Chung. I was surprised how he seemed friendly and quick when answering my never-​ending questions. I’ve told my fiancé then, that I might have found our photographer. It was so good to be true when we met Chung at his studio, his kind personality was real and shown through to the both of us.
His work matched exactly what we were aiming for. We learned that he travels to different parts of the world for weddings and what not, and still he makes time for everyone. It’s so cool because I just found out that his work was published in popular magazines such as Today’s Bride, Cosmopolitan Bride, Ceremony Magazine, and more. Us ladies, you know how we love our magazines, especially, for our dream wedding!
SO…if you’re looking through photographers on Unilocal,like I did. Make sure this is your last stop. Chung specializes in capturing the moments that are most important to you. For some, to treasure Chung for the rest of your life, or for your events to come! :)