Top Shelf Photo

AMAZING!
I searched Unilocal for a photographer in Oceanside to take our family photos. I saw that Top Shelf had fantastic ratings so I chose Shaun to do our photos. His work is just amazing!!! He knows what he is doing and captured an awesome sunset for our photos. He was even able to get great shots of my rambunctious boys. I will be scheduling with him again next year. I highly recommend Shaun for anyone looking for a photographer in that area.

I HIGHLY recommend Top Shelf Photo! Shaun was wonderful to work with from start to finish. He took amazing family portraits and knew how to capture the best lighting & background. He also showed exceptional customer service by being very responsive and also was extremely patient with our infant, toddler and dog. Another added bonus was the turn around time. He under promised and over delivered and we couldn’t be happier with the product and service. Thank you Shaun!

Just had family photos taken with Shaun a few weeks ago.
Not only is Shaun a wonderful Photographer, he’s also a wonderful human being. He’s a true Artist in every sense of the word, as passionate and professional as they come.
He took the time to truly understand our vision, and his ability to creatively translate that into timeless keepsakes for our family was beautiful.
I now understand why he comes so highly rated and recommended, we’ll jump at the chance to work with him again.

All I can say is stop your search here! Shaun seriously is the best. I am obsessed with taking photos so I was super picky in choosing who our photographer would be. I researched nonstop until I decided on Shaun and I am so glad I did. His work is beautiful and very unique which is what caught my eye. But to top it all off, he’s a very sweet guy that doesn’t make you uncomfortable during the photo session by being overly cheesy. He’s very easy going and makes it fun and relaxed. Last but not least he got our engagement photos back to us less than two days after the session! Can’t beat that timing. I can’t wait for him to shoot our wedding & will definitely recommend him to friends in the future. :)

Shaun is a GENIUS!
If you are getting married in the San Diego/​Temecula area and are currently looking for your photographer stop looking, trust me ITS HIM.
Working with Shaun was a completely dream. He listened to all my needs and exceeded all of my expectations. The day of our wedding, Shaun took it upon himself to scout out our venue ON HIS OWN TIME in order to see which areas would be best for photos. He arrived exactly when I asked him to and immediately got to work. He was also dressed very nicely so he blended into our wedding perfectly.
I have been in weddings before where the photo taking process is a complete drag and totally boring. But because Shaun was so professional and made himself familiar with our venue, it was fast, painless, fun and efficient. He had his own ideas for shots but was very open when me and my girls suggested other things.
During the ceremony and reception I don’t even remember him being there. He truly was like a ghost! He was so nonintrusive but still managed to get the most intimate pictures I have ever seen. Our photos are INCREDIBLE. Multiple people have told me they look like they are from a magazine shoot. We got the pictures in 2 weeks which was AWESOME. Overall, you cant go wrong with Shaun and Top Shelf Photo!

I was referred to Shaun when a co-​worker got married and I loved her photos. My husband and I met with him and right away decided to book him for our engagement photos and wedding. The photos came out amazing and he really listened to the kind of look I wanted! What I love is that he didn’t pose us too much and really let us be ourselves and let our personalities shine through in the photos. He did an excellent job capturing moments and boy does he take some amazing shots! He really has an eye for beautiful lighting and eye catching photos. We are so pleased with how our photos came out and would recommend Shaun to anyone in a heartbeat! Also, he gets the photos to you so quickly! Definitely super happy he was available for our wedding :)

I have worked with Top Shelf Photo on several occasions, and I am always pleased with the results. Shaun is professional, yet laid-​back, which helps keep me at ease. My girlfriend and I have used his services on several occasions, and we look forward to the next time we have our photos taken. I highly recommend him!

Top Shelf Photo captured our wedding at the Crowne Plaza San Diego 5 weeks ago, and we are so happy we hired Shaun!
We were referred to Shaun and I went on his website and saw beautiful work. His Unilocal reviews were encouraging, so we contacted him right away and met with him in San Diego. He was pleasant to chat with, and his packages were very reasonable. We went with his top package that included 2 photographers for 10 hours.
Shaun showed up at our venue on time, and he was good at keeping us on schedule and he always knew what was next on the timeline. I liked the all detailed shots he took of my accessories, flowers, dress, and ceremony/​reception décor. I felt he worked well alongside our videographers. He was open to all my ideas for the different locations and types of shots. I really love the getting ready photos of my bridesmaids! My groom and I had a first look session, then we took a party bus to Cabrillo Monument where we got some pretty photos with a view, despite it being so windy! We get a lot of comments for the pics overlooking the ocean!
My husband appreciated that Shaun directed our family and was always in control of the photo shoot. That was exactly what we were looking for. We actually completed our family/​sponsor photos 1 hour ahead of schedule, before the ceremony! That’s unheard of! I had time to relax, eat a sandwich, and drink a cocktail before I walked down the aisle!
It really was a perfect day! The ceremony photos turned out great and he caught some emotional shots of my guests. I got to mingle during cocktails and the reception was a just a whirlwind of fun! My favorite photos were of my first dance, father daughter, the group shot, and our money dance!
I got my digital edited photos not too long after, and recently received our album, which included a lot more photos than I thought it would! We loved it so much we ordered 2 more! Top Shelf Photo was great to work with and we will recommend Shaun to all our friends!

Shaun was such a great photographer and so awesome to work with. We met with him prior to our wedding in July 2015 just to get a feel for his style. We instantly liked him and his work. We kept in contact some prior to the wedding and I gave him a few ideas of what I was looking for. I love his style because it is kind of like a ‘photojournalist’ feel, looking at my pictures you can really feel like you were there and get all the emotion of the day.
My husband was really not excited about getting his picture taken however Shaun was awesome because you almost didn’t even notice he was there! We have such amazing pictures of the entire day and everyone who has seen the pictures loves them! I also thought it was a great value; I would recommend him to anyone. Thanks Shaun!

Shaun was awesome! We hired him last minute for our wedding. He was very professional and took great pictures… We highly recommend him.

I hired Shaun to take some portraits and candid shots at a conference we had scheduled in San Diego. His professionalism was beyond reproach: he remained practically invisible to my attendees while taking outstanding photojournalistic shots of their studying, networking, and presenting. These photos will be invaluable to me as I promote and market my event for next year. He turned around the touched-​up files in a few days, and I couldn’t be happier with them. Outstanding value for the price. While his reputation is for weddings and such, don’t hesitate to hire Shaun for something out of the ordinary.

Shaun was absolutely great to work with! He was the first vendor we booked and we are definitely glad we had him as our photographer.
He shot our wedding last month and the pictures are phenomenal. He shoots quickly, just taking a few seconds to review the shots, before moving to the next setup. This was great, since we didn’t spend too much time on our wedding day posing and not being able to spend time with our guests. He brought a second photographer to capture the ceremony and get some shots of venue and décor. Shaun definitely captured all the best moments (toasts, dance floor, candid moments) but never seemed too obvious or in the way. He was also very aware of and skilled at lighting, and provided us with tons of shots with gorgeous sunset and skyline at night backgrounds. He has a very relaxed demeanor and was great at listening to us and taking direction, but also suggested plenty of fun poses for the wedding party.
He sent us a few proofs less than 24 hours after the wedding and we received all the photos about 3 weeks after the wedding. There are so many amazing photos that we can’t even pick a favorite. I would definitely work with Shaun again and would recommend him to anyone getting married!

Stop reading this review and just book Shaun now.
I’ll wait.
If there’s one thing you need to know about Shaun it’s this: when I got all my wedding photos back I texted him: «You need to charge more.» And I meant it.
We searched for weeks for a photographer that we felt matched our wedding personalities. We didn’t want to look too posed or fake, and we wanted someone with an eye for light, because our wedding was to start around sunset. Through another wedding photographer, we found Shaun.
My husband and I truly enjoyed working with him every step of the way. He’s an all-​around great guy. Upon watching our home video of the wedding, we were shocked to see how much he moved around and worked to get the shots, while staying out of our moments.
I shared a few of our shots on Facebook, and my family began commenting how they looked like they were straight out of a fairy tale. One of my family members used the photo as her cover photo and she’s not even in it! Some are just surreal and I’m just so impressed at the way he captured the light. Others are more candid… if you’re looking at my profile pic on Unilocal and it’s a Stormtrooper… Shaun took that.
If you want or need someone to pose you, Shaun may not be your guy. But if you want someone that will keep an eye out for beautiful moments and do his best to capture them, I would encourage you to use Top Shelf. He went above and beyond for us and I’m looking forward to using him for family photos and will absolutely recommend him to family and friends.

Search no more! Shaun is definitely your guy.
Shaun is gifted and the perfect photographer. Always looking for the best photo opportunities and easy to get along with. It was easy to trust that he would get great shots because he exuded confidence that only comes from experience and passion. I cannot say enough good things about him to express my gratitude.
The best part was he had the time to send us our photos the next morning! I definitely recommend Top Shelf Photo.
Details about our experience:
I live in Texas and will be moving out to San Diego to get married in August. I had only been to SD once for a couple of days and had no idea what vendors to select for my wedding. Photographs are by far the most important thing for me when considering what I value in a wedding. (Aside from the fact that I’ve picked the perfect groom for me, of course!). I was not willing to sacrifice bad photos.
Being contrarily impulsive, I booked Shaun after not having interviewed other photographers. His photos online were amazing — artistic, well framed and his use of lighting and other natural elements were especially appealing to me.
I have yet to get married but I did book my engagement shoot this last March. My fiancé and I were both a little nervous on our drive to meet Shaun for the first time. I remember looking over in the car and saying «we WILL like him!!», and like him we did.
He let us pick our own engagement shoot location. Even though he had not been there before he did his homework and researched tide reports, site access, and weather conditions. He allowed us to play around with some poses and scenic views we wanted to try and turned them a complete work of art. We could not be happier with our results and eagerly await our wedding day.

Most importantly, Shaun got some really great shots. On top of that, he was very easy to deal with. Unobtrusive but friendly and able to herd the cats in the group shouts. A+

Shaun is nothing short of amazing!!!
He took our engagement photos and wedding photos. Our engagement photos were absolutely stunning. Every image I had in my head of how our photos would turn out were nothing compared to the magic he made with our shots. I haven’t seen our wedding photos yet but needless to say I am 200% positive they will be breathtaking (only causing me to be so excited to see our wedding photos even more)
He is punctual, patient, and professional. He has an amazing eye for gorgeous shots. I loved his use of natural light. He was so dedicated to getting the perfect shot that he laid down in a field of dirt and prickle weeds on a hot day. He was also extremely personable, so easy to work with and a lot of fun to pose for.
He came up with all the poses for us and I only suggested 1 photo pose. He was also prepared with photo props and ready and willing to work with any photo props we had brought.
I would definitely recommend him to anyone! Thank you Shaun for capturing precious moments of my kids, family, and wedding. We will be calling you in the future for more family photos ;-)

Shaun is amazing! He has done family pictures twice for us this year and both turned out awesome! I would recommend him to anyone (except for I also kind of want to keep Top Shelf my little secret so I can book Shaun whenever I want pictures without any competition ;)
Earlier this year he shot my extended family — 16 of us, including 7 little kids — at the beach on a drizzly morning. You would never know that it was sprinkling or that kids were unhappy and wanted nothing to do with pics with the amazing images he captured. Everyone looks happy and like they were having a great time! All of my family members commented on how great the photos we got back were.
More recently he photographed my immediate family and I literally had tears in my eyes when I was going through the photos. He captured my family perfectly and I see so much love and happiness as I look through the photos. I will treasure them forever! Shaun got great candids of my boys and even let them to do «funny face» pictures as rewards, which they thought was so fun.
Top Shelf will be my go to for any/​all photography needs moving forward!

Shaun was absolutely fantastic. I had spent months researching for a good photographer. The first one I had originally contacted was booked for our date but highly recommended Shaun to me. One of the best decisions of our wedding planning! We were a bit nervous that it would be only Shaun, no assistant at our wedding, but Wow! he captured tons of fabulous, precious moments. I’ve spent hours staring over and over those beautiful photos he took of our wedding and each time I fall a bit more in love with what was captured. He has a keen eye for photos full of depth accented with gorgeous lighting. We both feel incredibly awkward in front of the camera so the fact that Shaun was so professional and patient eased us into the idea of having someone following us around all day and working with us to get a good shot. My only regret is that we didn’t hire Shaun for more hours (which may have been a blessing in disguise because we had Stone IPA on tap and strong margaritas flowing all night)
Shaun, we worked with many vendors to plan our wedding and we thank you for being one of the absolute best. You went above and beyond every time we had a concern and the quality of the product you delivered succeeded expectations. You are truly Top Shelf.

Shaun Hagen was our photographer for our May 17, 2014 wedding in Redondo Beach, and we could not have been more pleased.
Shaun is an outstanding wedding photographer. Our pictures were perfect, each one with high resolution, perfect lighting, etc. But you will get that from lots of photographers. What impressed us about Shaun was his artistic vision — his ability to see a perfect shot and position us in a way that created a lifelong memory. There are simply too many of our over 600 pictures that we want to frame, they are that good.
Shaun worked extremely well with our videographer, and helped us to pace the photo process to keep us in track. He was extremely easy to communicate with over email, and was extremely flexible when it came to our individual photo plans.
Your wedding is an event for which you need to have confidence in your vendors, especially your photographer. Book Shaun Hagen with 100% confidence. The guy is a pro, he’s a cool person to work with, and his rates are extremely appropriate.

Working with Shaun is absolutely amazing. Not only are his pictures spectacular, but he makes the entire photo shoot experience a great one. So, my my boyfriend Ryan, is painfully awkward and uncomfortably shy in front of the camera. Shaun did a great job of helping him loosen up and we ended up with breathtaking photos! I’m definitely going to be booking him for all my future events!