Mikhaela was a great photographer and got my pictures back to me faster than I expected. She did an amazing job with my photos. If I ever need pictures in Athens again I will definitely be hiring her again.
Up Close Studios
- 131 hires
- Based in Lawrenceville, GA
- 18 years in business
- 5 employees
- Background checked
About Up Close Studios
Hi! I’m Mikhaela, owner and photographer at Up Close Studios in Lawrenceville, GA, with over 17 years of professional photography experience. While my primary focus is photographing clients at Up Close Studios, I occasionally accept freelance bookings through Thumbtack when my schedule allows. I specialize in family portraits, maternity, newborn lifestyle sessions, children, seniors, couples, events, sports portraits, and professional headshots and weddings and all sort of events. Whether we’re photographing in your home, outdoors, or at another location, my goal is to create timeless, authentic images you’ll treasure for years to come. Photographing for the last 17 years, I have explored almost every category of photography, allowing me to really fine tune and master lighting techniques and styles, indoor and outdoor. For all freelance sessions, clients are responsible for providing any props, blankets, baskets, signs, furniture, or other decorative items they would like included. This applies to both on-location sessions and standard studio portrait sessions. I believe your personal items help tell your unique story, and for newborn photography especially, I do not provide wraps, blankets, or props for sanitation and safety reasons. The only exception is our signature themed experiences at Up Close Studios, including our Mermaid Sessions and Fairytale Forest Sessions, where all specialty sets, wardrobe, and themed props are provided as part of those exclusive in-studio experiences. Every session includes professional guidance, flattering posing, careful attention to detail, and beautifully edited images with basic retouching. I strive to create a relaxed, enjoyable experience while delivering artwork that your family will cherish for generations. I look forward to working with you and helping bring your vision to life!
Reviews
This was my first time taking professional pictures and I am beyond thrilled. Mikhaela is great at her craft! Not only is she thorough and detailed with her work, she is laid back and very easy to talk to. I had a great time at my photoshoot, and I look forward to working with Mikhaela again in the near future.
Photos came out beautiful! She is very creative and made us feel comfortable!
We had booked and confirmed our ceremony details with Mikhaela two weeks before our wedding, but when it came to our wedding day she was unresponsive to texts and a phone call, and missed the entire event. She got in contact with us after the fact, but the absolute lack of communication, not letting us know she couldn't make it, and being a no-show was inexcusable. Terrible experience.
Mikhaela was amazing. She picked the perfect location. Knew exactly where to take the pictures and helped with poses. Would highly recommend.
She is wonderful Nice knows what she is doing Loves what she does Positive Great to work with her. These were our first professional pics done and I’ll always go back to her! Thank you Mikhaela!
She is AMAZINGLY talented. We changed the time of our ceremony just to have her as our photographer
Most amazing photo experience anyone can ask for. My son is 8months old and I wanted to get some professional shots of him as he get older and changes so much. I contacted Mikhaela and explained that I was looking to has a very last minute photo shoot as I was going back to work. Not only did she accommodate but we got the photo shoot done in the same day. She picked an amazing location that was close to my home and took the best pictures. She captured everything that I see in my son. The photos that I received that night as a preview were amazing. I was in awe. For $200 you can't ask for anything better. I can't wait to see all the photos but I highly recommend her for infant photos. I'm definitely booking her for his one year old photos.
I had such a great experience with Mikhaela! My graduation photos turned out fantastic. She was very nice and friendly, and had good suggestions for a variety of poses. She gave me all of the photos within one week. I really enjoyed the photoshoot session, and would definitely recommend choosing Mikhaela.
Mikhaela was a wonderful photographer to work with! She knew how to help us pose for our elopement ceremony. She made the shoot such a fun, memorable experience! She delivered the photos a little earlier than expected, which was an added bonus. I would highly recommend hiring her for any event!
Brought a great energy to the shoot. We had a couple hiccups but her ability to keep positive while acknowledging the situation helped me be at ease. I was stressed and upset and she noticed while keeping good energy and assuring me I will love my photos.
Mikhaela was so much fun to work with. She was so positive and gave great direction - and was even willing to adjust our timeline to avoid a downpour. Every single image is gorgeous - we seriously couldn’t have asked for more. 🙌🏻
Mikhaela is the absolute best photographer!!! She responded to all my inquiries, she gave me a clear breakdown of the services. On the day of the photo session, I was not sure what to expect, but she was very friendly and gave me some suggestions. She worked very hard and made sure to get the best shots. Just excellent!!!!!
Mikhaela is just the best! On such an important day she was just fantastic. Everyone said she was just awesome with how she interacted with our friends and family and her ideas of what pictures to take and how. Proof is in the results! When we got our pictures they we're just the best! Very professional and so happy she captured those goofy moments. I will use her for any event in the future as we plan to use her for our celebration party we are doing in a couple of months. Thank you so much Mikhaela!
She is a very sweet person to work with,very happy ,on time and very energetic. She takes a lot of pictures and all of them looks so nice. However I took one star off because some pictures where missing and for me the were very important it was like a gap in the pictures timeline, it was bride and groom first entrance and family pictures after the entrance. Overall she is very very sweet person and very picky on photos she wants everything to be perfect.
My experience was nothin short of amazing with Mikhaela. I hired her to take photos at my indoor fall wedding and reception and she was prompt, professional and extremely courteous. Where my other vendors fell short, Mikhaela was there for me to find the solution for every issue keeping me calm and happy.. the way a bride should feel. I have not yet received my photos but I know that the images will be amazing. She was very creative and captured the romantic old/Hollywood feel I was going for. I was lucky enough to get a discounted rate due to a promotion she had but she is worth her full price. I definitely recommend Mikhaela as your wedding photography choice.
Mikhaela was on time, helpful to the bride, with a great artistic eye. I am very pleased.
Mikhaela was so nice and she really put us at ease during the ceremony it felt natural for her to be there!! we will be using her again in the future!! - JJ Shrum
Mikhaela is absolutely amazing at what she does. For her work & quality of images, her prices are BEYOND fantastic. She is so flexible also!!! I had a sick baby a few days before our scheduled session and she allowed me to reschedule and worked around that! She captures priceless moments and memories. I can’t thank her enough for everything!!!
I hired Mikhaela for my daughter’s birthday party. She is professional, organized, respectful, kind person. She arrived my house early before the party, she captured all the great moments! She told me that she will give me the pictures within a week, and she kept her promise. I had a great communication and a wonderful experience with her! I will definitely hire her again in my future events, and I would recommend her to all my friends and family!
Services
Up Close Studios★ 4.9
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