I watch her while she tells me about her photography career. Her face, with her dark, intelligent eyes, reminds me so much of the French actress Juliette Binoche. In a quiet voice Lisa recalls when she got her first camera, received her B.A. in Visual Arts from Oberlin College, came to San Francisco to continue her studies at the Art Institute, and subsequently taught at UC Berkeley's ASUC Art Studio and at other places in the Bay Area.

In her studio, located in a Victorian flat in the boutique area of Laurel Heights, she shows me her portfolios, the fine photographs she presents to her clients in handmade, Japanese silk-covered proof albums. Equal in artistry are her photographs and her website, which reveals the simple elegance of her pictures. Enlarge each part of the whimsical collages, and you see the intimate journal of a particular wedding day. "It is incredibly satisfying to have such a meaningful job; to see the couple's eyes light up when they receive their photographs," Lisa told me.

About four weeks after the wedding, all pictures can be viewed online, and one year after the wedding, all negatives are available. Depending on the package, clients may choose to have their prints custom-matted and presented in a museum box, or assembled in a handmade silk or leather album.  Contemporary coffee table books also are available.

Lisa's images also have appeared in numerous national magazines including Martha Stewart Weddings , Elegant Bride, The Knot, Wedding Bells and Modern Bride , as well as in the books The Knot Guide to Real Weddings and Chronicle Books' You Can Wear It Again: A Celebration of Bridesmaids' Dresses .

"She is just such a genuine person, I love working with her; her pictures are terrific," an event coordinator told me. Outside of the Bay Area her work also is known. Her wedding stories have been featured in   Elegant Bride, The Knot, Wedding Bells, and Modern Bride magazines.

Before you hire a photographer