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Weddings

Nightingale Photography

$5,540 Most Popular Price
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About

Hi, I'm Christina Hernandez, and I am passionate about emotional, documentary photography. After working 15 years as a staff photojournalist at the San Francisco Chronicle, I've taken my years of experience to create rich, memorable images for my couples. My goal is to create a photo gallery that tells YOUR story. You are unique and your images should be, too.

I cry at weddings. I can't help it! I get emotionally invested and I won't apologize for it. It allows me to get into the zone where I am completely immersed in the moment and I strive to make images that reflect that. I love being inspired by new locations, and I go with the flow. Photojournalism has taught me to constantly adapt and embrace changing environments, lighting conditions and the unexpected. I am most proud of my ability to capture genuine moments.

Do I shoot formal portraits? Absolutely. They are important! But my passion is to find the moments between the moments. The great images are the spontaneous embrace, unexpected tears, and relaxed laughter. My couples are very special to me because they invite me to witness true intimacy.

Other fun facts:

I am a native of Oakland. I hear that's quite rare.

My family came to San Francisco during the Gold Rush, and we've never left. Can you blame us? I love being able to shoot here because there are so many off-beat locations I know and love.

I have an amazing family. Richard and I have been married for 23 years and have a marvelous daughter, Sophia, age 19. Now... our wedding was not quite the type I shoot, nowadays. We got married on the beach, south of Santa Cruz with a Mexican trio serenading us and a table holding pitchers of margaritas. I LOVED our wedding. Richard's family made all the food: beans, rice, tortillas, and tri-tip. Oh yeah, and more margaritas. We bribed the musicians to stay longer by raising more funds with a money dance. We hold our wedding dear to our hearts.

We also have two dogs: Ruby and Roomba...yes, named after the vacuum, don't ask. Richard is a professor of journalism and new media at UC Berkeley and just created the Nightingale Wedding Films. We are so excited to offer this! I gotta brag...Richard won an Emmy a few years ago for a documentary, so I thought he might be qualified to work with me...ahhaha.

I hope you are getting excited about your wedding. Don't forget: as long as there is love, lots of laughter, some food and wine, your wedding will be a blast. Feel free to contact me with any questions at all.

xoxo Christina

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the starting price for your wedding photography services?

$3,900

Which of the following are included in the starting price?

2nd Shooter
High-Res Images
Multi. Locations
Digital Files

What is the price of your most popular wedding package?

$5,540

Which of the following are included in the price of your most popular wedding package?

2nd Shooter
Add'l Hours
Engagement Shoot
High-Res Images
Multi. Locations
Albums
Digital Files

What primary photographic style do you identify with?

Contemporary
Natural
Photojournalism

What photography services do you offer?

Additional Hours
Boudoir Shoot
Destination / Travel
Engagement Shoot
High-Res Images
One Event / Day
Second Shooter
Video
Wedding Portraits

What photography items do you offer?

Albums
Canvas
Digital Files
Flush Mount
Matted Prints
Prints
Proofs
Save the Date
illustration question

Any other questions?

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23 Reviews

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Rated
4.9
out of 5.0
Recommended by 99% of couples
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    Caitlin F. Married on 04/16/2022
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    Christina is the absolute best!!

    Christina is one of my favorite people in the whole world. She has the ability to make anyone feel not only comfortable, but welcomed in any situation. We had the absolute best time with her during our engagement photoshoot, which in turn, made our time with her on our wedding day that much better. Christina is an absolute professional. She knows exactly what she needs to do and brings such a warmth and love to her work. If you need a photographer for absolutely anything - reach out to Christina - you will be beyond happy you did. We adore you, Christina!! C&J
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    Andrea M. Married on 09/12/2020
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    Forever Memories Captured!

    I don't know what else to say besides Christina was just wonderful! When we first decided to get married in the area - her images drew us in! They were light, bright, and simply beautiful. We were so excited that she was a part of the package we were planning with Las Positas in Livermore!

    She has been a pleasure to work with since our first interaction. Our mini shoot with her for engagement pictures fell through due to weather last fall, but she has (thankfully) been able to accommodate all of our COVID changes... and we are so excited that she will be joining us again next July for our 'original' plans!!!

    She met us in Felton for our 'micro wedding,' with 9 guests. She was then able to capture some additional images in Santa Cruz before our dinner. We had a sneak peek the NEXT day, which was so special since we were still with our families and everyone was able to view! Every single one of our guests commented on how wonderful she was. We are so excited to see our remaining images, and are very excited to work with her again in next summer!

    ...and her pictures are just so amazing - hence why I had to share so many!! 😍
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    Laurie B. Married on 06/21/2019
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    Fantastic!!! You can't go wrong with Christina

    We loved working with Christina!!! Her energy and professionalism was perfect. She was so good at listening to what we wanted and capturing our day beautifully. After we were married my husband and I were talking about how she was right in the midst of everything but she was very stealth about it. And to top it all off....our pictures are spectacular!
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  • Zoe
    Zoe Married on 04/26/2019
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    The BEST there is!!!

    We hired Christina as our wedding photographer and could not be more pleased and impressed with her professionalism, charm, and complete pro status as a wedding photographer. We got married at City Hall in San Francisco and met Christina for the first time as we exited are rolls Royce entering to our wedding and said goodbye to her as we enter the Rolls-Royce leaving our ceremony. It’s Absolutely unreal that she was able to capture the true essence of our love and our personalities without even knowing us. She is really one of a kind. My only regret is not hiring her for more of the wedding festivities!

    We could not recommend her enough and we plan on using her in the future for all future professional photography needs.

    Also!!!! She literally gave us previews from our wedding pictures the day after our wedding! How could she possibly have even done that? ?!?!?! The best like I told you! The pictures I’ve included here are the preview pictures so I can’t even imagine how the rest of the pictures are going to turn out after she’s had more time with them!!!
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    Alana Married on 08/06/2017
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    I cannot say enough amazing things about Christina! She photographed our wedding along with a second shooter in Livermore, CA. She was absolutely incredible to work with! Her enthusiasm was contagious and she was quick to get all the family portraits done & got us back on schedule. The photos were completed even faster than I imagined after the wedding and we are so thrilled. She was really able to capture the emotion of the day, and was so great at posing my husband and I. My family also LOVED her and she was undaunted by taking a huge amount of family portraits. She knew our venue very well and already knew the best place to take photos. Overall we had an incredible day with Christina and I HIGHLY recommend her to anyone!
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    Even though else having had our photos actually taken yet. She has been AMAZING. Talk about flexible! She really knows her stuff.
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    Stacey Married on 11/10/2012
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    Christina super professional, extremely nice, and produces FANTASTIC photos. She asks you all of the important day-of questions (who do you want in pictures/ specific shots/etc) before the wedding day which is huge. Most importantly, her work really is incredible and she is a joy to work with! Love, love love!!!
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    Jay Married on 05/18/2012
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    We found out about Nightingale Photography from a coworker that had her engagement photos done by Christina. Her artistic style was exactly what my wife was looking for. Christina was our photographer for both our engagement session and wedding day and we also hired Richard, her husband as our videographer for our wedding day. Together they make a dynamic duo! Can’t express enough how fortunate we were to have Christina and Richard capture the priceless moments of our BIG DAY! Nightingale Photography is simply AMAZING!

    On the engagement photo session: we had a great time in the city. As a typical guy, I never ever in my life thought I would be a model type LOL, Christina made us so comfortable that both my wife and I got really into it. The pictures turned out great, we received several compliments from friends and family. From that moment on, we knew that we picked the right person to capture our big day.

    On the day of the wedding, Christina and Richard arrived earlier as expected to our resort, apparently they were scoping for scenery around the area where they can take shots for our groomsmen and bridesmaids sessions. Aside from our after wedding party pictures, couple pictures, I honestly lost track of Christina and Richard throughout the day. They were never in your face, in your way, or caused any inconvenience to us or anyone at the wedding. They were all professional and respectful of everyone’s personal space.

    They did a great job capturing every aspect of the wedding to the point that my wife and I can pretty much relive our wedding day through the pictures and video. How many people can truthfully really say that. Both the pictures and video turned out awesome.

    I would highly recommend Nightingale Photography for your professional photography and videography needs!
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    Sheila Married on 04/26/2012
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    We highly recommend Nightingale Photography! Christina’s manner of conducting her business is professional and courteous, her personality is so fun and easy and her work is gorgeous. We simply cannot say enough good things about her. Christina’s work is beautiful – I feel compelled to frame other people’s wedding photos because there is such a palpable feeling and mood that resonates in a way any beautiful piece of art should.

    We were so excited to work with Christina. She has a really vibrant personality and I always felt her genuine excitement for us and our wedding each time we communicated. She responds quickly and thoroughly to questions. She is very flexible and truly wants to capture your day the way you envision it being done. My husband and I eloped and requested variety in our pictures and let her run with it. We’ve only seen a handful of our images and we love them! There is so much variety in location, feeling, tone, etc. I love that we have beautiful “wedding photos” that capture our memories of the day perfectly and then we have other photographs that feel like art – it amazes me that I’m looking at a picture of my husband and me. I’m extremely uncomfortable being photographed, but Christina is such a joy to work with. Her personality makes it very difficult to be shy. She truly is a wonderful person, photographer, artist and businesswoman. We would recommend using Christina for any important life event and would absolutely love to be able to work with her again in the future.
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    Lisa Married on 04/07/2012
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    Nightingale Photography did our wedding photography and engagement pictures. We could not possibly be more happy with both! They have incredible artist abilities and we love their style of photography. Not only do we love their work, we have received tons of compliments on their photographs (not only from friends but also other photographers). As if this isn't enough, they are also SO fun to work with! I will recommend Nightingale Photography to anyone looking for a photographer for any type of event!
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    Sancha Married on 08/27/2011
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    Christina is simply awesome and a joy to work with. We used her for our wedding in Sonoma this past wknd. Her talent, eye, and creativity as a photographer speaks for itself. Just check out her website and blog portfolio. We were looking for someone with a photojournalistic style that could bring some creativity to our images but still capture some classic moments. We were fortunate enough to also do our engagement session with Christina beforehand and it was great. Beyond her talents artistically, Christina is great at putting people (and our dog) at ease and just has a great energy and attitude. It's great to work with positive ppl like her. Just makes things so much more enjoyable. Although we haven't even seen all our photos yet since we just got married, I'm confident in writing this review because I know Christina will deliver. She's top notch and we'd recommend her without doubt. Thank you Christina!
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    Mei Married on 05/27/2011
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    Christina was very easy and fun to work with. She made us feel very comfortable in front of the camera. Her style of photography is very distinct which was the deciding factor for us. She is also very engaged with her clients and paid close attention to the minutia of details.
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    Rachel Married on 05/20/2011
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    Simply put, Christina Hernandez was everything we could have asked for in a wedding photographer. We had a small wedding (10 people) on the patio of our apartment. Christina came over for two hours and took lots of great shots including couples shots around our neighborhood, groups shots of our family, the ceremony, and small reception. We had never used a professional photographer before, but Christina exceeded all our expectations. Her friendly energy put us at ease in front of the camera and she really took the time to think about where the best photo opportunities in our small space would be. Her photos captured all the special moments of our day, not to mention made everyone look fantastic. She even went beyond her photography duties and was there to help us out with little things like keeping an eye on the small children in our group and even helping distribute slices of wedding cake. We hope to use her again in the future and would highly recommend her to anyone in need of a professional photographer. \r\n
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    Sandy Married on 07/24/2010
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    The minute we hired Christina to do our engagement pictures I knew we would be very impressed with our wedding pictures. From the initial meeting Christina's enthusiasm for photography and talent for capturing the special moments sealed the deal. She is authentic, warm, and an extremely talented artist. She has a way of making you feel relaxed and comfortable in front of the camera, which results in her ability to capture moments that were natural and real. On the day of the wedding she was patient and calm throughout the wedding even through some stressful moments. We feel lucky that we had the opportunity to work with her and we highly recommend Nightingale Photography for any of your special events.

    To Christina and her wonderful assistant: Thank you for capturing our wedding day in a more gorgeous way than we ever thought possible!
    We can't wait for another excuse to work with you again. (maybe kids?) :)
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    Nerissa Married on 01/16/2010
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    I was shopping around for a wedding photographer when I first heard about Christina through a colleague, who mentioned that one of her only regrets about her wedding was not having discovered Christina before she got married.

    I was immediately curious, given that I'm a journalist, and I tend to trust other journalists who typically have a particular eye for that special place where beautiful images meets visual storytelling. After interviewing her and reviewing her work, my husband and I hired her almost immediately.

    Christina's photos are gorgeous-- well composed, artistic and poignant. While she has an authentic documentary style that recalls events of the wedding as they unfold, she also puts her own signature on each photo, whether it's through a unique angle, expert composition, flattering lighting, or post-production finishes.

    During the planning process, I also learned the real importance of anticipating not only how the photos will turn out, but the journey in getting there with a photographer. Christina's ebullient personality not only made her a delight to work with, but she helped put a camera-shy couple at ease (giving us specific directions for poses) during our initial engagement portrait session, prepping us for the big day.

Awards

23
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2011 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2010 Winner

Real Weddings

Patrick & Nicole
24 photos · 12/30/2016

Professional Network & Endorsements

1 Endorsement
Sonya Yruel Photography Sonya Yruel Photography Wedding Photographers

Christina is super talented and knows how to make you feel amazing as she takes your photos. She gives wonderful direction to her couples, and has an incredible eye for light and composition.

Map

4400 Keller Ave. Oakland, CA, 94619
5103382997
Location of (Nightingale Photography)

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