Derek Lapsley Photographer

We eloped to Sequoia National Park and Derek captured our wedding. He is great! I would definitely recommend him. 5 stars without a doubt!

Reviewed on WeddingWire

Unbelievable photos and experience! Completely professional, friendly and made the day so fun! Our photos turned out better than expected and I would highly recommend!!

Reviewed on Google Maps

I had a professional photo shoot done for work, and it was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT...Thank you Derek from Israelyan Agency. So happy!!!

Reviewed on Google Maps

My wife and I eloped in the Sequioa National Park and Derek was awesome enough to come hiking with us to take our pictures. He is an amazing photographer and it's a shame we live in Indiana otherwise we would have him be our photographer for every occasion! Our elopment photos were truly breathtaking! He knew exactly how to use the lighting for different poses and in different areas of the forest. He is very knowledgeable when it comes to every aspect of photography. Also he taught us how kicking up dust would create a neat photo. He was a blast to be around and made our elopment better by just being there! Thanks again Derek! More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

We chose Derek Lapsley as our wedding photographer in Sequoia National Park. Our photos we received were incredible and exceeded all our expectations. We're overwhelmed with all the compliments on how amazing our photos were. We had a very small wedding and it was important to us to be able to share our experience with friends and families. Derek was phenomenal to work with. Our wedding was amazing and we felt so comfortable and had a lot of fun taking photos with Derek! Thanks again for everything! More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

I would give Derek and Andrew way more than five stars if I could. They take amazing photos and are super creative with their shots. Derek makes the whole process fun and easy. He gives great directions on how and where to pose. Derek is definitely someone you want to hire to capture all of the magic on your special day. The quality of my Wife and I's photos are unmistakably the best! More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Fantastic Business Headshots! He took his time to get just the look I was going for! I didn't feel rushed or uncomfortable and he knew what poses would look most flattering!

Reviewed on Google Maps

Derek was an absolute joy to work with! He captured our engagement and wedding SO perfectly. I would HIGHLY recommend him.

Reviewed on WeddingWire

I would give Derek and Andrew way more than five stars if I could. They take amazing photos and are super creative with their shots. Derek makes the whole process fun and easy. He gives great directions on how and where to pose. Derek is definitely someone you want to hire to capture all of the magic on your special day. The quality of my Wife and I's photos are unmistakably the best! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

Booking Derek was one of the first decisions we made when we got engaged because we knew we wanted to have amazing pictures. When I was first looking through his portfolio, I knew he had to be our photographer because of his creativity and his awesome use of lighting. Not to mention all of his pictures look AMAZING! Before taking our pictures I was a little nervous about it being awkward, but it wasn't at all, he is really good at making you feel comfortable with his fun and goofy personality. Derek got our wedding photos back to us super fast, and there were so many. I love that I can basically look back at our whole wedding day through pictures. More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Derek is a total pro and was a blast to work with at our elopement at Sequoia National Park. Our wedding was going to be a special day either way, but Derek put it over the top. It felt like we were working with an old friend. He was on time, responded quickly to all of our inquiries and the turnaround time on getting our photos was super short.

I thought hiring a photographer would be transactional - simply paying for a few photos. That could be the case with some photographers, but working with Derek was an *experience* we won't ever forget. More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

We absolutely LOVED Derek!! His work and artistic ability was exactly what my husband and I were looking for and we were not disappointed! He did our engagement and wedding photos and they came out perfect! We couldn't be happier!! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

I knew Derek and his photography style from when he took my high school graduation pictures and knew he would be my wedding photographer no matter what! He was so professional and our pictures came out exactly how I knew they would.. PERFECT!!! He and his assistant for our day captured every moment that we wanted in the most seamless way! I have been to a few weddings where it feels like the photographers are in the way and taking from the elegance of the wedding and they did no such thing! He also made my husband who HATES taking pictures feel so comfortable! My husband even told me after how much he liked Derek and the photos and like I said he HATES taking pictures! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

Derek is such a creative and fun photographer! My fiancé and I met Derek at a friend's wedding as the photographer and once the album was released for friends to view, I saw one photo of us just having the best time on the dance floor breaking it down. We then called Derek and made an appointment to discuss our engagement photos. He made the visit so comfortable and we felt as if we had known him for so many years. Our engagement shoot was in downtown Fresno which was so much fun and different. I am so impressed and pleased with our engagement photos! I highly recommend Derek Lapsley as your go to photographer for any event!!! More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

We love Derek so much! I am incredibly uncomfortable in front of a camera and truly dreaded having photos taken for our wedding ceremony. But Derek is so easy-going and helpful; he really made me feel relaxed and comfy. We were married outdoors in the Sequoia National Park, and Derek was willing to hike and run around in the woods to get us some wonderful photos. He even suggested the most amazing overlook to finish our photo shoot that we would have never thought of—with mountain views we couldn’t believe! He was also very flexible and worked with us--we appreciated it so much. Thank you Derek for everything!!!! More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Derek was everything we ever wanted in a photographer and more!! I seriously can't praise him enough. Not only is Derek an AWESOME person, but he is extremely talented in his craft. He goes above and beyond to get you the photos you want. My husband and I love creepy abandoned buildings and taking goofy photos, and that's exactly what we wanted for our engagement shoot, and Derek was on board for all of it! He has a way of knowing exactly what you want, and making it happen. Needless to say, we had no doubts about Derek after our engagement shoot and knew he was going to kick ass on our wedding day. As for our wedding, Derek exceeded our expectations. He was so organized on our wedding day which made everything so easy! He was amazing at directing our family/wedding party portraits; he kept his eye on every single person in the photo to ensure no awkward poses/faces/etc. He also kept us on time, which was HUGEEE for us. We had such small windows to get a lot of photos done, and Derek accomplished our hefty list all on time! We got all of our wedding photos about a month after the wedding and WOW, we were IN LOVE. I still can't stop looking at them. Derek captured such amazing moments that could have been easily missed. Weeks have gone by, and we are still constantly getting compliments on the photos! All of our guests just LOVED Derek. All in all, Derek is one of the nicest people we've ever met, and now consider him a friend. He is extremely passionate about his work and only wants to give his clients the best; he doesn't settle for anything less. More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

My now husband and I were very particular when choosing our wedding vendors. We wanted to connect with them on a personal level. We met with a total of three local photographers in the Fresno/Clovis area and Derek was the last of the three. My husband was unable to make the meeting due to work constraints. I immediately loved Derek and all of his incredible photos. I was ready to book him right then and there, but Derek thought it best for my husband to meet him and make his own decision as well. We met at a local pub for a drink a couple of weeks after. My husband agreed: Derek and his work - superb. But, who does that? Derek wanted to make sure my husband was comfortable with working with him too. That is awesome! My husband was impressed by that, and so was I.

The big day rolled around: Derek was right on time. I never felt his presence when we were all just hanging out or getting ready. We ended up with some amazing candid shots. When it came down to Derek directing us on poses - it was effortless! We loved it when he would snap a photo and get super excited as he looked at his own work. You can tell he truly loves what he does. He had so many creative ideas. We ended up with some dark and romantic shots as well as the bright, formal shots. His versatility is what you need in a wedding photographer. We could not be more excited with the photos from our wedding. We are so thankful for the memories we are walking away with, both of Derek and of the wedding. And we have it all on film. Priceless. More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

Derek and Andrew did very well on our wedding. Highly recommended!

Reviewed on WeddingWire

We had the pleasure of working with Derek and his team at Wolf Lakes over the summer. They captured every detail you could want and the true personalities of the couple they were shooting. Their great attitudes and professionalism made it a fun experience for everyone. The photos are phenomenal! I would highly recommend Derek and his team for your wedding. We cannot wait to work with them again. Thanks Derek! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

There is a lot of stuff that goes on when you are doing pictures for your wedding, the pictures don’t start and stop on your wedding day, and it starts well before the day of. When we came across Derek’s website we immediately knew we had found our photographer! Some of the things he had written had us laughing, so we knew that his since of humor matched ours, which is something you may not think is important, but you would be surprised how much it actually DOES matter. Of course let us not forget that the quality of his pictures were also very influential in our decision to have him do our photos, his sense of style and the way he frames shots are perfect.

From our engagement pictures where he made a dried up field in the foothills look amazing to our wedding with a dry lake bed, which he also made look amazing, working with Derek was a pleasure. Not only does he know how to take awesome pictures, he is a genuinely friendly and nice dude. Having someone that you feel at ease with is important when you are getting pictures taken. You don’t realize it until you are there in person taking the pictures, but capturing an intimate moment on film could be pretty difficult if you don’t feel comfortable with the person behind the camera.

I would caution you, and I speak from personal experience here, don't skimp on your photography budget. Think about it like this; you might save some money skimping out and hiring someone who has limited skills, but these are pictures that you are going to want to look at (presumably) forever! Take that couple hundred of bucks and stretch it out across the several decades of your marriage, doesn’t sound too expensive anymore does it? More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

Derek is a true artist with his work! I was recommended by a friend in class to have him be our wedding photographer and boy am i happy i came across him! His work in phenomenal and My husband and I are so blessed of had him there at our wedding to make things fun and relaxed! He's a great photographer ~ the best in the central valley & worth every penny!We love you Derek ! More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire

Working with Derek has been the most easy-going part of my wedding planning, wedding day and wrap up of wedding event. What set Derek apart from the other photography vendors in the Central Valley is the way he documents the day and the subjects in the picture. He uses light in a way that I've seen few photographers in his field do (I work in Arts Marketing and Theater Marketing in New York City), I've been lucky enough to have the best and brightest photographers at my disposal in NYC, hiring Derek I had the best in the Central Valley document my wedding through pictures alone.

I am currently looking through the images taken of my wedding and am having a difficult time selecting down to what I want in a very large album. This photography level is truly art, there were no staged moments in the entire process during the wedding. My husband and I enjoyed the process of working with Derek so much we are hoping he takes us up on shooting our NYC dinner reception.

*Fast forward five or so months have gone by. The NYC Wedding Reception Dinner completed a few weeks ago*

What fun my husband, Derek and his charming assistant and I had shooting during a noontime spring day in Central Park, New York City. This day was the day I wanted from the beginning. From the intimate dinner group to the mountains of softly colored flowers and twinkling candlelight. Derek is a playful master of capturing light. I was thrilled with the results of the Central Park shoot, the capture of color and texture. There is so much to focus on and yet he framed the shots to flatter, capture the feelings that is much like a genie in a bottle. It's a tremendous challenge and yet he nailed it. This is why I contacted Derek over a year ago and still the photos are telling a story that I could not fully realize the moment it was all happening. You are a rockstar Derek. Thank You. More...

Reviewed on WeddingWire