Karen L Barnes Photography

Karen has done several photo shoots for our nonprofit over the years and every time, she delivers a compelling story with each photo. She connects seamlessly with our clients, which you can see in her work. Karen is proactive in finding the shot and is so reliable — you can trust that she’ll get you what you need. She has fun while blending in which is what you want at events, and even in one on one shoots. Looking forward to working with Karen on future projects!

Karen was absolutely fantastic! She worked with my wife and I to get just the right poses and just have fun. We had a small private ceremony with just our minister, but she got the essence of the moment and captured it perfectly. And then we went and had fun capturing pictures of just the two of us and I just treasure these pictures. Karen is a professional and knows what she’s doing. She will work with you to understand what you want and make sure it happens. Thank you so much, Karen!

Karen was the perfect wedding photographer and we seriously can’t recommend her enough. I really wanted a photographer that would hang back and focus mainly on candids. She totally listened! I don’t remember seeing her at all during the ceremony or reception, yet we have incredible photos that capture every single moment of the day. She was a total fly on the wall. Exactly what I wanted! My favorites are all the pictures she captured of people laughing, smiling, hugging, dancing, kissing. I was filled with joy that day and now I can relive that joy thanks to Karen’s photography!
The quality and colors of the photos are incredible. Her prices were perfect for our budget. We ended up getting all our prints digitally and she delivered them by mail super-​quickly! She was mellow and professional. Showed up early and stayed late. I don’t plan on having another wedding, but I’d definitely hire Karen for any other event I plan!

Out of all the vendors for the wedding we spent the most time looking for the right photographer. We looked through a ton of portfolios and it was apparent from most that you usually get a photographer that is good at set shots, or good at candids. With Karen you get an excellent photographer in all facets. Her ability to set up a posed photo or get a passing moment on the fly is amazing.
We met with a few photographers but as soon as we met with Karen we knew she would be our pick. She’s fun and easy to talk with, but intent on the task at hand as well.
We had an engagement session with Karen and she didn’t disappoint. Neither my wife or I are the most outgoing people in the world but Karen made us feel at ease and more importantly we looked comfortable as the center of attention. We came out with so many gorgeous shots.
The day of our wedding Karen and her secondary photographer were right on time and immediately getting shots of everything. We had a small wedding in a BIG church but from the photos you would never know it. Those photos turned out amazing. Since we had a Catholic wedding the photographers are limited as to where they can shoot from. Again, you would never know it as we have beautiful shots from every angle it seems.
Fast forward to the reception. Karen took some classic staged photos of the whole wedding party, and then we split up. Karen took the girls and her secondary photog took me and my groomsmen. Both groups ended up with awesome shots. I was really happy with the ones of me and my boys. They also made time to get some family shots of my out of town relatives in a group (you never know if you’ll all get together again).
Karen grabbed shots of all the little details around the venue, and since our wedding was small we managed to get pictures of us at almost every table with all of our guests. She had brilliant shots of the ensuing dance party, and nailed some amazing candids of our guests in full party mode.
I heard multiple times from guests about how our photographers worked their butts off that night. I know it to be true, the proof is in the pictures. Karen was extremely well priced compared to a lot of the other local photographers, and I’d bet she puts in three times the effort.

Karen was absolutely fantastic! She went above and beyond my expectations of a wedding photographer and I’m so grateful she was able to photograph my wedding.
To begin with, she rearranged her schedule in order to be able to photograph the wedding which just goes to show just how dedicated she is. One of the things I really appreciated is how reasonable her prices are. I had searched quite a bit before finding Karen and was pretty disheartened to find that many of the quality photographers I had found were way out of my price range. With the package I ordered an engagement session was included but since my wedding was only two months away she let me replace it with extra coverage time which I really appreciated. Another thing I really liked was that she gave the option to have a second photographer so no special moments were missed. When it came to the actually wedding she was wonderful. She was able to put everyone at ease while directing them as well.
I was able to view the pictures today and they did no disappoint. I’m so happy I was able to have her photograph my wedding!

I have hired Karen on more than one occasion and have also referred her to several of my friends for their wedding photography. She is SO easy to work with and is incredibly attuned and insightful when it comes to knowing just what photos we wanted. I most enjoyed her friendliness and her ability to work with me when I was being quite a pain! :-) She managed somehow to help us relax and take great photos. Thanks, Karen! I would highly recommend her for your wedding/​engagement photo needs!

Karen took our engagement photos this past summer in Los Angeles. I would give Karen 10 stars if I could! Karen immediately made me feel comfortable. For some reason, I got nervous since I didn’t know how to pose, and neither did my fiancé! Karen put us at ease and gave us suggestions that made our photos look AMAZING. She was able to capture images of us that looked natural which is exactly what I wanted. And, she kept us laughing throughout the shoot which made for some cute photos. Karen definitely has an artistic eye which also captured super hip photos of us in Downtown Los Angeles, using cool murals and urban scenes in the background. I didn’t know I could be that hip:) She also got some very romatic pics of us near where the trains come into Union Station. All in all, I am so very pleased we booked Karen for our shoot! We went to Union Station, walked around Spring Street, and then shot some pics at a record shop. I am definitely booking Karen for all of my future life events!

Karen photographed our wedding in Temecula this summer and she was fantastic. She was by far the easiest part of our wedding– always helpful, professional, and so friendly. Our 1200 pictures are also wonderful. We recommend Karen without reservation!

After talking to several photographers referred to me by friends, and feeling like I wasn’t being listened to, I turned to Unilocal and found Karen. I spoke with her on the phone, and was immediately impressed with how sharp and flexible she seemed. After viewing her portfolio and reading about her background, I booked her immediately.
Karen not only did an amazing job photographing our wedding, but she was also very personable and super easy to work with. She is kind and funny and made me and my husband feel very much at ease throughout our event.
She was by far the best vendor we worked with as we navigated the muddy and bloody trenches of wedding planning :)
Karen is absolutely fantastic, and comes highly recommended from a couple with very high expectations.

My wife and I hired Karen to do our engagement and wedding photos and could not be happier with the results! She was our favorite wedding vendor: easy to work with, responsible, all with amazingly high quality work. We had an Indian wedding ceremony and she was able to capture the feel perfectly!

Karen shot our engagement pics then also shot our wedding. She was absolutely amazing to work with. I was nervous at first about the posed shots, but Karen made me feel comfortable and our wedding album looks terrific.
She managed to get all kinds of great shots without us even realizing she was taking them. We wanted photos that really captured the day and wanted the formal pictures to look natural, instead of the usual posed looking stuff. Really, really beautiful job, plus she’s just really cool and friendly. I highly recommend her.

Karen shot our wedding in July and I have to say, she was our favorite vendor! We first met her last year when she shot our engagement photos. My husband is super critical of his pictures, and there were so many great shots he had a hard time choosing which ones to use! When she shoots, it’s super easy to relax — she makes you feel totally at ease. Her style is very photo-​journalistic and she really captured our personalities and the character of our wedding. I’d absolutely recommend her a thousand times over and hope to work with her again in the future!!! Feel free to PM me if you want more info — she’s that good.

After a lot of researching, viewing of websites and reading of Unilocal reviews, we chose Karen to photograph our wedding in February (Yes, over 6 months ago — I am a professional procrastinator…).
We were looking for a photographer with a photo-​journalistic style, to capture those candid moments during the day of us and our guests that would otherwise be missed, but who could also handle the more ‘staged’ shots, so beloved by mother’s & grandma’s worldwide.
I’m happy to report that Karen fit the bill perfectly, and then some.
Very personable in the flesh, she and her assistant managed to capture in still photos the true essence of our big day with some very beautifully framed shots. I imagine I’m like a lot of groom’s, basically an awkward, self conscious lump in front of a lens, but she even made me look good, though maybe the suit and makeup (!) helped a little.
She also managed somehow to always be in exactly the right position to capture those ‘blink and you’d miss it’ moments, my personal favorite being a shot showing the precise moment a friend misjudged their grab for the bouquet, it having passed though her out-​stretched hands and was just about to collide with her face — an incredible photo which really sums up the fun we had that day.
In an age where everyone has a digital camera with gigabytes of storage and an itchy trigger finger, by the time we’d gathered together everyone’s photos of the day, we had literally thousands of shots. Karen’s work stands head and shoulders above everything else taken that day. Ok, that is to be expected, she is a professional with equipment to match, but you still need to have an ‘eye’ for a good shot — she has it.
Money very well spent.

I can’t say enough great things about Karen!
She photographed our wedding last month. Karen was very professional, extremely personable and so reasonably priced. The photos she took were amazing! Neither my husband or I are comfortable with getting our picture taken, but she managed to make us feel at ease and got a lot of great shots of us and our guests. We had a small wedding, and Karen was able to capture each guest in some kind of wonderful candid pose during the reception. The more staged shots she took don’t come across as fake or posed, but have a great depth of emotion to them.
We chose Karen because of the great reviews she got on Unilocal (thank you, Unilocalers!) and because we thought the photos on her site were a great combination of arty, unique, timeless and very authentic. We highly recommend Karen!

Karen is absolutely awesome! She shoot our wedding ceremony in Studio City in September. It was very intimate and small. She did amazing job and I will definitely use her for wedding party we planning next year.
Karen is one of those people you just get along with. I lived in NJ, and planed everything over the phone with her. She took time on Sunday to meet with us, while I was in LA. Very helpful and sweet. My husband is smiling on each picture! I’m not sure how she got him to smile so much!
Her prices are great and affordable! Don’t think twice — contact her asap.

We used Karen to take our family portraits at the park. We absolutely loved her. The pictures were awesome and her prices were great. I plan to use her again!

karen shot our engagement photos in malibu a few weeks ago and they’re absolutely amazing! she is so easy to get along with and shares whatever vision you may have of the photos you want her to take. i have already referred her to many of my friends and family because i know they will not be sorry. her prices are more than reasonable (trust me, i’ve done my research) and she’ll work with any concerns you may have.
if you’re looking for a photographer, contact her asap for any information you may want, and you won’t even feel the least bit obliged to use her services. heck, you can ask me directly! my fiancé and i are very happy with all the photos she took. we cannot even choose a favorite! i’m pretty sure the number of clients she has is rising, even as i type. it wouldn’t hurt to inquire. she totally has that no-​pressure approach, which really helps during stressful wedding planning (or any other event you may want her to shoot).
by the way, we had so much fun during our shoot, we felt like we were just hanging out with one of our friends. so cool…

Karen is AWESOME!
The pictures were beautifully done. Everyone that has seen them have awed over them for their artistic and professional quality.
Karen is very easy to work with and extremely flexible. She was willing to drive from the Los Angeles area to Ventura shoot the event.
Check out her website and you’ll find pictures of my wedding on there.
Prices are reasonable for the quality and professionalism that comes with the package. Definately would recommend her to friends that are getting married, need engagement photos, and for baby photos!
Very satisfied customer!

Karen was great in photographing my daughter for her first pics. I was so happy with the results and her prices are so reasonable compared to others. If you like photo journalistic pictures for your wedding, engagement, or family pictures, she does a great job and is easy to work with. You just gotta check out her website to get a good idea. You won’t be disappointed.