photography

I don’t even know where to begin with Kristen + Samba to the Sea. I found her while searching blogs on weddings in Costa Rica, and immediately knew I had to have her. I didn’t care about the venue, the music, the decor- only that we HAD to use Samba to the Sea for our photographs! Kristen has a unique, creative style and knows how to capture each and every perfect moment. My husband (I can say that, now!) and I were not the traditional bride and groom and Kristen fit our ‘off the beaten path’ needs, to the fullest. And I must add, she genuinely had fun photographing our wedding, and brought such a positive, energetic energy that was contagious. She is definitely someone you want to have around on your wedding day! I am beyond grateful to have these beautiful photos of our wedding to look back on forever! Thank you Kristen, we love you!

– Rhiannon + Calvin

We had such a wonderful experience with Kristen. She made our session so relaxed. She is fun, energetic and easy to be with. The photos were incredible and we have used other professional photographers before with the kids. Kristen has the talent to catch truly genuine moments – nothing is super “posed” about the portraits….you will bring home the type of creative, beautiful photos you see on Pinterest and wish you could have in your home! Highly recommend!

– Casey Family

Working with Kristen was one of the best choices we made in planning our wedding. She was able to really capture the love surrounding our wedding, and we were so happy to have found her. She was very communicative and her turnaround time was AMAZING! We had the photos to look at while on our honeymoon right after the wedding which was a big plus!! We felt like Kristen was a guest at our wedding rather than hired, she felt like a friend immediately and knew exactly how to capture our day. She knew of specific places to take us on the beach during our portraits which was so nice, and made us feel at ease the entire time. If there is one thing you do, book Kristen now, as you will not be disappointed! Gracias Kristen!!

– Gina + Mark

Samba to the Sea Photography was exactly what my husband and I were looking for to capture our wedding day in Costa Rica. From the emails leading up, I could tell that Kristen genuinely cared about what we wanted. She was quick to respond with questions, and on the wedding day, she was professional, friendly and intuitive. This is huge when you have so many things going on, so many little decisions to make. We needed our photographer to take the reigns, creatively guiding us, effortlessly. Kristen did just that, creating some of the most beautiful photos of us. We couldn’t be happier with how they turned out, and will cherish them for the rest of our lives.

– Keeley + Steve

Not even sure where to begin, but Kristen was an absolute joy to work with! She is very reliable and communicated/coordinated with me for any question or request I had throughout the entire process. I was trying to plan my proposal in a country I had never even been to, so you can imagine how clueless I was, but that was no problem for Kristen! She guided me through everything and even provided me with multiple videos explaining/showing the exact location of my proposal set up. Thanks to her trusty sidekick dog, Gidget, I was easily able to spot Kristen as she was in position and ready to capture one of the most important moments in my life. During our session, she had a perfect variety of ideas for our pictures which helped our awkward selves. My favorite part of our session was how nice and personable Kristen is, there was an instant connection like she was just one of your friends taking pictures of you. The only difference was, Kristen’s photos are above and beyond! We were very pleasantly surprised with the photo quality and editing. Within an hour or so, Kristen already had gone home and gotten a few sneak peak photos ready for us to make our announcement. Getting to review such great pictures of a very special moment made for a memory in itself. I am incredibly blessed to have found such a great person/photographer for this memory of a lifetime! Thank you so much again, Kristen.

– Austin + Sarah

I’m not a review writer, but Kristen’s work compelled to me to make an exception. I’m accustomed to leaving photography sessions hoping to have a photo or two that I love. With Kristen, our challenge was to pick out which of the dozens of photos that we loved to print and frame.

She did a fantastic job of keeping our kids engaged, and of changing up the setting, look, and feel of the photos so that they felt fresh and unique. I highly recommend Kristen to anyone looking for fantastic photos in Tamarindo!

– Holmes Family

Trying to hire a photographer in a different country for your wedding day, is really the most stressful part, even when you’re eloping and making things as simple as possible. It is just so important to get exactly what you want.

Kristen was such a pleasure to work with before, during, and even after our photoshoot! She was easy to communicate with, even though we are in Canada and she is in Costa Rica. She always answered emails in a timely manner. Kristen really knows the area well, and knows where the best shots are going to be. She had many suggestions for us, which was helpful having never been there before.

The day of our wedding/photoshoot, Kristen was incredible. I felt very comfortable in front of her camera. She was VERY efficient and in our 90 minutes, I am confident she got every shot possible. There were no overly cheesy poses or anything insincere about it – everything was very organic and very “us.” Kristen was also just super fun to hang out with! Not to mention, her helper Gidget was adorable and full of personality. Just what us dog lovers wanted on our wedding day!

I am just in love with the pictures Kristen did for us. I have gotten SO many compliments on our photos. Seriously – every single person asks us who our photographer was, and where/how we found her. The vibe in the pictures is exactly what I imagined for my wedding day – chill, beachy, and full of real love. She captured every moment just perfectly.

I would highly, HIGHLY recommend Kristen for any sort of photoshoot if you are in Costa Rica.
Kristen, I wish I could give you more than 5 stars in this review. Thank you!!

– Jenelle + Brad

Kristen was WONDERFUL. We did a photo shoot on the beach to celebrate our 10th anniversary, and it was everything we could have wanted. She made us feel immediately comfortable, found beautiful and quiet spots to take the photos, and just made the whole experience fun. The experience was just as enjoyable as the photos we now get to keep forever! We are very picky about photography (not everyone with a camera has photography skills!) but Kristen is seriously talented. I could not recommend her more highly.

– Laura + Etan

I came across Kristen’s work searching for family photographers in Tamarindo on Instagram. Check out her insta, if you’re on the fence! Over a few months I fell in love with the candid look of her shots, and her ability to capture all the beautiful colours of the sun, sand and sky. When we finally met she was prompt, professional and friendly. With a tonne of patience, Kristen was able to direct my 3 year-old and 8 year-old (who wanted to do nothing but play!). The resulting photos were more amazing than I could have imagined. Kristen captured the sentiment and beauty of our family vacay. I highly recommend Samba to the Sea Photography.

– Prasad Family

Kristen is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! She photographed our wedding at the Langosta Beach Club a few weeks ago and the pictures are more than a dream. Her communication was exceptional before, during and after our wedding. She was super helpful, answered all of our questions and made sure our photos were exactly what we wanted and more. She is fun and personable, our guests really enjoyed interacting with her. My husband and I really enjoyed our photo session after the wedding where she captured pictures with the most perfect lighting. She is very laid back and creative with her shots, AND we got our photos back the very next day! Our friends and family cannot day enough about our photos, some of the best they have ever seen! I could go on for hours but her pictures alone tell her story. I don’t have a favorite, I have about 20 favorites! Kristen can make all your photo dreams come true, she did for us!

– Brittany + Tom