Von Presley Studios

Von Presley Studios is everything you could ever want from a photography company. My husband and I were truly blessed to have Alisabeth, Thor and one of their interns capture every beautiful moment of our special wedding day. They took pics all day and video messages from guests during the reception.
Everything was absolutely perfect from the planning process, to the execution, to the follow through after. I could easily go into much more detail explaining why everything was so perfect with their services but I’ll spare you all the shiny adjectives. Just know that I tend to have very high expectations and they exceeded them.
Please feel free to message me if you need more details, fun adjectives and amazing photos =)

We were fortunate enough to have Alisabeth take our engagement and wedding photos. Before booking with her, I had seen a small amount of her work. She also came very highly recommended from my sister, who had her take family pictures around Christmas time.
We were hoping for a bright sunny day for our engagement pictures but unfortunately we had the opposite — pouring rain. Luckily, we planned on taking pictures inside the new Cedar Rapids Public Library. Alisabeth made fantastic use of the different structural spaces within the building — she had us sit in a white circular cut out on a red wall, underneath stairs that lit up, and next to a beautiful stained glass window.
The best part of the day came at the end though. Since it was raining, she suggested a «kissing in the rain» picture. She gave us some basic rules on how to hold ourselves and left the rest to us and the picture turned out magnificently. She gave us quite possibly the best engagement picture I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t even feel like it’s a picture of us. We’ve had so many people say «That picture looks like a movie poster!». We are so grateful that Alisabeth turned such a dreary day into an absolutely beautiful moment!
Unlike the weather on the day of our engagement pictures, the weather on our wedding day was perfect at Lowe Park. The skies were bright blue, the fields were a golden color, and all of our pictures were true to those colors.
Alisabeth came to the salon as we got our hair and makeup done, went to our house and spent time with my husband and his groomsmen, then came out to the ceremony and reception site for pictures there. Never did we feel rushed our pushed into anything we didn’t want to do. Lowe Park has a wide variety of locations to take pictures and Alisabeth made sure to best utilize the ones she felt fit with our wedding and the colors we were wearing. We never questioned her decisions and I knew the whole time we were going to get something amazing
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Alisabeth was with us for a total of about 12 hours on our wedding day and she didn’t stop taking pictures the whole time. She was dressed professionally, acted professionally, and checked in with us consistently throughout the day and night, making sure she was getting everything we wanted. Our pictures turned out phenomenally. The colors were beautiful! Everyone’s faces and clothing looked natural and true to how they looked the day of the wedding. When our pictures came in, there was a bit of confusion about how they were to be delivered. Because of this, Alisabeth gave us a HUGE discount. We could not have been happier with her services.
If given the chance to work with Alisabeth again, we absolutely would. I also recommend her to everyone I can. She’s so fun, outgoing, and easy to work with. She told us from the beginning that we could come to her with our own ideas of what we wanted and she would work it in. I’ve never worked with a photographer that allows the subject as much input as Alisabeth does. She is an immense talent and has a true eye for the artistic. We could not have asked for a better experience or better pictures than what we received from Von Presley Studios.

I have had the absolute pleasure of working with Alisabeth on multiple occasions and in multiple different settings. She has taken family photos for us, headshots for my law practice, and multiple different shows at Theatre Cedar Rapids and the Paramount.
Alisabeth is a gem. She has it all. She is talented and skilled. Those are two separate attributes, mind you. To me, talent is an inherent ability. Skill is acquired. Talent without skill is meaningless because that talent cannot be realized. Likewise, skill without talent leads to results that are flat, without character, and lacking in creativity.
I have found that no two shoots with Alisabeth are alike. And, she utilizes different methodologies even during the same shoot. At times, she will direct you. Other times, she will simply stand back and observe. Sometimes, she will help you pose a certain way; others she will want to see what you can do.
The key here is that she is able to bring the best out of anyone. You will see from some of the photos I posted that she brings life and character to even the most seemingly simple composition. If you are interested in something even more daring, creative, and artistic, Alisabeth has a network of people to help with costume, makeup, and hair.
Her talent and skill goes beyond the camera. She’s got tremendous skill in post. Anything from minor touch-​ups to creative use of filters and cropping give incredible depth to her photos. As a photography hobbyist, I am in awe of what she is able to do.
Equally important to talent and skill are personality and attitude. She is always friendly and outgoing. She is always positive and encouraging. She is able to put her subjects at ease. She makes you feel as though you are the most important thing in the world. When she is shooting, she is focussed on the singular task of capturing moments. That doesn’t mean that her shots are all traditional. She might just as easily photograph your hands or feet as take a traditional head and shoulders shot.
These are the things that I love so much about Alisabeth and Von Presley Studios. You never know what you are going to get. Not exactly. And that’s a good thing.
Trust her and her team. You will be rewarded with photos that will blow you away.
I would never hesitate to use Von Presley Studios for any of my photography needs. I have yet to see better work from any photographer in the Cedar Rapids /​Iowa City Corridor.

I couldn’t be happier with my experience at Von Presley Studios. Alisabeth is an amazing photographer — no one has ever made me feel so comfortable and confident during a photoshoot! And every theatre company I have worked with says to me, «Who did your headshots? I want you to give me their contact info!» No joke! Thank you for being awesome, VPS!

I’ve worked with Alisabeth a number of times, even before Von Presley Studios was opened. I have to say, her studio is so lovely… colorful, friendly and warm (and I’m not just talking about the ladies who work there!) Endless fun and modern possibilities for your studio sessions.
I’ve always been so pleased with the photos Alisabeth has taken of me. She’s great with lighting and directing facial expressions so you look your best/​most natural. She’s so sweet and encouraging, you’ll feel so fabulous after working with her.
I highly recommend the makeup artist Alisabeth pairs with, for that extra boost of confidence… her name is Lindsey Michelle. Super talented ladies right there!
During my most recent session, I asked if she could work my mom in for headshots as well. My mom was so blown away by how great she looked in a little sneak peek in the camera that she actually started to tear up! Hands down the best pictures of my mom, ever… even before Alisabeth’s Photoshop Magic.
Some of my headshots looked like they could have made it in Nylon magazine. I loved the variety I had to choose from. The hardest part will be picking your favorite!

Alisabeth should be turned in to the better business bureau. She not only does not follow through with her side of the business deal but is the most unprofessional person I have ever encountered. I am embarrassed to ever display the photos she has taken. I consulted with other photographers and because she took the pictures in all the wrong ways with all the wrong camera settings my photos can’t even be saved. And I will end this by saying I find it ridiculous that she continuously gets the negative reviews deleted or moved to not preferred reviews. What a joke!

Von Presley Studios is the «front door» to the burgeoning Czech Village/​New Bo district. The building was beautifully restored after the flood of 2008 with exposed brick, hardwood floors and tin ceiling. They decorate the front windows for every season which gives it a fun and welcoming feel. A huge improvement over the seedy tattoo parlor that once occupied this high profile location.
I had my portrait done here recently. Let me first say that I absolutely hate having my picture taken. However Alisabeth quickly put me at ease with her colorful and cheerful personality. I have worked around some great photographers during my newspaper career and the best ones always have a knack for getting the most out of their subjects. Alisabeth has this gift. She knows how to use shadows, angles and backgrounds to add a little drama or to expose your true personality. She takes her profession seriously and obviously is very good at it. It provides an outlet for her amazing creativity. I would recommend her to anyone for dependably great work!

I was informed today that my review was removed over concerns that it was misplaced, however as it was not, I’m reposting. At the time I contacted Alisabeth (Von Presley, owner of Von Presley Studios), almost a year ago, her website advertised that her studio offered photography as well as other wedding related services such as vocalists, makeup, hair, and accompanists. The site no longer advertises this, so perhaps she is mainly doing photography, but that doesn’t matter. Unilocal is for honest reviews of customer experiences, and my experience is just as valid as anyone else’s, and I do feel it would be helpful to those looking for a photographer.
I booked Alisabeth and her guitarist for our September 2014 wedding, and ran into some communication issues, so decided to pursue other avenues. While I do feel she is very talented, (as I stated in my original review), for someone as detail oriented as I am, it was not a good fit. She did contact me with some apologies (and excuses) after I posted the initial review, but my opinion of her a business person has not changed.
Now – that being said, my original review, which does in fact pertain to Von Presley Studios, is below.
«Alisabeth is incredibly talented, but her communication is crap. For this reason I would suggest you look elsewhere.
Back in February (2014) I had arranged via email for her to provide music (classical guitar and one song) for our upcoming wedding ceremony. She agreed at that time to send us a demo video of the song. As a singer myself, it’s really important to me to get a feel for how the music will turn out.
Over the last five months (yes, that’s right FIVE MONTHS) I sent her occasional emails checking in to see when/​if the demo might be coming, and it was one excuse after another, if I heard back at all. She had a gig. She had a shoot, she had a wedding. Finally last wk I contacted her to find out if I needed to look elsewhere – we’re now two months to the wedding, so I of course am getting a bit concerned. She replied that her guitar player was in meetings with Sony AS WE SPEAK so that’s why it had taken her so long for the demo.
Now. We all know no one is in a meeting for 5 mos straight. Also, no one cares who you are in a meeting with. If you agree to do something for a customer, and you don’t do it, you’re not needed – I don’t care how important you are in your own mind.
When I replied to let her know we would look elsewhere, she responded „Awe shucks. Okie dokie!“ No apology for not following through, no apology for wasting the last 5 mos of my time when I could have been finding a vocalist. That’s some pretty awful customer service, and honestly just bad ethics.
I’m relieved we didn’t hire her for our wedding photography and relieved I found out how unreliable she is while I still have some time to find someone else. It’s really too bad because she takes amazing pictures and has a nice voice, but if you want someone to deal with you in a timely, professional manner, Alisabeth (of Von Presley Studios) is not it.»

I am giving one star because I don’t have the option to give a BIG FAT ZERO.
Unfortunately, I have to agree with the other reviews. Communication and professionalism was non existent.
I thankfully did not hire Alisabeth to do any work for me but I was part of a wedding party that had.
During the big day it seemed as though Alisabeth was more concerned with taking pictures of the make up at the salon and her own beat up converse shoes. There was not a lot of direction from her and that definitely showed when the photos had been delivered in their finished state.
Although I believe that she is a very creative person I don’t think there is any formal training and she might have been preoccupied with others things on the big day.
Sadly, I would never recommend this studio to anyone. The photos were subpar and the customer service was terrible. You will be left with a dent in your wallet and the feeling that you were taken advantage of.
Take your business else where.

I’ve worked with Alisabeth in the past. She is creative, fun, and spontaneous.

Would not recommend Alisabeth for any business whatsoever! Not only is she the most unprofessional person I have ever delt with her communication is awful! She obviously needs to take classes on how to run a business or close the doors. Alisabeth is more concerned with becoming famous then she is about Von Presley studios or her clients.