PACIFIC BEACH — Lisa Gisczinski is anything but your ordinary wedding photographer. The outdoor enthusiast has quite the unusual career transition on her resume — from Shamu trainer at SeaWorld to local wedding photographer. After graduating from Penn State with a degree in psychology, Gisczinski trained sea lions, dolphins and killer whales at the SeaWorld in San Antonio, Texas. After two years in San Antonio, she moved to San Diego and continued to entertain SeaWorld audiences in eight shows per day. “I’m somebody who follows my dreams and when I found out that [SeaWorld] was a career option, I did everything I could to follow that,” Lisa said. Lisa trained animals for 12 years before reaching a breaking point in her career. The physically-taxing job had taken its toll and Lisa suffered from a few injuries. While injured, she began taking pictures of her fellow trainers on the job. Gisczinski became interested in the art, took a few photography classes, and in 2005, she photographed her first wedding in San Diego. By 2007, Gisczinski began photography full time. Since then, Elle G Photography, her Pacific Beach-based company, has been taking off. Elle G was awarded the 2009-2010 Bride’s Choice on Martha Stewart’s Wedding Wire, an online market connecting wedding vendors with clients. She can also boast a perfect score from each of her clients on the site’s review section, including praises about Elle G’s quality of service, responsiveness, professionalism, value for cost and flexibility. Nothing is out of question for Gisczinski’s photography shoots. She ensures that her clients always get what they want, no matter how strange the order. Gisczinski has photographed brides on bikes, couples in costumes, and even one bride in her wedding dress in a pool. Gisczinski’s laid-back persona enables her to capture the brightest candid moments of a couple’s big day as if she were a fly on the wall, while also ensuring that the couple gets exactly what they ask for. She attributes part of her people skills to her work at SeaWorld. “It helped me work with people,” she said. “When you work with 5,000 people in a live audience, you can’t be shy. It’s like that with weddings too, you deal with people all the time.” For more information about Elle G Photography, visit www.ellegphotography.com or e-mail Gisczinski at [email protected].
