I am so glad I hired Adam for my surprise proposal to my girlfriend. Living in SoCal and having…read morenever been to Monterey/Big Sur, I planned my whole proposal based on google searches, reddit threads, and word of mouth. Being a Big Sur/Monterey local, Adam provided extremely helpful insight and feedback for my proposal. He definitely helped relieve a lot of the stress during the planning phase of my proposal. On the day of the actual shoot, the day-of jitters was overwhelming at times, but Adam's energy and demeanor was very centering. He was patient and gave my new fiancee and I space to calm ourselves, and also knew when to take charge and guide us with our poses. He also had amazing and creative ideas for how to pose and brought us to local, reclusive spots to take intimate photos. Best of all, Adam always had a smile on his face and he made us really think like we were supermodels walking the runway haha. If you're going to do any photoshoot, especially a proposal or engagement shoot, in the Big Sur/Monterey area, I would highly recommend getting Adam!!

Adam took photos at my daughter's ceremony and did an incredible job! He is professional,…read moredetail-oriented, and truly talented. I highly recommend him!

Taylor was an absolute pleasure to work with! She took photos at our wedding, including the…read moreceremony, portraits, and reception. The whole time, she was so great at telling us where we needed to be and how to pose to get the perfect shots. The photos all came out beautifully, and we're having such a hard time deciding on just a couple to get printed! Leading up to the wedding, we had multiple meetings to discuss the wedding timeline, shots that were important to us, and all of the other important logistics. They were always very well thought-out in advance, and Taylor was incredibly responsive to all of our other questions between calls. We are so glad that we got to work with Taylor and hope that we have more opportunities to in the future! 10/10 experience!

Taylor was just the BEST to work with and we couldn't have chosen a better photographer in the…read moreCarmel area. My fiance and I were visiting from Los Angeles and wanted to get engagement photos done. Taylor was prompt, responsive, and patient in explaining the process. She knew the best locations for photographs and made the photo shoot so enjoyable and fun. She made us feel comfortable and relaxed. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to work with her!

Rachel was such a pleasure to work with! My fiance did an awesome job finding her to take our…read moreengagement photos (which I had no idea about!). You could tell she was experienced and knew how to pose us and make us look natural. It was extremely fun having her snap pictures of us that time flew by so fast. She also did an awesome job editing our pictures. They turned out so beautiful. It captured the right emotions and she knew all the angles and shots to capture our faces and my ring. It was also a cloudy day on the beach but you couldn't even tell with the pictures. Thank you so much Rachel for being part of our day, you were AMAZING!!!

We used Rachel earlier this month for family photos after our son turned one and we loved her! She…read morewas prompt in responding to my inquiry and her prices and packages are competitive. On the day of our shoot, my husband woke up very sick. He wanted to cancel but I begged him to hang in for a few hours until our session was complete. He agreed but he was irritable the whole time. Our son was cranky and teething and hadn't slept through the night for at least a week. Plus we had just partied for three days with out friends at our family beach house in Moss Landing so I was super tired! To top it off, the weather on the afternoon of our shoot was unforgiving. When Rachel arrived we sort of rushed her through our session because we all wanted to get back home to the Bay. I figured we wouldn't get a lot of good shots but if we got at least a few it wouldn't be wasted effort. She was gracious and patient and gave us just the right amount of direction that we needed since my husband and I feel super awkward in front of the camera. Despite giving her zero workable material, the photos came out gorgeous! (And we received them in a week!) I couldn't believe it. She made something out of nothing and now we have these beautiful and precious photos of our family to cherish forever. We will definitely be using Rachel again! We are so so full of gratitude!

My husband and I are absolutely in awe of Tatiana and her AMAZING talent! We had the time of our…read morelives at our elopement ceremony on the Big Sur Coast largely due to Tatiana and her magic! From our first interaction with Tatiana during our prep call, I knew we were lucky to have her as our photographer! She was so much fun to talk to and we could instantly feel that she is such a genuine person! We love her natural approach with photography and free spirit energy! Our loved ones have told us that they can feel our joy through our breathtaking coastal and redwood photos! Tatiana took us to special spots that we had never seen before and we nearly had the beach to ourselves! My husband and I had our first dance on the beach listening to our favorite music that Tatiana played for us! It was more lovely than I could have ever imagined or hoped for. She also made us the most beautiful keepsake wedding photo album that we will be enjoying for years to come! I adore this magical album as it fills me with pride and joy and transports us to that magnificent day! Thank you Tatiana!!! We are forever grateful to you and hope to work with you again if the occasion presents itself! Blessings always! Nicole & George

It's impossible to sum up all the ways in which Tatiana exceeded our expectations and delivered…read moreeverything we wanted and more when it came to capturing the magic on our wedding day! From the pre-wedding coordination, to the days leading up, the wedding itself, and the post-wedding communications we were always left with a sense of confidence and excitement. She really loves what she does and it truly shows in the exceptionally high quality of her work! We were blown away when we received our photos less than a month after the wedding and every single one was a stunner! She did a fantastic job capturing everything we wanted from the big moments to the smaller, more intimate ones. We are forever grateful for having Tatiana as our photographer! 1000% would recommend!

Toan was absolutely wonderful to work with! He was punctual, super professional, and flexible with…read morelast minute changes. He was really fun and relaxed, making it comfortable to take photos with him. We are not models, and he was fantastic about giving direction and posing tips. After the ceremony, our families loved taking photos with him too! We loved our photos, which he turned around very quickly. It was an amazing experience, and we can't recommend him enough!

Looking for a photographer to capture your big moments, who makes you feel comfortable and beyond…read moreeasy to work with ? You have to work with Toanven Photography because you will not regret it at all and get everything you want and more!! Toan and team are the absolute very best - worked directly with Toan, Martin, Trieu, and Michael and all very professional and super easy to get along with! We used Toanven photography for our engagement photoshoot / pre wedding , church wedding ceremony at St.Jarlath Catholic Church and civil wedding at Nella terra cellars. Also used their videography services which was also really great. When looking for a photographer , we wanted to make sure that our photographer is easy going, can help guide us and has experience with our venue. I discovered Toanven photography because my best friend used their services for her wedding and after finding out Toan had lots of experience at Nella Terra we knew we had to meet him. On our first zoom call Toan was beyond welcoming and excited which made us excited. He made us laugh, made us comfortable and answered all of our questions and broke down the whole process. Before the wedding Toan helped us better plan our timeline for photos and took his time to understand what were the "must have photos". He gave us alternatives on how we can still get pictures with others and saving time. His advice on a family shot list was super helpful as well. On wedding day Toan was just the person I needed around me with all the craziness of wedding day. His personality bring calmness and he is quick to think if a photo location doesn't work well for the lighting - he found better positioning and areas for the photos the look flawless. Beyond helpful when it came to posing, how to stand , where to look and capture all the right angles. Lastly, Depending on the package you go for, you will get a set number of edits photos and our photos were so amazing it was hard to reach the number of edits we can use. That says a lot about how the quality of the photos are and how they already shine! So reach out to Toanven photography, I promise you will love every moment!

Simply put, Manuel Ortega is a superb, talented, artistic, and professional caliber wedding…read morephotographer who fulfilled all our expectations and more. Beyond his exceptional photography skills, Manuel is warm, friendly, and easy to work with, honest, reliable, a good listener, and attentive to you needs/preferences. He loves his craft, which shows in the quality of his photos and the joy with which he approaches his work and conducts himself. Manuel's wife Melissa is a talented photographer in her own right and together they work efficiently and effectively as a team on all their shoots. They were both an absolute pleasure to work with from start to finish. We also enjoyed meeting their adorable son who came along with them to our engagement photo session! We spent days searching for our ideal wedding photographer. It was important to us to work with a person of color, and we are so grateful that we found Manuel, a fantastic photographer who is also Latino. We could not have chosen better. Unlike many other high quality, professional wedding photographers we researched whose prices are astronomical, Manuel's pricing is reasonable, affordable, flexible, and it allowed us to stay within our budget, which we greatly appreciated. For our engagement photo session, we met Manuel at a beautiful beach in the Carmel area just before sunset. It turned out to be an ideal spot for our engagement photo shoot and we were very happy with how the photos turned out. The setting was gorgeous, lighting ideal, and there was hardly anybody else there. Manuel helped put us at ease immediately with his relaxed manner and professionalism, which made it easy for us to follow his instructions and get some great candid and posed shots. Manuel's top-of-the-line camera equipment takes amazing photos with him at the helm. Melissa helped out with the backlighting and instructing us on ideal hand and body positions for the shots. We highly recommend doing the engagement photo session. It gave us a chance to get to know Manuel & Melissa and to develop rapport and an easy working relationship with them prior to the wedding. So, on our wedding day, we knew what to expect and already felt at ease working together. Prior to the wedding, Manuel promptly answered all our questions and we also had a great final conversation with him about our specific photography wishes/preferences for our wedding day. Manuel & Melissa delivered in every way. On our wedding day, they showed up early to familiarize themselves with the venue since they hadn't been there before. As a team, they captured all the most important moments of our day, as well as the memorable details. They also did a great job capturing the setting, including the food, the dinner reception set up, the flowers, and beautiful aspects of the venue. Notably, despite the fact that our wedding got off schedule because our ceremony ran longer than we had anticipated, Manuel & Melissa adapted to the situation admirably and went with the flow, doing their best to capture family photos after the ceremony, even though we essentially ran out of time for them! They improvised beautifully under the circumstances. When we received our 1000+ wedding photos from Manuel a few weeks after the wedding, we were blown away. We love the wedding photos Manuel & Melissa captured and are so glad we hired them to be our wedding photography team! We highly recommend them! Rob & Soreliz

There are business partnerships, friendships, and family. Manuel, Melissa, and Carlos are not only…read moreour wedding photographers, they are our chosen family!!!!! Extremely professional, remarkably talented, and inspirationally genuine!!!!! Memories fade, relationships evolve; however, a great photograph captures moments that you can teleport back time and time again. Prepare for life's adventures and include a great photographer (like Manuel and Melissa) to capture them for you. We love the creative and breathtaking photos they have captured for us. Our guests complimented us on how much they liked our photographers and they truly love the photos they took.

This review is 4 years overdue but Ben was there to help capture my wife and I's engagement. Not…read moreonly was he super professional but he was extremely helpful in picking the perfect spot. If you're looking for incredible photography work, Ben is the best option. You won't be disappointed!

Ben was super friendly and easy to work with! We both are introverted but this photo session came…read morenaturally and was so fun :) Our engagement photos came out so well and we are excited to work with him again for our wedding in a couple of weeks :D

Working with Maria Villano photography was the best aspect of our wedding. Here's why, Maria is the…read moreend to end professional talented photographer who has her organization and expertise down to an art form. She helped us out in so many aspects of the planning process and is trustworthy. She cares about your vision and your comfort level all the while capturing great beauty and magical memories. The results of our photos was and still is overwhelmingly wonderful. We are so grateful to have been able to work together from the start of the planning process, to engagement photos (so fun too, and we don't love cameras), to one of the most special days of our life. I could go on and on about her eye for detail, calm and thoughtful approach and her love for what she is doing in the industry. You and your partner will be lucky and relieved to work with her. For an event that goes by so fast, Maria will help you see things you might have missed during the day. Beyond grateful she was our wedding photographer.

My fiance and I are from Alabama and he surprised me with a proposal on our trip to Carmel. He…read morehired Maria to photograph and it could not have been more perfect! He spent a very long time researching photographers in the area and it was the best choice ever! We have gotten so many compliments on our photos and I look at them constantly! Im so glad we will always have these pictures! Thank you Maria!!

I would not hesitate to hire Lorinda for any photo shoot's you need done. She is on time, and knows…read more100% how to photo you at your best angle it comes natural to her. Lorinda did a fantastic job with my son's graduation photo's.

If you are reading this stop looking for another photographer! Lorinda is the absolute best. She…read morewent above and beyond with our surprise engagement shoot this past weekend. Coming from Sacramento, I had no clue where to pull off the surprise, but Lorinda had the answers for everything. Which beach to have as the venue, which hotel to stay at, and even had extra outfits for my now fiancé to change in to. We had a lot of family come in for the surprise and she was extremely professional with guiding all of them as well. As for the shoot itself, Lorinda captured our memorable moment with some stunning images. She knew exactly what she was doing, which lighting worked for each pose, she made us very comfortable, and the whole shoot felt very candid. Thank you again Lorinda for everything, 5/5 is an understatement.

Maria from Pink Light was so fun and easy to work with. I'm awkward in front of the camera, but…read moreMaria made it fun! She captured so many great shots. Shortly after my wedding, she sent me a little sneak peak to share with family and friends. I would absolutely work with her again. Her prices seemed on par with other photographers I looked at and friends have worked with.

My husband and I got married back in October and Maria at Pink Light did such a beautiful job…read morecapturing so many amazing memories. Prior to our wedding day she was so sweet and helpful and on the day of she was very prepared, with locations and poses in mind so we didn't have to think of a single thing. It was AMAZING! You can tell Maria absolutely loves what she does, she has great energy and very talented! We are going to treasure these photos forever!!