I accidentally dropped my Nikon 18-105mm lens and noticed some distortion on the bottom left…read morequadrant of all my photos. I gave Yakov a call and he told me to bring it over immediately for inspection. On first look, he actually wasn't convinced that anything was wrong but after taking a few test shots, he noticed the same issue I saw (most of the bottom left quadrant was blurry while the rest of the image was sharp). Unfortunately, he wasn't sure that he could fix it. He also had to borrow my camera body because he didn't have a Nikon on hand. During the duration of holding my camera, I neither received an update via email or via phone. It was a bit unsettling. I called him after 4 days for a check in and he told me it wasn't ready and hung up. I gave another call today (6 days later) and he told me that it was ready for pick up. When I arrived, he told me that he couldn't completely fix the issue but that it was greatly improved from its previous state. True, the distortion was drastically reduced in well lit situations or when focusing on objects far away, but on items closer, I can hear still the lens struggle to focus. Yakov said there's nothing he can do about that, but recommended I call Nikon. He still charged the entirety of his estimate...which I wasn't really satisfied with, given how the problem still persists. Yakov has 52 years of experience under his belt so he certainly knows his craft. But whether or not I would choose to use his service again, I'm not sure.

Comrade Yakov is awesome!!! He fixed 2 of fungus infected…read morepro lens I had. Very impressed with his talents. Other yelpers who whined about customer service... Well they just don't know how to communicate! Nothing a little patience and languages adaption wouldn't fix. After all comrade Yakov is retired and working not as a necessity. So what if he doesn't answer his phone 9-5... sheesh. Just be nice and leave a message like I did. If he likes you he will help you out. Nothing but admiration for this older pro who treated my son and I with honesty, integrity and a smile

Sandy is extremely talented, patient, and amazing! She is very safe with posing newborns and…read morecaptured amazing photos of my kids (even when they don't cooperate!). We have gotten newborn photos for 2 kids, and cake smash photos, and will definitely return for future family photos as my kids grow. Thank you Sandy!

I'm truly delighted to share my experience working with Sandy! Her communication was wonderful from…read morethe very beginning, from arranging the appointment and customizing the scene setup to sending the photos. Everything went so smoothly. I am really impressed by her talent with infants and children; she was fantastic with my newborn and my 2-year-old. Her ability to craft stunning scenes is also incredible. And when it comes to her photography and editing skills, they are truly outstanding--just look at the edited photos, they're absolutely stunning! You won't be disappointed with Clairbare Studios and Sandy's gift for capturing beautiful, lasting memories of your little ones.

We feel so lucky for finding Nicole to be our photographer for our wedding on 7.21.17 at Stern…read moreGrove. Things that we appreciated about her: 1. She was friendly, honest, organized, and efficient. She met with us at the venue and scoped out possible sites for us to take pictures. She also had us complete a list of what types of portraits we wanted on the day of the wedding to make sure that we were covered. Most importantly, she listened and always addressed our concerns in a timely manner. 2. She's not a cheesy photographer. We specifically chose her because she doesn't like to take overly staged pictures, instead, she captures moments at weddings and between couples. In our opinion, we think the photos turned out much more interesting that way. 3. She's extremely patient and diligent. We wanted a picture in front of our venue with all of our guests (~80) and she made that happen. She got everyone to line up and made sure almost everyone was looking at her camera in order to take the photo. 4. She sent us a 'thank you/pre wedding surprise' So sweet!!

It goes without saying that choosing all the right vendors to support you and your love on your…read morewedding day is paramount. From my experience, I have never experienced an emotional rollercoaster like any other than on our wedding day - so much excitement, anticipation, and joy! Even though I was on cloud nine, I was so emotionally wound-up that I didn't have the foresight in the moment to direct the photographers to take a photo, make a grouping, etc. I am so thankful we had Nicole and Stephen to support us on our wedding day because they took initiative, directed our large wedding party and even larger family groupings seamlessly, and captured the life and mood of each moment into every shot! My husband and I shopped around (price and personality) for a few weeks for a photographer. Thankfully, we were referred to 43rd Ave. and set up a meeting time at our venue. Through the development of our conversation, we were able to learn about their approach to photography. We both really appreciated that they met in photojournalism school. This conveyed to us that they not only had the passion and love for storytelling through pictures but also the skill :) Although Instagram makes it look easy to take beautiful pictures and add a filter, we wanted a photographer who could handle different lightings (inside and outside), a rowdy group (my family is Greek!), and varied angles and settings. Additionally, we loved their spirit and zest for finding the candid shots that really embodied each moment. We couldn't be happier with our decision to go with Nicole and Stephen! They were with us every step of the day (getting ready, ceremony, first time along after ceremony!, reception, cake, the whole shabang!), and we felt like we had friends by our side supporting us through it all. Such a blessing! Also, all of our pictures turned out amazing! When my family viewed the slideshow, my mom said every picture was her favorite shot! We have so many beautiful pictures of our family and friends showing their true colors laughing, smiling, joking, crying (beautiful too :) that may have been missed with another skilled photographer. Lastly, just as a cherry on top, Nicole goes above and beyond with her special personal touches! We received our CD (no watermarks!) with all of our edited photos in a beautiful box tied with string and a personal note enclosed. Additionally, they sent us our first Christmas ornament with a picture of us at our wedding! They are exceptional people and photographers! Thank you Nicole and Stephen! Looking forward to seeing your promising career develop!

This review is massively overdue. I'm a former frequent flyer here, and I have to say TIF is my…read moreall-time favorite one-stop shop for anything photographic in the Bay Area. I started coming here six years ago to augment the lab time and instruction I was getting in school. Their darkroom was my happy place for a long time and was fairly priced. What impressed me the most about their gorgeous space was that they encouraged clients to get their work off their screens and onto the walls. Literally, any time I had a question about anything related to photography or printing, Stuart, Ed, Constance, Chrysta, or Nathan would make the time for me and help me out or give me feedback. I enjoyed printing there and always left feeling inspired because they were so kind, knowledgeable, and professional. If you'd like to learn about photography, I highly recommend checking out their services, classes, and workshops. I wish I could give them more than five stars!

A a small business owner I have never left another business a bad review, but this experience was…read moreunacceptable. My artwork was mishandled and the finished product I had hired them for was poorly executed and unusable. I had to take it to a qualified business afterwards who confirmed they did not do a good job. When I raised the issue, the owner and staff were dismissive, refused a refund, and ignored multiple emails and calls. Their unprofessional behavior was bizarre and astonishing. They clearly aren't equipped to handle valuable artwork. Save yourself the headache and take your projects elsewhere.

Amazing photography! Happy to adjust in various ways. Great communication and value for money. I am…read moregoing to keep him for future projects

My actor headshots came out so wonderful! Very high value for a reasonable price…read more Their headshot photographer Gio was super professional and fun to work with! He is a really nice guy and gave lots of direction which made the session easy. Super happy with the whole experience! Slava is very responsive via email and it was super quick and easy to set up the session. I also really appreciated the quick turnaround time. Highly recommend. :)

Dave took my engagement photos ages ago. No, I'm not that old. I just got married very, very…read moreyoung. I've known Dave, personally, through dancing for nearly a decade, so I know what I'm talking about when I say I've seen him grow as an artist and a person. He's been in the business for quite some time, and has the knowledge and skills to prove it. His photos are beautiful and creative, using angles and lighting of which I would have never dreamed. And the engagement photos turned out just dreamy!

We met Dave and his business partner Gregory to view their work and to discuss hiring their…read moreservices for my wedding. My fiance and I were extremely pleased with their patience, knowledge, and mannerism. They have a work studio and had plenty of sample albums to show us. Our meeting was quite long, we all chatted for about 1.5 hours and within that time frame we got to see hundreds of photos of weddings they shot (albums & from their computer). They are both photo journalist so their style is more to capture facial expressions and "in the moment" photos rather than posed/studio pictures. However, if you want to do studio photos they have that option as well. Their prices are reasonable with the most expensive package at $5,300 and includes the standard 2 photographer, album, digital negatives etc. What I liked most is that whatever I wanted to see they were able to show me. My wedding will be a mix of western/traditional Chinese and they were able to show me a couple of weddings they shot with that style. If I wanted to see late afternoon or night time photos they were able to show me a couple. Dave & Greg also emphasized how they like to build relationships with their clients after each shoot and that really touched me. Will update if we decide to book them.

Eric and Gladys are amazing!!! I first came across Candid Gem through one of their engagement…read moreraffles and wasn't sure what I was really getting into at first...but ended up finding the wedding photographers on our dreams! After our first photoshoot, we knew we wanted to hire candid gem for our wedding. Not only are they kind but they helped guide us through the wedding process, gave suggestions and were flexible when needed. They taught us how to take photos, they made us laugh and overall they made us just feel comfortable and like ourselves throughout the whole process. On the actual wedding day, Eric and Gladys were superstars! I had an extensive photo list and they worked hard to get all of the photos that were important to us. We are so happy we found them and can't wait to work with them again!

Big thank you to Eric and Gladys who did a wonderful job of working things out to provide…read morephotography services for a major family event. The communication leading up to the event was handled with such professionalism and grace. I appreciated the fact that Eric in particular took my outline of what needed to be done, but added his spin on how to make things better. Unbelievable and better than what I came up with! I would certainly advocate, promote, and recommend Eric and Gladys' business because of the quality of work they performed, the patience and grace they exhibited, and how well organized they were in getting things under control. My family and I are eternally grateful for what you have done. Thank you again Eric and Gladys! You'll always have a spot at our table if / when we need your services again for another major family event!