Everybody has their thing at weddings, cake, location, live music, centerpieces, etc. For us it was pictures and Coba Images turned out to be everything we could have hoped for in our wedding photographer. For others that like to research, and are concerned about navigating the field of photographers, I'll write a longer than normal review. Initial Interview - We met with Cody at his San Francisco office on our third interview of the day. He gave great answers to what makes a good portrait (use of light) and how he uses depth of field. I'm not a photographer, but I do appreciate it, and it was apparent to me from his background, style, and portfolio he would be a great match for us. About Coba - Cody works out of SF, Baldemar out of the OC and Sean out of LA. Despite the different home bases, they work together, we had all three shooting at our wedding. Budget - We, like everyone, were on a budget. Cody worked with us to tailor a package that would deliver the things that were most important to us at a cost that worked for us. Communication - Cody was always quick to respond and easy to get hold of. We never had to worry about anything. Timely - Cody was prompt with quotes, at meetings, on wedding day and in delivering the final pictures. Shooting the Day - Even before people saw the pictures we got many comments and inquiries about Cody, Baldemar and Sean. They were efficient, set up great shots, and present for the moments without being in the way. Their judgment about where to take shots, backgrounds and angles was superb. If you find yourself in a position where Cody says, hey let's stop here for a picture, take him up on it, you won't regret it. Friendly - Cody and Baldemar have a great ability to direct a shot, but let it develop it's own character at the same time. They put us at ease throughout, connecting with our guests, and seemed more like friends celebrating with us. The Pictures - Amazing, beautiful, fantastic are what our friends and family say about them; we love them, but we are biased. As part of our package, we paid for the originals and put together photo books in iPhoto as gifts for our parents and siblings. We had plenty of pictures to customize for each of them and they were thrilled. Hopefully you can see that we were extremely happy with our experience, but I think it's important to have balance in a review too. It took me a bit to think of something, but here are two small points: Pictage Gallery - We went with the online gallery pictage. It looks great, but requires people to set up a log in, and I think prints from the site were too expensive. $15 for a single 4x6 vs. about $0.25 at Costco. Granted there's a quality difference in the prints, which we would pay for. But we liked the idea for aunt's, uncle's, friends etc. that just want a print or two for their collection, at that price it's too high. It's not an issue with Coba, just a buyer beware. More Pictures of People at the Reception - Cody and Baldemar have a great journalistic style. Their images bring to life the story that unfolds throughout the day and beautifully captures great moments and memories. My only minor regret is that we don't have more pictures of the wider wedding group at dinner and the reception. They did a great job focusing on the key players, speeches, dances and got several shots of guests around as well. I wish I had asked them to spend a bit more time getting a shot or two of each table at dinner, but I never communicated that was important to me. Artistic - Above all the rest, the use of light, attention to color was unmatched in their portfolio and delivered in our wedding pictures. Cody, Baldemar and Sean are talented, good people and deliver a fabulous result. We highly recommend them as well. read more

If there were a way to rate 10 stars, I would. I can't say enough good things about Coba Images. Cody and Baldemar shot our Northern California wedding in June, 2009. The entire process from the initial meeting through the delivery of the images was flawless, professional, creative, and accommodating. Cody worked hard to create a package to work within our budget, he spent time discussing what types of pictures we wanted from the day (and what type we didn't want), and he was attentive via email - a super plus for us since we were planning our wedding from across the country. Day of - Cody and Baldemar were essentially invisible to us, yet somehow managed to catch every important shot of the day with creativity and interesting points of view. Portraits came out stunningly and we regularly receive compliments on them - they are natural, laid back, and evocative of the environment and our personalities. At the last minute, we also decided to throw in the photo booth option at our reception. And we are so happy that we did. It was a fun activity for us and our guests and the final product pictures are priceless! These photographers are the perfect combination of creative talent and professional business people. We highly recommend them! read more

Cody and Baldemar shot our wedding in August and did a superb job! They were so friendly and professional. Throughout the entire process they were really easy to work with. However, the pictures were the best part of working with them! They came out better than I could have imagined and friends and family are still raving about them. My aunt put it nicely when she wrote me an email expressing her thoughts while looking through our wedding photos: This photographer is absolutely amazing...He's quite obviously an artist....and yeah we have a lot of good looking people in the family, but this guy made everyone look their best....I don't know how any one person could get that many great pictures (the lighting, composition, angles, everything) in one evening. read more

I agree with the first review! Cody did your wedding as well & we love showing off our pictures! He captures the details of the moment as well as the "big picture." Can't say enough positive about him! read more

Cody Pickens documented our wedding beautifully. We loved our photojournalistic style photographs, especially the getting ready shots. He is amazing with the use of light. Cody is also able to capture texture in the photographs, I felt like I could touch the fabric and flowers. Cody was professional and friendly. He was easy to work with and had a very calm personality. Cody also gave us a lot of options to choose from in terms of albums and printing our photographs. We highly recommend him. read more

If I could choose one word to describe our experience with COBA Images, it would be "PHENOMENAL!" Sean, Baldemar, and Cody were our best choice for our wedding. From start to finish, they were the most friendly and professional photographers. Our wedding was in Los Angeles, so we planned our wedding through Sean and Baldemar, instead of Cody. From the other reviews, it seems as if they are all one in the same. Both Sean and Baldemar were very informative of their style of photography, what we could expect throughout the planning process and on the actual day. Overall they were very informative without being pushy. At the same time, you could see their personality. To put it bluntly, COBA Images are just three good dudes who take great photographs. They have set packages that can be tailored in anyway to fit your budget and wishes, we ended up going with the middle package that included engagement photos, a photo album, and photo DVD, as well as ensuring the trio would be present for the wedding. It was a great deal. Our engagement photos in Pasadena turned out great. I am not what some would define as having model looks, but these guys can surely make sure your good side shows up on the pictures. Our wedding day was like any wedding day, all the balls the bride and groom are juggling in the air have to at some point deal with gravity, and having these guys there on that day, made the number of balls that come down or break move towards zero. Sean, Baldemar, and Cody all showed up on time, ready to shoot. They had already completed a site recon so they knew the best places and lighting. They had the list of photos we wanted to take and were able to expedite the shots seamlessly. At the same time, we were able to chat with them, and again, I can't say this enough, they are good dudes. If it weren't our wedding, I would have bought them all a beer and just shot the breeze. Lastly, and most importantly is the product. They shot some amazing photos from our wedding, capturing moments that I am happy we can show our kids and grandkids some day. From the getting ready to dancing, these guys will record the best moments of the night. COBA utilizes a photojournalstic style, capturing those priceless moments of emotions and feelings in stunning color. We had an amazing time at our wedding thanks to COBA. More importantly, we can remember the fun we had because of their hard work. I highly recommend COBA Images as your wedding photographers, they are phenomenal! Again, Good dudes, Great photos. read more

We couldn't be happier with the pictures we have of our wedding. From details of table settings, to an 80 person family photo everything was captured beautifully. Our wedding was set outside at sunset and no matter the lighting conditions, intense sun or firelight, the pictures are incredible. Cody and his team were always in the right spot without ever being in the way. Thanks Cody. read more

We worked with Cody and Sean for our wedding and were completely blown away from start to finish with the amazing job that they did. I've just highlighted a few of the things that I loved about our experience with Coba Images. 1) Cody was our main contact person, and from our first meeting, he was so accomodating! We were on a budget, and he was able to provide us with an amazing package that exceeded our expectations, for a price that we could afford. This was not the same experience we had when talking with other Bay Area photographers. He is also extremely nice and very professional. 2) We always got a response to our emails and phone calls right away. It was so nice to know that if we had a question, we could get a response promptly. 3) We were blown away by the passion and creativitiy that both Cody and Sean showed. They were so enthusiastic about our wedding and the pictures they were taking for us. We really felt like our wedding was important to them and it wasn't just one of many weddings that they were working. 4) We got to see our pictures very shortly after the wedding and they were AMAZING!!!! I know that we are biased, and so are our friends and family, but the pictures were honestly amazing. There were dozens and dozens of shots that were worthy of framing. We really could not have been more pleased with the wedding portfolio. Me and my fiance still browse through them just to bring back the happy memories of that day. I would 100% recommend Coba Images to anyone in search of a Photographer. When my friends get married, I will absolutely refer Coba to them, and I will warn them that they will be making a mistake if they don't go with Cody and his team, because that's how much we loved our experience!! :) read more