I recently hired Stephen to do my wedding video for my beach ceremony over Labor Day weekend. He…read morewas so great to work with and I would definitely recommend him! From first reaching out to him to get a bid, he was super responsive and really nice. Since we were getting married on a public beach during such a busy weekend, I was worried about having to coordinate with multiple vendors (videographer, photographer, transportation, et ) in case we needed to change locations at the last minute due to crowds. Stephen assured me that he was really mobile and could easily pack up and switch locations if necessary. Stephen also asked me thoughtful questions leading up to the big day about what songs I liked and what my husband and I are like to make sure that the video was exactly what we wanted. On our wedding day, Stephen showed up right on time and quickly got set up. I am really not sure how he was able to get all the angles he did on our video bc I never even remembered seeing him! I think that's a sign of a professional :) After our wedding, Stephen was so fast in getting us our finished product. Everything arrived exactly as he said it would and the quality was really great. It was kind of windy during the ceremony but the audio was still perfect. I would HIGHLY recommend getting a video of your wedding ceremony to anyone on the fence about it and I would DEFINITELY recommend using Stephen. He is such a talented professional and we really enjoyed working with him.

I HIGHLY recommend Stephen Spaulding. He was our videographer for our wedding in Carmel Valley in…read moreOctober 2010. He has a great personality and was a pleasure to work with. In truth, I was initially not interested in having a videographer. I was concerned about having a camera following us and our guests around and what that might be like. My concern was totally unwarranted. Stephen makes a point to stay in the background and you hardly notice he is there. But when the video arrived... WOW. My wife, my wife's family, and I were glued to our seats for the entire video. After my father received his copy of the video, he called me excitedly to report that he and my mom had just watched the video two times in a row! It was extremely well done. He captured so many precious moments, large and small, from our day. It is an amazing gift that we will now be able to relive our special day for the rest of our lives. Hire him.

David was the photographer for our wedding in June, and we can't imagine our experience without…read morehim! His attitude, enthusiasm, and eye for candid moments perfectly captured our vibe and event. Friends and family asked about him after the event and took his card during - he was impressive to everyone there! He was so quick with the returned catalog of pictures and even included a fun website for our guests to look back on all the action. We definitely gained a friend throughout the process and would recommend him and his services to anybody.

David took really good photos. We had a next-to-impossible lighting situation--backlit, midday,…read moreshadows, people of completely different skin tones--and he shot in a way and edited photos so that they came out really good. A few of them were excellent. And I'm talking about lighting conditions that absolutely SUCK for photography. Like a wedding photographers nightmare. So. Yeah, David is legit. His surf photography experience meant that he would shoot in conditions that very few would attempt. Oh, and we got ALL of our individually (not some AI whatever program) edited photographs back in a week. I've never heard of this before. That's all and good, and covers what most folks probably care about in a wedding photographer. However, we weren't just looking for nice photos. We wanted to LIKE our photographer. We wanted to have a genuine personal experience and relationship with David before the wedding, during the shoot, and after. He was sort of like a cool wedding guest who also did a stellar job taking every photo we asked for / envisioned, and so much more. He understood who we are as people, what we cared about for the wedding and in our lives, and he made sure to capture our moments through that lens. So when I say that we got a "personalized" experience, I'm not just talking about unique, candid shots and artsy pics and traditional pics, and etc etc etc, I'm talking about him being able to speak with my blind Father for a few minutes and laugh with my friends about moments in the wedding (WHILE getting all the photos). If I ever have a formal, personal event that I'd like to capture, I know who to reach out to.

My husband and I are extremely dissatisfied with Elyse Destout Photography…read more Short version: Due to Elyse's poor photography skills/choices, lack of communication and inability to reschedule a photoshoot in a timely manner I will never have the beautiful infant photos that every other family seems to have of their family's newest addition. I am deeply saddened, as this is something I can never get back. I can't express how upset this situation has made me. Long version: I scheduled a photoshoot for my newborn, she was 2 weeks old at the time of the shoot. The studio was beautiful so I was very excited. Instead of photographing my daughter against pulled down backgrounds, Elyse set us up against her studio's wall (no background). Out of 70 photos there were maybe 2 that I was in love with... But the background was stucco and chipped paint!! IT RUINED ALL THE PHOTOS. They looked like I had taken them in my living room. I mentioned this to Elyse and she offered to reschedule. I tried scheduling a shoot immediately since my daughter was already 1 month old by this time. It took Elyse 2 full weeks to respond to my email. I tried calling but was unable to leave a voice message because her inbox was full. She never attempted to call me back. When she finally did email me back with one available time slot (on a day I had previously said I couldn't do), I emailed back asking for any other options. This time, she NEVER responded! I sent her a couple more emails but by the time my daughter was 2.5 months old I threw my hands up and emailed Elyse asking for a full refund. She called me immediately, literally 5 minutes after sending the email - where was this sense of urgency before?? I let it go to voicemail because I was so upset about the whole situation that I was already in tears. She left a message apologizing, telling me she's been sick, and wanted to offer the "year of photos" for no additional charge because she DOES NOT give cash refunds. I emailed her shortly after explaining that I was very disappointed - I had paid $150 for this service. I declined the full year of photos because I couldn't imagine dealing with this level of unprofessionalism for a full year. Instead I chose 40 of the horribly executed pictures to receive digital prints of (what the original package was). She ended up releasing all 70 digital prints to me, but that means nothing to me since I only wanted 2 in the first place. I will never leave such precious photos in her hands again, and I recommend you do some more research before booking her. I've been kicking myself for not writing her off after the first two week gap in communication and going to another photographer. But $150 is more than I could afford on leisurely purchased right now, especially with a newborn in the house.

My new wife and I were married on 09/14/13 and we chose Elyse to be our wedding photographer. Let…read moreme just start by saying it was an awesome wedding and she captured it exactly as we pictured it. I highly recommend Elyse Destout as a photographer for your wedding. We have had nothing but compliments from our family and friends who have all said that she was very friendly and professional. We found her at a local wedding expo at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk early in the year and we were so impressed by her photography and her personality that we booked her on the spot. She is great at not only getting all the typical staged shoots but she also as an amazing eye for getting the candid shoots as well. She is able to capture the perfect moments and she can do post production on any of the pictures to make them black and white, sepia, of pops of color from a single item. She even threw in a photo booth for the day of our wedding and it was an amazing success. Our guests loved the booth and had tons of fun taking pictures. She was very reasonable with her pricing and has tons of different packages depending on what you are looking to get. If you are looking for a wedding photographer in the Santa Cruz area I would highly recommend considering Elyse!

My husband and I decided to do a photo shoot a few days before our anniversary and Taghi…read moreaccommodated us even with the tight timeline. On the day of the shoot, he came on time and made the effort to get to know us before we started. I thought it was really nice of him to do that because for a couple like us, posing for the camera can be really awkward. He was professional, friendly and so easy to work with. He made sure we felt comfortable and more importantly, that we had fun. Within 24 hours he sent us select raw photos and they are all beautiful. I can't wait to see the edited ones in a few days! I'm sure they will not disappoint. Thanks again, Taghi! Highly recommended. I would give him 6 stars if I could.

I've worked with Taghi for both business and personal portraits. His work really stands out. He…read morecaptures the essence of people, and his photographs have a dynamic quality that is unique and beautiful. He has a great eye and captures unexpected moments that create really timeless, artistic shots. In addition, he's a very funny and charming guy.

Kevin did such an amazing job on our wedding photos in Santa Cruz, California. He was up to taking…read morea trail down to the rocks, getting wet and some sand in the toes. We are blown away with how the day turned out and how well taken the photos turned out. Kevin took the time to ensure perfect lighting and positions, he was very welcoming and kind. He couldn't of been better. These are just a few of the many many shots that we received around 24hrs later so an all around amazing guy, good prices and fast! Thank you so much Kevin!

Kevin did my baby's photo shoot. The price quote was cheaper than the nearby quotes, so the value…read morewas good. He arrived on time and even stayed longer then discussed because my baby was being playful and in a good mood, so he wanted to catch a few shots of him giggling. He sent me one of edited photo the next day and all of them in a few days. I liked that there were no limit to pictures. Overall highly recommend

Abel did our baby shower and maternity photoshoot last year. We were really happy with his work and…read morehe did our baby's first birthday party photography this year. He did a great job covering all elements of the party, took amazing candid photographs and covered all the guests. The quantity of his images is fantastic and he delivers all the images he takes. We are grateful to him for capturing some beautiful memories for us !!

We are so glad Abel was available to capture our son's 1st birthday party. He was extremely easy to…read morecommunicate with, he showed up early to set up and got the most amazing shots without feeling like he was even there. He was so warm to us and even offered to help us clean up once the party was over. It was the best decision to have Abel there so that we didn't stress over getting the special moments that he expertly captured. He got our photos back to us so quickly and we love them! Thank you again, Abel!

How fortunate I was to find Brian McFadden! He photographed my wedding and did an awesome job!…read more Brian has been in the business for a long time, so he knows what he is doing and you don't have to worry about directing him on your wedding day. He understands positioning of those in your photos and how the lighting affects how your photo will come out. No fumbling around trying to get it right. Totally professional!! And since he is a Santa Cruz local, he is familiar with the area and commonly used wedding vendors. He's also very professional and warm. As is the case with planning a wedding, you want to be comfortable with your wedding planning "team members", as you will be spending time with them before the wedding as you plan things out. Brian welcomes your ideas and input and knows all the right questions to ask with regards to your ceremony, which was a blessing because there were several things I had not thought about and I was glad he asked! Our wedding photos came out better than I could have imagined! Not only would I suggest that my friends use him for any wedding photography they may need, I would also suggest him to anyone in need of wedding or family photography. Amazing photos without breaking the bank!

Oh Terry Way Photography, you are so wonderful and I am SO fortunate to have booked you for my…read morewedding. This review is just going to cover the pre-wedding experience since my big day is still up and coming, but if you are looking for a photographer, Terry is the obvious choice. When I was initially looking for a photographer, I sifted through many portfolios only to be disappointed by how cheesy and fake most wedding pictures were. Terry stood out to me because his photography has emotion and feeling. He is such an incredible photographer who can truly capture a moment opposed to just doing the easy "pose for me" shots. We had our initial meeting with Terry to chat with him about our needs on the big day, and he was super accommodating and made us feel instantly comfortable with him. He showed us his work, and we instantly fell in love and knew that he would be our photographer. If you are looking to capture your wedding (or any other event) in a truly spectacular way, Terry is your guy. I can't wait to update this review after my wedding with even more glowing words. :)

Terry was a pleasure to work with. We live in Chicago but got married in Carmel this past summer,…read moreand Terry and his wife, Vallarie, were so accommodating to our needs Terry was so easy going and fun that taking pictures was a total joy and not a chore at all. We could not be more pleased. Our wedding photos and engagement photos are amazing and we are so happy we chose to work with Terry. We can't wait to see the albums he created for us. Thanks Terry and Vallarie!!