Stephen is everything you could ask for in a videographer. Not only is he extremely talented with…read morethe creative and technical aspects, he is very thoughtful in taking the time to tell your story in a clear and compelling way. It was a pleasure to work with Stephen from the moment we got connected, to the time we spent planning the project over the phone, to filming together, to finalizing the end product. Do yourself a favor and go with the best. Here's a link to the video he created for my business. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57H_idgZkeA

We started working with Stephen earlier this year so that we could get new headshots and some…read morevideos made for the new website we are working on. To see an example of one video that Stephen created for us, click on this link: https://vimeo.com/253850425 There are three things that have made our work with Stephen a great success: 1) Stephen is very competent at video production and photography and has all the necessary equipment to make high quality videos and photos. 2) Stephen is a good coach. What we have found is that video production in particular involves so much more than just the right equipment. It is about coaching us so that we are comfortable talking on camera and interacting in a way that will give our clients a sense of what it will be to work with us. 3) Stephen delivers ahead of schedule every time. So far we have had two photo sessions and two video shoots. Each time he has delivered our rough drafts as soon as possible so that we have time to give feedback and get the final products by our deadlines. We hope to continue to work with Stephen Porter Productions in the future and encourage anyone looking for high quality photo or video production to give Stephen an opportunity to work with you. We have been very happy and think you will be too.

I work for a PBS documentary crew, and we needed a green screen space on short notice in Oakland…read more Luckily someone recommended Artichoke Productions. What a neat space! Paul was an excellent host and willing to have us on a Sunday morning. The space was perfect for a sit-down interview with green screen. A relaxed atmosphere made the crew and the interviewee comfortable for the shoot. There is nice garden patio outside perfect for lunch on a sunny day. I would highly recommend this space if you have a small crew and need an interview space. I hope we can go back next time we shoot in the Bay Area.

The day we selected Paul Kalbach of Artichoke Productions as Director of Photography for our…read moreindependent feature, The World Famous Kid Detective Agency, was a very good day. Throughout pre-production, Paul advised us on crew, predicted the snags we would hit and offered practical solutions, and was a consummate professional as we worked to finalize our scheduling, crew and locations. I can honestly say that he was the rock on which we, the producers, built the production. He called me personally when he noticed an oversight that could have cost us dearly. He also generously shared his contacts which led us to an absolutely ace crew who came through every day of filming. As a low budget film, we could not supply the full crew to support him, but that never stopped Paul from pushing for quality and getting the absolute best that our grueling schedule allowed. He is an artist and combines that sensibility with decades of experience in the world of independent film. His genuine easy-going temperament kept many of us going when our locations/circumstances were challenging. And our locations/schedules were always challenging. Our director constantly spoke of Paul in the highest terms, an opinion shared by everyone on set - cast and crew alike. As Director of Photography, he was instrumental in getting us through our pages. And we made our days every shooting day, letting us stay on schedule and budget. And, in the first stages of post production, I can say the footage is excellent. The use of his Zephry cam (an amazing steady cam mounted on a Segway) gave our film production values far exceeding our budget. The jib shots he designed are beautiful. His technical knowledge of his equipment is expert level and his prices beat every rental house in the Bay Area by a significant amount. I do not believe that we could have made this film without Paul and on behalf of the producing team for The World Famous Kid Detective Agency, I recommend him without reservation.

I needed to refresh my corporate financial industry headshot so googled and found "Lunch Break…read moreHeadshots" and was very impressed with the quality of shots on the website, then the reviews and the range of headshot styles, and the firm's client-service responsiveness. Jamie came to my office in San Francisco's financial district, with all his gear, right on time, took many shots of me in various poses, made me feel totally comfortable, and we had agreed upon very reasonable pricing for the quality and convenience. Within a week, I had 40 professional shots to choose from that were loaded for me to digitally download, and I instantly connected with many of the shots sufficiently to immediately load my favorites to various locations, including our internal corporate website, various internal corporate presentations, and external professional social media sites. Could not be more pleased. Thanks, Jamie!

Jamie is awesome!!! I really enjoyed the actual photoshoot and the pictures were so good! He even…read morelet me come back for a quick second shoot for some additional shots in new outfits. Jamie is great with communication by text and email, always providing status on the photos, appointment check in, etc. He was also very quick with the head shots, sending me a full gallery a few days after the shoot that organized everything. I was able to download all in high resolution and web resolution for easy use. He provided several retouches and black/white photos that were visually stunning. I am excited to work with him again soon and would recommend everyone works with Jamie.

I was honored to collaborate with Faber Productions on a short social action documentary. Chris is…read moreoriginal, bold, nuanced, and a perfectionist. His extensive screenwriting experience was invaluable as we worked to craft the perfect story arc. Our communication was harmonious. Chris expertly extracted the most touching moments from hours of footage, then molded these elements together into a clear, emotional story with impact. Our viewers were riveted -- and led to action. I enthusiastically recommend Faber Productions for writing, editing and producing any documentary, non-profit or corporate video!

Chris jumped mid-way into a big, complex, and rather messy project and turned it around 180…read moredegrees. What you get with Chris is not just a video editor, but a writer-thinker-creator-storyteller extraordinaire, who will wrestle with your project until it is perfect. I have not worked with anybody that goes to such efforts to understand who you are, what you want, and then figure how to best tell that story. Perhaps one of the most rewarding aspects of working with Chris is that he is so incredibly knowledgeable about all aspects of creating compelling visual content that you get a first-rate education about making good videos. Not that many independent professionals share that much wisdom with their clients. In summary: talented, generous, honest, and a true pro.

Dario is such a wonderful person to work with. He is patient and has such a creative imagination…read more He did my engagement photos. I could not believe how incredibly clear my photos came out. He even edited the photos for me. I really liked that he was open to traveling for my shoot.

So I just have to thank Dario and Mel first for saving my butt. I planned a surprise party for my…read moregirlfriend, and last minute a friend of mine mentioned I should get a photo booth since he had gotten one for his party a couple weeks before and said the husband and wife running it were awesome, friendly, and they helped with everything and played music and overall it was a great experience. So I reached out to them the day before the surprise party and lucky for me they had an opening that would work perfectly. Long story short the photo booth was the hit of the party and with all the props and the ability to customize the photos it was definitely the best decision and my girlfriend agreed. I would highly recommend them, so professional and fun.

I am also a filmmaker and I worked for Cinematt for 2-3 seasons. He's a fantastic wedding…read morefilmmaker and you really can't go wrong with him. I've recommended his services to friends and they've all been very pleased with his work. First and foremost he is a storyteller. He picks out the most poignant parts from your guest speeches and stitches them together to create the arc of your relationship. Before each job, I would meet him at his house early in the morning and he would tell me (with way too much excitement for 6am) what made the bride and groom special and why he was honored to capture their special day. I would also highly recommend asking for his input on your wedding plans and how to maximize your day.

MVideoM is who we used as our wedding videographer. The owner, Matthieu Meynier, is this awesome…read moreFrench dude who reallyl captured every moment in our wedding video. Occassionally, he'd talk to himself in French, which cracked me up. He sat in the limo with me and my bridesmaids on the way to taking photos and Kelly Clarkson was playing. He muttered with his French accent, "I hate Kelly Clarkson!" I told him to suck it up. His prices are reasonable, and we got an even better deal when another couple we knew booked at the same time. He's very professional, but has a young vibe. He really works with you to make sure you get what you want out of your video. He gave us our video back in a timely manner as well. I hear he's been getting more business so I don't know how booked he is nowadays. I'd highly recommend him. You'll get to know him and the way he works. Then after your wedding, you'll eventually run into him all over the city - playing soccer at GG Park, 24 Hour Fitness, everywhere!

My son, husband, dog, and I recently had our family portrait done by Jamey Thomas. It was a fun and…read morepositive experience for the four of us. We made sure to remember dog treats, which kept our dog focused and on task. We met at Crissy Field so we could have the Golden Gate Bridge in the background of some of our pictures. Jamey has a great personality for getting everyone comfortable and keeping things light. He took lots of pictures as we walked around. I felt like we were famous as we strolled around and had our picture taken almost every step of the way. My son moves fast and isn't the most cooperative subject, so Jamey had his work cut out for him. After about an hour of playing around and getting several candid and some posed shots, Jamey suggested we caravan to a eucalyptus grove that was just 10 minutes away. It was wooded and gorgeous, providing a different look for the photographs. I recommend Jamey highly for portraits, especially if you want photos shot in a outdoor setting with natural light. Wind was a factor for me in blustery SF, so next time I think I'll tie my hair back. If you get a chance, check out Thomas' portfolio online. I didn't post our best photos for privacy reasons - we have 79 images images on a CD, in both color and black and white. Our funniest photo was the "booty shot" directed by my son of all 4 of us sticking out our jean-clad (except the dog, who participated for sure!) booties standing against a log overlooking the forest. Though G-rated, it is a classic for sure. 5 enthusiastic stars.

My husband and I hired Jamey for our October 2012 backyard wedding in Santa Cruz. We found Jamey…read morethrough the vendor list on apracticalwedding.com where each vendor is required to take their Sanity Pledge. When you have a second, I suggest reading it. I interviewed a few photographers over the phone and kept coming back to Jamey. I just found him to be respectful, kind, straight-forward, not pushy, and reasonable. My husband and I met with Jamey in person where we looked at printed copies of his work and talked about our personalities and what we wanted in a photographer. We were sold. He captured movement and light so well. I cannot emphasize the importance of feeling comfortable with your photographer. My husband and I can be hams for the camera, but we can be bit shy when asked to be serious and pose. It was important to us to avoid having a yelling or aggressive photographer. We felt at ease with Jamey and we felt that our guests and family would be at ease as well. For our engagement photos, Jamey came to our home and took photos of us around our favorite places in Santa Cruz (our home w/ our cat, Ocean View Park, our local ice cream shop, the Boardwalk). In preparing for this photo shoot, Jamey just encouraged us to be comfortable, to do our thing. The results were excellent. It was a good warm-up for the big day. We had 130 guests at our wedding. Jamey was awesome and he fit right in with the crowd. Guests were just so impressed with how easily and nicely he moved through the crowd talking with people, asking to take a photo. Jamey's best photos are the photojournalistic shots - the candid photos of us and our guests having a great time. We had a backyard wedding and a lot of time and effort was spent to make that yard look special. He really captured how pretty it was. Jamey is worth it. I look at all the photos now and I find that they really do tell the story of that day. Other pluses: Jamey is responsive to emails and phone calls. He was so patient - I had lots of questions. Agreement for services was also abundantly clear. He provided final photos faster than expected. He was a joy to work with and I kinda miss harassing him with my questions and worries over outfits and makeup. My mother really liked him - that says a lot.

BRIAN. Man, how I begin to describe how awesome Brian is...I'm a complete flibbertigibbet, and he…read moremade me look pulled together and professional. He gave me awesome tips for the day of the shoot that I would have NEVER thought of (outfit ideas, etc.), and he was so collaborative and honest with his feedback during the session. I felt safe that he was really and truly trying to get the best shot possible in regards to color choices against my skin, glasses vs. no glasses, stuff I don't ever think about and can't really see as the person in the frame. During the session he let me see previews, explained everything he was doing, and really made me feel a part of the process. He got me giggling and took an AMAZING shot of my dorky laugh, which he edited and let me keep because he's a Super Sweet Amazingpants McGee. I've gotten compliments already on my fresh headshot; no stuffy corporate looks here. He's all about human, genuine, professional images. I can't thank him enough for that; stuffy isn't my bag, and he totally gets it. Why are you still reading this?! Go schedule a session!! :)

Brian is amazing! I was selected to give a plenary talk at a conference in the Fall. The only…read moreproblem was that they needed a high resolution headshot and they needed it within 10 days. My cropped out home photos that I'd been using were clearly not going to cut it. In a panic I scoured the internet and came across Brian's work. He managed to book me in at short notice and gave me tons of good advice in preparing. The shoot itself was a lot of fun, and it really felt like we we collaborating together to get the perfect headshot. His photos were instantly loaded up onto a computer screen so we could scroll through and tag the good ones together and change looks and outfits. Brian made me feel very relaxed and comfortable. After the session was over, he worked on a very tight timeline to get me the processed photos before my deadline. Attached are a couple of the final results - my badass bitch look, and my more approachable look. I couldn't be happier with them!