I met Kurty over 20 years ago when he did my glamour shots (remember those?!!!) that everyone and…read moretheir mother was getting at the time. He did a fantastic shoot of me in black and white (which I still have to this day) and is a true professional and good at his job. He made me look presentable and that's saying a lot! Kurty is very kind and patient; I'm not comfortable in front of the camera but he puts me at ease and makes suggestions for poses and angles. I asked for a makeup artist he suggested this fantastic makeup artist who made me look like a better version of me instead of an unrecognizable version with caked on makeup. His studio is a good size and he has fun music to relax to, so the mood is upbeat and happy and it will show in your pictures. He chooses the best background and lighting for you. After taking the photos he sent them to me within an hour and I was able to pick what I liked right away. If you're thinking about a headshot or a couples portrait Kurty is the person to go to - he is a fantastic and talented photographer and is a pleasure to deal with. Highly recommended!

Kurty is an awesome photographer and at the same time, very professional yet friendly. I would…read moretotally recommend him to anybody who is looking for quality pictures at a very affordable price and an overall great experience. I've never had professional pictures taken before, and decided to come to his studio for a couple of headshots. He was very accommodating to my specific requests and even generously took a few more pictures than he had to while providing very good / clear instructions to help positioning to get the best shots. He is clearly an expert in his field and was at the very time really patient, making the experience feel really easy and fun for a first-timer. After the pictures were taken, he exercised really good judgment in helping me pick the best ones and explaining to me why some photos were better than others, etc. I'd totally work with him again on future photos and am so glad that I found him through Yelp. Thanks again Kurty!

Alex and his wife photographed our wedding in September 2019 in San Francisco. My husband and I…read morehave nothing but good things to say about working with both of them. The photos are stunning and capture the wedding day beautifully. They also created a slide show of the big day which was so fun to share with friends and family. Alex and Anastasia are true artists and know how and where to capture memorable shots without getting in the way of the events. Highly recommend!

My fiancé and I took our engagement pictures with Alex and his assistant last month and I couldn't…read morebe any happier. I had a long list of locations that I wanted pictures at and Alex was definitely game. He had a detailed time itinerary and included all of the places that I wanted. He was so accommodating, friendly and understanding that we had never done anything like this before. He was professional, great email correspondence and very timely with the delivery of the photos. I had even asked him if I could have a few pictures before all the pictures were done so that I could display them at my bridal shower, and as promised, he gave me a few before all the rest were done. I couldn't have asked for a better experience and would HIGHLY RECOMMEND Alex! Thank you so much for capturing such an important time in our lives, we couldn't be more pleased with our engagement pictures!

**N.B. This review is based on my experience after having purchased a portrait session on Living…read moreSocial and having just received my photography package today.** Oh boy, my first 5 star review. This never happens. Background: I'm a super infrequent user of online daily deal sites like Groupon and Living Social. I've bought under 10 of these types of things in the past few years, for reference, and this purchase was my most expensive. As a full-time working professional, I'm just starting to get back into acting on a hobby basis (unless anyone wants to give me my big break, of course). I'm taking private lessons from an acting coach, but it's really all just for fun at this point. The first thing I was told I'd need if I wanted to be considered for roles at auditions was a nice set of headshots. I understand I could've had a friend take some, but I did want a nice quality set -- I just didn't want to pay upwards of a thousand dollars on something that amounts to a hobby. Enter Living Social and the Ideami Studios deal: for $99 (reg. $500), I'd get a 30 minute outdoor portrait session with 3 photos digitally retouched, a neat magazine cover with quotes of my choosing, and a video of my photo session. Ever cautious, I emailed the merchant before purchasing, with the understanding that I wouldn't purchase the deal if I didn't get a response. I've dealt with Groupon/LS merchants before who treated me a little bit less than respectfully (I'm guessing because they view the discounted deal as me being completely cheap). But no! Within an hour, I had a response back, addressing my questions about the feasibility of using the session for headshots. Owner and photographer Javier Ideami even offered me a better deal after a minor misunderstanding (that was no one's fault) so I got a slightly longer session. My girlfriend purchased a 30 minute session too, and we were scheduled for a shoot within a week of purchasing the deal. Throughout the week leading up to the shoot, Javier was responsive to any questions the two of us had via email (and we had a lot), always responding promptly and politely. A few days before the shoot, he sent us some information with tips on colors to wear, what to do with make-up, etc. The day of the shoot we met on time at a cafe and walked to a nearby courtyard. It was a nice, quiet setting. Javier was friendly and seemed genuinely interested in my girlfriend's and my pursuits and reasoning behind getting our headshots taken. My girlfriend went first and seemed to have a blast, doing a lot of different poses and being her typically outgoing self. Then came my turn. I'm much more reserved, but Javier made me feel really at ease, encouraging me to try different poses, expressions, etc, and talking to me throughout. After my hour, we parted ways with both my girlfriend and me in good spirits. Javier had let us swap out clothing and given his opinion on certain looks without being pushy in the least throughout the session. Two days later (this morning), we had our pictures. Since I was paranoid, I checked out my girlfriend's first (we were emailed the links together as that's how we'd been conversing) and WOW. Javier seemed to pick up on the features that made her unique and beautiful and just amplified them with his digital retouching. The background was also tastefully done and didn't draw attention away from the person in the picture. And her video was adorable. He managed to capture her personality perfectly in a 30 second short. My turn: I'm super nitpicky about my appearance, so I went in expecting to be mildly let down, but wrong again on my part. Apart from one picture I wasn't horribly fond of (blame goes to my dopey expression entirely as the retouching was just as good as the rest of them), I was stunned by how much I really loved the shots he chose to retouch for me. He picked a great variety of angles and colors. And there was my shy personality, right before me, except it looked appropriate in the pictures. Professional. Appealing. I was really pleased. Then to top it off (because Javier is the friendliest professional photographer on earth, it seems), Javier included a couples picture of my girlfriend and me as a gift at no cost as a thanks for the fun session. Incredible. Here's this professional photographer who's treating our $99 Living Social deals like we'd paid him his normal $500. There was no sense that he looked down on the fact that we were paying so much less. This photo session was an absolutely positive experience. I told my girlfriend earlier today it'd be a dream to have Javier be our wedding photographer sometime down the road. I liked him that much. Without question, I'll be recommending him to anyone I know who's looking for a photographer, as well as returning whenever I'm in need of new photos. His easy-going, friendly, and professional nature really made the experience memorable for the two of us.

I purchased a 30 minute outdoor photo shoot with Ideami Studios, as I am currently a producer of…read moreelectronic dance music and owner of LANYX Sound Factory (an independent record label in SF bay area). I was looking for a local professional photographer that I can partner with to take pro portraits to use for new artist profiles, releases, websites, and promotion. Javier is an efficient, professional photographer that delivers exceptional high quality photos. I am extremely pleased with his work and have used the photos on my website. If you want to see his work then check them out at www.lanyxsf.com/artists.html Definitely will be using Javier and Ideami Studios for LANYX Sound Factory! Rich

Ming was our photographer for our wedding this past October and I cannot recommend him enough for…read morethe following reasons: 1. He is very professional- he showed up early for the wedding! He was very patient and took all requested shots 2. He posts high quality pictures very quickly ~3-4 weeks. Most brides I talked to wait months and months on end for pictures. There was a great quantity ~400 pictures. Plenty of candid shots along with beautiful portraits and artsy dress/cake/scenery pictures mixed in. 3. He was very reasonable and affordable I will definitely recommend him to a friend! The pictures he took captured one of the most important days of my life and I will always keep and treasure them.

My husband and I went with Vision-i Productions for our wedding photographs. Ming and Angela are…read morevery professional, genuinely have a love of photography and are just all around good people. Upon meeting them, they helped us craft together a wedding photo package that worked for us. On the day of the wedding, Ming and his coworker arrived on time and were able to start right away. They stayed with us throughout the hectic day, capturing special moments of us and our family & friends. I am not one to like to have my photograph taken, but I am happy that Ming made suggestions on how to pose and such, as I was certainly at a loss. In the end, our wedding photos came out wonderfully. They did a great job touching up certain photos as well. All of our photos were saved onto a CD for us. And the photo album.....it is truly a "must see". The album binding is hand stitched leather! I seriously never even thought that a wedding album could look that nice. All in all, I would highly recommend Vision-i Productions for photography and any additional services they may provide as they are HIGHLY PROFESSIONAL, their RATES ARE GREAT and their WORK IS QUALITY.

We absolutely 100% recommend Hand in Hand! Cliff and photographer Ron were so professional, they…read moreknew exactly how to put us at ease, how to line up the perfect shots and were quick and adaptable throughout the fast-moving day with various locations and each with their own challenges (including the very tight space inside a small, 6-seater seaplane!) They both had top-of-the-line equipment, including multiple cameras each, drones, etc. They were exactly on time and went above and beyond throughout the day, including even visiting the chapel before arriving to us to get some extra shots and footage. Cliff was excellent to work with before the day as well, accommodating various requests, always answering every question and message. We were nervous as we live in Europe and had not even seen the place we would be getting married, but with Cliff's guidance we always felt at ease. We could not be happier with the experience and fully recommend them.

What is an amazing photographer and videographer Cliff is. Cliff and his assistant, Kate did a…read morephenomenal job! Firstly, they went to the wedding venue to look at the location a day prior to the wedding day. They scouted the area and see where's the best view to shoot the wedding photos and videos. On the wedding day, Cliff and Kate arrived to the venue early in the morning to shot the introduction of the wedding video using a drone to get the view from above. The view looks amazingly good in the video. Throughout the entire day of shooting, Cliff and Kate worked with us to make sure my wife and I and all family and friends are looked good in the photos and video. The quality they did on our engagement & wedding photos and video are amazing! Their works are definitely worth every penny! They shot our wedding video at a professional level and it's like something you'll want to watch over and over again, which my wife and I did; still do. It was a great honor working Cliff and Kate. My wife and I appreciated their work and professionalism. We're highly recommend Hand in Hand production.

My partner and I got engaged at the end of February. I had a simple proposal plan of taking her…read moreout to San Francisco's iconic Pier 7, where I would drop down on one knee and try to fool her into thinking that a lifetime with me really wouldn't be that bad. Fortunately, the delightful Duende duo of Ken and Brady were on hand to beautifully capture every single moment (not to mention from every single angle) for eternity. This alone would've been worth five stars. But what really puts Ken and Brady over the top is their professionalism and desire to go above and beyond! I had first contacted Brady back in December to discuss this surprise proposal idea. We soon met in person, signed off on a contract, and then planned out every single detail of how they would hide, where I would drop to one knee, which direction I should face, what exact time the sun would be setting, what to do in the event of an emergency (like an idiot tourist suddenly blocking line of sight), etc. Leading up to the big proposal, I was understandably a trainwreck of nerves, but absolutely none of this was due to worrying about the photographers possibly dropping the ball. But then mother nature decided to make things interesting. Even during the driest winter that we've had over the last godzillion years, it decides to dump rain on my parade. Thankfully, Ken and Brady had me prepared ahead of time with an oversized translucent umbrella, and were both willing to brave the wrath of our one-day typhoon season in order to get the perfect shot. By sheer serendipity, the rain decided to stop just before we made our way onto the pier. By even sheerer serendipity, a schmuck like me got the most amazing person to say yes. As we were walking back towards Embarcadero as an engaged couple, Ken had a brilliant idea of posing us in front of some active F-Market trolleys. The results truly speak for themselves. Finally, one little insider secret for you Yelping lovebirds. I had originally contacted a few different wedding photographers in hopes of shooting my proposal. Ken and Brady weren't just the photographers whose portfolio I most admired, but they were also the cheapest! So go and book them for your event before they come to their senses and jack up their prices. Keep in mind however that I am calling first dibs on DuendePhoto once we finalize our wedding date.

A belated but very big "THANK YOU!" to Brady and Ken of Duende Photo for their extraordinary…read moreexpertise and professionalism in capturing our Napa Valley wedding July 2017. If I could reach through the yelp screen and grab you by the collar I would say "you're in the best hands with Duende. Period." We searched far and wide for innovative, evocative risk takers who would snap the expressions, energy and emotions of the day more than the usual details. We wanted rebelliousness and artistry not cookie cutter standards. Duende far exceeded our expectations, were incredible collaborators and I only wish the day could have lasted longer so we could have worked with them even more. We can't recommend them highly enough. Fans for life.

Marco and his team were our wedding photographers and they were simply amazing! Extremely…read moreaffordable and very efficient. Elegant Italian taste. Also, they designed and produced our album and took into consideration every detail we mentioned.

Tyler has been an integral part of our marketing team for 3 brands. He has helped us reposition,…read morerebuild as well as launch different brands under our parent company. He is one of our most favorite people to work with because of his professionalism, easy going manner, quality of product and timeliness. He would be the first videographer I would recommend but also his ability to understand our goals makes him a key strategic partner as well. We hope to continue to partner with Tyler and much of his work can be seen on our website, social media campaigns and grant applications! Thank you for being a part of our EDCC team and family for so long! "

Tyler of Thournir Productions did an amazing job with our wedding photography. From the start, he…read morewas easy to work with and talk to, and he listened attentively to what we wanted. He got some fabulous photos of our wedding and was very creative in capturing moments that represent us well. In addition, he made us feel very comfortable while taking the portraits. Every aspect of working with Tyler was great. I would highly recommend him for your photography needs.