We signed up for a 30-minute "mini-session" with Katie to try and get one nice family photo. My…read morewife's son (yes, he was that bad) apparently decided to try his best to tank the entire shoot. We put his Legos in time out for a week, and waited to see the damage. Somehow, Katie managed to capture the microseconds in which he had a good smile and even produce a full set of family pictures with everyone looking their best. I don't know how she did it, but she made my kids look like bright-eyed angels with the world at their door, and my son look like a little man. Our stress, our misbehaving son, our antsy toddler -- none of that showed in these photos. It was the most beautiful lie I have ever seen. I think we're going to see her every year from now on.

We hired Katie to do our engagement photos back in September 2011 (I know this has been a long time…read morecoming). She really made us feel at ease and not too posed, and when we got them back, we loved them so much that we had to have her for our wedding last October! Our wedding photos turned out AMAZING! She captured everything from all of my little DIY details to everyone's personalities. I love going through them and reliving that day. Thanks Katie, we will definitely be using you again for family photos in the future.

This is the type of quality namebrand service you can expect from Esther Kay Photography. Poor…read morecommunication, passive aggression, slow to no delivery time, subpar pictures, refusal to solve the problem, empty promises. Update: Esther reached out to me asking me to remove my previous Google review because it made her upset, but failed to rectify the problem at hand. Initially, I found Esther on Facebook because she had a listing looking for male models to update her portfolio. It was a TFP (trade for print) opportunity. The only idea I had in my mind was a photoshoot of me in a green suit, which is for a suit brand that I work with. She also suggested that I do some shirtless pictures too, which I complied with. Seeing that it was her idea and not mine, we took pictures of both looks, but she only ever delivered me the green suit pictures. Even those pictures were subpar at best, she promised during our session she can edit them in certain ways that I liked, including editing the pointy shoulders of the green suit, but instead gave me a lazy delivery with little to no edits. After the shoot was done, I reached out to her multiple times very respectfully to see when I could have those shirtless pictures. Like I've mentioned before, she gave me very little replies and false promises of delivery, which never happened. To this day, I'm left confused and disappointed as to why she has decided to withhold those pictures from me. I've never had a photographer withhold delivery for almost 3 months since a shoot date before, even through the holiday season. Not even proofs were sent. It had to take me writing a Google review for her to reach back out, but instead of solving the problem, she doubled down with her refusal to send me those pictures. Since this was a TFP opportunity, it was unpaid for both parties, so my honest theory is that she doesn't care unless this was a paid client session. Which is disappointing, because it was her model call in the first place. She said she hopes I'm happy writing that review, but I find no joy in that. What would bring me happiness would be receiving my pictures.

Esther did my baking photoshoot and I couldn't be happier with the result ,…read moreShe is very friendly and easy to work with and she is amazing at what she does. Im so glad I found her and will definitely use her in the future and will recommend her to all of my friends.

Ronnie Guinto has been our go-to photographer for nearly a decade. Our very first session with him…read morewas when our son was just 3 years old--he's now 12--and we've continued to come back to Ronnie year after year, even after moving out of the area. We've tried other photographers locally, but no one measures up to Ronnie's skill, creativity, and ability to make every session enjoyable. Ronnie has a special talent for working with kids. Our son genuinely looks forward to photo days with him; Ronnie knows exactly how to make children feel comfortable and capture their best smiles. He's not just someone who takes pictures--he's an artist who pays attention to detail, from suggesting natural poses to finding the perfect lighting and angles. Every session feels relaxed and fun, and the photos always turn out beautifully. We truly can't recommend him enough--his work speaks for itself, and his professionalism and warmth keep us coming back no matter the distance.

We are so happy to have found Ronnie for our family photo session. The location he found for us was…read moreamongst the idyllic cypress trees at the Fitzgerald marine reserve which served as a backdrop for our family of four. He captured our true essence with his photography. He is very skilled and truly a creative artist who was so easy to work with. We were elated with the finished masterpiece and can't wait share them with our friends and family !

Roxanne is a pro. My siblings and I wanted to recreate a childhood photo for our mom for Christmas…read more As we were all coming back to town for Christmas we were short for time. Roxanne met us as soon as we could unite, and took meaningful and unforgettable photos that brought tears to our mom's eyes on Christmas day. She captures subjects in a frame that is gentle and tender, and I highly recommend her for newborn photos. There's no one kinder, there's nobody more professional, and there is without a doubt no photographer more creatively gifted in the area.

Roxanne did our maternity and newborn photos for our second baby -- again, such a pleasure to work…read morewith. I highly recommend. She was easy to schedule with (again, we ended up shooting at 36 weeks, this time because a cold made us reschedule) and this time, most importantly, she was amazing with my toddler daughter. My daughter was so comfortable with Roxanne after just the two shoots that she asked if we could have Roxanne over to play again and have cake with her...! This was so important to capture genuine toddler smiles :) For each of the maternity and newborn shoots, we received about 175 finished photos, which includes duplicates in color and black/white, and her turnaround time is fast. Maternity photos in a week, and newborn in two weeks (and she texted after a week and a half just to check in and confirm that she was almost ready to share the final gallery).

Very happy with the outcome of our recent photography session and the images Anat took. She…read morecaptured the message I wanted to give without much details. I have received lots of great feedback from clients, family and friends. Thank you Anat for your work.

This review is long overdue and I've finally managed to get to it. We engaged Anat to take pictures…read moreof our family last June - our son was 3 years old and daughter around 8 months old. Anat is very professional and a very pleasant person. She made all of us very comfortable, which is so important when taking photographs. She was friendly and knew how to get the attention of the kids. We enjoyed our session a lot! The pictures she took were very high quality and beautiful. She was able to capture beautiful moments of all of us together and individually as well. I am looking forward to engaging her again for other special occasions in our life.

Todd was recently hired to provide headshots at an executive mixer I was invited to in Palo Alto…read more I did not expect such amazing professionalism, direction, and willingness to provide all of us with a variety of high quality headshots that day. The service he provided was stellar, and I would have easily paid more than 4 figures for that level of direction. Can't thank him enough for such an excellent eye for detail and for his talent. Highly recommend. Thanks again, Todd!

As a professional wedding and special event planner on the Monterey Peninsula for over 28 years, I…read morehave had the opportunity to work with Todd on many events. He's easy to work with, great at communication, and flexible. My couples are always so happy with him and with the final portraits. I recommend Todd because I trust that every one of my wedding couples will be overjoyed with his personality and work. I'm sure you'll be thrilled to work with Todd as well. Patty Speirs, Planning Genius Every Last Detail Wedding & Event Coordination Monterey, CA

Paws and Play Studio captures still moments of my dogs that says everything about them!…read more I had two dogs to join Andrea and her assistant for two separate photo shoots since I wanted two separate locations. What's pawsitively pawesome +'s: + Skill. I have a one year old pup and a senior dog. She commanded their attention in both still and active shots. They responded to her very well. The 1-1/2 year old is especially easily distracted but Andrea managed to have my pup's attention in all our action shots. + Memorable moments. The pictures are priceless--I wanted them all. Even my friends who know my two dogs very well were impressed and said the essence of my dogs were captured in the photos. + Timely. Andrea and her assistant showed up on time and made time for the right shot. Andrea didn't mind getting down on the ground to get a dog eyes' view! And during the pandemic, she and her assistant wore masks. + Action shots. I was worried that my younger dog would run off and not pay attention. My worries were unfounded as I saw my dog run to her over and over again. Not once did my dog run off to chase a bird or sniff something on the grounds. Every single time she ran to Andrea to give her the perfect action shot! + No pressure. During our viewing session, Andrea patiently allowed me to view the proofs and select my favorites. Not once did she try to push any of the images or packages onto me. We also scheduled a follow up call to allow me to narrow my final options. + Dogs don't lie. Both of my dogs responded favorably to her. In fact my younger pup tried to follow her home. That tells me everything. I had a very positive experience with Paws and Play Studio from our initial consultation to our end product. Everything was delivered as expected with no surprises. Andrea did not disappoint. She captured the character and essence of my dogs on digital and print. Those images are priceless and to have the right person to take care of your dog and your memories is an investment. My dogs and I are happy to have found Andrea at Paws and Play Studio!

Andrea has been a joy to work with - we are lucky enough to have had two sessions with her. We won…read morethe first session through a fundraiser with Copper's Dream Rescue where our handsome pup Kuma got photographed for their 2021 calendar. Andrea immediately made us all feel at ease and Kuma fell in love with her and her treats. We left our shoot feeling like we'd made a new friend! When we met with Andrea to view the photos she took, I immediately started tearing up watching the slideshow. At the time, our pup Kuma had been on steroids and various other medications for many months and hadn't been his true, energetic self. Seeing him running and smiling in the photos made my heart swell and eyes fill with happy tears. We were so pleased with our time with Andrea that we booked a second session so we could include our other pup, Cali (she had been at puppy training for the first photo shoot). Our second photo shoot was just as much fun as the first - we wanted Andrea to capture some family portraits of us as well as candid shots of both Kuma and Cali. She couldn't have done a more spectacular job. The photos we have bring us so much joy and happiness. Andrea is professional, sweet, and funny. She does a beautiful job capturing both candid and posed moments. We could not recommend her more highly. She is one of the best in the Bay Area and we hope to work with her again in the future!

Tiffany is not only a FANTASTIC newborn and family photographer, but she is also an INCREDIBLE…read morewedding and engagement photographer... My obsession with Tiffany started when she captured our engagement photos in Moss Beach.  I had a specific picture I had envisioned and obsessed about, and like a bad client I didn't tell Tiffany.  When I got back my pictures, there it was!  I knew from that day on I would never use another photographer. When it came to us picking a photographer for our destination wedding in Palm Springs, I felt a gravitational pull towards Tiffany, and she didn't disappoint.  She made the booking portion very simple and easy.  I sent her a list of shots we wanted and she pretty much captured everything I could even think of, and more.  She leaned into our moody "old Hollywood" look.  She worked our 200+ wedding like she'd been doing it for decades.  She works with light like a master artist.  What comes out at the end will absolutely blow your mind.  And on top of it all, she's a lot of fun to work with and makes you feel so comfortable.  I honestly wanted her to stay the entire wedding as a guest because I felt so close to her after our journey together. .... And thank God she has a sense of humor because when I wanted to do a funny gender reveal, newborn shoot for our new puppy, Frankie, she was all in!! She was even able to swaddle our 9 week only puppy! My husband actually said, when we were looking to book a photographer for our wedding, that he only wanted to work with Tiffany.  That's when I knew she would be apart of our lives forever.  I'm pretty sure 99.9% of the pictures framed in our house are all taken by Tiffany.  Tiffany captures the stuff that dreams are made of.  Thank you Tiffany for being apart of our big moments and giving us the greatest gifts, our memories live and in living color (or moody and in black and white when the occasion arises).

Just got our photos back from Tiffany and I am blown away! Tiffany made our family photo shoot so…read moreeasy and fun, which is no small feat when trying to get family photos with a little one and a dog! We'll definitely treasure all of the moments she captured and can't wait to work with her again!