Carol was the best photographer a bride could ever ask for! Her and her second shooter Mohammed,…read moremade the day so much fun and really captured the most amazing shots of our special day! Even the guys had fun! She is so talented and it was so fun to share in her creative process and be her muse. My husband and I are so in love with the images we have seen so far and cannot wait to see more! She captured the nature and spirt of the day perfectly, we felt like royalty. Thank you Carol for your attention to detail and for what I know is going to be the most stunning wedding album yet! I can't wait to book you for many, many more special moments in our lifetime together! Happy Holidays, Chelsea & Lafras

Carol and Justin make up the fabulous team of Carol Oliva Photography. My husband and I did our…read moreengagement & wedding photos with them, and that was the best purchase we made. They both have such an amazing eye for absolutely breathtaking photos. During the wedding, Carol and Justin captured all the moments I was hoping to, without even remembering to bring those shots to their attention. We also used their photo booth during our reception, and that was almost just as fun as the reception! They were so entertaining making our guests laugh, and had the perfect props for our guests to utilize. Another great benefit is Carol's timely correspondence. Anytime I had a question, she'd email me back, with thorough explanation. Their work speaks for itself, when I say that you will not regret booking them for your photography needs!!

Taylor was an absolute pleasure to work with! She took photos at our wedding, including the…read moreceremony, portraits, and reception. The whole time, she was so great at telling us where we needed to be and how to pose to get the perfect shots. The photos all came out beautifully, and we're having such a hard time deciding on just a couple to get printed! Leading up to the wedding, we had multiple meetings to discuss the wedding timeline, shots that were important to us, and all of the other important logistics. They were always very well thought-out in advance, and Taylor was incredibly responsive to all of our other questions between calls. We are so glad that we got to work with Taylor and hope that we have more opportunities to in the future! 10/10 experience!

Taylor was just the BEST to work with and we couldn't have chosen a better photographer in the…read moreCarmel area. My fiance and I were visiting from Los Angeles and wanted to get engagement photos done. Taylor was prompt, responsive, and patient in explaining the process. She knew the best locations for photographs and made the photo shoot so enjoyable and fun. She made us feel comfortable and relaxed. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to work with her!

Letty thank you for some amazing family photos!…read more With very small kids, a nice family photo shoot felt daunting to me. Letty was so easy to work with, and so helpful in planning every step of the way. She even provides great guidance on what to wear. Her contract and payment process is virtual and convenient and very easy to navigate. The digitals were available to us quickly and easy to download and enjoy. Honestly, I wasn't even sure about what type of pictures and combinations of family photos I wanted; but Letty was flexible and creative and helped us come up with great poses and ideas. She is also adventurous enough to try beautiful on-site locations. My daughter especially had a great time. All in all, the outcome was memorable once-in-a-lifetime photos that I will always cherish.

I am so glad I hired Letty to photograph our extended family gathering. She showed up early, was a…read morepro with the elders and rambunctious kids, and her images came out beautifully. Thank you for capturing our rare gathering!

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!

Moments in Time owner, Adam W, was absolutely amazing. After reaching out to multiple photographers…read morein the area to capture our anniversary pictures, we could not be more pleased. Being from the East Coast and 2400 miles from our home, we wanted our annivetsary in Carmel to be remembered forever. Adam not only captured memories that will last a lifetime, but we also gained a friend. Adam is a remarkable person and is gifted to give just the right guidance for capturing the most beautiful images on Carmel Sunset Beach during golden hour. We have worked with multiple photographers in the past, and Adam is a gifted photographer who truly captures moments in time. Let him capture your next big moment. You'll have images you'll cherish for a lifetime!

I am so glad I hired Adam for my surprise proposal to my girlfriend. Living in SoCal and having…read morenever been to Monterey/Big Sur, I planned my whole proposal based on google searches, reddit threads, and word of mouth. Being a Big Sur/Monterey local, Adam provided extremely helpful insight and feedback for my proposal. He definitely helped relieve a lot of the stress during the planning phase of my proposal. On the day of the actual shoot, the day-of jitters was overwhelming at times, but Adam's energy and demeanor was very centering. He was patient and gave my new fiancee and I space to calm ourselves, and also knew when to take charge and guide us with our poses. He also had amazing and creative ideas for how to pose and brought us to local, reclusive spots to take intimate photos. Best of all, Adam always had a smile on his face and he made us really think like we were supermodels walking the runway haha. If you're going to do any photoshoot, especially a proposal or engagement shoot, in the Big Sur/Monterey area, I would highly recommend getting Adam!!

Ben took the most beautiful family photos for us! He picked an amazing location. We gave him a…read morechallenge with a large group of 21 that included lots of kids and he captured everyone just perfectly. We are happy to recommend him and his work to our friends and family.

This review is 4 years overdue but Ben was there to help capture my wife and I's engagement. Not…read moreonly was he super professional but he was extremely helpful in picking the perfect spot. If you're looking for incredible photography work, Ben is the best option. You won't be disappointed!

Shannon is amazing, she is not only a phenomenal person but her skills and ability to tell your…read morestory through her lens is nothing short of perfection. As a wedding planner on the Monterey peninsula I work with a ton of photographer, but some stand out as professionals that really are able to not just capture a wedding but capture your personalities, your special moments and the little things that you forget in the whirlwind of your day. I could go on and on about how wonderful Shannon is but one conversation with her and you will see for yourself that this is a person that you can trust to capture your story and tell it better than you would yourself.

If you're looking for a photographer who will spend time to genuinely learn about you as a person,…read moreuse her years of experience to be an invaluable source of wisdom and calm on your wedding day or special event, and deliver stunning shots that you will treasure for the rest of your life, look no further. Shannon is a photographer that you can trust with the most important moments of your life, without a worry in the world. And in fact, she made ours measurably more amazing just by being there. In our engagement shoot, not only did she encourage my husband and me to experience emotional moments without feeling awkward, but she brought out a side of us that we didn't even know existed. We will remember that experience forever. And the wedding day itself was like we had an additional wedding coordinator on hand. Shannon was a respectful yet confident guide during a day when you're so overwhelmed by it all. My family and friends all commented on how professional and FUN she was to work with, and we all agree that the finished product was completely worth the investment we made in her professional services. Besides the attention to detail in getting photos of all the important moments, her photography style itself is stunning. Check her out on Instagram, and you'll understand what I mean. The way she captures light creates a feeling that is modern, clean, and bright, which is such a beautiful aesthetic for portraits, detail shots, and landscape-style pictures alike. The hardest part is having to pick which pictures you want to print and have in an album!!! Shannon will be photographing a day you will never get to live again, but you can relive it over and over through the magical shots that she captures. Shannon makes the whole experience an absolute pleasure. 10/10 - would highly recommend to anyone looking to be gifted with incredible, lifelong photo memories!!!

Beautiful artwork. Lots of monterey Peninsula shots. Her art shots are phenomenal. Multi talented…read morein all aspects of photography.

I am a hairdresser and have worked with Michelle on three fashion, hair and wedding photo shoots…read morethat turned out more than amazing. Michelle is very talented, punctual and professional. We instantly became friends so when it was my turn to get married I asked if she would be my photographer. With very short notice she accepted. She shot my bridal party, my husband and I on the Monterey peninsula and the wedding ceremony. I can't recommend her enough!! She is a rising star!