Where do I even start? I asked friends for a recommendation for a local photographer that did…read moreweddings. I was given a dozen different ones that I went and researched on my own. My husband and I have played with photography in the past and were really picky on who we would choose for our big day. We were blown away by Manuel's website and work. He responded quickly to my online inquiry and any and every random question I had. Due to Covid, this was the only person besides our family and minister that would be at our wedding. He arrived at the location before we did, which I didn't expect, because I'm usually the first one everywhere. I met him and his lovely wife/assistant and was instantly at ease. I didn't even have to ask, they immediately starting documenting our big day. They gave direction when we asked, but it was like they weren't even there, yet they captured every single special moment, ones even I missed. Our family left talking about how nice and professional they were. We received our pictures back FAST, and holy crap... I cried out of happiness as I looked through them. They were so good, I literally don't know how to pick which ones to print to put on the wall. Every time I look through them, I find even more that I love and appreciate. If you are thinking of hiring Manuel, do it. My friends and family are obsessed with our pictures and I'm so grateful we chose him. I will stop strangers on the street and tell them about my amazing experience. I look forward to working with him in the future.

Simply put, Manuel Ortega is a superb, talented, artistic, and professional caliber wedding…read morephotographer who fulfilled all our expectations and more. Beyond his exceptional photography skills, Manuel is warm, friendly, and easy to work with, honest, reliable, a good listener, and attentive to you needs/preferences. He loves his craft, which shows in the quality of his photos and the joy with which he approaches his work and conducts himself. Manuel's wife Melissa is a talented photographer in her own right and together they work efficiently and effectively as a team on all their shoots. They were both an absolute pleasure to work with from start to finish. We also enjoyed meeting their adorable son who came along with them to our engagement photo session! We spent days searching for our ideal wedding photographer. It was important to us to work with a person of color, and we are so grateful that we found Manuel, a fantastic photographer who is also Latino. We could not have chosen better. Unlike many other high quality, professional wedding photographers we researched whose prices are astronomical, Manuel's pricing is reasonable, affordable, flexible, and it allowed us to stay within our budget, which we greatly appreciated. For our engagement photo session, we met Manuel at a beautiful beach in the Carmel area just before sunset. It turned out to be an ideal spot for our engagement photo shoot and we were very happy with how the photos turned out. The setting was gorgeous, lighting ideal, and there was hardly anybody else there. Manuel helped put us at ease immediately with his relaxed manner and professionalism, which made it easy for us to follow his instructions and get some great candid and posed shots. Manuel's top-of-the-line camera equipment takes amazing photos with him at the helm. Melissa helped out with the backlighting and instructing us on ideal hand and body positions for the shots. We highly recommend doing the engagement photo session. It gave us a chance to get to know Manuel & Melissa and to develop rapport and an easy working relationship with them prior to the wedding. So, on our wedding day, we knew what to expect and already felt at ease working together. Prior to the wedding, Manuel promptly answered all our questions and we also had a great final conversation with him about our specific photography wishes/preferences for our wedding day. Manuel & Melissa delivered in every way. On our wedding day, they showed up early to familiarize themselves with the venue since they hadn't been there before. As a team, they captured all the most important moments of our day, as well as the memorable details. They also did a great job capturing the setting, including the food, the dinner reception set up, the flowers, and beautiful aspects of the venue. Notably, despite the fact that our wedding got off schedule because our ceremony ran longer than we had anticipated, Manuel & Melissa adapted to the situation admirably and went with the flow, doing their best to capture family photos after the ceremony, even though we essentially ran out of time for them! They improvised beautifully under the circumstances. When we received our 1000+ wedding photos from Manuel a few weeks after the wedding, we were blown away. We love the wedding photos Manuel & Melissa captured and are so glad we hired them to be our wedding photography team! We highly recommend them! Rob & Soreliz

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!

Just like any other portrait place, this place is pricey…read more Their service is phenomenal. Its run by a husband and wife team. They have a great office. An awesome way to show you your photos. They make you feel very good. Gregg is an amazing photographer, and your smiles will always come out very natural. GO WITH THIS Company when choosing a photographer for portraits.

I am so proud to have beautiful portraits of my family. The way every detail was addressed was top…read morenotch--from the initial consultation to what we would wear (one of my big questions) to the final presentation. I could tell my satisfaction--like total satisfaction-- was what was important to this husband and wife professional team. Having such a beautiful keepsake book of our daughters portraits, as well as our whole family has been a wonderful acquistion that I have showed off over and over. I cannot say enough about the quality of work and the service we received. Gregg made it so fun for us, we laughed and relaxed and really enjoyed the experience. I would recommend this photographer to anyone.

We've had the pleasure of working with Brent on a couple of occasions and absolutely loved our…read morefamily photos and our son's 1 year old birthday pictures! Several of our family and friends had to get their pictures done by him too, because they said they were so inspired at how nice ours turned out. It was an incredible experience all around. Brent made us feel comfortable and was great at directing us to get some awesome shots. We will treasure them forever, thank you! Highly recommend!

Brent is an outstanding photographer. He was able to capture three generations of our family in…read moresome of my favorite photographs ever! His style is fresh and unique, his portraits feel much more special than just an ordinary portrait photographer. Brent's ability to connect and get his subjects comfortable is amazing!

I have never felt as comfortable with a photographer as I have with Tom. He put me at total ease…read moreduring our engagement shoot, and captured our wedding with style, humor and grace. Beauty is in the eye of the camera holder, and it takes a certain talent to capture people. Tom is so wonderful to be around that everyone relaxes, and he knows just how to capture every person's unique beauty as well as the magic in every moment. Truly the best of the best - in talent, personality, and style. He is the one person I will go to until the day he puts his camera away (which I hope is never.)

My wife and I worked with Josh for our elopement which started at our Airbnb and eventually moved…read moreto Big Sur. He was so considerate and attentive to us and made us feel really cared for. We had both never been professionally filmed in that capacity and he made the process so smooth and effortless.

We initially hired Josh for our May 2020 wedding.... he was incredibly patient with us through…read moremultiple pandemic-related reschedules and even a change of venue and city, as our lives changed over the pandemic. We finally got married 5/6/23 and Josh did a FANTASTIC job as our videographer! He is a genuinely kind, calm person and is a wonderful human being. He constantly offered to help throughout the day, for example making sure bride and groom both had drinks! As for the video..... he absolutely nailed it. It's romantic, cinematic, and captures all the best moments. My husband got a lump in his throat watching it. It's something we'll treasure for the rest of our lives. Josh is an absolute dream to work with. Don't skimp on the video - it's the only thing that will truly transport you back to that day in the years to come. He is worth every single penny (and then some)! Thank you Josh!!!

We had our wedding at the Brazilian Room in Tilden Park and found Ian's name on the the vendor list…read moreprovided during a wedding fair. After talking with a couple of photographers, we knew Ian was the perfect match. He is very personable, professional, and had great photos! We also LOVED the fact he provided us with our photos on a disc automatically, rather than charging for this as many other photographers do. We also appreciated the fact he did not include the price of an album in his fees. While he offered this as a service, it was not mandatory, like many of the other people we looked at. We just got our photos back tonight and could not be happier. We could not wait to yelp him! We highly recommend his services and also loved the fact he was the one who recommended our florist who also turned out to be simply amazing (Chestnut and Vine in Berkeley).

I want to give Ian 10,000 stars. He brings a huge dose of fun, enthusiasm, and creativity to your…read morephotographs. We were running behind schedule on our wedding day due to a couple of factors but Ian was the voice of calm as he navigated a couple of lost key guests, he directed people with great command after our ceremony and tried as hard as he could to get us to the reception on time. I heard him making jokes with my guests and he was very professional through the whole event. we just got our pictures back and they are perfect. I didn't point out the people who are very close and important to us but Ian picked up on it and captured them, together, in pictures that make me cry with joy. Choose Ian for classic, meaningful photos and don't look back!