When I heard that a photographer was coming onsite to the pre-k program my kid was attending, I was expecting the same kind of lousy impersonal and uninteresting photos we got taken of us as kids. Little did I know that the school had retained Vince Tarry Photography to do the shots! When I received the proofs I was simply blown away - he captured an inner joy and carefree aspect of my daughter's personality that I had found so difficult to image (and I have received extensive training as a photographer). As a result, I couldn't buy only one picture, I had to buy a set of several in order to do a 3-up frame that captured her laughter and playful spirit. I cherish these photos (as do her grandparents). Now knowing what I was going to get, the following year I took in both my older and younger daughter for a joint session and, again, was thrilled at the mood they were able to capture. Not surprisingly, I found myself ordering multiple images because the combined shots capture an endearing, priceless moment. It's worth pointing out that my comments implicitly go far beyond the technical work - the photographers know how to work with their subjects to get them to relax and know when to pull the trigger. These are surely the hardest parts to photography; the technical issues are small by comparison. Artistically, this business is a 5. However, they're not exactly cheap and especially since it's basically impossible to only buy one image I think they should have better pricing for large package purchases. Ultimately, I just bought the image files on CD - I couldn't stand the idea of not having all the wonderful pictures. But now I've got the hassle of heading out to a less expensive print shop or doing select, limited prints on my home printer. That said, I'm taking my kids to Vince for their annual photo from now on. read more

Our preschool used Vince's company and the school pics looked terrible. The child and top of the background is NOT proportional with the background taking up about 40% of the photo and then a small toddler just elbows up in the photo. My child is photogenic and instead she looked very uncomfortable. Background was strange with fake yellow flowers on one side and pink blossoms on another - which are from two different seasons. The class picture was mostly of the playground (again BAD proportions), and taken too far away that you could barely see the kids faces, plus ours had a huge gap in middle like there should have been a few kids there. Not worth the expensive prices or shipping. read more

I completely agree with Christine. I used Vince as my wedding photographer several years ago (shame on me for not reviewing him earlier) and he made the experience so easy and fun. We had a tight budget but of course wanted the world. Vince was able to give us many options to choose from and he worked closely with us to make sure the final product (our album) reflected our personalities. He is super artistic as well, and looked for every opportunity to get unique shots. No stiff album for us! Vince was professional, he delivered our proofs and albums on time and they are absolutely beautiful. I have and will continue to refer people to him without hesitation. We heart Vince too! read more

Yes, I never directly paid Vince Tarry directly. However, if you want to be transparent, I paid tuition money to my daughter's preschool who then directly coordinated the photo service. Did I want to pay Vince Tarry money for my first child's first school picture? You bet. Did Vince Tarry provide me with a positive experience to want to do so? No, they did not. The haughty, condescending attitude was enough to turn any potential customer off. So instead of Vince Tarry being accountable they instead want to paint me in the wrong. Or maybe because I didn't pay them, that is the excuse for their behavior? Did I get my child's photo? No. They couldn't find hers on the day they were distributed. So you see Vince Tarry you failed. But i'll give you an extra star for effort. read more

iclicksmiles is much too expensive for school photos. $5.95 shipping fee that is unavoidable. Unfortunately, none of my child's poses came out very well. If you want to crop your photo for a classic head shot, the website instructs you to crop the photo for every different picture size in the package even if it's the same exact same image. read more

My new husband and I were lucky enough to have Vince photograph our wedding a few weeks ago. He had been the wedding photographer for my brother and sister-in-law's wedding last year, and the easiest decision when planning our wedding was asking Vince to do our wedding as well! We met Vince two times at his studio in San Carlos before the wedding, and he made sure that we were comfortable with him and that he knew the "must have" photos we wanted taken on the big day. There was a freak rain storm on the day of our wedding (yes, in mid-September in Los Gatos!), and needless to say I was quietly freaking out over the weather. Vince showed up with all of his equipment and a parka over his nice suit, and he quickly assured me that we would "just make it work". Honestly, I don't know what I would have done if he had not showed up then and there to comfort me and make me feel like everything would be ok. He promised me that he would make it look like we had gotten married on a beautiful day in the Santa Cruz mountains, and he did not disappoint! Along with Vince's calm professionalism, the other best part about him is how quickly he works. There is no standing or waiting around with Vince. He gets group shots done very efficiently, so much so that our family members were able to enjoy most of the cocktail hour with the other guests. I have been to other weddings where it takes ages to get the photographs done, and people don't like waiting around that long- believe me! I will 100% be recommending Vince to anyone looking for a fantastic photographer. As I said, hiring him to photograph our wedding was the easiest and best decision that we made- by far!! When my husband and I start a family together, we will definitely go to Vince to photograph all of our future happy occasions! read more

Fantastic photographer, professional, easy going... He was my wedding photographer (also does commercial and portraits) and I've been recommending him to EVERYBODY! So many people complain that they have waited ages for their wedding proofs... but that was not the case with Vince. We got our proofs in like, 2 weeks! (OK, maybe it was 3... the wedding was a while ago) He was just GREAT to work with (esp. since we spent most of our time at the wedding with him!). SO glad he was our photographer! I *heart* Vince! read more

HORRIBLE experience, After leaving two messages I finally had nice chat about the pictures Mr. Tarry's best photographer took at picture retake day. I listed my concerns to him. Below you will find them and his responses: 1. Why did daughter A had only four pictures to choose from while daughter B had 11 pictures to choose from: His response- they try to get between 8-10 per child. Daughter A must have been one of the first kids who had their picture taken, and the photographer had to get the lightening correct, focus correct and the fact that the photographer could not get her to smile that great. Not sure what happened during the retakes, but again, there were only four pictures to choose from. daughter B had many more to choose from. 2. On the retake pictures. They were able to capture daughter A with a bit of a smile. But with daughter B pictures, her glasses were on crooked. When I first called to let them know I was told by Melissa that they were not crooked. I argued with her about it and then stopped and asked, who is right? The customer or you? She then told me that I did not have to buy any of the pictures. Ok then, what am I going to do to "capture" their second grade picture? I hung up, upset, and then called back and asked to have Mr. Tarry call me back. I had to call again on Monday, left a message and Mr. Tarry called me back promptly. We spoke about my concerns about daughter's B glasses being crooked. He said they were fine, I said they were not. He said it was splitting hairs- I would like to think that as a professional photographer he would have said, yes they are crooked but instead he gave me a lot of excuses- A. There were over 40 kids who were NOT SIGNED up to have their pictures retaken. (not my problem). B. His photographer was overwhelmed with the number of kids who wanted their picture retaken (not my problem). C. daughter A wouldn't smile. D. The photographers are not in the habit of looking at "grooming" issues on kids. Hence the crooked glasses. Life touch, had they taken the pictures would have been mindful. At this point I needed to move on as he was FULL OF EXCUSES and I had enough. I did mention again that I had a kid in tears because there was only four pictures for her to pick from where as her sister had 11. He said he understood that his wife was a twin. Great, a little to late for me. He did offer me a discounted rate of $50 for another sitting at a local park either in San Carlos or Belmont. I told him I need to think about it as I was not prepared to pay out more money for school photos. He is now off to Mexico to photograph a wedding. Overall the customer service was poor and they were right and I was wrong. I wonder if he would use daughter B picture on his website to show the quality of service he provides. I don't think so. I found that iclicksmile was less than accommodating, did not do what was on their website it states " We try to photograph children with and without their glasses. daughter B did not have any poses in her retake with out glasses. nor was there an email sent to me to remind me about make ups For our Elementary, Middle Schools and High Schools, the makeup day is scheduled 3-4 weeks after the first picture day. We will send out email reminders with information to sign-up for makeup photos. I find that the website offered one version of a story and I got a very different one. read more

I emailed them weeks ago inquiring about their services, no response. Why have email if you dont use it?

I have nothing against the quality of the pictures. In fact, I loved clicking through all the great shots that were taken of my little daughter at school. However, I cannot justify paying these prices. I know you usually get what you pay for, but to me this is a little too much. read more

I used Vince Tarry as my wedding photographer almost 15 years ago (I couldn't review him back then as the internet was not exactly what it is today HA) and we still rave about him. I look at all my photos and just love how he captured such a special moment for us. He was beyond professional and I continue to recommend him to all my friends or to anyone looking for a photographer. My husband is a bit camera shy as soon as he see's a camera he get's serious and/or has a stiff smile but Vince was able to make him laugh and get him comfortable in front of the camera. I've seen his photos through the years and he only gets better!!! I highly recommend Vince for any special moments you want to capture. read more

Vince Tarry is a very talented photographer. I met Vince 20+ years ago when our kids went to school together. He did photography for the preschool that my son attended and I loved the pictures. When I got married last year I tracked him down to take our wedding pictures. He was great with the guests, great sense of humor and we loved the photographs! Highly recommend! read more

We originally found out about Vince Tarry Photography when he did portraits at our childrens' preschool. We could not believe how beautifully he captured our daughters, and bought several prints. Last year he did our family portrait, and we used it on our holiday card. It is a gorgeous photo and we got so many compliments! Vince is a natural with kids and really helped them feel relaxed and happy. The retouching was excellent and natural looking. They have a decent selection of frames in-house. We weren't thrilled with one of the mats he chose, and he redid it, no questions asked. We will definitely use him again this year. read more

Vince and his team were absolutely amazing! Our engagement session was an added bonus and we had a fantastic time with Vince, finding just the perfect places along the CA coast to take some breathtaking shots. The day of the wedding they were everywhere but nowhere...let me explain. They shot every angle, every moment and caught the most precious glances and smiles but at the same time were so quick and quiet about their work we didn't feel like they were even there. I feel this is the true test of a good wedding photographer and Vince and his team passed with flying colors and A+s all around. Multiple people at the wedding praised the efforts of these rapid fire photographers and even a couple of ex-wedding photographers gave rave reviews (another key test for me). We are so grateful for the amazing pictures to remember our big day and couldn't have asked for a more pleasant and fun, professional and talented bunch. They kept us laughing, comfortable and calm so we could enjoy every moment. I had a big smile on my face just looking through the proof books and dreaming of all the fun things I can do with the prints and picking out ones I'd want blown up...I don't think I have enough walls in my house though for all the perfect shots they caught! I highly recommend Vince Tarry photography to any bride, family or individual looking for some amazing photos. Not only do they bring out the best in you so you look great, they add some artsy touches that make the work a masterpiece. Thank you Vince, Jeff and team!!! read more

I've used Vince Tarry 3 times. Twice in service of my kid's school, and once for a private shoot. In the school setting, Vince was able to get smiles out of my son that were genuine and cute. No better picture has ever been taken of my boy. One of Vince's employees did my daughter's school shoot, and that was equally wonderful. -Now... the prints were pricey... But that's to be expected. All decent photographers have upped their prices since scanners and printers have freed us to print our own copies. We also hired him for a shoot outside the school. He tolerated us being late. He was even nice about it. He still spent the right amount of time with my kids. He still made them smile. He still got better shots than anybody else ever has. When we left, my kids were happy, and so were their parents. Ok, maybe I was expecting the prints to show up a day or two earlier, but that is not something I would call a problem. Vince is a nice guy, and a great photographer, getting decent shots out of a family as funny-looking as mine. I can't imagine a person I wouldn't recommend him to. ps, the same two kids have been photographed at Sears, and by Lifetouch at the other school. Both of those were awful by comparison. But hey, they were cheaper. read more