One of our greatest challenges was finding the perfect photographer for our wedding. We didn't want the cookie cutter approach to wedding photography. We needed someone who could look outside of the box and have a dramatic naturalistic perspective on capturing our once in a lifetime day. Carmen, you were that person. From the first time we met you, we truly fed off your enthusiastic passionate approach to your art. You and me and my wife had a very honest discussion as to our expectations and you were very prepared with a great portfolio of work to show us. We kept in constant communication as the day drew nearer and your professional preparation removed any doubts that you would do a great job. The day of the wedding you were right next to us directing us and inspiring us with your creative vision. On such a momentous day, you kept us calm, energized and enthusiastic. It was a fun collaboration. Your photos were greater than we could have even envisioned. Your and your fellow photographer took amazing shots all day long. I know you took a ton of pictures, but the final dvd of pictures pretty much captured the day wonderfully. I can only imagine how much time it must have taken you to review it all. Your turnaround was lightning fast and with the great pictures we have, I know we have limitless possibilities in putting together special albums that our families and down the line, our children can cherish. We have several couples getting engaged soon and I can't recommend a better artist/person to capture these special moments than Carmen. May she have the greatest success in her career. I know her art will bring a lifetime of happy memories to those that she will touch. read more

Carmen photographed my June 2011 wedding and also did an engagement photo session for us in June 2010. I was 100% satisfied with her work on both occasions! STYLE: Carmen has a photo-journalistic style and is able to capture moments in a very pure and beautiful way. My guests have given me feedback that they hardly noticed Carmen or her second shooter, Jennifer, and yet looking through the pictures we see that they got great shots of everyone. FIRST LOOK: Carmen encouraged us to do a bride/groom session prior to the Ceremony, which turned out to be an excellent idea, despite being somewhat untraditional. She orchestrated a "first look" where I walked up to my awaiting groom with his back turned - and photographed the whole thing, including the look of amazement on his face when he saw me for the first time. Having our "first look" be a private moment was actually really nice and I'm glad we did it prior to the ceremony. ENGAGEMENT SESSION: If you are looking for a wedding photographer, I recommend doing an engagement session because 1) you get awesome pictures (we used one for our save-the-dates) and 2) you get experience being photographed and you learn how to work with your photographer. After our engagement session, we gave Carmen some feedback, all of which was followed on the day of our wedding. PROFESSIONALISM: Carmen was also a pleasure to work with! She provided excellent communication leading up to and following the event. Her online system where she posts the photos is very easy to use and you can order beautiful prints directly through the site. There is event a "favorites" feature that any of our guests can utilize to mark photos that they like. I highly recommend Carmen to photograph any event and plan to use her again in the future! read more

We hired Carmen as our wedding photographer and it was one of the best decisions we made. We absolutely LOVED having Carmen as our photographer. She did both our engagement and wedding photos and both turned out absolutely fabulous. I literally smiled ear to ear as I looked through our photos. Carmen has such a great way of capturing the moment and has such a unique perspective. When my husband and I were deciding between photographers, we ultimately made our decision based upon price-point and quality of photos. Carmen was the best choice on those points. She is worth her weight in gold! Carmen is very professional, assertive, but at the same time considerate and flexible. If you are looking for a wedding photographer, I would say look no further! I highly recommend Carmen. You will not be disappointed. read more

There is a reason Carmen has nothing but 5 stars. She is absolutely the best person for the job of capturing your wedding with beautiful artistry that truly conveys the spirit and soul of your day. My sister found her by googling wedding photographs at our venue, which was the Hotel Shattuck Plaza. I was immediately taken with her work. It was exactly what I wanted, no cookie-cutter wedding shots. Instead photos that were creative and different but beautiful and captivating. When she photographed our wedding, I could tell how she gets the shots she does. She works really hard to direct the people being shot so that they are seen from a flattering angle, looking amazing, and doing really fun, cool things that make amazing photos. I was beyond pleased with our photos. They are beautiful works of art that perfectly illustrated the most amazing day of my life. Our guests were able to look at the shots on-line and raved about how fabulous our photos were. And to top it all off, she is really fun and nice and was an absolute joy to work with. Why are you still even reading this? Pick up the phone and call her or email her. You will love what she comes up with for your day. read more

Carmen is flippin' fantastic! She photographed our wedding and did an engagement session with us and both times, it was so fun to work with her. She has a very creative eye, is professional, honest, and willing to work with you to make sure that taking photos on your special day is as joyful and relaxed as it can be. We absolutely love her style - it's professional, yet artistic and edgy. Her angles and the way she focuses the shots are really unique and beautiful. We picked her partly because of her style (we immediately loved it) and partly because of her personality (she is fun, warm, and understood that we wanted a touch of quirkiness but not too much). The two references we spoke with before hiring her had only fabulous things to say about her which made our decision easy. She took "getting ready" photos of me and my family and bridesmaids at the house, "first look" photos of my husband and me before the ceremony, our ceremony photos, family portraits in the church, "just us" photos where we went to a separate location and got to chill a bit while she and her assistant made us relaxed and happy as they snapped away, and then the reception. We got a preview of the photos and we already love them. Can't wait to see the rest! We would absolutely recommend Carmen 100%. read more

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Carmen is professional, talented and creative. She did our engagement and wedding pictures last year (yes, I am very late in posting this review) and they are AMAZING. We now have an overwhelming number of pictures from our wedding, which is exactly what we were paying for, so we can't complain. One thing to be aware of: It took us a really long time to get a DVD of the photos back, and even longer to get our photo album. I know it's normal for wedding photography to take a long time, but this seemed exceptionally long. In the end, it didn't really matter much to us, and we love our photos now that we have them! read more

Carmen took photos at our wedding in August, and we absolutely loved her. She was friendly, organized, flexible, laid back, and importantly, we love our photos!! From our first meeting, Carmen was a dream to work with - she listened carefully to what we wanted and took the time to know us as people and understand what our wedding was going to look like. Because my husband and I travel a ton, most of our subsequent communications took place over email, and Carmen was great at that too. She was clear and prompt in responding to us, even when we were super slow in responding to her. We planned our whole wedding ourselves, and were very vague about pesky details like "timeline" and "transitions", but Carmen followed along seamlessly. On the day of the wedding, Carmen and her lovely assistant (sorry - I forgot her name) were everything you'd want out of a photographer team. There were no surprises - everything was exactly the way we'd discussed ahead of time. Our wedding was at a private residence that we rented for the occasion, so there was no chance for Carmen to visit it ahead of time, but that wasn't even an issue. She came about an hour early and explored the grounds, and by the time our portrait session rolled around, you would have thought Carmen had grown up in that house. She picked all the right spots for beautiful photos. During the non-posed parts of our day (which was most of it), Carmen and Assistant seemed to be both everywhere and nowhere at all times, in the sense that they were never in the way, but whenever something fun or funny or touching was happening, there they were, snapping away unnoticed from the sidelines. When we saw the wedding pictures, we were amazed that she had captured so many perfect moments. Kids on pogo sticks in mid-jump, my MIL twirling her skirt in tandem with my little niece, two of our friends flirting with each other (heh) - Carmen got it all. Even my dad, who hates the idea of photos as a way of remembering events, was amazed at the quality of Carmen's work and said that she had a "special gift" of capturing life through her photos. My husband and I agree 100%. One last thing: Carmen has a good eye for light, so trust her if she tries to sneak you off for "one last photo". As the sun was setting on our wedding day, she pulled us aside for a mini, impromptu photo shoot, and I am telling you, those are some of my favorite images from that day - it looks like we are bathing in gold. Overall, you can't go wrong with Carmen. Thank you, Carmen, for everything!! read more

I couldn't write enough praise about Carmen. She was wonderful to work with before, during and after our wedding. She is great at communication and a godsend the day of. Her photos are breathtaking and she manages to both subtly lead while blending into the background and capturing photos from moments you didn't even realize she was present for. Her photographs sell themselves, she is truly an artist with a vision and provides you with wonderful photos for a lifetime of memories. She is flexible and calm and I cannot recommend her enough! read more

We knew as soon as we looked through Carmen's previous work that she was the person we wanted to photograph our wedding day. We did our engagement shoot with her and just loved how those turned out so I am not surprised that I am in love with pretty much every shot she took at the wedding. I seriously don't know how to choose what to put in the album, they are all so great! Not only is her work unique and creative, but the lighting and composition of her shots are incredible.It was such a pleasure working with her from start to finish. Not all vendors are so professional and personable but we absolutely loved having Carmen there and getting to know her over the past year. If I could I would give her 6 stars I would! :) Totally worth every penny. read more

Carmen Alvarez photographed our April 2009 wedding in Tiburon, CA. I can't even begin to describe what she did for us on that day and how much we appreciate her. I have been told many times over that our wedding photos are some of the most beautiful that people have ever seen and I am not saying this to toot my own horn but to compliment Carmen because she is the reason for this. I have heard that paying for a good wedding photographer is one of the most important things you can get for your wedding day and I have to say that Carmen is worth way more than what she charges. She is a true artist and a wonderful calming presence on what can be a very stressful day. I highly recommend her. read more

Carmen has a special gift. When she gets behind the lens, she is able to capture the full emotion of the moment in a powerful and unique style. She shot our engagement photos in the Marin Headlands and our wedding this summer. She plays with the colors and light in a way that is artistic and personal. Many of the shots serve as conversation pieces. We were so impressed by Carmen's photographic eye and talent and she's an absolutely delightful person. We had seen some of Carmen's work a couple of years before we got married when she shot a friend's engagement photos. They had an emotional beauty to them that we had not seen in other engagement photos. On our wedding day, she was exactly what every bride wants and needs - someone who is extremely calm, warm and professional. She was able to snap "getting ready" shots of everyone without being intrusive. She also was able to document the joy, the laughter and the tears and all of the priceless moments of our wedding day. We are so happy with everything she did for us. read more

Carmen's photography speaks for itself. She is the only wedding photographer that has ever brought me to tears while looking thru other people's wedding photos. You feel her work, the love that is between the people involved, the happiness that is not always easy to capture and the spirit of the day. She is an artist and brilliant at what she does. I knew that she was the photographer for us for our special day. What I didn't know was how wonderful and beautiful of a person she would be inside and out. It shows in everything she does. We corresponded and met before the wedding and became fast friends. It was such a gift to have her as part of our day! I absolutely love the pictures she took. They are so magical! Our wedding was so special to us and she was able to capture that! Everyone raved about how wonderful she was and how comfortable she made them feel. I can not express how grateful we are! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!! She has definitely captured some amazing memories that we will be able to look back at for years to come! We love you, Carmen!!! read more

Carmen photographed our 2004 wedding. We found her on craigslist and she offered us a great price. The photographs turned out wonderful! She also has a great easy-going personality and did not get in the way of the big event at all. I would recommend her to anyone looking for a professional photographer! read more

My fiancé and I had an engagement session with Carmen a couple of months back and she was great. She took pictures of us with out dog Pablo even though he was not friendly with her she handled the situation like a professional. I personally don't like people taking pictures of me I rather be the photographer but Carmen made feel comfortable. The pictures came out great we used 4 of them for our save the date. So we booked her for our big day. She's also very reasonable with her prices and really cares to make you happy. I will update you after the wedding! read more

Carmen was our engagement and wedding photographer last year and she's absolutely amazing! She was insightful, kind, and has an eye for making the mundane simply magical. I am pretty artsy and knew I wanted our photos to have a certain look- and I feel like Carmen intuitively knew what we were looking for. We got married outside under the Sequoias, and I really wanted a photographer who could capture the natural and awe-inspiring feel of the location. She nailed it! She's a lot of fun to work with, and the photos were just amazing quality. Her and her colleague had the perfect balance of being there when you wanted a moment captured, but you never felt overwhelmed by their presence. I have our engagement photos all over the house now, and we get compliments every time someone comes over. The wedding album is priceless: beautifully laid out and truly captured the day. Do yourself a favor and just get the whole package: she's worth every penny. One of our friends who got married that same summer skimped on their photographer, but for months after she exclaimed how jealous she was of our photos. My father, who has dabbled in photography his whole life and is insanely picky, fell in love with her style and was thoroughly impressed. You really can't go wrong with Carmen. I would give 6 stars if I could! read more

I thought I had written this earlier, but it never posted! Carmen was the best wedding photographer I could have asked for! I always think I look terrible in photos, and I thought I looked amazing in almost every photo she took! She was very friendly, made everyone feel comfortable, handled my "freak out" that we didn't have enough time scheduled for photos perfectly (she DID get every shot we wanted, including us having some private moments out by the water to get my "skylike" view shots). She fit in very well during the entire day, you would have never known she was there, but in the photos every detail was captured...thanks Carmen for giving us memories that we will be able to cherish in pictures for a lifetime! read more

I hired Carmen to take some promo shots for my website, postcards, etc. She was amazing to work with! I do not like having my picture taken, but she made me feel so comfortable, and she made the whole experience fun and relaxing. She's professional, creative, and a pleasure to work with. I'm so happy with the picture she took. I also hired her again to do some shots of a group of people dancing. Everyone who was part of that shoot was impressed with Carmen's professionalism and beautiful presence. I would highly recommend her! read more

We are so glad that our friends recommended Carmen to us! We can't imagine a better photographer to work with for our Berkeley, CA wedding. We were a bit anxious about the fact that she hadn't previously shot a wedding at our venue and about the lighting, since it was an evening wedding in the Fall necessitating mostly indoor photos (we thought it might be more difficult to shoot indoors). We and our family were blown away by the photos! She totally caught the beauty of the venue (lots of architectural details), while still making us the focal point, and lighting wasn't a problem at all. Perhaps just as important as the quality of the photos, Carmen is a total pleasure to work with. Her demeanor is just what I needed on my wedding day and in the weeks leading up -- she's friendly, calm, professional, and genuinely enjoys working with people and being a part of their special day. Carmen also shot our engagement photos, which turned out fantastic. I had no idea we could look that good! We appreciated how much time she took with us during the engagement session, allowing us to have multiple backdrops in the Marin headlands. The session also allowed us to get to know her better and get used to having our photos taken, so we were totally ready for the many, many photos taken by Carmen and our family and friends on the big day. Lastly, Carmen's assistant setup and ran a photo booth during the reception; our wedding guests totally loved it. Everyone was hamming it up and having a great time. We whole hardheartedly recommend Carmen to any couple looking for an extremely skilled, artistic photographer who is also a really great person to be around. read more

Carmen is a beam of joy as a person and stunningly talented as a photographer. She has an artistic uniqueness, a sixth sense for timing, and a creative mind that highlighted colors, movement, and the essence of emotions for our wedding. Carmen was the photographer for our good friend's engagement and wedding, which is what first caught our eye. We loved their pictures and heard how wonderful Carmen was to work with. When we met with Carmen, we were equally impressed by her warmth, fun and openness. My family is Peruvian, so it was really nice that Carmen also spoke Spanish. We got married at the Fogarty Winery and Carmen was incredibly flexible, supportive of our ideas, and assertive without being harsh. She was able to capture spontaneous, genuine moments by letting us be ourselves and letting the camera roll. She also brings an assistant, helping to get the perfect angle. We continue to receive raving comments on our photos. What we love about Carmen's work is that she is not afraid to take the path less traveled. At our site, she arrived early to scope out spots that she found interesting. Our videographer, who had been at the site many many times was extremely impressed that she led us to forested areas that he had never seen before. It was in these uncharted territories that the breadth of Carmen's talent was unveiled. She was able to capture the beauty of contrast and juxtaposed weathered wine crates with our elegant attire. We have recommended her multiple times since our wedding to our friends and acquaintances. We are SO happy to have had the fortune of working with Carmen and give her our highest recommendation. read more

Carmen did a great job capturing the magic and spirit of our cross-cultural wedding day in Oakland. She was very flexible and fun and has a great eye for a memorable photo. Everyone loved looking at the photos and we are so happy to have them for years to come. If you're having a beautiful Bay Area wedding, Carmen is your gal for amazing photography! read more

Carmen was our photographer for our engagement shoot and our wedding. We could not be happier with our photos! Carmen is absolutely amazing! Her work is beautiful, creative, and artistic which is just what I wanted for my wedding memories. She makes everything super easy--from scheduling to shooting and picking out photos, everything was fun and exciting. As soon as we met with Carmen, we knew she was the perfect photographer for us. She is kind, sweet, and easy going. She made us feel comfortable behind the camera, made us laugh, and had great suggestions for poses and creative shots. Carmen's work and expertise is worth every penny! Thanks so much for everything! read more

Carmen photographed our 2007 wedding. Words cannot describe how amazing she was on the day. She made everyone feel so relaxed and comfortable. Her photographs captured the essence of the day. The album she put together for us tells the story of our wedding day with such beauty and grace. Having the wedding photos taken was a big part of our day and it was super fun. She blended in really well at the church and reception. Her rates are excellent, especially since she is worth her weight in gold! Did I mention that she is super sweet, mindful, gentle and personable. I highly recommend her. read more

Carmen photographed our wedding in July 2011. Photography was very important to us as we both love photographs and wanted to be able to have the photos of our wedding as a story to look back on over the years. We researched more photographers than you can imagine, met with 6 and went with Carmen. She is personable, professional, creative, fun, unobtrusive, and eager to work with you to create the photographic record that you want. Candids were a priority for us, and she does them beautifully. She even surprised us with how candid some of the portrait shots could be, which was great. Carmen was with us throughout the day, at 4 different venues, each with a very different feel, and the photos couldn't be more evocative of each step of the day as well as the brilliance of the day overall. All of our guests loved the photos, and at least several of those who couldn't be at the wedding said that the photos made them feel like they were. Fantastic photographer. read more

It was such a pleasure working with Carmen! She is incredibly talented, fun, professional and timely. Our engagement photos were a blast to take and we haven't stopped receiving complements on our wedding photos since they published. There was never a moment that we regretted hiring her, quite the opposite. Our only regret was that we wish we had hired her for more time! Every picture was taken with deliberate artistry and edited with beautiful clarity. My wife and I are so happy to have become so lucky to come across Carmen and her beautiful work. We have with us an incredible album that we will covet for the rest of our lives and our shelves are adorned with lasting images that we will cherish forever. I know that there are a lot of photographers to choose and many of them have a lot of talent but Carmen stands apart from the crowd because of her unique ability to create a fun and magical atmosphere. It is because of her vision and energy that our wedding will forever be documented with such elegance. On a personal note, I don't like taking photographs and I let Carmen know that and I will say with certitude that there wasn't a moment that I did not enjoy taking the photographs. Thank you Carmen for your work, care, attention and devotion to your art. read more