I worked with Daniel to help plan my surprise engagement to my girlfriend (now fiancee) and let me say - his reviews were SPOT ON. He is absolutely wonderful to work with. He was able to intake my wants for a more private location for my engagement and on near Carmel-by-the-Sea on the beach and he absolutely nailed it. I had a surprise engagement planned where I had a picnic set up (via the service Pillows and Picnics) - Daniel was able to coordinate well with this service to help pick a spot that felt private yet was easily accessible. Daniel was there every step of the way from the planning phase through execution. Daniel then was secretly there to capture the moment and produce absolutely wonderful photos. We then went on a small tour with him to his "secret" areas of Big Sur where we took wonderful photos without the big crowds. Truly working with Daniel made an already very big moment in our live absolutely wonderful with photos and memories to carry with us for a lifetime. If you need a photographer that will pay attention to all the details, be there every step of the way, and produce absolutely top notch outcomes - Daniel is your guy! Thanks Daniel for being part of our wonderful life event With much gratitude - Greg and Mai read more

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Daniel took our proposal / engagement photos, even coordinating with my fiancée on locations and timing of the proposal. My SO had asked for a more intimate, outdoor area to propose at, and Daniel recommended an amazing hidden spot by the cliffsides of Big Sur. Kudos to the amount of coordination, especially when there is no WiFi / cell service in Big Sur, necessitating a lot of planning beforehand on timing, location, backup location, etc. What we most enjoyed about working with Daniel is how natural and fun he makes it - I often feel awkward taking portraits / photos, but I didn't feel uncomfortable at all during the session! He gave some guidance on some poses / things to do, but otherwise we loved how he could just capture intimate moments! Moving to Garrapata Beach, we managed to catch an amazing Golden Hour that translated to some epic photos! Turnaround on the photos was surprisingly quick - we got engaged on a Saturday and the photos were ready by Monday! The photos turned out so fantastically that we decided to not do another engagement photoshoot. Part of the package my fiancée got included a champagne bottle for us to enjoy! Would recommend working with Daniel for pictures in the Big Sur / Monterey area - we hope to work with him in the future for family portraits with our dog! read more

Daniel is truly a gifted photographer! Everything we wanted for our wedding was brought to life through his technique and skill. There wasn't a moment he didn't capture and it was the perfect mix of both candid and portrait images. The details and colors are stunning! Not to mention, he was friendly and kind through out the whole process. When I had specific things I wanted captured, he made sure it was noted ahead of time so nothing was missed. We are forever thankful to have such beautiful photos to take us back to our special day. I highly recommend Daniel for any moment you want photographed. You will not be disappointed! read more

Daniel James Photography - Event Photography Near Me

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We had a family photo session with Daniel during our Christmas vacation. The photos he took are amazing and we look forward to booking with him again if we are in the area and need pictures taken. Thank you, Daniel. We were so impressed with your work, and you suggested the perfect location for the shoot. We love our photos! read more

Daniel was professional, fun and easy to work with for our wedding day photos. He has really creative ideas for photos and great at directing wedding party to get all the must have shots. We never felt like we weren't gonna get good photos. After the wedding day dust settled and we got our photos, we were blown away!! The photos exceeded all our expectations! Everyone we share them with always loves how they turned out and compliments the photographer we used. If you're looking for a photographer for your wedding or any other special event then look no further and hire Daniel. Definitely takes away some of the wedding planning stress hiring someone you can count on. And who doesn't love less stress?! read more

My fiancé and I had an incredible experience with Daniel. We booked him for an (unbeknownst to me) engagement shoot on 9.14.18. I'm a little late getting this review up! We met Daniel at a beautiful beach in Carmel, he knew exactly the place to go where there was hardly any people, and the perfect time of day so we got beautiful lighting. I am an outgoing person but tend to be shy about pictures, but Daniel's welcoming personality put me at ease and it really shows in our pictures. We did some poses and some candid shots, and Daniel captured every moment perfectly. We were really excited and surprised to receive the link for our pictures only a few days after our shoot, we were expecting them to take about a month. As my fiancé and I were first looking through the pictures, we kept saying "this one is my favorite", then "no, THIS one is". In a nutshell, we were blown away at the quality of our photos and wold recommend Daniel to anyone, anytime. P.S. Daniel gets bonus points for his awesome personality! read more

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WOW!!!! That is all I have to say. Lets first talk about how sweet this man is. He was nothing less than awesome. He went out of his way to accommodate us for a photoshoot. My friend is pregnant and we wanted to do a gift for them and Daniel was beyond amazing. He made my friends feel comfortable as well as us.He was on time, he was very helpful in helping us pick a place to the pictures. Now the pictures are just WOW!!!! They are perfect and wonderfully taken. Daniel was funny and always accommodating us on how we wanted to take the pictures.It took him 3 days to get the final pictures to us.... 3 days!!! HOW AMAZING!!!!!!! Honestly Daniel, you are a blessing! Anyone that books you is sooooo lucky and won't regret it! read more

I reached out to Daniel on Thumbtack to capture our engagement in Carmel in May, and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Daniel was extremely responsive and easy to work with, and he was helpful in brainstorming shooting locations along the beach. When it turned out that it was going to rain, Daniel and I had another brainstorming session, but settled on the beach anyway! He braved the storm and did an amazing job capturing our moment. Daniel sent us the final photos within a few days, and he was also quick to respond to any additional touch ups or photos we requested. Thanks again, Daniel! read more

With the birth of our sweet baby girl, my husband and I were very eager and excited to capture some family pictures to document this precious season. We were so fortunate to stumble upon Daniel's website. We found his work to be so impressive and we were thrilled to work with him. We shot our pictures in the early evening and our sweet baby was a little less excited than we hoped. Daniel never once made us feel bad, rushed or pressured. He was patient and encouraging. And we still got great shots! We have payed a lot of money for engagement and wedding pictures and the quality of these photos blows the others out of the water. It should be noted that I am admittedly picky about everything. I value quality and usually don't settle for anything less than. Daniel's work is quality and so is he. I couldn't recommend him higher. read more

Daniel is a fantastic photographer. I have been looking for someone to do a photo shoot for my business for some time now, luckily I ran across his Instagram page and fell in love with the work that he has done. I've always been very "camera shy" as they say, and not very fond of getting photos done for myself. With Daniel, I did not feel awkward or flimsy in front of the camera. Not only are you hiring a talented photographer but a hype man during your session. You won't find a photographer in the Monterey Bay like Daniel. read more

I would give this man 1000 stars if it were possible! Here is my response to his magnificent work: "These (the photos) are so much more incredible than I ever had imagined possible! You are TRULY a MASTER of your CRAFT! I can't believe I was able to snag you as our photographer pretty much last minute!! I know God truly BLESSED me when I was able to get a hold of you and set this up. I will FOREVER be THANKFUL for all that you are and do. We are just SO in LOVE with ALL of our photos!!" If you want to feel the butterflies and the heart pounding sensation that you felt on that EXTRA SPECIAL DAY, Daniel James is literally thee photographer to go with! You'd be crazy not to have him as the one to CAPTURE this MOMENT FOREVER!!! Daniel picked the best location in Carmel By the Sea, CA and made our day forever special and immortalized for us. Thanks a million Daniel James!!! I literally can not stop looking at the pictures you captured for us! read more

Daniel is so talented! He knows what he's doing! His photos look highly trained and polished with a little Annie Leibovitz edge. Don't hesitate on booking with him, really, you won't regret it! read more

Daniel was an awesome photographer!!!! We absolutely LOVED the way our maternity photos came out and very happy we booked him!! Even with the hiccups and hoops to jump through with it being COVID and everything closed, to the California wildfires closing EVERY state park, (and all the sites we originally wanted) we found great locations that were open and safe and he really was extremely flexible with everything! We even decided on the locations the day before! So not much planning was able to be done location wise for him, but he make it work and everything turned out AMAZINGLY 10/10 would definitely recommend!!!! Plus his pricing is perfect with the downloadable pictures, no extra charges in order to see/ download pictures, unlike all these other photographers who want en EXTRA 500 for 10 photos etc. we have plenty of photos that we LOVE and it was one price for the session and photos and I just love the simplicity of it all. And again, FANTASTIC photos!! If you're looking for an easy going, natural and candid photography, book Daniel James photography! It's so worth it read more

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Daniel is amazing! I hired him for a lifestyle photoshoot for my real estate branding. He was extremely creative and attentive. He made sure he knew my vision of the shoot and also gave me valuable feedback and ideas. I would 100% reccomend him to anyone. He made the shoot fun and comfortable. My pictures turned out amazing! Thank you Daniel! read more

Daniel is an amazing photographer!!! I told Daniel some of the main poses and memories I wanted, but since I'm not very experienced with photography I was worried after the fact that I forgot so many details and special moments to mention to him to capture. But every single photo we got back really captured our beautiful wedding day!! He really captured all those special memories and moments that I didn't think to ask! He just knew!! One of which is a moment of my mom looking at me as I put on wedding dress that day. It is an incredible treasure! And if you're awkward like me about posing for photos, fear not! Daniel knows how to make you feel comfortable BUT natural!! He doesn't over do it with telling you how to pose, but guides you and captures those sweet candid moments! Incredibly kind and a joy to work with! You won't regret booking him!! read more

I had initially worried about getting professional portraits of our family. We stumbled upon Daniel by luck - looking for a quick response on a quote, and someone who could shoot our family portraits on short notice. Daniel's quote was fast, precisely explained and met our timing needs - best of all, he promised to give us full access to all our photos, unlike the studios who charge an exorbitant fee for the photo shoot, then hold you at ransom to purchase prints. The photo shoot itself was really fun - Daniel is outgoing, clam and friendly. I could see him smiling behind the camera the whole time; even the kids could relate and talk to Daniel. He encouraged the kids put in their ideas for poses and silly pictures, which made everyone feel included. I'd have to say that if your whole family is engaged and enjoying the photographer's company, you're going to end up with great photos. Within hours of completing the shoot, we had heard back from Daniel with a link to our album. The photos are outstanding! He is a true artist and craftsman. As promised, we could download any/all the pictures and have them printed for the same price you'd pay at Costco for prints. We can share the album with family, letting them choose their favorites. Owning our photos is a really big bonus here. Thank you, Daniel! read more

Daniel was great! He was very good at directing us and we got some amazing Christmas pictures. He was referred to us through a work friend and we are so glad that we went with him! If you go with Daniel, you will definitely get some great pictures. :) read more

For us, a photographer needs to be several things to get high marks: - an artist, creative with the lens - fun and flexible while actually shooting, not stuffy (we've got kids! so you could add "fast") - reliable and easy to work with Daniel was all of these and more. We have NEVER had family pictures taken so painlessly, and better yet we have NEVER EVER had them turn out so stunningly beautiful. You are amazing, Daniel!! read more

Where do I even start! Daniel is amazing! He is such a kind soul and is excellent with the camera. Daniel shot our elopement in Big Sur and the photos are STUNNING! We had never taken professional photos before and Daniel made the process feel natural. We are so lucky to have found him to capture such a precious moment in our lives. THANK YOU, DANIEL! read more

Daniel took pictures of our family to commemorate our son's high school graduation. If you would like to work with a photographer who exudes joy in his art, enjoys working with his clients, and has the skills to optimize the time he spends with you to create the best images, I highly recommend Daniel James Photography. Daniel asked us to select a venue. He arrived on time for our appointment and began by asking us why we choose the location, i.e., what we like about it. He asked what specific plans we had for the images. He got right to work giving us advice and direction where to stand and how to group ourselves. He shot plenty of individual and group shots in a few different locations at the venue. This is what I hope from a professional--the guidance to go beyond what we could do ourselves. Throughout the session, Daniel was friendly and encouraging. Like a pro, Daniel used the time to maximum efficiency. We never felt rushed, but I am amazed at the number of images he was able to present to us based on the thirty-minute session. If you would like to commemorate an important occasion in the life of your family, our family highly recommends Daniel James Photography. read more

We were looking for a photographer who would work with us on keeping the cost down while at the same time providing top-quality photographs of our wedding. Daniel responded promptly to our online request and provided what we were looking for and more. He was pleasant, professional, and just plain nice. At no time did he intrude on the celebration or our guests, and that was really important to us. He promptly posted our pictures online, and we are able to share and print at will. We highly recommend Daniel and would hire him again without reservation. Thank you Daniel. Well done! read more