My partner and I got engaged at the end of February. I had a simple proposal plan of taking her…read moreout to San Francisco's iconic Pier 7, where I would drop down on one knee and try to fool her into thinking that a lifetime with me really wouldn't be that bad. Fortunately, the delightful Duende duo of Ken and Brady were on hand to beautifully capture every single moment (not to mention from every single angle) for eternity. This alone would've been worth five stars. But what really puts Ken and Brady over the top is their professionalism and desire to go above and beyond! I had first contacted Brady back in December to discuss this surprise proposal idea. We soon met in person, signed off on a contract, and then planned out every single detail of how they would hide, where I would drop to one knee, which direction I should face, what exact time the sun would be setting, what to do in the event of an emergency (like an idiot tourist suddenly blocking line of sight), etc. Leading up to the big proposal, I was understandably a trainwreck of nerves, but absolutely none of this was due to worrying about the photographers possibly dropping the ball. But then mother nature decided to make things interesting. Even during the driest winter that we've had over the last godzillion years, it decides to dump rain on my parade. Thankfully, Ken and Brady had me prepared ahead of time with an oversized translucent umbrella, and were both willing to brave the wrath of our one-day typhoon season in order to get the perfect shot. By sheer serendipity, the rain decided to stop just before we made our way onto the pier. By even sheerer serendipity, a schmuck like me got the most amazing person to say yes. As we were walking back towards Embarcadero as an engaged couple, Ken had a brilliant idea of posing us in front of some active F-Market trolleys. The results truly speak for themselves. Finally, one little insider secret for you Yelping lovebirds. I had originally contacted a few different wedding photographers in hopes of shooting my proposal. Ken and Brady weren't just the photographers whose portfolio I most admired, but they were also the cheapest! So go and book them for your event before they come to their senses and jack up their prices. Keep in mind however that I am calling first dibs on DuendePhoto once we finalize our wedding date.

A belated but very big "THANK YOU!" to Brady and Ken of Duende Photo for their extraordinary…read moreexpertise and professionalism in capturing our Napa Valley wedding July 2017. If I could reach through the yelp screen and grab you by the collar I would say "you're in the best hands with Duende. Period." We searched far and wide for innovative, evocative risk takers who would snap the expressions, energy and emotions of the day more than the usual details. We wanted rebelliousness and artistry not cookie cutter standards. Duende far exceeded our expectations, were incredible collaborators and I only wish the day could have lasted longer so we could have worked with them even more. We can't recommend them highly enough. Fans for life.

My husband and I hired Ken and Brady from Yosemite Wedding Photographers to be a part of our very…read moreunique wedding. When we told Ken and Brady about our idea of having our wedding ceremony ON TOP OF HALF DOME in Yosemite, they were eager and excited to hear about our plans. They wanted to help us document our 3 day 2 night backpacking trip up Half Dome for our wedding ceremony, our wedding reception at Tenaya Lodge, as well as a 2 hour Yosemite Valley Wedding photo shoot. Ken and Brady went above and beyond their duties as our photographers. Brady actually went to the bridal boutique with me and helped me find my wedding dress. Ken and Kevin were part of our 10 person backpacking group that summited Half Dome and spent 3 days in the back-county with us with their full camera gear and lighting set up. Brady and Anne captured images of us on top of Half Dome from Glacier point with a powerful zoom len -yes, you can actually see these tiny specs of colors (red, white, and black) on top of this massive grey granite rock. Thank you Ken and Brady for all the amazing photos that were captured in the span of the 4 days of celebrations. These are memories that we will always remember. For anyone looking for exceptional wedding photographers, I highly recommend this wonderful husband and wife team!!! Linda & Tony

The worst thing about working with Ken was that by the end of the day I wished that I was marrying…read morehim :D OK - only joking. But in all seriousness, he's the best! He took SO many amazing photos! We simply can't thank him enough for helping to make our day so special and memorable. We loved taking a photo tour on out wedding day. We spent most of the day taking photos with him. He advised us on so many aspects of our day. He helped us plan our tour around the valley so that we got to the best spots, when they had the best lighting, while avoiding areas when they were too busy. He did all this while being a very fun person to be around. He even advised us on which bathrooms where bride-worthy, which was greatly appreciated by my bride and other female guests. One thing I really admired about Ken was his passion and enthusiasm for his work. You could hear the excitement in his voice when he found the lighting for the perfect shot. Speaking as someone who generally dislikes being photo'd I found this very comforting. It turned the experience from one that I'd been dreading into something utterly wonderful. It's simply impossible to replicate the overall experience without getting photographers with Ken's level of experience in the Yosemite Valley! His knowledge of the lighting within the valley meant he was able to capture some simply amazing images. Beyond all this we got our 'sneak peak' of ~80 photos within 3 days!!!! One point I'd really like to highlight is that it really is worth spending as much time as possible with him travelling around the valley. You'll end up with a set of photos that you'll truly treasure for the rest of your life.

Athena worked with us on our winter outdoor family shot in the roseville area and the photos turned…read moreout SUPERB! She is so easy to be around, and i truly believe that was the main reason why our photos turned out so natural and lovely! We had my older parents, young kids and a baby in this family shoot and she made sure the shooting spots were easy to access for my dad who has issues walking. She pays attention to details, scouts for good shooting spots ahead of our shoot, loves kids and is such a dream to be around! We arent always the most natural before the camera, yet the photos turned out to be SO GOOOOOOD. The kids and our baby love her! Athena, thank you so much for all that you do! You'll be on our speed dial for any future photoshoots! The best place to reach her is through her website and not on yelp. You're welcome!:P

Athena is very talented. She is very sweet and easy to talk too. I love her work. I want to print…read moreall the pictures she took. We are so happy we found her to capture our valentines day wedding. She is very professional and answered all my questions. She even suggested to do the first look. It was very intimate and emotional. It was just me and my husband. We even forgot she was taking a picture of us. We had so much fun doing our first look. I highly recommend her.

Joy is an appropriate name for this photographer because she absolutely loves what she does! Joy…read morePorter puts you at ease, knows how to get you to smile and throws so many non-stop compliments at you, you begin to feel like you're pretty important and all those shots where you blinked don't count!Another thing I appreciated is how you sit down together and narrow the shots down until you both zero in on the best one. She is grounded and natural and funny and puts you completely at ease in order to provide the photograph you'll love! She was recommended to me - I highly recommend her to you! Dale Smith

I set up a branding session for my business with Joy not really thinking much about it. I figured a…read morebranding session was just about photos and creating an image, little did I know the depths of the conversations we would have. Joy is not just her name; it is what she brings to the table when you meet with her. The passion she has behind the camera is just the end of an amazing expedition when you choose to do a branding session with Joy at Winding Road. I would recommend any business that feels they might need a little light in their tunnel give Joy at call and experience what my wife and I did for our business. Just be prepared, the journey is amazing!

Love love love this experience! Lisa was so fantastic and we had such a great and joyful time…read moreletting our baby have her first Santa experience! I loved the additional options for adding a hard copy photo with the experience! We can't wait to have more photos and sessions in the future with our growing girl! Thanks a bunch!

Lisa is absolutely wonderful. From the first time you meet her, you will know you are in good…read morehands. She is open to any idea, whether that is setting you up in her well-lit, magical studio in downtown Grass Valley, with snacks and drinks or driving to some far off location to realize your photoshoot dream. During the shoot, she gives great direction, so you know what to do, without making you feel confused or overwhelmed. She has a kind, relaxed way about her so you will always feel comfortable. Her turn-around time on the photos is fast and she helps you every step of the way, until you are looking at the faces you love, beautifully displayed on your wall.

We used Eye of Laksmi Photography for both our wedding photos and our engagement photos. She is an…read moreabsolutely amazing photographer and I cannot recommend her enough. Besides the fact that she takes beautiful photos, she is also a pleasure to work with and certainly knows what she's doing! She gave us everything we wanted, plus more! I knew I loved her photography, work style and professionalism after our engagement photos, but she really went above and beyond at the wedding. When some things didn't go quite as planned at the wedding (unrelated to photography), she was a soothing presence and kept me calm. She is a calm, gentle and peaceful presence, while also efficiently directing shoots, keeping on schedule and getting all of the pictures that we requested - plus some really great extra ones that we hadn't even thought of. I couldn't even figure out how she got some of the pictures because it almost seemed like she had to be in two places at once to get them - she must have been running all over the place! Of all of our vendors, she was our absolute favorite and even our guests had wonderful things to say about her. We got our pictures back quickly and were thrilled with them. Not only did she get every photo requested, but she really captured the feeling we wanted with our photos. I would give her so many more stars if I could. If you need a wedding photographer, I HIGHLY recommend Eye of Laksmi Photography.

I have known Laksmi for over a decade. My family and I have used her services for all occasions in…read moreour lives. From modeling, to family photos, baby showers and wedding photography. She has a eye for capturing that magic shot. I am so pleased with her creative touch and her professionalism. She is sweet, patient and you get your photos right away. I would highly recommend her for any photo shoot you have in mind.

Melanie and Andrew captured our May 2024 wedding. We truly enjoyed having Melanie and Andrew as our…read morewedding photographers and are very pleased with the quality of the photos and will cherish them forever. The one thing we would recommend would be listing out and confirming groupings and pairings with the photographers for family/bridal portraits, especially for bigger families. We felt that we missed out on some opportunities to capture specific groupings of family and bridal party which turned out to be a bit of a bummer. We would highly recommend Melanie and Andrew to anyone in the Grass Valley area.

Amazing to work with. Mind blowing photos. Highly recommended to anyone wanting stunning images of…read moretheir events

Alyssa is complete magic! She is such a joy to work with and made what is a typically uncomfortable…read moreprocess for me sooo easy and fun. Will use her for every shoot hehe!

Alyssa was an absolute delight to work with! I would recommend her to anyone looking for a…read moreprofessional, fun and incredibly talented photographer. Will be using her again for more branding/website photos in the future!

Highly recommend Angie and her team of photographers. She is so thorough in making sure you and her…read moreare on the same page prior to the engagement photoshoot and wedding day. The photos came out stunning and she really knows what she is doing. Our reception site could be a challenging site to take photos in due to the dark lighting and wood and she capture every moment with perfection. Can't say enough how much we love our photos.

Angie was the photographer at my wedding and my mind is still blown by how amazing Angie's…read morephotography is, she is truly a master of her craft! Outside of the photos being stunning, she was a real pleasure to work with! Not only was she on the mark every time but she was extremely accommodating to all of our requests! I would absolutely recommend her to be your go-to photographer for any event where you want to truly capture each moment in such a way that will be unforgettable and magical.

With all the chaos that goes into a wedding and so many unknowns on the big day like weather,…read morecaterers, etc. things can get stressful to say the least and it can feel like herding cats. Not with our photographer! Carrie and her team showed up ready to crush it and had planned for every eventuality. Throughout the day they were able to loosen up the wedding party, capture amazing candids, make everyone look good, and simply put - she gave us the most amazing pictures of our big day. I could not be happier with how Carrie and her team captured the amazing memories of our wedding day. Simply put, if you contact Carrie and she is already booked the date of your wedding... reschedule.

Carrie did a fantastic job photographing our wedding this past September…read more First of all, she made everything very easy for all of us. We felt relaxed and had a lot of fun along the way. There was no long wait before the photos were taken. She knew exactly what she was doing and that made the whole experience a joy. I especially liked her sense of humor, as she showed her "ninja" skills, laying on the ground, hiding in the bushes, and doing whatever it took to pull off the best pictures. She went to the property ahead of time to get the lay of the land, and found the best spots and made every moment count. I especially loved her creativity in getting some interesting angles of the hillside and even outside the property on the main road, where many of our most beautiful pictures were taken. She is an artist and her work speaks for itself. We have so many beautiful ones, it is going to be hard to pick which ones to frame! Thanks, Carrie! We are so glad we got to work with you! And for those out there that are interested - please check out her pictures on her website. You can get a sense very quickly for her quality.