Where do I even start? I asked friends for a recommendation for a local photographer that did weddings. 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. read more

Simply put, Manuel Ortega is a superb, talented, artistic, and professional caliber wedding photographer 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 read more

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There are business partnerships, friendships, and family. Manuel, Melissa, and Carlos are not only our wedding photographers, they are our chosen family!!!!! Extremely professional, remarkably talented, and inspirationally genuine!!!!! Memories fade, relationships evolve; however, a great photograph captures moments that you can teleport back time and time again. Prepare for life's adventures and include a great photographer (like Manuel and Melissa) to capture them for you. We love the creative and breathtaking photos they have captured for us. Our guests complimented us on how much they liked our photographers and they truly love the photos they took. read more

Highly recommended!!!! I Hired Manuel for the first time about 4 years ago to shoot our Family Portraits. In spite that he was dealing with 10 of us in the pictures, he was very patient and took some great Pictures!! I recently Hired him for my engagement Photo Session and my pictures are AMAZING!! His incredible artistic vision allows him to convert the simplest setting into a magnificent backdrop! He is very professional and takes great pride in his work. He and his Lovely assistant/wife Melissa, make a great team and made the shoot very enjoyable and made us feel very comfortable doing it. We loved the pictures so much we are flying them down to Cabo San Lucas to be our wedding photographer.:-) read more

Manuel Ortega Photography - One of my favorites from our engagement photo session!- Cannery Row, Monterey CA - Event Photography Near Me - Monterey, California

Manuel and Melissa definitely make an amazing team. They are so comfortable and fun to work with. We had the honor of having them shoot our daughters pre shoot and quinceanera and I couldn't be more happier with them. Our pictures were absolutely beautiful. Melissa helped with the vision and set up the shot and Manuel captured it. Every detail caught. My daughter loved working with them and they made it so fun for her.. Definitely recommend Manuel Ortega photography for your next event. This is not our first time using Manuel Ortega Photography nor will it be our last. They truly have a passion for capturing the perfect picture. I love every picture sent to us. read more

I got married in December and the venue recommended Manuel Ortega Photography. Manuel and Melissa are absolutely wonderful and very professional. I'm so happy my hubby and I decided to go with them. They made the experience magical and so stress free. I had two of my fur babies as my ring bearers and the rest of my fur babies as guests. Manuel and Melissa were so sweet and patient with taking pictures of all my fur babies. I would absolutely recommend them! read more

Manuel Ortega Photography was the choice for our daughters senior portraits. My daughter graduated this year from Notre Dame High School and we were so pleased at the way her portraits came out in her year book, He created a timeless set of photos that we will cherish for a lifetime! We were able to use these beautiful photos that Manuel took, in her graduation announcements, as well as share them with friends and family! We would highly recommend you to the community. Thank you Manuel & Melissa. Sincerely, Derek Diaz & Family! read more

My now husband and I were looking for a photographer for our wedding. We heard about Manuel's outstanding work through friends and yelp. We decided to meet with him to see what he offered. (He was the first photographer we had met.) His impeccable work and lively personality made us, with out a doubt, book him that same day. If you are looking for a photographer that knows exactly what he is doing, I STRONGLY recommend Manuel for any occasion. Personally speaking, everything from our engagement to our wedding pictures look phenomenal. He captured every detail of as if it was his wedding. He is punctual and willing to provide the most outstanding service to meet the needs of the client. The quality of his pictures are amazing. His team and himself have that great eye that caught all the special moments of my wedding. Once again we highly recommend Manuel Ortega! read more

From the moment we met with Manuel, his passion, attention to detail, and professionalism was evident. He took the time to answer all of our questions, find a package that fit our needs, and get a sense of the photography style we were looking for. For my husband and I, photography was the most important factor of our wedding day and we wanted to hire the best. We immediately felt comfortable working with Manuel and we knew we found a winner! Throughout the planning process Manuel kept in touch, helping us to create a perfect wedding day timeline. He even traveled between two locations to capture both the bridal party and the groomsmen as we got ready. Not a moment was missed! The best part...Manuel and his wife Melissa were a blast to work with! We never felt like taking photos was a chore...they made the experience fun and natural from the first look to the dance floor candids. Our families enjoyed the added humor and sense of comfort that Manuel and Melissa provided. The wedding day went by so fast that I was sad when it was all over. I felt as if it was impossible to hold on to all of the memories and details of the day. When we met with Manuel a month later to preview our wedding photos, I cried tears of joy. At that moment, I realized the memories were perfectly captured in every image. They conveyed the details and raw emotion in every shot!! Manuel and his team ARE the best in the business! I never get tired of looking through our gorgeous wedding day album. read more

This is a LONG overdue post to rave about how amazing Manuel, Melissa and the rest of their team is! (This paragraph is normally at the bottom of these texts but I am moving it to the top) If I had to do it all over again I wouldn't change a thing. Manuel, Melissa and the team are professionals and SO much fun to work with! The quality of work and the images you have for a lifetime do not compare to other photographers in the area. Don't miss out the talented work and creative ideas the team comes up with! I wish I had more reasons to have more photos taken with Manuel & Melissa! We first met the team at a family friends wedding. We were not engaged yet but my now husband started talking to Manuel about his work and they hit it off. A few months later we got engaged and with no questions asked my husband said he wanted Manuel and his team for our big day! We booked him immediately knowing the demand of his work and did not want to miss out. For our engagement session we were able to go to two locations. We met Melissa and Manuel at a specific time to get the best shots at location number one and then traveled to location two to get some photos in the sunset. Jason and I had no idea how to pose (this isn't our day job) but between Melissa and Manuel made sure our pictures looked natural yet unique and beautiful. As a female, you are concerned with how your hair looks and Melissa always made sure the loose hair was pushed back and no stragglers were randomly blowing in the wind. We even brought our fur baby (black lab) with us to get some photos with him and these photos turned our just as amazing as the other ones. During the photo shoot we had a couple suggestions/poses we wanted to get and were able to include those with the ideas of Manuel & Melissa. The wedding day! A few months later the team met us at our hotel where we were getting ready for the wedding. They arrived in time to get the shots of our bridal party getting ready, photos with parents and some other fun ones with our guests in the room. They used the windows as natural light and came up with creative shots with the limited space and hotel furniture. As we were walking down through the hotel they kept their creative eye open and had a couple additional shots taken before getting in the bus to head to the venue. During the ceremony & reception, they had multiple cameras taking photos. Our photos have creative angles, lighting and pictures that include all our guests and family members. When we were able to view our photos online I was extremely impressed with the amount of photos and the quality of work... although this is what the team does for each client. We let Manuel and his team just take the photos as they came and as ideas sparked based on the location and lighting and anything else that goes into taking the best photos. We did have one requirement that we needed a family photo and with the 20+ people in this photo Manuel was able to get the perfect shot with everyone smiling and in it! read more

Manuel and his wife Melissa are an amazing team. Their dedication to capturing wonderful photos is obvious in the work that Manuel captures for his clients. My band "Cool and Easy" hired Manuel to take some promotional shots and we are so excited with what we got. Thank you Manuel and Melissa Ortega! read more

Manuel Ortega Photography - Manuel took amazing promotional shots of Reggae Duo "Cool and Easy". - Event Photography Near Me - Monterey, California

A serious photographer. Fino y educado. You cannot go wrong with him. I highly recommend Manuel Ortega. read more

Manuel and his team are amazing. My husband and I have married almost 6 years ago (12/31/2012) and we are so thankful for the precious memories captured on photo. As we come to another Anniversary to celebrate, it is the most amazing thing to relive the wedding through the photos Manuel and his team have taken. With lighting and a good eye, he had managed to capture a moment in time that now hangs up on our wall as a piece of art/ conversation piece. There isn't a person that does not walk into our house for the first time and stop and look at our entrance wedding photo. Not only does he have superb customer service, but Manuel is also a true artist in photography. read more

Manuel and his wife Melissa are absolutely wonderful. I chose to go with Manuel Ortega Photography because of the reviews here on Yelp. I was beyond impressed and was left with an experience of a lifetime. The pictures my daughter and I took on the coast of Carmel was symbolic for the 2 of us as the beginning of our journey together, Manuel and Melissa were very understanding and went above and beyond in helping us obtain photos and an experience we will never forget. We look forward to more photos in the future. Thank you both so much read more

Manuel is the best wedding photographer! He is the consummate professional, and was happily willing to work around our crazy schedule (two-day wedding in Santa Barbara and Pasadena). He was always early, prepared, and extremely friendly to all my guests. We had a non-traditional wedding, so he didn't have a template as to what parts of the wedding to focus on (which required a lot of candid shots), but he did a great job of capturing every special moment. The photos are beautiful, and I don't think anyone could have done a better job. I would recommend his services a thousand times over. read more

When you want the best, you need to call Manuel. This guy is has a serious passion for what he does! He is professional and considerate to your needs and works with you on your needs. Thanks Manuel! My son's Senior Pictures are amazing! read more

Manuel and his wonderful assistant Melissa did an awesome job with my daughters senior pictures. Quality work and great genuine people. Thank you for an awesome experience. Picking my favorite pose is the hardest part! Not enough stars to rate this photographer 5++++++++ read more

Check out his website, the photos are amazing and really capture colors beautifully. He knows how to make you feel at ease and can find unique settings for any style photos you want! read more

We hired Manuel to be our wedding photographer (married April 2017), and we couldn't be happier with that decision. He is a master behind the camera, and having him at our wedding was an absolutely wonderful experience. I highly, highly recommend him. Photography: The best thing you can do is go to his website and let his works speak for themselves. But since you're here looking for opinions, then in my mind, there is no question concerning his talent. He is artistic and creative, making great use of lighting and scenery. His technical ability is strong as well. For instance, the timing worked out such that we ended up having to take our family photos right at noon. Having the sun directly overhead can be very challenging for photos, yet Manuel nailed every shot. He takes his photography very seriously, as exemplified by the fact that even with all his skill he still attends workshops in order to learn new techniques and continue improving his abilities. We had Manuel shoot both our engagement photos and our wedding, and each time we got the photos back, we were stunned. In fact, we had originally intended to only purchase our top five favorites from the engagement shoot, but after seeing the photos, we couldn't decide on just five and ended up buying the whole lot. That's the thing about his photos. Like everyone else, Manuel will capture the important events as well as all the little special moments that happen in a wedding. But Manuel will also give you amazing show stoppers. Pictures that when you show people later on, they don't just say "Oh you look so nice!" but instead go "Wow! You look so amazing in that photo! Where'd you get your photographer?" Not an exaggeration, this has happened several times. It's actually part of why we picked him over other photographers. He offers something a little extra special. Package: We chose Manuel's top tier package. It was more than we had originally budgeted for photography, but we decided to splurge. Of everything on your wedding day, the photos will last the longest, and we knew with Manuel they were going to look good. The package included an engagement shoot, full wedding day (with a second photographer), wedding album, plus two smaller albums for our parents. We ended up receiving about 800 photos for the wedding. You'll have to check with Manuel for current pricing. Of note, technically we paid for two photographers on the wedding day (Manuel and his colleague Diego, who by the way is also a fantastic photographer). But in reality, Manuel's wife Melissa comes with him to everything and is ALSO amazing behind the camera. Some of my favorite photos from the wedding actually were from her. So we pretty much got a third photographer for free. Not to mention she's an absolute sweetheart and has a good eye for details (she'd fix my hair and such between shots). Personality: Manuel is an absolute joy. He strikes the perfect balance of feeling like an old friend that you could joke around with yet at the same time still maintaining professionalism. It is easy to feel comfortable around him and his team, which is pretty important if you're not used to being in front of a camera. One of my favorite things is that Manuel has all these little tricks to get you to laugh during a shoot so that he could capture real, warm smiles. I won't spoil them here so he can keep using them, but I will say he had us cracking up several times. He really made the whole experience a lot of fun. And the photos of those moments look amazing. The other thing that I truly appreciated about Manuel is his patience. For instance, he was very kind in accommodating my grandparents during photos so they wouldn't get too exhausted. He also agreed without hesitation to take some fairly large group pictures, one for each of our parents' extended families. At least one of the photos has over 25 people in it, with each face visible and smiling at the camera, even the kids. We got comments from many of our guests that he was doing such a great job. Overall, if you're looking for a photographer for anything, even outside of a wedding, I definitely recommend Manuel. You'll have a lot of fun and the photos will be amazing. That certainly was the case for us, and we are very grateful to Manuel, Melissa, and Diego for helping make our wedding day so memorable. read more

My experience with Manuel was very pleasing from the beginning. We met at a local coffee shop where he came very well prepared with samples of his work. I didn't have to see anybody else after him since it was obvious he takes great pride in his work and that's what I was looking for. I liked that he found settings that went with my daughters style and although it was a rainy day he remained calm with a smile the whole time. Because of his positive attitude, professionalism and high quality work I definitely recommend him as your photographer! read more

Take a kick ass husband/wife team (Manuel + Melissa), add creativity, skill and pure photographic genius, sprinkle in the ability to capture life's gorgeous moments and you get Manuel Ortega Photography! We selected Manuel as our photographer for our wedding in August at The Perry House in Monterey. And basically, we got to work with the #DreamTeam. Manuel and Melissa truly captured the magic of our special day in frozen moments of time (a.k.a. photos). They instantly understood our vision and tone for our wedding photography. We didn't want gross posed shots or things that looked like they were pulled directly from Instagram. NO, we wanted a photographer to truly capture the authentic and meaningful moments of our intimate wedding from start to finish. Manuel and Melissa did just this with poise, grace and skill. Not to mention, they are a BLAST to work with. It was literally like working with family! You can tell they truly love what they do and are expert craftsman (and women). They also work hard and fast while getting AMAZING high quality gorgeous photos. In fact, they made all those annoying family photos you have to take after the ceremony fun, fast and great so that I could get on the dance floor. Thanks for that guys! The end result is 800 wonderful moments in time from start to finish that capture one of the most memorable and magical moments in my life. I can't recommend these guys enough. I'm literally searching for an excuse to have a huge event so that I can work with them again. That's how good they are. Let me end with this, Manuel and Melissa ROCK and they are all around wonderful human beings. I'd hire them again in a heartbeat! read more

If you don't hire this guy - you're not as smart as you think you are. We enjoyed his presence as he photographed our daughter's wedding (in San Jose) and I will attest that everything you read in these reviews is absolutely true! Hire this team of consummate professionals and I expect you'll love the quantity of shots, quality of his photography, and be thrilled with those extra creative shots that might be some of the best! read more

choosing a great photographer for your big day is perhaps the most important vendor decision you'll need to make, and i couldn't be more pleased with Manuel and his wonderful wife/partner! they worked tirelessly to make me happy, from the day i met them to the time i received my photos. communications with Manuel were easy, which put this bride at ease. they were punctual and fit right in with the celebratory crowd on the day of our wedding. truly, the day passes too quickly, but Manuel and his wife really captured the most beautiful and joyous moments throughout the evening, allowing me to live this day over again and again. there are so many captivating shots that the only difficulty is choosing which ones to print. read more

Manuel Ortega Photography - Event Photography Near Me - Monterey, California

We used Manuel and and his wife Melissa for my son's senior portraits. They are professional, very personable, work well together and working with them was an absolute joy! Manuel has a great sense of humor and my son felt at ease with him instantly. We are exceedingly happy with his beautiful work. I love to support businesses that provide superior customer service and I can tell you that Manual and his wife Melissa are amazing people. read more

So let me first start out by saying that pictures are on my favorite thing todo ! We have a family of four (2 kids) My wife has been bugging me for over a year to get pictures done. So we booked our Family Photos with Manuel Ortega Photography and couldn't have been happier. (Especially my wife). We want a "Barn" Themed picture. Under Manuel's direction we searched San Benito county for old barns and found the perfect one. We scheduled the shoot for a late afternoon. I was concerned about the sun, but Manuel reassured me that everything would be fine. He met me at the designated time and place and proceed to take out his gear. This guy has the LATEST camera equipment and all is gear is "Top Notch". His beautiful wife Melissa assisted him in setting up for the shoot.We have a family of four (2 kids 8yrs, and 11 yrs). In the past we would take pictures and getting everyone on the same smile, direction, etc was always a challenge. Manuel was so calm, patient, and helpful during this whole process. Melissa was able to put my wife was at during the shoot and he even got my kids to smile naturally. Manuel was able to capture a a unforgettable moment in time that we will cherish forever. He took hundreds of pictures, and his website site was very fluid in making the picture choosing simple. If you are looking for a professional, experienced, and all-around standup honest guy this is the one! Manuel thanks again for making our dreams come true! We look forward to another session soon !!! read more

I have had the pleasure of working with both Manuel and Melissa while planning a wedding at a private estate in Pebble Beach. Their attention to detail in using the perfect lighting and ability to capture moments are superb. Their dedication to photography is apparent in all their work and they are both very kind and friendly. read more

The Best Photographer by FAR. We had the honor to have Manuel, His wife Melissa and Diego document our wedding day. I contacted him inquiring about his services and I received a response on the same day. His professionalism was evident since day one. From the moment, we met with Manuel for a consultation I knew in my heart he would be capturing our special day. He was approachable and easy to work with. We immediately felt comfortable talking to him. His personality is simply the best!!! He is professional, patient, friendly, kind, and has the most creative ability to create lifetime memories. Neither my husband or myself had any experience with professional photographs. For our engagement session Manuel and his wife Melissa made the experience so fun for us and it felt completely natural. We had a blast both during our engagement session and our wedding day of course. We laugh so much and that laughter was forever captured in special memories. A few weeks later after the wedding we met with Manuel to see our photos and I could not hold the tears. We lived again our wedding day by looking at the most captivating and amazing memories created by Manuel and his team. All the special photos I had previously requested were beautifully captured. Manuel's philosophy "Capturing the Art of Life" is true for my husband and I as well as our families and friends. We highly recommend Manuel for any of your photography needs. read more

The quality of work and professionalism I got from Manuel Ortega Photography was of the highest caliber. He captured some priceless moments during my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. The creativity he puts into the photos help tell a love story as he sees it through the lens. I know I will treasure these photos forever. (I intend to hire Manuel Ortega for future milestone events) read more

One word - Amazing! Manuel Ortega has photographed several of my family's most cherished moments including weddings, anniversary parties, senior portraits, and family portraits and never ceases to amaze me with his dedication to his craft and professionalism. It truly is a pleasure viewing the photographs Manuel has taken of these events and I highly recommend him to others for any occasion. read more

We hired Manny for our wedding in May. Out of all the decisions and choices we had to do to plan our wedding, hiring Manny was one of the best decisions we made. Manny, his Melissa and their assistant Diego, were awesome to work with. They made the experience of our special day even better. We just received the pictures our our wedding and the pictures came out awesome! The seemed to be everywhere yet not in the way at all. If you are thinking about hiring Manny for your event stop thinking and just do it! You will not regret it. read more

I choose Manuel and Melissa to do my daughters senior portraits because I have seen his work before when he did my nieces portraits. He and Melissa are very professional, patient, and they knew exactly how to capture my daughters personality. The pictures look amazing and natural. I would definitely recommend him for any special occasion! read more

Manuel, his wife Melissa, and Diego where the most amazing people we could have ever asked for to photograph our wedding. Their passion for their job showed throughout our entire day. My husband and I had quite a large wedding party. We each had 7 people for our bridesmaids and groomsmen and 9 children in of procession! Manuel and his team not only took amazing shots of them, but they were so much fun to be around that the kids actually enjoyed their little photo session. We all know the post ceremony pictures with the whole wedding party and family can take forever...but the fun and passionate atmosphere that Manuel and his team created, made everything exciting for us. We spent more time laughing together then anything else. I loved how when Manuel would try a new type of shot he would get so excited and show everyone on his camera. It just made us all feel good! They did such an amazing job capturing all our special moments. He had taken the time before the wedding to get to know my husband and I so that he knew who and what to focus on during our whole wedding day. He was able to capture moments of our daughter that still give us goosebumps, and the facial expressions and emotions he was able to capture on our loved ones and mine and my husbands face is priceless. He was able to capture moments in ways that showed the true emotions without having to stage them. I loved that we had three photographs on our wedding day. The candid shots where so much fun to look at, and they really didn't miss a single special moment. I loved how Manuel and his wife Melissa worked together. They made such a great team, and there shared love and passion for each other and their work was inspiring. Our meeting after the wedding was so wonderful as well. Manuel's passion for his work is just so obvious that it made reliving our wedding day through his pictures that much more special. I will forever be thankful to them for helping give us such a magical day, and priceless memories. read more

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We chose Manuel Ortega Photography for my daughter's senior portraits. It was the best choice we could have made. Friends of ours had hired Manuel for their wedding last year and I absolutely loved their wedding album so I kept him in mind. We could not be more pleased with the entire experience from start to the finished product! My daughter was expectedly a little nervous and I made sure I relayed this Manuel when he contacted me by phone. He was very understanding and promised that by the end of the session, she'd be very comfortable. Sure enough, she was. She loved every moment! The portraits were ready promptly and we loved every single one. The experience was memorable and I definitely recommend this photography professional to anyone shopping around. He is truly passionate about photography and his work speaks volumes of his love for this art. I look forward to having another opportunity to work with Manuel and his wife Melissa in the future. Thank you very much! read more

Our wedding day was October 25th, 2008 on the beach in beautiful Carmel. Manuel showed up early and was the constant professional as he shot our wedding. Manuel visited us twice prior to our wedding in order to get the feeling of exactly what my wife and I were looking for in our wedding shoot. From the pre-wedding photos (of my beautiful wife), to the actual wedding and reception dinner Manuel was able to capture images that displayed the story of our day. His knowledge and skills came into play from the moment we arrived at the beach in the bright sunlight with Pt. Lobos in the background to the change in scenery the minute the fog rolled in. Not only did he capture photos that day of our wedding, but he captured forever images of our closest family and friends as the wedding was a very intimate affair with only 20 attendees. Manuel's direction was clear and concise in allowing all the photos to not only optimize our family and setting, but enhance our experience of this special day. Daily I am reminded of this special day due to Manuel's excellent and professional ability as the photos he captured are placed throughout our home. I sincerely feel that if you want your special day to be given special treatment, Manuel is the man for the job. I recommend him 100 percent without a doubt to all looking for the top photographer in Monterey County, if not the whole state. read more

If I could give more stars I would! Manuel and his wife Melissa were AMAZING with our wedding pictures! We were on a time crunch and he still got the most amazing pictures! They were so much fun to work with too! The best part was he had our wedding pics done and emailed to me 3 days after the wedding! Which is unheard of! He even expedited my flash drive to me so I had my wedding pictures in less than a week! Highly recommend for any occasion!!! read more

I am a frequent Yelp user but this is the first review I have written and it is with great pleasure that I tell you all about how awesome Manuel Ortega Photography is. He is the ultimate professional and will certainly exceed your expectations with the quality of his work. Manuel was gracious enough to help us with a local fundraising benefit in January 2013 (YWCA Birdies for Charity). The event featured local dignitaries and a distinguished SF Giants representative. The event was a BIG hit and it was topped off with the beautiful work of Manuel Ortega Photography. His work is second to none and he will work to make your experience with him one you will never forget. He will certainly deliver pictures that you, your family and friends will cherish forever. He is a community minded business man and pretty damn good at his craft. Call him today to capture those special moments in your life...you won't regret it. read more

I wish there were 10 stars, because five stars just doesn't do Manuel Ortega justice. Me and my now husband hired him for our October 2013 wedding photos and it was by far the easiest and best decision we made! He is so creative and makes working with him a dream. For our wedding we also had the pleasure of working with his beautiful wife Melissa and another photographer Carlos who were both amazing! Our wedding photographs exceeded our expectations, and I will always be grateful that Manuel captured all of our favorite moments on our wedding day. I will most definitely use Manuel for all of our family's future important moments! read more

I was starting to think that finding a GOOD photographer for a decent price was next to impossible. I was on the verge of settling with a really nice photographer who had great prices ($1500 for all-day coverage) but provided mediocre photos. I was never really sold on him as his photos didn't have the "look" I was going for so I took to Yelp and just when I thought the photographer I had was IT I found Manuel! Manuel is absolutely amazing, professional, welcoming, warm and truly has a passion for photography. My fiancé and I met with him at his home, and me being the diva I am (LOL) had Manuel do an impromptu photo shoot in his backyard (baby toys and all!). He went with it and even thanked me for having him do that and we ended up taking some great shots; one will be posted in the foyer at our wedding. We are getting married this Saturday on the Beach in Carmel and I have no doubt he will get amazing shots and will give us absolutely beautiful photos to remember our special day. I'm so glad to have Manuel as my photographer. I would definitely recommend his services to anyone and will DEFINITELY be going back to him for baby portraits, family portraits, senior portraits, ANY portraits! :) You will be in very capable if you go with Manuel and you won't regret it! read more

This is long overdue, but my prego brain has gotten the best of me, lately. Anywho, I hired Manuel Ortega to photograph my baby shower. I researched photographers and he had great reviews, so I decided to take a chance and go with his company. I am VERY happy I made the decision, a pretty quick one, after meeting with him, just once. He has a great demeanor and you can tell right off the bat he loves what he does and he has been doing it for awhile now. He is genuinely nice and makes you feel like he will make your day a special one, which he did. He and his assistant (wife) were a joy to work with and I hope they had as much fun at the baby shower as we did. His shots were great. He captured wonderful portraits of me and all of my guests who were there to celebrate out baby girl to come. He got AWESOME candid shots, which I absolutely love. Candids are the best. He took awesome photographs of the decorations, table decor, food set-up and all the details of the shower which made it beautiful and special. I am happy I was able to hire him to take pictures and let people just enjoy the event rather than having to worry about making sure to take pictures to remember this day. It was all well worth it and I know he will continue to be successful with his photography endeavors. He is truly an photographic artist and I would definitely hire him for another event...maybe wedding in the future. read more

Manuel recently took our engagement photos and they are nothing less than perfect! Not only were we in awe with his work but our experience was what any newly engaged couple would hope for. Manuel is not only professional but a perfectionist! The weather was far from perfect that day of our shoot, it was extremely cold and windy. Not once did he even think about calling it quits or rescheduling but instead kept snapping away and making sure he captured the perfect shot. And lets not forget his assistant/wife Missy who is there not only to help but pin point the littlest details and make sure it looks natural. They compliment each other extremely well, and are the dream team of photography! Thank you Manuel and Missy! read more