James Lester Photography
San Luis Obispo, California
(22)
San Luis Obispo, California
(22)
22 customer reviews
Traci Soares
It was such a great experience to work with James for our engagement and wedding photos! He took one "photo-shy" bride and a "full of jokes" groom and somehow created beautiful pictures for us to treasure always. James was such a pleasure to work with; even our wedding guests commented on how nice and accommodating he was. He was able to put up with our shenanigans with patience and a fun attitude! James was also extremely professional, timely, and a great communicator. Photography was definitely one piece of the wedding puzzle that I never had to worry about because of his commitment to excellence. I cannot recommend James enough for any of your photography needs; he will make you laugh, he will make you cry (in a good way); and your priceless moments will be perfectly captured. More...
Reviewed on Google Maps
Colette
James is a talented and creative photographer with a shining personality that makes everyone happy and feel comfortable in front of a camera. His prices are very competitive and his website is easy to navigate and his communication is superb. We couldn't be happier with our experience. More...
Reviewed on WeddingWire
Elena Alcala Rojo
We worked with James Lest for our wedding. It was the best decision I made for my wedding. The moment I completed the deposit he went out of his way to go explore our wedding site and scope out some places we could take pictures the day of. He also sent me a list of vendors he has worked with in the past. This was so helpful because we did not live in the area. I ended up choosing about 3 vendors from the list and they were all spectacular! The day of the wedding went prefect. James captured every spontaneous moment and every smile that day. We were so impressed when we received the photos, they were all so thoughtful and such good quality! I would really recommend James for weddings. He was very calm, adaptable, and relaxed throughout the whole event! Thank you James for your amazing work. Daniel & Elena More...
Reviewed on Facebook
Erin D.
James was the photographer at my niece's June 2019 wedding in Cambria and was a joy to work with. Â James took stunning photos of the ceremony, the beautiful bride and groom, their bridal party and all groupings of the family. James was a great communicator, was extremely personable and made the photo session portion of the wedding event lovely and fun! The photo album he provided contains beautiful, stunning photos and we are lucky he was the photographer for this special occasion. More...
Reviewed on Yelp
Brian B.
I should mention right away that I probably invested more time into searching for a wedding photographer than the average person.  I'm familiar enough with photography and photo editing software that my fiancé trusted me with narrowing down our choices before asking for her final yay or nay on our list.  I noticed that some of the more popular photographers that came up with my initial searches weren't exactly using high quality cameras and lenses and their style was mostly over exposed and "dreamy" looking with excessive bloom.  It was important that I find a photographer who wasn't afraid to use a stronger contrast post process with more darks and less over exposed shots even if the latter can be more flattering for certain people.  Not only that but it was also critical that they had decent equipment and not a Canon Digital Rebel from 2008.I discovered James Lester's portfolio based on a recommendation from a talented professional photographer named Sarah.  After reading reviews and seeing his portfolio combined with the extremely reasonable prices, I reached out to him immediately.  When we realized he was still available for our wedding it was a no-brainer to book him.  Throughout the entire process James was incredibly friendly, professional and accommodating.  He arrived early to our wedding with a smile and left at the end with an even bigger smile.  It was easy to tell from the very beginning that he took his work seriously and was highly motivated to provide the best services possible.  He even went out of his way to visit our wedding venue location in Topanga Canyon at the Inn of the Seventh Ray a few weeks before the ceremony in order to better prepare for the official day.  That wasn't even included in the contract but he cared enough to do that in order to better prepare for how we was going to shoot within our smaller venue space.Several weeks after the wedding and earlier than the delivery date stated in the contract, James sent us a website link containing nearly 500 high resolution jpgs of all of our fully processed photos ( no watermarks! ).  This is a nerve-racking moment for any couple I'm sure and thankfully, we were super relieved to see the results and quickly realize how great a of job James did.  His sense of composition and style as well as his skill for capturing those beautiful, intimate moments shined through in the final photos.  We especially loved how well our bride and groom scenic photos turned out and appreciated James directing us in order to achieve those shots.  There were even some really cool more artsy shots where he used a prism to reflect light similar to a kaleidoscope.TLDR - James Lester was awesome and went above and beyond for our wedding!  Book him now before he gets too famous and his prices catch up to the quality he's offering :D More...
Reviewed on Yelp
Jess Wagner
James took photos for my wedding and they came out spectacular! I am so thrilled with how he captured all the important moments for us. He's friendly and dressed well for the occasion. He's also great at telling people how to stand and where to put your hands and to take glasses off when needed. Loved every bit of this experience! More...
Reviewed on Google Maps
Shannon
James is an amazing photographer and human being! We are so lucky we found him, he is truly the best. He is fun, kind, patient, highly skilled at his profession, friendly, creative and super easy to be around.
My husband and I were worried we might look awkward in the photos (haha) because we didn’t know how to pose or what to do, but James helped to guide us and his presence comforted us and made us feel at ease.
James was our photographer for both our engagement photos and our wedding day!! The photos are so beautiful and amazing. Our special day would not have been the same without him there. James is such a bright light and a joy to be around. If you are thinking about hiring him, do it!! In my opinion, he his the best around. We plan on having James as our photographer for all of our future family photos and life events. Thanks James, you are awesome!!
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Reviewed on WeddingWire
Julie Evans
James was wonderful to work with and took beautiful, fun, natural and spontaneous pictures. He also was easy going and fun to have at the wedding!
Reviewed on Google Maps
Katie M.
James did my vow exchange photos and I LOVE them! They couldn't have been more perfect and James couldn't have been more professional and easy to work with!! I highly recommend him!
Reviewed on Yelp
Adam Decollibus
James is a truly AMAZING photographer. He handles taking photographs with professionalism, passion, and a perfectionist's attention to detail. He is truly the greatest photographer to work with and I highly recommend him to anyone hoping to have some professional, high-quality, as well as beautiful photos taken. More...
Reviewed on Google Maps
Amanda
James shot my wedding and exceeded my expectations! He was so easy to work with and has such a natural eye for photography. Prompt communication, online invoice, flexible (we asked him to stay an extra hour on our wedding day), everything was a breeze. When we received our sneak peek photos during our honeymoon I nearly cried with how stunning they were, and I’m so excited to see the rest. I can’t say enough good things about our experience with him! More...
Reviewed on WeddingWire
Blake Andrews
James is insanely talented, friendly & responsive. He's a hard worker and a pretty fun guy too :)
Reviewed on Facebook
Ali Roselli
James was an amazing wedding photographer! He was so easy to work with throughout the entire process and made us feel very comfortable. The day of the wedding he was great at directing the group, but also just let us have fun. When we got the pictures back we were absolutely blown away, we love them so much. James is incredible and I can’t recommend him enough! More...
Reviewed on Facebook
Andrea Hasbach
My husband and I couldn't be happier with the work James did as our wedding photographer. He was always very quick to get back to us during the planning stages of our wedding, flexible in terms of the number of hours and planned locations of photographs, friendly and positive, and at the end of the day did an excellent job of capturing our special day with friends and family.
The photo gallery was completed within 4 weeks, so that we could see all those memories and make personalized thank you cards for our guests. Again - we couldn't be happier with our experience or our photos, and we would definitely recommend James Lester photography to anyone looking to hair a photographer for an event.
~Andrea & Chad
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Reviewed on Facebook
Robert McDonald
My wife and I wholeheartedly recommend James as an excellent photographer. James shot our wedding and worked with us on our budget and timing. We gave him a lot of freedom to capture what he thought best - and that was really wise as he got so much more than we would have anticipated. We recently got around to posting and sharing our photos, and all our guests were thrilled as well. He does excellent work and provides beautiful photos, he's excellent! More...
Reviewed on Facebook
Chellis Ying Hood
James came highly recommended to me by another professional photographer, and I was thrilled to discover that he not only produces excellent photos, but is a delight to work with. I hired him to take photos of a family reunion, which consisted of 8 adults, 5 kids, and 2 babies—not an easy task. But James, with his positive attitude and quick thinking, was able to put everybody, including the babies, at ease. If you hire him, you won't be disappointed. More...
Reviewed on Facebook
Wendy Mashburn Vizard
James photographed our wedding in November 2017 and We were so lucky to have him as our photographer! He was able to accommodate us on short notice and made the process so easy. He is a pleasure to work with and doesn't stop until you are completely satisfied with your photos. He's kind, extremely helpful and creates awesome photos. Our guests even commented on how great he was, and that says a lot! We can't say enough good things about our experience with James! Highly recommend! More...
Reviewed on Facebook
Whitney Teubner
James is not only a very talented photographer, but he's also nice, funny, and responsive and dependable. He was always super quick to get back to our emails or jump on a phone call to go over new ideas we had. He showed up on time, was so kind to everyone and truly was excited to help capture the essence of our wedding. We got our pictures back very quickly and we're just so so happy with them. We didn't want the typical "stock" wedding photos and James really got that. We have such amazing, artistic photos and that's all because of James. Thank you, James!!! More...
Reviewed on Facebook
Tina Walker
James is the absolute best. Not only is he incredibly talented, he is also extremely fun and easy to work with. He is a total pro and we could not be happier with our wedding photos. I would 100% recommend him to anyone looking for an awesome photographer in the area. More...
Reviewed on Google Maps
Jean Y.
My husband Daniel and I just got married yesterday and James made our day! Getting married is usually a stressful process and I was lucky enough to quickly find James. While most photographers takes a few generic portraits, James captures the natural environment and the mood of the place you're in. While daniel and I are usually shy, james' overwhelming happy and kind character brought out the best in us. We immediately felt comfortable to share and be vulnerable to be photographed. He is more than just a wonderful photographer, he is a humble, kind hearted person. We had such fun with you and thank you for everything. With love, Jean and Daniel. More...
Reviewed on Yelp
C Y.
James came highly recommended to me by another professional photographer, and I was thrilled to discover that he not only produces excellent photos, but is a delight to work with. I hired him to take photos of a family reunion, which consisted of 8 adults, 5 kids, and 2 babies--not an easy task. But James, with his positive attitude and quick thinking, was able to put everybody, including the babies, at ease. If you hire him, you won't be disappointed. More...
Reviewed on Yelp
Andrea
The most important thing to know is that James Lester is really wonderful. My husband and I were referred to him, because we were looking for someone with flexible hours, as we didn't need a full day of photography for our evening wedding.
He got back to us immediately, and was really energetic, positive, and flexible with designing a day that fit our needs. He continued to be flexible as the day got nearer and we altered our time table for the photography session with him. On the day of the wedding he was on time, perfectly dressed for our central coast casual wedding, really friendly and easy going, and he captured not only beautiful pictures of my husband and I before, during, and after the wedding, but also great photos of all the details of our wedding decor, guests, food and desserts, and dancing.
He said I could expect a photo gallery to be ready in about 4 weeks, and literally 4 weeks to the day I got the email letting me know they were ready - and I couldn't stop looking at them.
I strongly recommend James Lester, and I will hire him again if the occasion for a professional photographer ever arises.
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Reviewed on WeddingWire
