Manuel Ortega Photography - Monterey Wedding Photographers

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. 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. 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. 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 and his team for helping make our wedding day so memorable.
5 7 years ago (28-01-2018)

My now husband and I are from New York, and we decided to have a destination elopement in Carmel by the Sea, CA, with just seven immediate family members present. The thought of booking a photographer from 3,000 miles away, without a face to face meeting was a daunting task, but from my first correspondence with Manuel, he put me at ease and made the entire process of booking a breeze. Similarly, our wedding day was seamless because of Manuel and Melissa's impeccable professionalism and their breadth of experience documenting weddings. On the day of the wedding, my husband was so nervous that I was unsure he was going to be able to relax and enjoy the day, but as soon as Manuel and Melissa showed up to his hotel room to photograph him getting ready, he instantly became calm. It was clear to my hubby that Manuel and Melissa had everything timed perfectly, that they knew exactly how much time they needed to capture everything, and best of all they had my hubby and in laws cracking up as they were taking pictures. By the time my hubby and I met for our first look photos, we were both at ease, completely calm, and just having a blast while enjoying our day. By the time our wedding was over, both Manuel and Melissa felt like part of our family. Less than a week after our wedding, our photos were posted online and we are still in awe of how breathtaking their work is. There are so many photos that we absolutely love, and we know that we will be able to cherish those photos for year and years to come. We had an amazing, amazing wedding day, and we honestly have Manuel and Melissa to thank for that.
5 8 years ago (11-10-2017)

Manny's photography is fantastic but what also sets him a part is his kind and funny nature. I highly recommend hiring him if you want someone on your big day that will create phenomenal images and is so much fun to be around!
5 7 years ago (14-02-2018)

Love love love our engagement pictures! Amazing! Best decision we could have made. Manuel and Melissa make a great team. It was pleasure getting to work them. Thank you so much!!
5 8 years ago (23-10-2017)

Working with Manuel and his wife Melissa was first class service. Not only are they the nicest, down to earth couple and they're easy to work with, but their work is AMAZING!! After searching several websites looking for the perfect photographer for my wedding as soon as I saw some of a Manuel's work I knew he was the one. I can happily say I did not make the wrong decision. They did our engagement photos as well as our wedding day. Our engagement session we had so much fun shooting & they turned out gorgeous. My wedding photos are absolutely stunning and we LOVE THEM!! I've gotten endless compliments on them and asked several times who did my photos. He captured the whole day beautifully. I told him when I picked up my album that a story is being told through his pictures. I'm so thankful. I've already asked Manuel if he would do our future family portraits and my maternity shoot whenever that day comes
5 8 years ago (23-06-2017)