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Eliot Khuner Photography
Category: Event Planning & Services Photographers Photographers [Edit]
1052 Monterey Ave(between Colusa Ave & Sonoma Ave)
Berkeley, CA 94707
Neighborhood: North Berkeley
(510) 524-3569
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 9 am - 8 pm
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
About This Business:
Wedding, Event, and Portrait photography in Berkeley, San Francisco, and all around the Bay Area Call or Email Now for a free estimate
18 reviews for Eliot Khuner Photography
18 reviews in English
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Review from Mariana S.
Walnut Creek, CA
7/26/2010
I wanted to take some photos aroudn the UC Berkeley campus which I never got to do while I was a student there. I asked many friends and family for recommendations and my classmate Karen highly recommended Eliot. He lives in Berkeley and is so familiar with the campus that it was perfect! I haven't had professional pictures taken in over 10 years I never been comfortable in front of a camera and I really have no good idaes for posing but Eliot helped me a lot on how to pose, where to look, how to position from my s houlders to my feet and in which direction! I felt very comfortable. he is very patient and very professional!
I didn't feel rushed and I had a lot of fun with the photo shoot! All of my photos were amazing!!! i had a hard time choosing! I love them all! I have recommended Eliot to friends and family and look forward in the future to more photos from Eliot who is truly a professional photographer. -
Review from Don G.
Oakland, CA
10/9/2007
Eliot took incredible shots of my son and his pre-preschool classmates last year. He came to the school before the kids arrived, set up as much as he needed to, then swept into action when the kids arrived. Imagine keeping calm, let alone producing an amazing body of shots, when fifteen two year olds are rampaging around on all sides. Truly this man has a gift for photography, but coupling that with an ability to coax such great images out of a gang of squirrely toddlers ... well, I was impressed!
Pt II (a few months later)
Eliot came by last week to take our holiday photos, which turned out totally amazing. He took probably 200 shots during the 60 minutes in which we were "posing" (read: screwing around), and of them at least forty were worthy of the final cut. We narrowed it down to four that we loved and had him make prints for us. One of them is easily the best photo that has ever been taken of us as a group.
My biggest recommendation is that Eliot puts everyone totally at ease. He doesn't baby-talk to my son, but rather just talks to him like the wee person that he is, and Alden totally responds. Sure, Eliot is great with set-up, lighting, color-coordination, and all that ... but what good would that be if everyone looked stiff and posed? He made the posed shots look candid and loose and the candid and loose shots look perfect. Check him out. -
Review from Shyam P.
Oakland, CA
5/17/2006
Took pictures with Jill K. Eliot was very nice, patient and took his time explaining what he was doing and why he was doing it. He definitely knows his lighting and that's probably the most difficult aspect of photography.
It was a fun experience and he made us feel comfortable. The pictures themselves came out very well. He used the lighting to tone down the sharp contrast between Jill and my skin shades.
Finally, he's full of energy and I think that is conveyed in his pictures and engaging conversations.
Highly recommended for wedding studio photography. -
Review from Stu S.
Oakland, CA
8/6/2008
Eliot flew to Omaha for my wedding on July 27th. He photographed the rehearsal dinner as well as the wedding and reception. I had hired Eliot years ago for another family event, and again he was wonderful.
Eliot has a knack for relaxing folks in front of the camera and he injects enough humor to make the process a lot of fun. In addition to the standard portraits and wedding shots, he gets artistic with low angles and back-lighting.
Our family was delighted with Eliot and the photographs. My bride says so many good things about him that I'm getting jealous. -
Review from Ross T.
Oakland, CA
12/5/2008
I am a professional graphic designer of 25 years. I have seen lots of good and bad professional photography. Eliot Khuner is among the very best I have encountered. What pleased me most about Eliot was his willingness to explore new areas of his art outside of portraits and wedding photos.
A quick story to illustrate what I mean: I design product packaging for vendors selling to national chains such as Sears and Orchard Supply Hardware. When I needed product photography for a new Craftsman tool, my regular photographer was not available, so I called Eliot who I had met through a business networking group. He did an amazing job and was an immense asset to me in that he caught some things that I had overlooked while art directing the photo shoot. I feel he greatly improved upon several shots that I had conceived. Eliot's use of light and attention to detail provided me with exceptional images that made me look quite good in the client's eyes. Eliot Khuner is a very skilled photographer...! -
Review from Jana B.
Oakland, CA
8/11/2008 1 photo
I asked Eliot to photograph my family and my two busy boys. Instead of making them stand still and force a smile, he had them climbing rocks, running in fallen leaves, rolling around on the grass, and laughing, so that he captured not only their beautiful and natural smiles, but he also captured their individual personalities in the images - the serious one and the silly one. Now all I have to do is choose my favorites from over 800 images that he took during our photo shoot.
I am very impressed with his work, his style and his results. -
Review from Lee R.
Oakland, CA
11/6/2007
Eliot Khuner is a fantastic photographer! Eliot knows his stuff and he is a genius with lighting.
Last year, Eliot took photos for the Montclair Pet and Wildlife Fund special event at Woodminster Theater and he did a terrific job. Everyone loved working with him and his photos are great.
On another occasion, I hired Eliot to take some photos when my family was in town. My mother-in-law loved Eliot's work so much we talked to Eliot about flying him to Florida to take photos at a family event there too. He said yes.
Wow ... what a find! He is golden.
If you want the best photographer for your wedding or special event ... Eliot is the one to call. He is very talented and I think you will be delighted with his creativity and expertise.
AND ... he is amazing with Photoshop ... so you will look better in your finished photos than you imagined! ^..^ -
Review from Joe C.
San Francisco, CA
8/21/2008
Eliot took about a million photos at the Yelp Elite event at Butterfly - and I do have to say, almost all of them came out great. 999,999:1,000,000 is a pretty amazing ratio for any photographer. Plus, he's a fun guy. This picture of my left hand is one of my faves: http://khuner.com/yelp...
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Review from Keren B.
Oakland, CA
6/4/2008
I had a fabulous experience with Eliot - he photographed my jewelry with live models here in my home. He was incredibly efficient, confident, considerate, and fantastic to watch in action while he changed the background colors, lighting and worked his magic! The photos turned out great! You'd think it had taken him all day but it was all done in a few hours, without feeling rushed. He really hit the lighting just right on the jewelry so that the models were still a part of the picture, but the jewelry was the focus. I felt honored to have Eliot photograph my work and I would recommend him with 100% confidence to anyone. He has a true gift!
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Review from Jill k.
Oakland, CA
5/4/2006 1 photo
thanks to yelp, eliot, a bay area based photographer, offered to take pictures of us! seemed like a perfect opportunity to take some nice pictures, since we had just become engaged. so, one foggy morning, we made our way to his studio.
eliot was funny and engaging from the moment we met. we talked about everything from stem cell research to searcn engine optimization to the biz of photography, while learning a lot about photography in the process! he definitely knows his stuff and is very talented photographer.
altogether, it was a great experience, and i would definitely recommend him for great shots. i really liked his candid shots, which, even though they were in a studio, looked very natural. the only thing i would do differently is change up some of our poses, as some of them definitely looked better than others!
note: for more samples of his work, check out my link: http://www.flickr.com/... -
Review from Patrick A.
San Francisco, CA
9/4/2006
I came to Eliot interested in pictures for my website and new theatrical and commercial shots.
I've had good and bad experiences with different photographers. One photographer did excellent work but was ridiculously expensive. The one I used after that was very affordable but they were so bad I didn't even reproduce them. I thought it was clear from that point on; thinking good pictures cost lots of money and crappy ones are cheap. Then I went to a photographer that made me look quite distinctive but when I looked at her portfolio, it was apparent that a look and style had been projected upon me.
I met Eliot at his studio in Berkeley with an armful of outfits and props (scarves, hats, etc..). I laid them out and after listening to my ideas about the shoot, he made his suggestions. The Diet Pepsi he offered me has stuck in my mind for some reason... Maybe because I was thirsty.
We hopped in the car and headed to the planned location. We hadn't yet arrived when Eliot noticed an interesting spot to take some pictures. He asked me if I was interested, I said Yes, and we pulled over.
It is hard to explain how well a professional does their work. Especially an artist. But I can recall moments that assured me that my comfort was very important. When I needed to be smiling or cheerful in a shot, instead of Eliot telling dumb jokes, he asked me questions about my interests and life, about what's going on, and commented on things that were going on around us. Just pleasant things that made me smile. Later, when I looked at the photos, the affect was amazing. Natural smiles from an engaged person instead of "acting happy" smiles.
Honestly I was worried about time. Eliot told me that we had a couple hours and I wasn't sure if that would be enough time. Well I was wrong. We took hundreds of pictures in one hour and realized that we had everything we needed and headed back to the studio. I wasn't even worn out.
Later, I sat down with Eliot at his studio and we walked through the pictures. Again, he gave suggestions (with explanations) but ultimately it was up to me. I took his advice.
Looking at all the pictures, I wasn't only pleased that I looked good, I was happy that they looked like me. Eliot captured what I had brought to the shoot. I'm not an expert on photography but I would consider that one of the best qualities you can have.
I am pleased. My expectations were exceeded. My agent is thrilled. -
Review from Ralph N.
Oakland, CA
6/2/2011
All you have to do is look at his sample photos to see he knows what he's doing and can take beautiful photographs. But understand that you're dealing with an artist, in both a positive and negative sense.
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Review from Deborah H.
Albany, CA
6/7/2007
I've now worked with Eliot Khuner at 2 fundraising events, and he is one of the best event photographers I've ever dealt with. I work for a nonprofit arts organization, and one of our board members recommended him, so I decided to give him a try. Eliot really knows how to get you the kind of photos you need, even under very crowded, difficult circumstances (weird lighting, hordes of people surrounding your subject, etc.). He is personable and fun without being intrusive, and he puts people at ease, which is one of the keys to getting good photos. He takes direction very well, but he also knows how to roam around on his own and look for good photo opps.
Eliot also really went the extra mile for me by staying late at the event so I could select photos to send to the press the next day. Then he stayed up still later at his studio after the event (which didn't end until midnight) so that he could transfer my photos and get them ready for others to view. He could not have been more accommodating and helpful. A true professional, and a truly nice person. I highly recommend him for any kind of event. -
Review from M. F.
11/23/2009
We first came across Eliot's website a couple of years ago when we were considering having photos done for our parents. However, we never quite got around to putting our plan into action. After getting engaged, the first photographer that came to mind was Eliot. We had been impressed with the amount of information about photography on his site, as well as his photographic philosophy and desire to capture people in a natural state that really allows their personality to come through. We were impressed with his use of lighting and attention to detail. Unlike other photographers that we looked at, he captured the moment in his photos without being overly artsy or gimmicky.
During our engagement session, Eliot was easy to work with and helped put us at ease resulting in some lovely, natural shots. We were happy to discover that many of the photos Eliot took were very good, and some were truly outstanding. We did the photo shoot in Berkeley where Eliot is located. We shot at multiple sites and at the end Eliot took us on a mini driving tour of Berkeley. It was a fun morning and made us confident that we had made the right decision in choosing Eliot to photograph our wedding.
The day of the wedding, Eliot arrived and did his thing, capturing the groom before the wedding, as well as guests arriving. He even managed a few quick shots in the bride's room despite the fact that we had originally opted to skip those photos. Additionally, he took a variety of shots that would work well as extra images in an album (i.e. the tables, rings, champagne glasses, garden setting of wedding).
We got the photos immediately. Eliot had asked us to bring an external hard drive to the wedding so that he could download the photos to it as soon as he was done taking them. He did this and the evening of the wedding, we had the photos and could review them at our leisure.
All and all, Eliot was not only fun to work with, but also took some beautiful photos and managed to document our wedding in a thorough yet unobtrusive manner ultimately providing us with some stunning images with which to remember our wedding day. -
Review from Greg D.
Richmond, CA
1/22/2010
My wife and I were looking for a photographer for our wedding and we came across Eliot. We sent up a meeting and we immediately cast away the 4 or 5 previous people we meet with and went with Eliot. He took care of us and put my wife at ease. He did a fantastic job at our wedding and engagement session. He has a great eye and on our day of the event he captured nearly everyone at the wedding in the best natural setting. Remember its your wedding so I would recommend going with nothing less than a pro it makes all the difference in the world. Also Eliot just finished our album and it is great.
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Review from J C.
Dublin, CA
1/31/2010 3 photos
Eliot was our photographer for our wedding on 6.7.08 but I just started YELPing so here it is... I can't forget to give Eliot credit where credit is due.
After interviewing several photographers, Eliot was the best person for the job... to capture a day's worth of memories to be shared with family and friends for a lifetime. He was very knowledgable, professsional, and friendly. After our engagement photo session, we were very pleased with the outcome. He took over a thousand photos in just a couple hours. Even more amazing was the outcome of our wedding photos. We have received so many compliments on them and the album turned out just the way we wanted it. Eliot worked with us through countless hours to get each page laid out just right. We look forward to using Eliot again for our family portraits in the future. You can tell he's truly passionate about what he does. Many thanks Eliot! -
Review from B L.
Berkeley, CA
11/16/2010
Eliot recently did photos of our family. He picked a great location and did a wonderful job helping us to feel at ease and to take a variety of poses. He also did a great job getting some good expressions out of the baby, whose expression was hard to capture, since it changes every 5 seconds. We were very impressed with the number of good shots that he got, and ended up ordering far more photos than we had thought that we would before the photo shoot -- the grandparents will be very happy with the pics of the baby! I highly recommend him for family portraits, and will recommend him to my friends looking for a wedding photographer, too.
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Review from andrea h.
Alameda, CA
12/11/2009
I Can't say enough GREAT things about Eliot's work. He photographed our wedding in september, and his capturing of that day and the people there was FABULOUS!
Now, given that a wedding is a highly charged event, you might think anything looks good, but I've heard plenty of complaints from people who hired pros and were, uh duh, unimpressed. Well, not only myself but all my friends family and guests all think his photos are fabulous.
It's a big expense hiring a pro, and we almost didnt do it, being pretty squeezed for cash at this low-key do-it-yourself event (this was not the flash, blingbling wedding, more like a family picnic) But I am really glad we did, not least since he captured moments I forgot had even happened -- no matter how hard you try to focus, at a moment like getting married, everything becomes blur.... so being able to look back over the day really gives us wonderful memories. and nice gifs too, since we now have beautiful portraits not jsut of us but also everyone we love.
on a professional note, he was on time, took note of the surroundings, made sure to get photos of each and every guest as asked, even thought to take shots of each table so we knew who was where . that kind of thinking shows a pro. not to mention the quality of the images!
worth every dollar, and memories for a lifetime.
thank you eliot!
