Elley Photography
Category: Event Planning & Services Photographers Photographers [Edit]
San Jose, CA 95110(408) 679-0822
17 reviews for Elley Photography
17 reviews in English
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Review from Chelsea Z.
Campbell, CA
12/4/2011
Elley was our photographer for our July 2010 wedding...I can't believe it took me this long to remember to write a review! She was absolutely amazing the entire time - warm, helpful, and patient! Elley also photographed our engagement pictures. She made us feel comfortable with her and excited for the big day. She accommodated all my requests for poses and pictures for both the engagement and wedding, but to be honest - the ones that she arranged herself were the special ones! She really is an artist.
We recently ordered our wedding album from her and it is absolutely spectacular. It's definitely not an ordinary (boring) wedding album! Elley took the time to arrange the photos in a creative and thoughtful way, and she even added in some details in our wedding color.
Another important point in Elley's favor is that I didn't have to wait ages to see our photographs! She was able to send us a CD of all our prints much more quickly than I had expected.
I know that in the future, when we will need a photographer for family photos, Elley will be the one we call! -
Review from Karen S.
Campbell, CA
11/17/2011
Elley was the photographer for my September 2011 wedding and her talent is tremendous. I had reviewed dozens of online galleries and I loved Elley's style. AFter meeting her, I knew I wasn't going to look any further. She was the first vendor we booked. She is very friendly and completely flexible. Now that I have gotten the photos back, she has surpassed my already high expectations! Her photos are phenomenal.
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Review from Kay M.
Los Gatos, CA
8/24/2010
Just had my engagement photo session with Elley and OMG, she is soooo at the top of her game. I met Elley a little less than a year ago after searching relentlessly for a wedding photographer. I emailed and interviewed a ton, before deciding that I would never find the perfect match.
They say photographers for weddings should almost always be found through referrals. Wrong. I found Elley right here....on Yelp. Elley had just five reviews when I was searching and I have to say, I was just a tad bit skeptical....but after viewing her website I was quite impresses, as my amateur photographer brother was. I found myself staring at her photos day after day and finally worked the courage to email her. Why was I so scared? Because all the photographers that I encountered to date were 'ok' but they charged an arm and a leg. In the back of my mind, all I could think of was what Elley charged. But I guess that didn't matter b/c if she's good, she's well worth every penny right?
I heard back from Elley almost immediately. I liked what I read in her email response and I liked her numbers. She has packages that she can tailor to fit your needs; this is something I found most photographers did not do. Who wants a 10-hour shoot, with two albums and all that stuff for $6,000? Not me! I made an appointment with Elley and this time I brought my fiancé b/c I had an inkling she was 'the one'. Unless I get good vibes from someone via email, I don't usually include my fiancé in the 'meeting'.
We met at Santana Row inside Starbucks. Ten minutes had past and we call Elley, thinking this isn't good if she's going to be late to our first meeting. Elley had been waiting outside and I have no idea how we missed her. She's the most darling photographer I've ever met with and she insisted we sit outside to view her sample albums in the natural light. The minute we shook hands, I knew Elley was it!
We talked a bit and secured our date ASAP; I'm not about to let her get away. Fast forward ten months later (8/22) we meet up for our engagement shoot at the Giants' Stadium in SF. We did a 2-/+ shoot around the ballpark and we did a quick shot at the Ferry Building. At 8pm, when the sun was down completely, Elley's lens was able to create a flash that made a night shot look like a day shot. It was INCREDIBLE.
I cannot say how honored I am to having someone like Elley shoot my wedding. She is the sweetest person, the most professional photographer and most of all, she wasn't all in your face and bossy like some photographers I've encountered, and I've been IN seven weddings to date.
I hope that you yelpers find this review helpful. If Elley is available for your big day, book her. You will not regret it!! If I could give Elley TEN stars, I would!
Can't wait to take baby photos with her! -
Review from Marco P.
San Francisco, CA
2/6/2011
We just saw our wedding pics from Elley, and , as we expected, they were excellent and we couldn't be happier. Elley doesn't just take on a job but gets right into the spirit of the event and the emotions of the people attending.
Forget about staid posed (and boring) pictures of the couple at each table, or in fairytale settings ....just let her loose among the crowd, with minimal instruction, and she'll surprise you very pleasantly with beautiful (and real!) moments from your friends and family. These'll be pictures you'll be proud to share, will never be boring for your guests to watch, and like someone told me, watching the results of Elley's work "is like living that special night all over again". -
Review from Becky B.
Campbell, CA
6/2/2011
As soon as my husband and I met Elley and stepped into her condo I knew she was the photographer for our wedding. She is so laid back and really wanted to get to know us as a couple to determine the right style for our photos. She had some amazing ideas for our engagement shoot and really made it fun and relaxing for us. On our wedding day we took some posed shots but primarily did candid, in the moment pictures which is exactly what we wanted. Elley is wondeful and I would recommend her to anyone!
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Review from eyeris y.
Oakland, CA
12/3/2010
I cannot stop crying....I'm sitting here bawling my eyes out ! Elley, our photographer told us that our wedding slide show was ready. Now I'm still sitting here all emotional and the tears won't stop. She captured all the moments! It looks soooo good. I don't know how she did it, but somehow she even made the black wet ground look good. That
was one of my worries before that we were all standing on asphalt instead of the grass, but the grass was just too wet. But let me tell you, she made it look good! We had so much fun and was so happy on our wedding day and Elley captured all of it !
I was very interested in journalistic photography style rather than the normal pretty poses type pictures and Elley was right on. Her photography is very life like and the natural candid moments that she captures are just so beautiful. She did a mixture of both color and black/white and they are simply breathtaking! I have been showing off our pictures on the slide show left and right and just can't stop talking about it.
Everyone advised that we should have 2 photographers but we just could not afford that, so it was just Elley. But having Elley is like having multiple Elley.....I don't know how - but she was able to photograph every single detail along with all the big moments and everything else in between. She is so sweet and made us feel so comfortable with her that I was able to forget that I was constantly being photographed.
Bottom line - I am extremely happy with Elley and all our photos. She is worth it and so much more! I would recommend her to be the photographer for any occasion!! -
Review from D. T.
Daly City, CA
1/22/2009 3 photos
First of all, let me say that my wife is super happy with Elley's work. And that's saying a lot because sometimes my wife will say things like "this cake that you baked for me, it's just alright." So you know she's not an easy person to satisfy.
Received many, many shots and Elley is skilled in taking the pictures as well as post-processing them. I do a little photography myself, with friends, and we were impressed with how much better she is compared to ourselves. I mean, we have thousands of dollars worth of gear, too. But Elley just gets into the shot and does it right.
I think the most talented thing about Elley is her ability to capture moments without leaving a trace. You will hardly know she was there. Sure, she can do the posed shots too. But where she really shines (and this is why you hire a wedding photog) is when you try to smash cake in your wife's face but get karate chop blocked. How does she manage to capture every moment that's important? Hell if I know, but that's why you pay her.
We received our wedding shots about a month after the event, and it all came in a very professional package with post-processing and touch-ups already done.
I couldn't have been happier with Elley's performance. -
Review from Kristen S.
San Jose, CA
9/17/2009
If you want stiff, posed, and forced snapshots, (and who does?) don't go to Elley. But if you're looking for natural, flowing, candid moments to be captured in time forever, Elley is a pro. She prefers to do real life photography in natural settings/on location, capturing life as it happens. The outcome is simply amazing, she really utilizes natural light and can take beautiful pictures no matter what the environment is.
Elley came to my house to shoot pictures of me and my rabbit (of all things!) for the Humane Society's calendar, which they asked us to be a part of. I had never met Elley beforehand and assumed the shots would be simple, straightforward, and boring, with a photographer who gave either too much direction or forced some awkward poses. Add a persnickety rabbit to the mix? Forget it! But I felt completely comfortable with Elley's ideas and everything just unfolded naturally without too much or too little direction. She has a warm and laid back personality, which made Ted & I feel completely at ease. She did all the work!
She picked out a few backdrops in my house where she felt the lighting and colors worked the best, and I played and cuddled with Ted like I normally do! When I saw the finished product, I could hardly believe they were shot in my own home. They were classic, timeless, breathtaking.
It's funny- I thought I'd be most excited about Ted's claim to fame in the Humane Society's calendar. But after seeing the lovely photos Elley took of us, I'm more excited to share them amongst friends and family, and above all, to cherish them in our home forever. Thanks Elley. -
Review from Emilly W.
San Jose, CA
1/7/2009
We hired Elley for our November wedding... after our first meeting my then fiance and I walked away saying wow, and just having a feeling to go with Elley. My husband is not always comfortable in front of a camera, so we opted to have an engagement session with Elley. The pics came out wonderful, and she is really good at making us comfortable in front of the camera. She gave just enough direction when needed but still allowed for our natural selves to blossom. As for the wedding, what a trooper, we had a small wedding and had to make a visit with Bride and Groom to visit Grandma in her living facility, she came along for photo-ops and we felt super comfortable with her coming along. Even with rain Elley was flexible and managed getting awesome, beautiful shots of our wedding day. Also she was very helpful with arranging a time-line and working with the brides ideas.
We are so glad we found Elley, she is very talented and we get many compliments on our photos. -
Review from Callie L.
Livermore, CA
10/18/2009 1 photo
I believe that we were Elley's very first "professional" wedding back in October of 2007. One word describes Elley: Fantastic. I took a chance on an enthusiastic woman with a big smile and I couldn't be happier. Her pictures are absolutely breathtaking and she caught every perfect moment at our wedding.
Her pictures are beautiful. She knows how to capture emotions as well as moments-and does it all while being as stealthy as a ninja. We had so many compliments (and still receive them all the time) on our wedding pictures-and that isn't easy to do as we are not photogenic people! She goes out of her way to think of creative shots-and always manages some incredibly interesting and beautiful pictures as a result.
We recently moved back to the Bay Area and had Elley take some photos of our twin babies. Once again she was nothing but a pleasure to work with. She had all kinds of incredible ideas for shots but yet we never felt awkward or like we were posing. The pictures of our family were incredible this time too. Having Elley take pictures is totally worth it no matter what the occasion.
We will continue to use Elley for all of our photography in the years to come. She feels like more than a photographer-she's now a friend. -
Review from Poppy D.
Los Angeles, CA
1/25/2011
She did my wedding. She was great with the unruly relatives and fidgety three year olds. Take a look at her blog, You will be sorry if you don't. She even managed to do a great portrait shot of me just running around in my dress. I usually hate photos of myself. Need I say more? She was also willing to travel a short distance to Monterey from her home base which was great. I'm so glad I found her by accident. She's also reasonably priced. Oh, and if you are looking for staged, plasic smile Sears portrait shots, she can do that too, but it is a waste of her talent.
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Review from KittyFan M.
San Francisco, CA
1/1/2011
We had Elley for both engagement photo and wedding. She is so professional, friendly and talented. We LOVE all the pictures from her.
We felt so comfortable in front of her camera during the engagement section and all the pictures turned out very very nice. We also have a photo guest book with the engagement pictures for our wedding. I have received lots of compliments for this guest book and cannot stop looking at the beautiful pictures and the cute notes from friends and families who attended the wedding.
As many of you already know, the wedding goes by very fast for the wedding couple especially the bride. You barely have time to say "Hi" to most of the friends that you have not seen for a while. Many of the wedding details are blurry to me until I saw the pictures from Elley. She helped to captures all the precious moments of your friends and family. I cannot stop smiling when I saw they had a good time at the event that you have planned for months. We really love all the pictures that she took at our wedding and had a hard time to decide the 50 pictures for our wedding album. However, we finally did it and we cannot wait to see the album when it is ready. I am sure that I will receive lots of compliments when I show that to friends and family :D
In short, Elley is AWSOME! If you like candid shot, she is the one to go. -
Review from Lauren C.
Reno, NV
9/13/2010 7 photos
I can't believe it has taken me SO long to write this. It has been nearly a year since our wedding and I feel terrible that haven't posted a review for Elley.
Where do I begin? Elley is simply FANTASTIC. I thank my lucky stars every time I look at our wedding pics that she was our photographer. My husband and I didn't have a traditional wedding. Aside from Elley and our videographer, it was just the two of us. We married in San Francisco's City Hall, but wanted to make a day of it. There were shots in the motel room beforehand, and shots after the ceremony on a gorgeous hilltop where we read private vows to one another and had cupcakes and champagne. It was magical and a huge reason for that was Elley.
Aside from the amazing pictures (seriously incredible), Elley is so sweet. I can't imagine anyone not getting along with her or not being at ease. Looking back I must've driven her crazy with all of my emails. I had so many questions and ideas....questions about the city (we're from out of town), about timing our day, about what pictures we wanted. I had no help from friends/family in the planning, but I knew I could always shoot out an email to Elley if I really needed to. She answered all of my emails promptly and put up with me when I changed my mind about some things. What a sweetheart.
Another huge worry for my husband and I was feeling comfortable with our two vendors and not feeling propped up and positioned like mannequins. A biggie for me was that our vendors not create staged situations and fake spontaneity like I see in so many other weddings. While I love looking at other wedding photos with that style, my husband and I couldn't imagine ourselves being goofy on cue especially with all the nervousness. Elley understood this and was GREAT with us. There were moments when Elley gave us just enough guidance when needed (to capture the kind of pics your parents adore), but she mostly captured us interacting with one another (candids). Because of this, we totally eased up anyways and had the best time. BEAUTIFUL pictures and adorable personality to boot! She's a true professional.
On our wedding night, my husband and I were sitting on our motel bed eating take-out, laughing, smiling, and reminiscing about our little wedding day. We were exhausted, but so happy. When I started planning the whole thing, a big worry of mine was how we would feel on such a special but very private day with two complete strangers and no one else. After all, we wouldn't get to meet Elley and the videographer until the day of. As we sat there, we couldn't stop talking about Elley and the videographer. They truly felt like our friends that day and we couldn't have spent our wedding with better people.
Thank you Elley! -
Review from L W.
Santa Clara, CA
4/12/2010
We're so lucky to have found Elley here! After getting referrals from friends and researching for a photographer, we choose Elley because she's not only immensely talented but also flexible and easy to work with. Her portfolio speaks for itself.
Our wedding was a 20-people ceremony & a sit-down lunch. We thought there would be very little to be photographed but Elley was able to capture more details & moments than what we thought was possible. Each picture tells a story, captures an emotion candidly & beautifully.
We love the perfect photos of our family & wedding! Thanks Elley! -
Review from Kelly A.
San Francisco, CA
10/27/2008
I used Elley for my August 2008 wedding in Sonoma CA. Myself, my husband, our families and friends have all been so impressed with how our pictures turned out. We love Elley's work. She has quite a talent. She was very friendly and professional, and most of the time, we did not even know she was there. I had a vision of a very "in your face" wedding photographer, and Elley is definitely not that. She puts her personal touch on some of the photos with digital enhancements, which I think was a great added bonus. I would highly recommend Elley for weddings and other events.
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Review from Aaron R.
San Francisco, CA
12/20/2009
Elley did such a great job photographing our wedding. I was dreading having to take some many photos, but Elley made it easy and fun. We just got the pictures back and my wife and I couldn't be happier with the results. Elley captured the feeling of our wedding perfectly. She is extremely creative and got some great artistic shots along with the classic shots of the ceremony and our families. Thank you, Elley - if we could give you more than 5 stars, we would.
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Review from Crystal A.
Concord, CA
11/28/2008
Elley photographed my husband and I wedding in early October. As soon as she arrived she got started right away. She was so friendly, extremely easy to work with, and never once felt like she was in the way. As we enjoyed the day with friends and family, Elley was able to capture all moments of the day, even those that I did not recall her being around for. That is a wonderful feeling to have a photographer be everywhere, and get amazing photo's without feeling as though they are in the way. Our pictures came out SPECTACULAR, with wonderful effects that just enhanced beautiful shots of my husband and myself, our bridal party, and our attendants.
If you are looking for a photographer, I would HIGHLY, HIGHLY, recommend Elley. You simply will not be disappointed in her work!!!
