“Jonathan is beyond amazing! Book him now and book him fast… you won’t regret it. He’s by far the best value in the area… and in my opinion, he undercharges for what you actually get.
I found Bluephoto through Jonathan’s blog and was immediately struck by how beautiful his photos where. What really got me were his 5 minute videos of your wedding day (which he gets to you the next morning!…whaaaat??). Our engagement session was a breeze. We had never been part of a photo shoot before and he made us feel so comfortable. He never asked us to fake any poses and he was able to coax genuine laughter out of us.
Jonathan was the photographer for our wedding at the Loma Grande Ranch in SLO in September 2015. He was originally supposed to shoot our wedding in September of 2014, but 3 months before the wedding, we had to push the date back a year because I had been diagnosed with breast cancer and had to undergo 9 months of treatment. Jonathan was so understanding and accommodating. He never questioned my intentions and he was so supportive throughout the year. I was beyond excited when our wedding finally came and Jonathan delivered everything he promised. I have no idea how he dealt with my family portraits (40+ people) and our 20 person wedding party. But he did an amazing job! Our photos were sent to us on our honeymoon (unlike most photographers). But you don’t have to take my word for it…you can see his photos. They speak for themselves.”
“10 Stars… 1,000 stars!!!! Jonathan… you rock.
We got married 9/26/15 at Flying Caballos Ranch, and met Jonathan the Thursday before the wedding since we were coming from San Francisco. I had only spoken to him on the phone at this point, but had such a good feeling about him, that we booked him before doing any photo shoots. Watching the videos of other couples on his website convinced me… he’s no fool.
He had a chance to do a little “engagement” shoot with us on that Thursday night, and we had the best time getting to know him and learning how to take photos together. It was so fun to see little parts of SLO that we had never been to, and get some extra memories around the town. We immediately felt like we had known him for years.. my shirt even came unbuttoned without me noticing, and a simple, “Hey, you got buttons here” kept it light and funny. That outfit is known for that, and the girls came out a little.. oh well. Thank you Jonathan for not making me feel embarrassed.. haha!
The wedding day… oh what a perfect day. Calm, relaxing, no major stress, and Jonathan came around noon to start shooting. He got some great shots of my shoes, dress, and other little details like my granny’s handkerchief that was to go around my bouquet. When it came time for family photos, he had to wrangle some folks up that were not “listening” for their name, which made it a little tough. He has the patience of an angel.. that was not an easy task.
I could go on and on about the photos, but I’ll make sure to attach some later to this review. They speak for themselves. Best memory – Jonathan on the dance floor with us snapping shots, and making sure he came over to have a shot with me to celebrate. He’s the man! Thanks for everything Jonathan!”
“Let’s see, how to describe Jonathan – he’s like a ninja that left ninja school, picked up a camera, and never looked back. Jonathan was everywhere at once at our wedding – on the dancefloor, up in the trees, out in the fields, up on the roof. You see him one minute and then he’s gone the next, like some kind of photography leprechaun. All I can say is that if he is not ruinously violating all the laws of physics, then Jonathan absolutely worked his tail off at our wedding.
Jonathan captured so many ridiculously awesome, stunning, funny, heartwarming, and genuinely candid pictures that you feel embarrassed that you aren’t paying him more. And they all look SO good, to the point that I can’t say to people “the pictures don’t do it justice,” but rather that “this is exactly how it looked and felt!” How many people really ever say that and mean it?
When you work with Jonathan, you’re signing up for all the professional qualifications: skilled photographer, punctuality, not-your-average-wedding-picture, etc. But here’s the kicker – what you get is so much more than that. Jonathan has a warm personality and I really always felt like he was there doing more than just earning his paycheck. He interacts with family and friends fluidly, has a hilarious way of getting everyone in and out and on with the day, and he finds photo ops and lighting in places you never even saw it.
Jonathan understood it was an important day for me and my wife and he moved and acted like he really took that to heart. He was always receptive to feedback about things we wanted, but what really pleased me was that when I told him to just do his thing, he didn’t take that as a free pass to take routine pictures. He ran with it (sometimes literally) and pushed his photography above and beyond anything I had seen in his other shoots. Seriously, Jonathan clearly still loves to try new techniques and I absolutely encourage you to let him stretch his legs, a freedom that I think truly rewards the client in the end. We look back at our June 2012 wedding frequently and, thanks to Jonathan, feel like we remember every detail of the day as richly and warmly as when we lived it.”
“I’m going to echo all of the wonderful reviews about Jonathan because IT’S ALL TRUE, PEOPLE.
Being a top-notch photographer is only half the battle – the other half is making clients feel comfortable and covered. Jonathan wins at both. He’s fast (but not intense), easy-going (but gets all the shots), and fun & involved (but he blends in). Sounds like some sort of super-hero-photographer, right? Just wait until you get the little mini-movie of your day! You’ll be SO VERY thankful you chose Jonathan at Bluephoto!
We are still getting compliments on our wedding photos, the mini-movie, and Jonathan himself– just the way he immersed himself in the crowd on the day and how quickly he posted his work. What more can you ask for?!?
Thanks again, Jonathan. You’re awesome :-)”
“We found Jonathan online and were immediately impressed with his photos. With every album that we looked at, it became more and more evident that his lens captures the spirit of the day and that he has an amazing eye for details. Jonathan somehow manages to get everything on film– everything! From the gleam in each bride’s eye as she dances with her father, to the candid laughter of a guest; from the married couple’s fingers lingering on on each other in a private moment, to the plateware… every detail is preserved for posterity in Jonathan’s albums. And his videos! What can I possibly say about the 3-5 minute montage videos that he makes for every wedding except that they encapsulate the unique magic of every event and made it impossible for us to hire anyone besides Jonathan.
From the moment we phoned Jonathan, we knew we were making the right choice. He spoke to us for about an hour, answering all of our questions, getting a feel for who Keith and I were as people, and letting us know that we were not only hiring a photographer, but making a friend. During our engagement photo session, Jonathan made us feel so comfortable that we sometimes forgot he was there. And when he would occasionally remind us of his presence, it was only to encourage us to be silly and “us.” He was open to the few ideas that we brought with us for the session, and filled in the rest of our time with beautiful, beautiful locations and gorgeous lighting. I ultimately printed almost every one of our engagement photos, they were so incredible!
And of course, the magic didn’t stop there with Jonathan. At our wedding, Jonathan worked tirelessly to give us his all– unlike any other photographer, his fee includes “unlimited hours” on the day of– and so on our day he worked over 12 hours to capture everything from my hair being done, to the last dance of the night. He put himself through anything and everything to get the perfect shot– from standing on chairs, to climbing over fences or lying on the mud covered ground– if he thought there was a good shot awaiting him, he put his life (and certainly his clothes) on the line to find it. He rocked out on the dance floor while capturing each of our friend’s epic dance moves, and he engaged everyone with his charming sense of humor– We only heard the highest praise from all of our friends about Jonathan’s photo-taking etiquette. And Jonathan will work like a beast to get you your photos as quickly as possible. When we awoke at 9am, the day after the wedding, Jonathan’s wedding video was already posted on Facebook– we showed it at our day-after-the-wedding brunch to all of our guests who were just as amazed as we were by Jonathan’s speed and the beauty of his work. One week later, we had all 2000 of our incredible photos in our hand. It seemed impossible that one photographer could capture so much joy in a single day, but somehow Jonathan had easily managed.
When you hire Jonathan, you are hiring an experience! From the engagement session to the wedding, he’ll put his full attention on you while capturing not only the image of the moment, but the very essence of it. If we were to get married again tomorrow, we would choose Jonathan in a second. We still feel so lucky that we stumbled upon his blog, and will cherish the memories he gave to us forever.”
“Jonathan recently photographed our wedding and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results. From start to finish Jonathan’s attitude was cheerful, energetic and relaxed. I’m not sure how he manages to encompass all three but he does it with ease and he doesn’t miss a beat! We first met Jonathan at our engagement shoot and within minutes we felt comfortable with a huge camera and a stranger in our face no less. In fact, at one point he mentioned, “okay, you can stop kissing now.” I suppose somehow we became too comfortable and forgot he was even there. Jonathan captures the real energy that people have; the funny faces, authentic laughter and the intimate moments that can only be seen from his point of view. He is so creative with his photography that it truly looks like art. He gets those shots that people find themselves thinking, “how did he pull that off?” Only we know that Jonathan is willing to sacrifice his clean clothes, get down in the dirt, balance himself and his equipment behind a delicate branch all while transforming something that looks ordinary into the extraordinary.
The single most important decision I made during my wedding planning was changing my date to accommodate his talent. Yes, I rearranged my venue date and my caterer to make room for photos I knew would leave a lasting impression in my mind. Not only did we get our photos back within days after the wedding, we also received an amazing video of our day in less than 24 hours! Yes, this single shooter photographer who spent about 12 hours shooting our wedding found the energy and time to process a video he put together while taking our photos at the same time? Makes you really wonder, how does he do it?
His work is nothing but the best, his editing is clean and timeless. I know in 20 years when I look back at these photos I will know that he wasn’t processing our pictures with the most recent trends that will only prove to fade with time. I honestly can say that I see no room for improvement in Jonathan. Believe me, save yourself the stress of searching the web for the photographer of your dreams and just book Jonathan Roberts from Bluephoto photography. You will get the opportunity to meet a great friend and see firsthand what all this fuss is about. Thank you Jonathan, you rock man!”
Ashley
“Jonathan Roberts at Bluephoto Wedding was one of the most amazing parts of our wedding. Just by looking at his pictures on his gallery we knew we had to have him. After meeting him, we were confident we had made the right choice. Not only is he totally professional and incredibly talented, he is the most easy going, nicest and welcoming person. He made us feel instantly comfortable during our engagement session and after a couple of hours we literally felt we had a new amazing friend. Not only does he capture beautiful moments you would never know you had, he captures you in a way you never knew you looked. He pays attention to detail not only on camera but also when he converses with you, noticing and remembering small but important comments you make so he actually gets to know you, your dreams and your needs without you even noticing he is trying. He went out of his way during the busiest time of the wedding season to travel to one of the most remote parts of California to shoot our wedding and not only did he just jump right in, he literally spent quality time with what seemed like every guest in our 250 guest wedding. He made all of us feel completely comfortable and so easy going, the day was so stress free and just sailed along beautifully. I believe a huge part of this was due to Jonathan. I felt so wonderful about our experience without even seeing the pictures!!! After seeing the wedding pictures I am just blown away. I am 100% confident that no one could have done a better job than Jonathan and I am so thankful that he is a part of our lives. Our family will cherish him and his work forever.”
“It is incredibly difficult to use only 5 stars and a couple paragraphs of text to explain why you should choose Bluephoto for your wedding. If you haven’t already, your decision will likely be made for you when you look at his website and see the glorious use of light and the totally unique short videos he makes for each couple. One wedding guest said our video looked like a promo for a trendy indie movie starring us – amazing!
In the end, there are many photographers who will take beautiful pictures of you on your wedding day. And if you are having a very traditional wedding and want a series of preconfigured photo ops and you want someone to hold a camera and take those pictures for you, go ahead and hire someone else, you can probably get that much cheaper. Jonathan’s talent is best used by cool, edgy, and unique weddings/couples who want the focus to be on the meaning of their happy day and don’t want to act. You can trust Jonathan to capture every detail while you focus on celebrating with your spouse and your guests. Working with Jonathan allows even the most camera-shy couple feel comfortable and then to have beautiful artwork in which they and their family and friends are the subject.
He’s a very cool guy and it was like working with an old friend; our wedding was very small, and he still managed to blend in seamlessly. He works great with little kids, drunken dancing people, and everyone in between. It was an honor to work with him and we could not recommend his beautiful work more.”
Bill
“Where to begin??? I had originally met Jonathan when I was a bridesmaid in a friend’s wedding and immediately thought, When it’s my turn, I know whom to call. He then shot a second wedding where I had the honor of being in the wedding party and my love for his work only grew stronger! When my husband and I started planning our wedding, there was no doubt in my mind we wanted Jonathan to be our photographer despite it being a destination wedding.
Jonathan drove down to San Diego and dove in as if it were his normal stomping grounds! Our events were all over the city and he didn’t skip a beat and did it all with a calm and cool attitude which definitely rubbed off on the wedding party. He was a hit! Not only did he record the day in photos but he managed capture all the emotion and love that was felt throughout the day.
The day flies by so fast but his photos allow my husband and I to relive every moment and even get a sneak peak into the party and guests that zoomed by around us. The next day, our guests were reliving their fun day/evening and everyone mentioned how fun and awesome the photographer was, not to mention when they saw his recap video! They went nuts over it!
There was never any question that Jonathan was the best photographer to shoot our wedding day, and the experience, photos and quick video confirm that!”
Ashley
“Simply put, Jonathan at Bluephoto is one of those people who is outstanding at what he does. Not only does Jonathan produce outstanding photographs (which he certainly does!), but he is professional, creative, engaging, efficient, clever, and fun from start to finish. I can imagine that there are other photographers who take good pictures, but I cannot imagine having hired anyone else to photograph our wedding. We liked Jonathan from the moment we met him and our admiration of him and his work has only grown since. With his fast-paced and witty style, he quickly puts everyone at ease in front of the camera and you almost forget that you are in front of the lens. Other people have used the word ninja to describe Jonathan and it seems apt; he seems to manage to disappear and be part of the party all at the same time. Many of our guests commented to us during the wedding how much they loved our photographer, and they had not even seen his pictures yet! We have seen those pictures now and the amazing video montage he put together for us the day after the wedding and we are extremely pleased, though not at all surprised. If you are looking for a photographer and want one who has mastered his craft, then Jonathan is the one for you.”
Greg
“It’s hard to know where to start. When we got engaged we interviewed numerous photographers in the area, having a background in photography I am a picky customer and really had a specific idea of what I expected from our wedding photographer. From the moment we met with Jonathan is was clear we were going to hire him (if he was available of course). His easy going attitude and meticulous attention to detail exceeded our expectations. He didn’t even bat an eye when we requested our engagement shoot be done with our parachutes at an airport, in fact he was excited about it. Throughout the entire process, from booking, to our engagement shoot and our wedding he has been so easy to work with.He maintained a professional attitude and worked well with our entire bridal party and family for that matter. He captured every single moment we had expressed was important to us and blended in seamlessly while doing so. The photos are stunning and the video he made of our wedding day brings me to tears. Hiring Jonathan was by far the best decision we made when it came to planning our wedding, hands down. We are so grateful to have found him (and doubly grateful he was available).”
“Our experience with Jonathan at Bluephoto was, from start to finish, wonderful. From the get go, he was transparent about how he operates business and willing to tailor his services to our needs as a couple. He is fun and easy to be around, which made for light-hearted and laughter-filled interactions. Such interactions made our engagement shoot a great date night caught on film, and we would have loved to have Jonathan at our wedding, photographs or not. He was a great guest, dancing his heart out right alongside us. And all the while, Jonathan operates with absolute professionalism; he’s organized and always responded quickly to emails and phone calls. Not only that but he has a truly creative eye. His artistic vision is clear and his execution artfully imaginative. He utilizes light in a way that is breath-taking. And if anyone can get the shot, he can. Somehow, he’s everywhere. Looking back, we’ve said repeatedly, “How did he do that?!” or “I didn’t even know he was there!” On our big day Jonathan was unobtrusive, always available and calm amidst all the craziness a wedding day brings. The day now past, we can’t stop returning to our photos and video montage, which we’ve watched a good 30 times and shown to everyone we know. His creative gift has captured and immortalized our love in a way that we couldn’t have hoped to be more beautiful. We already look forward to working more with Jonathan for anniversary shoots, if he can squeeze us in.”
“Almost two years before my wedding, I stumbled across Jonathan’s website while searching for wedding venues on the Central Coast of California. I showed his site to my sister whose wedding was much sooner, and she fell in love with his work, too. So Jonathan has shot both of our weddings and was a dream to work with from start to finish for two weddings in our family.
Responsive, professional, gentle but extremely competent, and so much fun to be around. My fiancé and I are generally very uncomfortable in front of the camera, but he made it so easy and fun for us so that we didn’t feel overly posed or stiff while taking pictures.
But that is only a small part of what goes into choosing a photographer–what we all really care about when the wedding is over are the images you have left. Jonathan gave us the images we dreamed of, ones we could imagine showing our children and grandchildren. He doesn’t bother with trendy filters that in five years will look dated–just clean, well-composed photographs that make use of his great timing with natural light. He captured every special moment and emotion of our wedding so beautifully, and gave us our incredible wedding video the next day, and our images the day after! We adore Jonathan, and couldn’t be more grateful for the lasting works of art he conjured from one of the most special days of our lives.”
Katie
“We first met Jonathan at a friend’s wedding he was shooting and he clearly had mad photography skills! At the time Dan & I had been dating for a while and we knew that one day, down the road, we would soon be getting hitched ourselves. And sure enough…later down that road…We got engaged! After much consideration, we decided that we just had to go with the photographer that first caught our eyes. We just had to have him!
We met him for our engagement shoot in SLO which was so nice because it gave us a chance to get to know each other before the big day. As awkward as Dan & I felt about taking professional photographs, Jonathan instantly made us comfortable and just had us laughing and enjoying ourselves the entire time.
We had the honor of also having Jonathan Roberts capture our wedding day on September 13, 2014 in Lake Arrowhead, CA at Arrowhead Pine Rose Cabins. We could not be happier with our decision to go with him. When we say capture, it’s completely an understatement. Jonathan Roberts is the most efficient, charming, unique, artistically masterful photographer I have ever come across. The way he moves around and the things he does with his camera may have people wondering what the on earth is this guy doing?…but low and behold…his wheels are always spinning and he’s got something up his sleeves that will come together in a fashion that you could not possibly fathom.
Before our grand entrance, Jonathan swept us away to a spot he had somehow found in the short time he was up there, and off we were to try to soak in some of that prime lighting. And as though he couldn’t be any more radical…he pulls out his DRONE to capture aerial video of Dan & I and the beautiful area surrounding! What wedding photographer have you ever seen do that??! So awesome! This can be seen in the amazing video montage that he created of our day. It’s nothing short of breathtaking. It made us laugh and smile. It brought tears to our eyes and all of our friends and family as well.
Every single one of my guests asked me where I found this guy. They just had to know. We were happy to share! The day was captured from start to finish and most of the time we had no idea where Jonathan was. And without a doubt he returned the most candid, real, raw, genuine pictures of the day we like to think of as the best day ever! Every little detail was there. Not to mention that we got our video montage back 2 days after the event and our entire wedding album back 6 days…that’s right SIX DAYS after our wedding day. I’m not sure the man ever sleeps, but man that’s unheard of! We’re not even going to tell you that this will be the best wedding decision you will make…after your wedding you’ll understand why we have nothing but extraordinary things to say about Jonathan Roberts and his professionalism. Thank you, Jonathan! We truly appreciate your awesomeness! You truly are an artist!”
“I would give 10 stars if I could. Jonathan is truly amazing at what he does and you get great quality work in less time than I have ever seen a wedding photographer return pictures. Jonathan just did our wedding a couple weeks ago. We had our wedding Video back in less than 48 hours and our pictures in 1 week. We could not be happier with everything we got and the decision we made to use Jonathan as our photographer. We found him from some friends that had used him as well and we fell in love with his unique ability to capture and put together a wedding video. These videos are so amazing and the type you want to watch over and over again, not the average boring wedding video that only the bride and groom really enjoy. People loved that we had a drone at our wedding and the footage from it was incredible. He definitely has a good eye for finding great lighting and places to take pictures. Some of our pictures in the vineyard look like a painting. Our bridal party loved how quickly he was able to shoot all of our pictures in and he made it fun for all of us as well. Jonathan was by far the best investment we made for our wedding and we now have a lifetime of great memories thanks to him.”
Kellie
“I have been putting this review off, because it is very difficult to express the way I feel about Jonathan and his photography in words. Simply put – I am a Raving Fan.
Our wedding was non-traditional (to say the least), and because it was non-traditional, the majority of the event was brewed from scratch. Sarah (my wife), went to school for event design and spent the better part of two years planning and creating our wedding weekend. Sarah, our family, our friends and myself poured an incredible amount of blood, sweat and tears into our wedding celebration. This made capturing the moment (weekend) exceptionally important to the two of us. Jonathan (Bluephoto) did not disappoint, in fact, he blew us away!
I consider myself a manly man, a linebacker, tough, rough & tumble person. I’m the guy with the firm handshake, the kind of guy that does not cry. Well, apparently Jonathan saw right through my tough guy persona and was able to prove all of the aforementioned untrue in a matter of seconds. The day after the wedding we had invited him back over to have brunch with our family and friends. Jonathan showed up with a sneak preview of a couple of his favorite photos from the day, along with an unbelievable video montage of the wedding. This “tough guy” cried like a baby through the entire thing. And I continue to cry as we rewatch and rewatch the video over and over again. It was perfect. ( vimeo.com/14709412 )
Did I mention that he left the wedding close to midnight? That meant one of two things. Either he has a bunch of Keebler Elves making videos in his studio, or he did not sleep that night. Like I said, he had the video ready the next morning. This meant the world to Sarah and me.
Now that we have our photos back, I can also say that the still images that he creates are equally stunning. Jonathan has a gift with light and as our time with him went on, I began to notice that the wheels in his head are always spinning. He was on a never ending quest to find the best lighting and backdrops the entire time. As I looked through the pictures, there were plenty of “how did he do that” moments. You know those pictures you see in magazines, where the light comes through in perfect fashion. Sarah and I are not fashion models, well maybe Sarah could be, but after looking at the photos, I know that we both felt so special. Jonathan is a true artist.
There is nothing I want more than to share our amazing experience with the world. Every couple who goes through the wedding planning highs and lows should have the pleasure of working with Jonathan and I will continue to rave about him.”
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