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Weddings

Attributes highlighted by couples

Capturing memories
Pristine quality
Seasoned with weddings
Skilled photographer

About

Driven by a passion for photographic excellence and possessing years of experience, Manuel is the top wedding photographer in the Monterey bay area. His unique ability to anticipate and capture even the most fleeting of special moments is evident in his photography. Now in his eighteenth year as a professional wedding photographer, most of Manuel's weddings come from word of mouth referrals. Manuel is an award winning Monterey County Wedding Photographer with service including but not limited to Carmel, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Santa Cruz, Big Sur, San Francisco, Los Angeles and destinations worldwide.

www.ManuelOrtegaPhoto.com

831-682-7170

info@manuelortegaphoto.com

Manuel Ortega Photography

191 Lighhouse Ave A4

Monterey, CA 93940

  • Hispanic or Latinx-owned
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Frequently asked questions

What is the starting price for your wedding photography services?

$850

Which of the following are included in the starting price?

2nd Shooter
Add'l Hours
Engagement Shoot
High-Res Images
Multi. Locations
One Event / Day
Albums
Canvas
Digital Files
Flush Mount
Prints

What is the price of your most popular wedding package?

$1,950

Which of the following are included in the price of your most popular wedding package?

2nd Shooter
Add'l Hours
Boudoir Shoot
Custom Graphics
Engagement Shoot
Hand-Coloring
High-Res Images
Multi. Locations
One Event / Day
Slideshow
Toning
Trash The Dress
Albums
Canvas
Digital Files
Flush Mount
Matted Prints
Negatives
Prints
Proofs
Save the Date
Thank You Cards

What primary photographic style do you identify with?

Contemporary
Film
Natural
Photojournalism
Traditional
Vintage

What photography services do you offer?

Additional Hours
Destination / Travel
Engagement Shoot
High-Res Images
One Event / Day
Second Shooter
Wedding Portraits

What photography items do you offer?

Albums
Canvas
Digital Files
Flush Mount
Matted Prints
Prints
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Any other questions?

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5.0 out of 5 rating
96 Reviews
  • Quality of service
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Average response time
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Professionalism
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Value
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Flexibility
    5 out of 5 rating
92% Recommended by couples
Soreliz
Soreliz A. Sent on 10/25/2022
5 out of 5 rating

Absolutely amazin photographer

Simply put, Manuel Ortega is a superb, talented, artistic, and professional caliber wedding photographer who fulfilled all our expectations and more. Beyond his exceptional photography skills, Manuel is warm, friendly, and easy to work with, honest, reliable, a good listener, and attentive to you needs/preferences. He loves his craft, which shows in the quality of his photos and the joy with which he approaches his work and conducts himself. Manuel’s wife Melissa is a talented photographer in her own right and together they work efficiently and effectively as a team on all their shoots. They were both an absolute pleasure to work with from start to finish. We also enjoyed meeting their adorable son who came along with them to our engagement photo session!
We spent days searching for our ideal wedding photographer. It was important to us to work with a person of color and we are so grateful that we found Manuel, a fantastic photographer who is also Latino. We could not have chosen better. Unlike many other high quality, professional wedding photographers we researched whose prices are astronomical, Manuel’s pricing is reasonable, affordable, flexible, and it allowed us to stay within our budget, which we greatly appreciated.
For our engagement photo session, we met Manuel at a beautiful beach in the Carmel area just before sunset. It turned out to be an ideal spot for our engagement photo shoot and we were very happy with how the photos turned out. The setting was gorgeous, lighting ideal, and there was hardly anybody else there. Manuel helped put us at ease immediately with his relaxed manner and professionalism, which made it easy for us to follow his instructions and get some great candid and posed shots. Manuel’s top-of-the-line camera equipment takes amazing photos with him at the helm. Melissa helped out with the backlighting and instructing us on ideal hand and body positions for the shots. We highly recommend doing the engagement photo session. It gave us a chance to get to know Manuel & Melissa and to develop rapport and an easy working relationship with them prior to the wedding. So, on our wedding day, we knew what to expect and already felt at ease working together.
Prior to the wedding, Manuel promptly answered all our questions and we also had a great final conversation with him about our specific photography wishes/preferences for our wedding day. Manuel & Melissa delivered in every way. On our wedding day, they showed up early to familiarize themselves with the venue since they hadn’t been there before. As a team, they captured all the most important moments of our day, as well as the memorable details. They also did a great job capturing the setting, including the food, the dinner reception set up, the flowers, and beautiful aspects of the venue. Notably, despite the fact that our wedding got off schedule because our ceremony ran longer than we had anticipated, Manuel & Melissa adapted to the situation admirably and went with the flow, doing their best to capture family photos after the ceremony, even though we essentially ran out of time for them! They improvised beautifully under the circumstances.
When we received our 1000+ wedding photos from Manuel a few weeks after the wedding, we were blown away. We love the wedding photos Manuel & Melissa captured and are so glad we hired them to be our wedding photography team! We highly recommend them!

Rob & Soreliz
Holly
Holly Sent on 03/14/2021
5 out of 5 rating

The best of the best

Where do I even start? I asked friends for a recommendation for a local photographer that did weddings. I was given a dozen different ones that I went and researched on my own. My husband and I have played with photography in the past and were really picky on who we would choose for our big day. We were blown away by Manuel's website and work.
He responded quickly to my online inquiry and any and every random question I had.
Due to Covid, this was the only person besides our family and minister that would be at our wedding. He arrived at the location before we did, which I didn't expect, because I'm usually the first one everywhere. I met him and his lovely wife/assistant and was instantly at ease. I didn't even have to ask, they immediately starting documenting our big day. They gave direction when we asked, but it was like they weren't even there, yet they captured every single special moment, ones even I missed. Our family left talking about how nice and professional they were.
We received our pictures back FAST, and holy crap... I cried out of happiness as I looked through them. They were so good, I literally don't know how to pick which ones to print to put on the wall. Every time I look through them, I find even more that I love and appreciate.
If you are thinking of hiring Manuel, do it. My friends and family are obsessed with our pictures and I'm so grateful we chose him. I will stop strangers on the street and tell them about my amazing experience. I look forward to working with him in the future.
R
Rosa S. Sent on 12/05/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Amazing!

Working with Manuel and his wife Melissa was a great experience! I haven't had a photo shoot done since my senior pictures, which was about 8-9 years ago, and this was my fiance's first photo shoot, so we were definitely nervous and our anxiety was at an all time high! Manuel and Melissa definitely made us feel at ease with everything and just made our whole engagement session run smoothly. They have the best personality and a great sense of humor, which definitely helped our nervousness. We are SO IN LOVE with our photos!!!! If we didn't already have a wedding photographer booked, we definitely would have booked them for our wedding!! Thank you so much Manuel and Melissa!
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Awards

96
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2020 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2019 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2018 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2017 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2016 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2015 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2014 Winner

Professional Network & Endorsements

6 Endorsements
DJS ETC / DJ Jose Arreguin DJS ETC / DJ Jose Arreguin Wedding DJs

I work with a lot of photographers. Very few take their craft more serious that Manuel. he is not only a creative perfectionist. He and his team have a genuine interest in his clients final product. He is professional, flexible and so easy to work with....When i see him on site..I get excited.

The DJ Booth The DJ Booth Wedding DJs

When I see Manuel Ortega walking up with his camera all i can say is this day will be memorable for the client. We work together great on the timeline making sure each main event is captured. Call him today!

A Sparkling Event A Sparkling Event Wedding Planners

Manuel Ortega Photography is great at what they do. I have had the privilege to work with them and it is always a treat to watch them with the couple. They are professional, prompt and very easy going. We have fun together while we work and they really know how to make the clients feel comfortable.

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Map

Manuel Ortega Photography frequently asked questions

Manuel Ortega Photography includes the following photography services in the starting price:
  • 2nd Shooter
  • Add'l Hours
  • Engagement Shoot
  • High-Res Images
  • Multi. Locations
  • One Event / Day
  • Albums
  • Canvas
  • Digital Files
  • Flush Mount
  • Prints
Manuel Ortega Photography includes the following photography services in their most popular wedding package:
  • 2nd Shooter
  • Add'l Hours
  • Boudoir Shoot
  • Custom Graphics
  • Engagement Shoot
  • Hand-Coloring
  • High-Res Images
  • Multi. Locations
  • One Event / Day
  • Slideshow
  • Toning
  • Trash The Dress
  • Albums
  • Canvas
  • Digital Files
  • Flush Mount
  • Matted Prints
  • Negatives
  • Prints
  • Proofs
  • Save the Date
  • Thank You Cards
Manuel Ortega Photography offers the following photography styles:
  • Contemporary
  • Film
  • Natural
  • Photojournalism
  • Traditional
  • Vintage
Manuel Ortega Photography offers the following photography services for weddings:
  • Additional Hours
  • Destination / Travel
  • Engagement Shoot
  • High-Res Images
  • One Event / Day
  • Second Shooter
  • Wedding Portraits
Manuel Ortega Photography offers the following photography materials for weddings:
  • Albums
  • Canvas
  • Digital Files
  • Flush Mount
  • Matted Prints
  • Prints
Manuel Ortega Photography is recommended by 100% of couples who have used their services. Their overall rating is 5.0, with the same score awarded for quality of service, flexibility, value, professionalism and average response time.

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