Eli Photographer

I cannot say enough about the amazing experience my husband and I had with Eli as our photographer for our wedding. He is professional, flexible, fun, and personable. We did an engagement shoot with him (included in the wedding fee) in San Francisco and it was one of the most fun days that my husband and I had leading up to our wedding. Those pictures turned out wonderfully and Eli made them into a guest book for our wedding day. Our guests are still talking about how amazing that book turned out. I know that we will treasure it for years to come. Before the wedding Eli went to scout out the wedding event space and surrounding areas so he would know exactly where to take my husband and I for portraits. On our wedding day Eli was there bright and early to take pictures of the venue, event space, and the «getting ready» scenes. He was unobtrusive but caught many of the intimate moments that I was hoping to capture. Eli is truly present with the bride and groom and makes you (and everyone else) feel comfortable the entire day. He pinned boutonnieres and even helped to bustle my dress all while making sure every sweet, funny, and important moment was photographed. As other reviewers have stated, he is present and EVERYWHERE while not being noticed by many. My family keeps asking how he was able to capture so many moments when they don’t ever remember him being nearby — exactly what we wanted!
We received our pictures THREE days after our wedding and were able to view them online. Shortly after that we received a book of proofs that is really handy to look at when you don’t want to keep referring to the online album. And there are TONS of pictures. I don’t know how we are ever going to pick our favorites, but I love having so many to choose from.
In short: Eli is the best photographer for a wedding or event. For a very good price you get all the benefits of a professional, experienced, excellent photographer. You will not be disappointed.

Worked with Eli in preparation for my wedding for the past year. He was AMAZING! Very personable, funny, yet a complete professional when it came down to the wire. Very easy to get along with, blended well with the wedding crowd. Was able to take shots that to the naked eye didn’t seem to have much, and make them look elegant. Was very helpful in giving guidance throughout the big day, not adding any stress. Also, very competitively priced in the world of high-​quality photographers. As other reviews mention, if there was an option to rate more than 5 stars, I would select it. The fact that Unilocal only allows a 5-​Star max is truly doing a disservice to the professionalism and excellence customers will receive from Eli. Highly recommended from me!

There are too many ways to describe what an amazing job Eli did for our wedding! We just received our pictures online today, two days after our wedding, and the pictures are phenomenal! Eli was fabulous to work with, from start to finish. He was responsive during the planning and coordinating, and definitely eased our minds when he knew exactly the type of photographs he was going to take, in what order, and already had a timeline in place – two weeks before the wedding! Perfect planning and coordination. Then, the weather was questionable day of our wedding and he had a back-​up in place just in case it was raining. Throughout the group shots, he would direct people to the proper poses and we were able to get our group shots done with enough time to get our couple shots done before the wedding (the sun was setting almost immediately after our ceremony so we had to get our pictures taken before the ceremony). Eli was wonderful to work with during our pictures – he knew exactly what shots to get and gave us the perfect feedback so we could get the best shots. Lastly, during our ceremony and reception, he was getting the perfect shots, capturing all the best moments, while not interfering with any of the guests. Eli was an absolute pleasure to work with and I would HIGHLY recommend him!

I completely agree with everyone… 5 starts doesn’t do Eli justice. He is professional, fun and is literally EVERYWHERE, during the day without you noticing. My husband hates taking pictures so while we were looking for a photographer, we decided we needed three things. 1. That we’d get great pictures (obviously). 2. That since we weren’t getting a videographer, we wanted the pictures to tell the story of the day as it happened. And 3. That we would have no idea where he was while taking pictures so we’d get the truest pictures for the day.
With Eli, we got all three. While we got formal pictures of the families and groups, we also got truly wonderful candid shots that I’m confident wouldn’t have been possible if he’d been in front of people trying to capture them. He was everywhere at once, capturing every moment throughout the day, and no one knew until we got the pictures back.
We didn’t need engagement pictures, so Eli came to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner instead. A seriously fantastic idea… if you don’t do engagement shots (or win an hour or photography at a raffle like we did and don’t need them…), this is a great alternative that Eli offered for us. This way, we didn’t have to worry about taking pictures ourselves, or making sure someone else had to worry about it and didn’t enjoy themselves. Eli could stealthily run around taking pictures of everything for us, and everyone could enjoy themselves all evening and the following day. On the day of the wedding, he showed up in the morning while we were doing hair and makeup in the hotel. He then met us at the venue (warning us of traffic before we left) and took even more pictures. He was there all day long. He listened to the requests for the few pictures I knew I wanted, and I gave him artistic license otherwise. I was not disappointed. We got thousands of pictures and a book with all of them. We also got our pictures less than two weeks after our wedding. Two weeks!
Thank you so much Eli!!! We’re so happy with the way all of our pictures turned out!

We are happy we chose Eli as the photographer for our wedding. The pictures turned out great and captured our wedding day perfectly. Eli was very easy to work with and responded quickly to our questions. On our wedding day, he was prompt, kept us on schedule and captured great moments of our family and friends. It has been a pleasure working with Eli. We highly recommend him and will refer him to our friends and family.

Eli was our photographer for our wedding April 25^th, 2015. He was exceptional from start to finish, we never even saw him, he was so stealth letting everyone relax and capturing the perfect pictures. He also drove down to Carmel and spent the day with us and our doggies walking around Carmel and its beaches taking beautiful pictures of our family. He caught the most perfect skies and surroundings which we will never forget. He made a beautiful book for us which was signed by all of the attendees at our wedding. Great person with a great sense of humor and a gift for great detail, the perfect photographer!

Eli was absolutely wonderful! On our very first meeting he asked us how many photographers we’ve met with. Hearing how we only talked to 2, he encouraged us to meet with other photographers and even told us what questions to ask them before making a decision. He educated us on what to look for and truly cared about us making an informed decision. Of course, we decided to go with Eli and we’re so happy that we did.
Eli is professional, extremely organized, patient and kind. We always felt at ease around him and my family loved him too! It didn’t feel like a stranger was intruding in our wedding; instead, it felt like a family friend who was taking pictures. He had conversations with our family and friends, joked with them and made everyone feel comfortable. Even during stressful moments on the wedding day he was able to keep us calm and collected. As involved as he was, we didn’t even remember seeing him taking the photos! The photos turned out absolutely amazing and we’re very happy. It’s quite unbelievable how many wonderful pictures he was able to take and we can’t thank him enough. Thank you so much Eli!

5 STARS DOES NOT DO ELI JUSTICE!
I wish I could give more stars. Eli is fantastic from start to finish. Trust your photos to Eli and he will not let you down. He has been in the business a long time and he knows what he is doing (even when you don’t).
We contacted many different photographers for our wedding and Eli was the last we met with. We wanted someone who not only we loved their work but we felt comfortable with personality wise. We knew immediately that we wanted Eli. He was willing to work within our budget, give us hints/​tips and suggestions along the way.
Eli was there from start to finish. He was not just a photographer but helped fix clothing issues, hair issues, people issues even. Was patient and supportive in every way. We don’t even remember seeing him taking the photos, yet every aspect we wished for and then some, were there.
He sent us a link within a week, while still on our honeymoon, to view the pics online and mailed a flash drive so that we can print our own pictures and make our own albums. Our wedding photos are AH-​MA-​ZING!
Love our wedding photos and will cherish them for many, many years to come.
Thank you, Eli!!!

Eli is the BEST! We recently got married in Napa and were fortunate enough to have had Eli as our photographer. He came highly recommended from a family member and, I must say, we could not have been more pleased with our experience working with Eli! From beginning to end, he was a pleasure to work with and made the process so easy. His photographs are unreal and he somehow captured every aspect of our wedding without being in the way. Thank you Eli for helping to make our wedding absolutely unforgettable!

Eli did an amazing job shooting our engagement photos and our entire wedding!!! His photos are unique and personal. Eli himself is highly professional, responsive and has a GREAT eye for stunning photos. I would recommend him to anyone that is looking for beautiful photos for their wedding or special event. Thank you Eli! You captured the joy of our wedding day through photos that we will cherish forever!

I can’t say enough good things about my experience with Eli. The photos he took were amazing. It was above and beyond what we had even expected. We loved that he took charge when we had no idea what we were doing (which was often) but was also happy to engage our every whim when we had silly ideas for photos. He was there with us from start to finish – unlike a lot of photographers that give a very specific time frame. We really valued his attitude that every moment was important. All of the other reviews on here are absolutely spot on about him.

Can’t say enough about Eli! Brian and I were engaged and decided to get married in a couple of months. Planning a nice, 100+ people wedding in 2 months was a challenge but it makes a HUGE difference when the people that you are working with make it easy for you. That is definitely Eli!
The very first conversation I had with him, Eli was on top of things. Giving me an idea of how things were going to look on that day — schedule, pictures normally taken, and his visions. It put me at ease knowing he had so much experience. He wanted to meet as we got closer to the wedding to hear about our thoughts and ideas as well.
I provided a list of pictures we were going to need of our family members. When Brian and I met with him, we went over that list. We talked about a whole bunch of things! His ideas, our ideas. He even gave us Maui traveling tips! :)
The day of the wedding, he was on it! My family is so complicated having divorced parents but Eli made it all happen without any drama or even concerns. He was always happy, helpful, patient, and taking care of all our requests. Another great thing was that he was never in the way. He got all those amazing shots without ever taking away from our wedding. Not once did he get in the way of our family and friends enjoying those special moments, the kiss, the rings. We’ve seen those photographers at weddings that are in every one of our shots — definitely not Eli! He even took pictures from a bird’s eye view!
We went to Maui, he was the only person we called on our honeymoon! We had to say ‘hi’ when we were out there visiting his friend Lorraine (by the way, she makes the best coconut chips in Maui).
Our pictures were ready for us to view in one week! Everyone around us is so surprised on how fast we got them :) The pictures are amazing! He knew how to work with the lighting for our morning wedding, indoors, and early evening photo shoot.
LOVE LOVE LOVE ELI!!!

Trust me when I say, Eli is the man you want photographing your wedding. He photographed our wedding at Murrieta’s Well on July 28^th, 2013.
First of all, when we met with him, he not only went through his portfolio, style, pricing, ect, but he also taught us a lot about quality photography. He insisted that we go interview other photographers, and gave us a few questions to ask them that would «make them sweat». Well, let’s just say that we might have inadvertently embarrassed a ‘photographer’ or two in this process… And naturally wound right back up with Eli.
Eli has a very journalistic type of photography, but his philosophy on photographing weddings is also quite journalistic. He is there to capture your day, start-​to-​finish. He doesn’t believe that couples should re-​arrange their weddings around the hours of the photographer, but that it must be the other way around. On the day of our wedding, he began with us at 11AM, and finished the night at 11PM when our reception ended. This guy puts every ounce of passion and energy into this, and it will show. The thing I really appreciated about Eli is that his style is totally NOT in-​your-​face — in fact, I hardly noticed him there during our ceremony and reception. It allowed everyone to be themselves and really capture the essence of the day. He is no-​fuss, and a extremely calming person to have around on your wedding day.
Not to mention, we did a killer engagement photo session around Pleasanton, the train tracks in Sunol, and the vineyards in Livermore. This was an awesome opportunity to get to know Eli so we felt comfortable in front of the camera with him on the wedding day. He turns your favorites from this session into a guest book.
Eli is also a master of post-​production efficiency. We got our images to preview from our engagement session within 5 days, and the images from our wedding within 2 weeks (over 1100 images!). I am so impressed by the quantity and quality of the images!
Thank you, Eli!

Eli is absolutely fantastic.
He had photographed our friends’ wedding, and she couldn’t recommend him highly enough. So we made an appointment to «interview» him from our wedding.
Professional, courteous, and easy to talk to. The man knows his photography! My husband was really impressed with how honest he was — Eli even gave us tips for how to choose a good photographer, even if it wasn’t him that we booked with. He also doesn’t pressure you into purchasing his prints, in fact, he encouraged us to go to Costco! But of course, if you prefer him to print them, he can do that too. He’s a one-​stop shop for all your photography needs.
For weddings, Eli charges a flat rate. No worry about having to get all your shots in a 4 hour span, or paying for fish-​eye lens shots or all that other nonsense. What you see is what you get. Trust me when I say that for the day of, this is EXACTLY what you want. No pressure getting all your photos in, just relax and have fun!
Now, we’re a bit more laid back than other people, and we wanted a photographer to do more candids then the canned «pose and say cheese» shots. Eli’s style is photojournalistic, which is not everybody’s cup of tea, but it was what EXACTLY we wanted. But he can do those canned shots if you want — as a few of our family members INSISTED ON… oh well! Eli was more than happy to do whatever we (or our family) wanted.
He’s been in the business a while now, and he knows practically all the more popular venues. A plus since he dreams up shots that you would never think of in a million years! He knows what works. Oh, and does help that he’s always so calm about everything. I think he may have been a yogi or something in a previous life. You just can’t buy that sort of energy. :)

Eli is amazing! We originally had scheduled our wedding for March, however; due to my brother’s cancer prognosis we had to move up our wedding date (12÷23÷12). When we told Eli our situation, he reassured us that he would be there to photograph our special day. I’m grateful for his flexibility as a photographer.
I loved having Eli there from the start of the wedding day to the end. He showed up bright and early and didn’t leave until the party was over at night. He has such a calming presence and goodhearted friendly nature. As a bride, I was so thankful to have had him there as it seemed as if I had a really good friend beside me capturing the moments.
As for the photo quality, Eli did an excellent job in telling the story of our wedding day. We got married in a downpour and I was worried that the photos may not come out as well. Yet with Eli’s experience, he photographed us well in crazy weather conditions and also in a church that can be tricky lighting-​wise for less experienced photographers.
For those that are budget conscious, Eli is also willing and flexible to work with you. When I researched other photographers, I saw that Eli had the best value and outstanding photos comparatively.
I highly recommend having Eli as your photographer. My husband and I are incredibly glad we had him there with us that day. We can’t wait to take our newlywed photos with him!

I can’t say enough good things about our experience with Eli.
He shot our September 30^th wedding at Wente in Livermore, and he did an amazing job. He had everything planned out perfectly so we just had to go where he told us and not worry about anything. On top of that, he seems to love his job. We had a blast getting to know him, and he really cared about making sure he got everything we could possibly want. Eli is a rare find and a calming voice in the chaos of a wedding day.
Along with the wedding, he also shot our engagement photos in Tahoe, which he had no problem traveling for. We hit 5 or 6 different spots around North Shore, which included some hiking, and he seemed excited to do it all. Those pictures were also fantastic, and a great value considering it was all included in his price tag.
Photos were back to us within a week, and he encouraged us to develop the images at a cheaper store rather than ordering them through his website. Throughout the experience, it was clear that he does this job because he loves it, not because he wants to make money off of you.
Finally, if you happen to travel to Maui on your honeymoon, he will encourage you to visit his pal Lorianne, who sells banana bread in a remote area of the island. DO THIS!!! It was the best part of our trip and will make for a great story to tell.
Eli was the perfect wedding photographer for us, and we will be recommending him to all our friends in the area.

After meeting a number of photographers prior to Eli, we were a bit overwhelmed. We were specifically looking for a person to shoot us ‘photojournalistic’ style, and not someone who simply wanted to shoot the typical 15 wedding poses.
Eli impressed us from the start. Walking into his storefront, you can immediately see his talent in the massively impressive shots that line his walls. Eli greeted us warmly, listened to what we wanted, suggested a few additional options (NOT upsold us, just simply said ‘have you thought about this.?”), and we were hooked.
Logisitics-​wise, he was incredibly easy to deal with. We signed a contract, he took a credit card number, and we began setting the schedule for the engagement shots, the run-​through prior to the day, and the wedding day. Throughout the entire process, Eli was patient, understanding, and most of all allowed us to set the tone. It also didn’t hurt that Eli was the only photographer we met who (a) didn’t have a set number of hours he shoots (I get there when needed, and leave when you’re done with the night and) (b) truly offered a great value for the money, as engagement shots, proofs, wedding day shots, proofs, and guestbook are all included for a price that was WELL lower than most of his competitors.
And at the day of the wedding, you can truly tell how long he has been taking wedding pictures and the experience he has… on my wedding day, Eli not only took pictures, but was the calming influence when the florist showed up with the wrong bouquets. I was more than besides myself, but the photos that he took, you wouldn’t be able to tell that was the case! Also, he showed us how to cut the cake the correct way!
I cannot recommend Eli any higher. His work is above fantastic, his communication is superior, and he is plain just a great guy. We truly had a great time working with him.
RECOMMEND RECOMMEND RECOMMEND!!!

After meeting a number of photographers prior to Eli, we were a bit overwhelmed. We were specifically looking for a person to shoot us ‘photo journalistic’ style, and not someone who simply wanted to shoot the same 15 – 20 poses, stay for no more than 6 hours, and charge us four mortgage payments to do it.
Eli impressed us from the start. Walking into his storefront, you can immediately see his talent in the massively impressive shots that line his walls. Eli greeted us warmly, listened to what we wanted, suggested a few additional options (NOT upsold us, just simply said ‘have you thought about this.?”), and we were hooked. He is extremely easy to deal with, and it also doesn’t hurt that he’s an extremely good person at calming down upset or overly emotional people.
We hired him for our August 11 2012 wedding.
Eli has an attention to detail and an eye for photography like I’ve never seen. I worked in the camera industry for 10+ years, and have worked with professional artists whose work has been in museums, catalogs, billboards, etc… Eli is among the best, plain and simple. He shot EXACTLY the style we wanted, and went far beyond that by producing some truly incredible images.
Throughout the entire process, Eli was patient, understanding, and most of all allowed us to set the tone. It also didn’t hurt that Eli was the only photographer we met who (a) didn’t have a set number of hours he shoots («I get there when needed, and leave when you’re done with the night») and (b) truly offered a great value for the money, as engagement shots, proofs, wedding day shots, proofs, and guestbook are all included for a price that was WELL lower than most of his competitors.
There are a million other reasons I can say, but I’ll finish with this – hire him. Eli will absolutely produce pictures from your event that will be above all your expectations.

We hired Eli Pitta for our April 29^th wedding and recommend him high for any couple looking for a great photographer. He is truly an easy going, funny individual who makes one feel comfortable and relaxed. Having a high comfort level with our photographer was very important for both my wife and I so it was such a relief when after our initial meeting with Eli everything just clicked and we knew we had found our guy.
Besides his personality, Eli really brings a great eye and level of skill to his work. Some of his pictures from our wedding were absolutely incredible and showed his unique instinct for capturing the moment. For example he had talked to us about taking some pictures during sunset in addition to the normal set taken right after the ceremony. Sure enough when the time came he grabbed us from the reception and led us out to a beautiful spot on a hill above our venue and took some awesome shots. In this situation it was great having a photographer who had planned this out, and even though it required us to spend a little bit more time away from guests it was highly worth it. Looking over other pictures from that day we saw how Eli mingled with the guests and really captured some fun and meaningful moments — both those we were part of and those we missed.
We ended up purchasing a full day package from Eli after figuring that it really wasn’t much more expensive than hiring him for 5 hours (our original plan). Originally we didn’t think that capturing our preparations before the ceremony would be that interesting but it was so cool to see all the shots that Eli took. I know my wife especially cherishes the shots of her getting ready with her bridesmaids.
It didn’t take Eli very long to get our pictures online for us to view and share with friends & family. Within a few weeks he had already provided us with a DVD of files along with a proof book at no extra charge. Unlike some other photographers, Eli’s rate covers his work as a photographer plus providing you with whatever is needed to develop your own pictures. He doesn’t feel the need to prevent his clients from going elsewhere to print pictures or have albums created. Eli’s rates are very reasonable compared with some of the other photographers we researched and after seeing his work we really feel that we got a great deal. Definitely check him out.

Eli was my engagement/​wedding photographer and he did an AMAZING job. I can’t say enough about the quality of his work, and the amount of time and effort he spent making sure we had all the shots we wanted.
Eli was recommended to me by my friend who had used him for her wedding. It was really important to me to find a photographer who made my fiancé (now husband!) comfortable. We both knew we wanted shots that really showed our personality, and weren’t cheesy. About ten minutes after meeting with Eli, I knew he was our guy.
When I talked about ideas for where we would do our engagement shots, I explained to him we weren’t really the country, pick-​up trucks, posing in the field type people. We’re more like, have a beer at an old-​school bar type couple, he loved the idea of shooting in the city at the Buena Vista (where we had irish coffees right before the hubbie proposed). The actual engagement shoot was great — Eli instantly bonded with my fiancé and made him feel very comfortable (which is saying a lot, because he can’t stand posing for pics). Needless to say, the pictures came out fantastic… we look like ourselves, just having a fun time hanging out on a date together.
Eli was very helpful during the wedding planning process. He let me know how long it would take to shoot the bridal party pics/​family pics/​etc. I should also mention that I am a little OCD when it comes to being organized. I had a shot list with all the pictures important to me, and Eli captured EVERY single one. He even drove from Pleasanton over to Tiburon (where our wedding was) twice to scout out the best locations for pictures.
He came to my rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, for approximately 5 hours. The next day, he was there for all the «getting ready» shots at 7:30am…and stayed until about 10pm that night. He made all the guys laugh, and the girls feel gorgeous. At the ceremony and reception, he was very unobtrusive, and I didn’t even notice my picture being taken.
Oh, and did I mention that I got my wedding pictures back THREE days after the wedding?! One of my favorite moments of my honeymoon was checking out all of our pictures with the hubbie on Eli’s website while drinking margaritas on our balcony. :)
Thank you Eli for an amazing job well done!