Alex Akamine Photography

Alex did a lightning fast shoot for me during my limited access to some studio space. He’s a photographer who truly listens to the client and is prepared to give his 100%. The lighting for my yoga photos were great and the follow up timeframe was very quick. I appreciated his professionalism and thoroughness. Everyone has commented on how beautiful my photos are which bodes well for my yoga business!

On the most important day of your life, this is the man you want holding the camera! We hired him for our wedding and rehearsal dinner. He took amazing photos! He was on time for both events and kept in contact through out both events, to make sure we got shots that we wanted. He was polite and well dressed and always in the right spot.
He did a great job making sure he had all the information needed before the events and following up with emails.
He was very prompt in getting our photos back to us, in the time he stated.
Looking through them, it was like reliving our wedding!
Hire this man!!! You will not be disappointed!

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to write a review for Alex — my apologies! Alex shot our small wedding two years ago and the photos were amazing! He was great to work with and is a really friendly and knowledgeable guy. He made the entire process incredibly simple and provided digital copies soon after the date. I wholeheartedly recommend that you book Alex as soon as possible!

Alex is an awesome photographer who is extremely knowledgeable about the art and is friendly at explaining its nuances to people who are not as knowledgeable. I was going to Vessel with some friends and we thought it would be cool to take an awesome group photo with a real photographer instead of a crappy «ussie» on an iphone. He was gracious enough to take a nice photo despite what seemed like suboptimal conditions and we were able to retrieve it later in the week on the website. From what I can tell, Alex does great wedding photos as well so it looks like he has a bright future in this field!

Alex is top notch when it comes to photography. He comfortably mixes a personal touch with professionalism and it makes the whole process very fun. I went to Alex to get some head-​shots done and the whole process felt very engaging, very consultative and very fun. Alex is very knowledgeable in what he does, he knows exactly how to play around with the lighting, the position, and the environment to take that perfect shot. I definitely recommend him.

We hired Alex to be our photographer for our wedding back in October 2013 and we couldn’t be happier with the results! Not only is Alex very professional in his work, but he was also beyond helpful and patient with an anxiety and stress driven couple:) We emailed him about a million times with questions or updates and he was always prompt in responding; making our wedding coordination as smooth as possible… really helps when you have various other parties too coordinate as well! He was very nice and patient with our family, friends, wedding party etc. and captured beautiful pictures of almost all of our guests, which made us so happy. The turn around for the pictures was BEYOND great! We received our pictures literally a month later 11/6…how perfect is that?! Thank you Alex for working with us and being such an amazing photographer!

I hired Alex last year to shoot my son’s first birthday party. He was very professional, showed up on time, polite, great with e-​mail responses and most importantly… took amazing photos! He captured all the special moments of my son’s first birthday! Many photos he took of my guests were also great that they asked me for the files. Alex was able to provide me several sneak peek photos in 2 days and complete set of pictures in 5 – 7 days. The pictures turned out amazing. It was a no brainer when my son’s second birthday rolled around in August to call him up again! He was available and shot the same great pictures as he did the first time! I would recommend him and keep using him for future events!

Alex flexed with my time line to get me what I needed ASAP! He took the time to make sure I was happy with the final product too by following up a few days later. He’s professional and great to work with.

I have worked with Alex on several very different projects and have found him to be reliable, affordable, and SO easy to work with! On top of that, the quality and originality of his work really stands out.
My first project with Alex involved the SF SPCA Animal Assistance Therapy Program. I was writing the feature articles for the group’s newsletter and recruited Alex to schedule photo sessions with the dog therapy teams I was going to feature each month. In every case he captured unique moments between the dogs and their owners and the owners later told me how wonderful Alex was to work with; that he used their ideas for photo shoot locations, and made himself available at convenient times for them.
When my sister and her boyfriend came to town last year I surprised them with a photo shoot by Alex at the Fairmont Hotel. We were riding up on the cable car to get there and Alex had already stationed himself near a corner of the Fairmont to get some of the first shots. He then trailed the couple through some of the glamorous balconies and stairs inside the Fairmont for some very romantic shots that my sister treasured and posted all over her Facebook page.
Soon after I asked Alex to my own home for a natural, outdoor shoot with myself and my two Shih Tzus. Again — Alex more than delivered. I wound up with just the kind of natural (around the neighborhood) shots I had hoped for and immediately framed several of them for myself and relatives as gifts.
I was also so impressed upon seeing some of the San Francisco area photos in Alex’s online gallery that I asked to be able to feature the best of them, (on a monthly basis), on the homepage of my company’s Internet site. We agreed on some reasonable terms and the photos added a wonderful corporate feel to the site — enhancing the company’s image.
Can I say more? Give Alex a call for any type of project — indoors or out, traditional or avant-​garde. He certainly succeeded at every challenge I gave him and I felt like I made a good friend in the process.

Alex is a professional and phenomenal photographer. I am very satisfied with the portraits he has taken of me and highly recommend his services. I have referred many of my coworkers at Northwestern Mutual to Alex for corporate head shots and will continue to do so.

I operate a local live music company and have hired Alex on countless occasions throughout the Bay Area to photograph musicians mostly for weddings but also conferences and corporate events. He is prompt, professional, reliable, courteous, and most importantly an excellent photographer.

Our wedding was a little complex. Our ceremony was at Sunnyside Conservatory, and our reception was at Café du Nord. Alex took fantastic photos at both locations and completely captured the different vibes of both venues and events.
Not only were his photos technically spot on, his attitude, demeanor, and method are delightful. He’s not just photographing an event, he’s in the mix, making it totally natural to have a great time while he’s snapping photos.
I would recommend him for all types of events, as he’s proven to be a versatile and engaging photographer.