Batts Photography-San Jose Weddings

I can't thank you enough for the beautiful job that you both did on Saturday for our Daughter's wedding. You two were awesome! You were everything we had read about and more. What a great team, you were professional, pleasant and such a big help. Annaliesa, Thank you so much for assisting with pinning corsages, having the extra pins when the corsages fell apart. You were so calm and made me feel so at ease with everything. We couldn't have hired anyone better. I would and will highly recommend you both to anyone needing photography work. I know I will be writing again as soon as the pictures are ready."

Let me start by saying....you met and exceeded ALL my expectations and more. When you came into the hotel room I thought it was awesome how as soon as you walked in you started taking pictures....I didn't even notice you there. Annaliesa I swear you were are wedding coordinator we didn't have. You came prepared with extra pins for the flowers which was a great idea and something I didn't even think about. You made me feel comfortable and at ease with everything. When there was a problem with the corsages, you remained calm and kept everyone else calm, until you fixed it. It was soooo awesome to have you both there, and ready for anything (way above and beyond just taking photos)."

Michelle & Joey

From an email sent to us...
"Joel & Annaliesa,
I’m so happy to say that you two did an outstanding job on our Wedding Day and we just LOVE LOVE LOVE our wedding album. It’s beyond our expectations. Jino and I would like to thank you both for such an awesome job. We can definitely tell you work from the heart. I love you guys, it’s sad for me to say goodbye, you guys have been so good to us. Thank for all you’ve done! Now we have beautiful memories that were captured and will be kept and cherished for generations to come.

From an email sent to us...
"Joel and Annaliesa definitely exceeded our expectations as our wedding photo team. Their positive attitude and accommodating personalities made us feel truly taken care of and important. We were very happy with their ability to be unobtrusive at the wedding and were very easy-going and professional. We are very happy to say that everything went smoothly and the end results were fantastic! We would definitely recommend Batts Photography to any engaged couple!"

From an email sent to us...
"Joel and Annaliesa,
Thank you so much for creating such special memories of our wedding day and engagement! Every single photo is beautiful and you two were not only very professional but a lot of fun to work with!

We are so happy with choosing Batts Photography. It began the very first time that we met them to do our engagement pictures. You two immediately made us feel comfortable and confident that the pictures were going to out beautifully. Joel and Annaliesa, you are so much fun to work with and you take such creative shots, not just your standard poses.

On the wedding day you guys were great with capturing every moment that we wanted. The pictures are so beautiful! Again, you were able to get shots that I would have never thought of and I do not have a single picture that I do not love!

Thank you once again for capturing the magic of our day! We will always have the greatest memories because of you two!"

From a reference email to an engaged couple...
"I'm so glad you came to me to ask about Batts Photography. I've attached a copy of the letter I mailed out to them today. I absolutely LOVE them. We were referred to them by my husband's co-worker and we had interviewed a few photographers prior to meeting with Joel Batts. I was very impressed with his work from the initial meeting and more than that, I thought he was such a nice and easy-going guy. We booked with him a week after we met with him. I was so glad we did!

Most photographers can be pushy, rude and in-your-face. Joel and Annaliesa are nothing like that. We have received so many compliments from guests how he took many pictures to capture our special day, but he was non-obtrusive at all. Most of the time, I didn't even realize that he was in front of me taking pictures…

During our engagement session, we felt so comfortable because Joel and Annaliesa were so nice. They really didn't feel like "vendors" to us and I think that makes a big difference. They were so proactive with everything that had to be done and so very helpful. You can ask Joel questions via email and he will be very detailed with his answers…

On the morning of my wedding, we were running very, very late. Joel kept telling me to "take it easy. It won't start without you. You're fine, don't worry." For my husband and I, all these things make a difference in how the wedding day unfolds. Having the peace of mind that your vendor won't let you down is huge and we had that with Joel and Annaliesa all throughout the wedding planning process, as well as on the wedding day.

We just received our proofs and they are wonderful! We're so pleased with them and we're so excited to put our wedding album together. They captured just the right amount of formal pictures, as well as candid pictures. Looking at the pictures takes us back to our wedding day and I feel that's how it should be. So yes, I would highly recommend them and I know you will find that they are worth every penny, if not more!!"

An email from the M.O.B (Mother Of the Bride)...
"Just another quick note to say thank you for all your hard work. We are as pleased as we could be with the service you provided. The pictures are lovely and you and your wife have enabled us to remember this occasion forever. Your pictures are truly a timeless treasure. Can't wait to share them with everyone. I hope that we will be able to send lots of customers your way."

From a reference email to an engaged couple...
"I'd be happy to give you my opinion of Batts Photography.

Firstly, let me start by saying, it will be a glowing review. I absolutely loved him and his wife.

We interviewed approx. 5 photographers in a wide range of price and style. Batts Photography was the most economical, but we were skeptical of quality for the price. After meeting with them, seeing their portfolio, chatting on email, I was sold. We met with the other photographers and most in the same price range, didn't have nearly the quality or creative eye that I thought Joel did. There was only one other photographer that had a more "artsy" portfolio, but he was more than twice the cost and not nearly as personable.

Once we chose Joel as our photographer, there was a lot of personal contact. He was available for any questions I had, either via email or telephone. He was VERY good about getting back to me right away. We absolutely LOVED our engagement pictures. We took them at Vasona Park, on his suggestion. And they turned out beautiful. I've never felt very photogenic, but he made both of us look great! We got many compliments.

As for the wedding, we got so many compliments on our photographer that day. I thought that was a little odd, since the photos hadn't even been produced yet. People were just so impressed with his positioning, their professionalism, their kindness. They were more than happy to allow our guests to take pictures of the poses they were taking. Most photographers are annoyed by guests trying to take a quick snapshot. They were very flexible. They had done one other wedding at the same site and scoped out the best places to take pictures ahead of time. I asked for photojournalistic pictures to be taken of the girls getting ready in the bride's room. He was amazing. He got some GREAT shots. We truly didn't even know he was there. He got some really good candid and artistic shots of us getting ready. I was very happy with those pictures. He did a great job with the formals. He was really quick and efficient, but not rushed. The ceremony pictures were great. Looking back at the pictures, I wonder how he did it. He was in one place one second and across the whole ceremony the next second. You would think there were two photographers. He took pictures of each couple (guests) dancing. Which turned out so well, I had 5x7's made to give the couples as Xmas gifts.

…His prices for reprints were outstanding. Even though we chose to purchase the negatives, I still ordered reprints from him first. His lab does such a great job and the prices were so good, I couldn't pass it up. We probably wouldn't have gotten as good a quality for the price if we tried to have the enlargements done ourselves.

I've also recommended Joel to several of my friends. Unfortunately, he wasn't available on the date of a co-workers wedding. She was very disappointed, as she really liked his work, too. If he's available, my advice is to snatch him up. He's wonderful! In our last meeting, I asked him to take a family portrait for us next year, after the baby is born. I really liked working with him and am so impressed with his work. Even my father, who considers himself a pretty good amateur photographer and a skeptic, couldn't stop talking about how great the photos turned out. There wasn't a single bad picture in the bunch. Not one picture of someone making a funny face, or in bad lighting or anything. In fact, one of my favorite pictures is a picture of our engagement photo on the gift table. Somehow, he was in the right place at the right time. He caught the photo with the sunlight just hitting it in the perfect way. He took the flower girl basket, set it next to it and took the most amazing picture! I love it!"

From a reference email to an engaged couple...
"I would recommend Batts wholeheartedly and without reservation. In my research of photographers, I thought their prices were the best. Beyond their prices, the photographs were excellent; my album is stunning, and my engagement photo is gorgeous. In fact, the photographs were all so fantastic, that I had to upgrade to a bigger album, a 60 pager! …Beyond the quality of the photography and the great prices, we all really enjoyed working with Joel & Annaliesa. They were so helpful and accommodating, not to mention just being nice people. This is very important since they will be in close proximity to you and yours for the duration of the special day. The two of them were so nice but at the same time very good at getting the shots we wanted without being pushy. Having been in a wedding since mine, I know that’s not always the case. My wedding album sits on my coffee table and everyone who comes over is just bowled over by how fantastic the pictures are."