Paul Douda Photography

Absolutely amazing! Paul did a phenomenal job on both our engagement photos and wedding photos. He captured so many great memories from our wedding. There were things we missed during the ceremony and reception, but he captured them all! I would HIGHLY recommend using him for any photo session. You won't be disappointed!!

Paul was such a great guide. I’m not generally comfortable in front of cameras, but Paul gave my partner and I space to just be ourselves and it really shows in our pictures. If we get married in SD, Paul will be our photographer!

Photography (art) is very subjective. I knew I wanted our wedding photos to be colorful and saturated, not washed out, so I started on my photographer search. When I saw Paul’s work, I knew his style would fit with our vision! Our wedding was in a vineyard and the greens popped in his photos. He also made the whole process very comfortable, from the initial communication to the post-wedding emails. I highly recommend him for any event if you want beautiful, colorful photos.

If you're looking for a personable, talented photographer at the BEST overall value, Paul Douda is IT. As out-of-towners, we had an intimate ceremony (micro-wedding) followed by dinner with friends - on very short notice. Paul covered the ceremony and then met us at the restaurant site. He was familiar and experienced with both venues which really helped make our little dream wedding just perfect. Our final gallery came in right on time with photos that are unique, beautiful, and best of all, exactly what we asked for. He exceeded all expectations. We couldn't be happier!

My husband and I are a COVID couple and hosted a wedding reboot November 2021 at The Old Rancho. We chatted with a couple photographers and it was clear from the beginning that Paul was the right choice for us. Paul takes absolutely phenomenal photographs, and is humble and kind. Paul worked hard to make sure we had every shot we wanted. We very much appreciate the mix of posed portraits and candid shots he provided. Paul also worked with me in the weeks leading up to the wedding when unexpected things cropped up, and I very much appreciated his professional and kind demeanor. We are completely obsessed with our photos, and can't wait to have him back for family pictures. Hire Paul Douda and you'll treasure your photos forever!

Paul was recommended to us through our venue, and we clicked with him right away. He made us feel super comfortable which is what we were looking for in our photographer (we are very awkward). He took our engagement photos, helped us find locations, guided us through pictures. He turned around our engagement pictures fairly quickly. We ended up having to cancel due to COVID wedding cancellation, but he was really easy work with the entire time.

Paul was fantastic!!!! He did our engagement pictures, our mini Covid wedding photos and will be the photographer for our big wedding when we can safely have it! Paul is really easy to work with, he is flexible and takes beautiful photos!

Paul was nothing short of incredible. He went above and beyond and exceeded every expectation we had for our wedding and reception regarding photography. He was punctual, friendly, and very organized. From our initial conversation to delivering of photos, everything was perfect. Cannot recommend Paul Douda enough!!

We highly recommend using Paul for engagement pictures! He made our session fun, lighthearted, and stress-free. We had our dog tagging along and even though she was kind of in the way, it was no problem for Paul and he even took some sweet action shot of her messing around. Most importantly though, we love our pictures.

I just wanted to say that my fiance and i were beyond satisfied with the photos we got from Paul. He was super friendly and gave direction very well, as my fiance and i have no idea how to pose for pictures. Lol! We wanted a forest-y type landscape and they reccomended a really cool park around balboa park and captured exactly what i had in mind for our engagement shoot! :)

Paul was a true professional, even under increasingly difficult circumstances. While the state was under a quarantine and social distancing was recommended, Paul still agreed to meet and capture our perfect proposal. He got amazing shots and even offered to have a mini-shoot to supplement, since our initial was cut short. He was responsive, collaborative, and overall just an amazing guy to work with. Thank you Paul, for capturing our moment in time.

We recently got married in December of 2019. Paul & his team covered photography & videography on our big day as well as our engagement photo shoot. They were early prior starting the shoot & made sure everything was set prior starting. He is really good in following-up with clients making sure we are following our timeline to avoid any delays. We loved how Paul listened & made sure we're satisfied with the service. They were all very professional, time efficient & easy to work with. We were impressed by his timely responses, prices & quality of their over all service. He went above & beyond working with us since day one. Paul is really amazing. We're glad we found them in perfect time. I would definitely recommend them to family & friends & for sure would get them again in the future. :)

Paul and his wife Crystal were the best, most intuitive vendors we had at our wedding. We used them for our engagement photos and our wedding photos. They also created a wedding video that was perfect. Both my wife and I hate having our pictures taken, but Paul and Crystal did an amazing job at making us feel comfortable and listened to. They went above and beyond in every way possible. We consider ourselves life long customers of their's now, and plan to use them for every maternity, baby, family photo we ever take. I can not stress enough how much a photographer can affect your wedding day. They nailed the timing, they handled our family, and our final products were so beautiful. We could not ask for a better experience.

HIRE THEM!!! I could not be more happy with our photos and video than I am! If you are looking for someone who will see your vision and make you feel completely comfortable in front of the camera, Paul is your guy!

My fiancé hired Paul for a surprise engagement shoot and we couldn’t be happier! He captured the moment and went above and beyond to make sure that he got great photos of us, and made us comfortable throughout the process. We love the pictures and we are so grateful to Paul for making it all happen :)

Paul was our wedding photographer seven years ago. We always cherish the pictures he took for us and always get plenty of compliments from whoever sees them. After having a baby, we recently had another photoshoot with him and he didn't disappoint us again. I am sure we will use him again to capture wonderful memories for us. He is super nice and professional and above all artistic. I highly recommend him.

Paul was so much fun to work with! What I really liked about him was that he got to know me and my husband before the wedding, for an engagement shoot, so he knew our personalities and the kind of photos we wanted. He was creative with the photos he took. He got everything done and took pictures of all the important moments, and was very laid back and chill to work with, which is great since a wedding can potentially be a very stressful day. I highly recommend Paul. Plus, his pictures are gorgeous!

Crystal and Paul are awesome! They went above and beyond through the entire process leading up to our engagement shoot. The shoot was so much fun, they took their time and got some really great shots! We just created out Save the Dates with one of the photos and are SO happy how they turned out. Our engagement shoot wasn't the first time we have worked with them as they photographed our best friends wedding & we did a family shoot with them a few years ago. I would highly recommend them for all your photography needs!

Paul was amazing to work with he walked us through everything and was there for us every step of the way. We were so happy with our engagement photos and our wedding photos. I wished we had more time to be more creative with our photos but for the time we had our photos were perfect. Paul definitely has an eye for this line of work. I was nervous when waiting for our photos because we only had about 45 minutes for photos for myself and my husband and felt like it was not enough time but paul caught every moment between us. I also liked how paul took control during the wedding he didnt miss a beat i definitely recommend him to anyone.

We absolutely loved working with Paul for our surprise wedding last month. We planned to throw an anniversary party and surprise our guests after about an hour with a wedding. Paul was instrumental in helping us coordinate the reveal and the surprise and joy of the day really comes through in the images he captured. We wanted more casual photos and we are so pleased with the candid snaps of the whole event. Paul's expert eye caught some locations and lighting that we never would have thought of, but turned out to be some of our favorite photos. I would highly recommend Paul Douda Photography for any event you want to remember for a lifetime.

Paul is a consummate professional–thorough, prepared, and cordial, quick to respond, easy to work with, and delivered some terrific photos. He perfectly captured one of the greatest moments of our lives and made it all the more amazing. We recommend Paul to everyone we know and will definitely work with him again.

Paul was on time and even arrived early to scope out the scenery. He was very professional and worked with us on poses he thought were good. He also asked for our feedback on the shots. It was nice to include our dogs in the photo shoot. He was able to capture our love in the poses and scenery we were at. Overall it was great experience with a great photographer

Best decision I made was invest in my photographer! Paul and his wife were an awesome team and my pictures came out so great! My family also really enjoyed them and I was able to make a whole photobook just for my mother in law. The thing that actually sticks out the most is that not only did my pictures turn out beautifully but Paul actually stepped in to help my mom bussle my wedding dress before my first dance. He didn't have to do that at all but he stepped right in there and helped her figure it out, I was so appreciative of that! Its in the small details. Highly reccomend!

There are not enough characters allowed in any review that could allow us to fully express how amazing Paul and Crystal are and how much of an impact they had on our wedding. My husband and I decided when we started planning our wedding that we would each choose the one thing that was the most important to us: I chose photography and he chose music. We started looking for a photographer by meeting with the top recommended San Diego photographers on Yelp. It was really important to us, especially my husband, that we connect with and feel comfortable with our photographer. And while I absolutely agreed, it was also really important to me that our photographer beautifully captured our day. What I didn’t realize then was that feeling comfortable with your photographer and them making you feel the most like yourselves was what really would matter on the day of and would be what makes the photos beautiful. We had a rough start in the beginning with our wedding planning process. We hired a 12-month wedding coordinator who was absolutely horrible and did very little to help us through the process. We eventually hired a new coordinator, but for the first 6 months of planning, without ever asking them to, Paul and Crystal stepped up and essentially became our pseudo-wedding coordinators. Every lengthy email we sent them asking a million questions they answered back with an equally, if not longer, email answering every question we had. Wedding planning was not really something we enjoyed all that much, but Paul and Crystal truly made the process so much easier and more bearable. They welcomed us into their home and into their lives. We cannot thank them enough for the nights they had us over for Chinese food and wedding planning sessions. Not having my mom and bridesmaids in San Diego made the wedding planning process less fun and more procedural because I felt like we missed out on those nights of getting together for wedding planning and crafting. Paul and Crystal truly changed that. They spent so much time with us planning out our timeline and ensuring us that everything would run smoothly, while making us aware that weddings often don’t stay on schedule often. We both knew that in order to enjoy our wedding we needed to let all of our concerns go and just trust that we hired the best team for us that truly understood what we were looking for. We knew that Paul and Crystal knew from our two engagement photo sessions and all that time hanging out that we did not want our wedding to be traditional, but fun and energetic. Our day came, and it went PERFECTLY. Everything went completely according to the schedule we created, and we had wait staff at Tom Ham’s Lighthouse thank us for having such a fun and different wedding from the hundreds they see there. Since getting our photos and video, we have looked at and watched them so many times with our family and friends. Paul and Crystal captured the excitement, goofiness, and love that was felt throughout our entire day. Everything came out stunning. Paul and Crystal are two people who will go above and beyond for you, they will be there at your vendor meetings, they will make sure they capture the important moments to you, they are who you want on your team. Not only did we end up with beautiful photos and an awesome video capturing our wedding, but we got two amazing friends out of the deal!

Look no further for your wedding photography needs! Paul is AWESOME! Not only is he a talented photographer with a creative eye for the perfect shot, but he has a laid-back and kind personality, which makes him so easy to work with on one's special day. My husband and I chose to have our civil ceremony performed at the County Administration Building and Paul shot our wedding. The pictures from our day are fantastic! We will highly recommend Paul Douda Photography to all we know. Thanks Paul!

Paul made our wedding amazing. My wife and are were always late in planning, even up to the day of the wedding. but Paul was very helpful and flexible the entire way. The atmosphere he creates is very pleasant to work with, and puts people at ease on what is otherwise a very stressful day. Not that it's his job, but he even helped out with setting the decorations a little at the church. He's extremely professional but he has a very funnay and relaxed mien at the same time. That's just his character review. His photos are beyond perfect. The pre-wedding session (to start) was hand-picked by Paul near us so that we would not have to travel far to make it. Once there, he set up everything in a timely manner before we even arrived without putting us on the clock. Those photos turned out amazing, and it was an in-door shoot, even though he indicated that his speciality was in out-door shoots (again, he tailors to your needs). The day of, he showed up early for my wife's wedding-day preparation shoot. It sounds simple, but bear in mind we are a last-minute couple, and Paul literally drove from South bay all the way to Mira Mesa to take this shoot with probably less than an hour's notice (Thanks for being flexible Paul!) The wedding photos and reception photos were everythign we wanted. He took time to scope out some nice spots outside of the restaurant for me and my fiance to take some ad-hoc shots (again, flexible and professional in his work). Paul went above and beyond, and the praise he got from the guests (even though he may not have heard them say it) and the work he does speaks volumes for itself. Thank you Paul for making a memorable day even more memorable!

Paul was super easy to deal with, very responsive and receptive to how we wanted our photography to look and feel, the results are just as we wanted. Frist class job from a genuinely nice guy - can't recommend enough - book him!

Awesome photographer, very pleased with how the photos turned out! Paul made our photo shoot a blast! We are so happy to have photos to look back on and remember our special day!! Thank you so much!

If there was an option to award Paul Douda Photography 1000 stars, we would! We simply can't say enough great things about Paul and Crystal! From our engagement session to our wedding, everything they did was perfect! We aren't just talking about their products, either. They are fantastic at what they do and it's complimented by their wonderful and kind personalities; the complete package! If I had only one word to describe our experience with Paul Douda Photography, it would be easy. Planning? Easy! Vibe? Easy! Getting along? Easy! Day-of? Easy! Above all else, the perfect pictures, the heartwarming video, the overall experience, the best part is the friendship we developed with Paul and Crystal. From the bottom of our hearts, we couldn't be happier. A million and one thank yous!!

Paul was fantastic. He was very professional and made us feel very comfortable. He would drop us into locations that nobody would think of and the photos came out fantastic. He truly does have an eye for photography. Thanks for the incredible engagement shoot, Paul!

Paul was absolutely AMAZING! He was so responsive to every email and question we had. On the actual day of our wedding, he showed up an hour early at our same-day request (bridezilla moment), and he staid an hour after he was supposed to leave! Not to mention that he knew exactly what to do, coordinating the family and wedding party photos was a breeze, he got the perfect backgrounds, and he knew how to direct everyone so the positioning was perfect. It was very evident that he has done many weddings and that he's an absolute professional!

When you are searching for a wedding photographer, typically the first thing you look for is quality. When it comes to documenting one of the biggest days of your life, you absolutely do not want to gamble with the quality of the images you will have to document that day. The next attribute you likely look for is cost. Most couples have a fairly strict budget to adhere to and cost is a significant factor when it comes to choosing a vendor. Paul meets (and exceeds!) the mark in regards to quality and he offers a number of packages to fit a variety of needs and budgets. I've worked with him both personally and professionally and he is such fun to work with. He has a gift when it comes to nervous and/or camera shy individuals and engages with every subject to ensure that he delivers the best images possible. I cannot recommend Paul enough for any photography need and can guarantee that it won't be a choice you'll regret.

My fiancé and I had an amazing time during our engagement shoot. Paul and Crystal were easy to work with and were extremely professional throughout the process. We have no idea what we’re doing in the world of photography so having someone you can trust completely is crucial. The pictures came out amazing and we’ll be contacting them when our wedding date approaches. 10/10 I would highly recommend them for your engagement and wedding pictures.

Paul did my brother's wedding photos which I absolutely loved. When it came time for my wedding, I knew who I wanted to capture my big day! Paul was such a pleasure to work with! We had a very small backyard wedding. He was able to work with us to figure out logistics since everything was happening in the same small space. He even helped with pinning on the boutonnieres. My husband and I are not the most comfortable in front of the camera but Paul put us at ease and he was able to capture beautiful shots that I will treasure forever! Thank you Paul for capturing the beautiful moments on our special day!!

When I first responded to Paul’s mini session add i wasn’t sure what to expect, usually a $150 shoot with a great photographer has got to be too good to be true! Well after inquiring some more and absolutely bothering the heck out of him and his wife with my need of assurance that he would really be there, it was like a dream when we got to the location! Not only did he have a great vision for what he wanted to give us as a product, but he was the most genuine and personable guy when we finally met him! His wife (who does video) came along and she was so sweet, they laughed with us and we ended up having a blast! I don’t think my fiancé nor myself knew what a memorable time we’d have when we first agreed on our couch that we should do this! I want to personally thank Paul and Crystal for their work as well, we got to look at the final product in such a timely manor that I was shocked and the quality of the shots SHOCKED me!! They have gone above and beyond what I could have ever thought possible and made these pictures more special and memorable with their presence, 100/100 would recommend. We will definitely be using them again!

Paul is absolutely amazing. He captured so many beautiful memories that my Husband and I will have forever. He has a great personality and fit right into the day making everyone feel comfortable. I would HIGHLY recommend Paul to anyone looking for a photographer. He has a gift!!

Paul did a great job and was very flexible with the timing and with our creative photo requests. The photos came out great and he was very easy to talk with. Very solid photographer.

Paul was absolutely amazing. His photos captured our special moment in a way words can't describe. The colors were so vibrant and beautiful and his ability to capture the true fun and love of the day is incredible. We are still getting compliments on our photos from the wedding and engagement shoot weeks later. His wife Crystal is wonderful to work with too. She helped coodinate some of the logistics and I must say the two are the dream team you want to make your wedding dreams come alive.

Paul was so wonderful to work with. From our first contact, he seemed genuinely excited for our wedding, which made it so easy to get along with him! He was responsive, showed up on time, and truly captured the most important moments of our day.

Paul was absolutely amazing and so flexible! My fiance had a vision and Paul was able to deliver! The day of our shoot, he learned that our original location wasn't going to work due to city imposed limitations. Paul quickly jumped to action and found another place that fit the bill. We just had to show up. We had so much fun during the shoot and were so thankful to have a photographer with such an artistic eye! We are beyond grateful for the positive experience and the most stunning pictures! To top it off, Paul shared our story with as many wedding blogs as he could. It was never our expectation to have our love story told over and over again, but we are so honored it has! We can't wait to see how Paul captures our big day. If history is any indication of what to expect, it will be nothing short of magical!

Paul and Crystal were absolutely amazing and were really able to capture the essence of Daniel and Chad. We could not have asked for more from our photographer and are truly blessed to have had them be a part of our wedding. It was a special day made even more special by Paul and Crystal. They are very easy to work with and were very receptive to our needs and requests. We will absolutely use Paul Douda Photography again!

Paul was the perfect photographer for our perfect day. He is very easy to work with and has a great sense of humor, while remaining very professional. He executed our engagement session perfectly as well on the bay and beach of Coronado. He did everything in our best interest as well. I highly recommend Paul, and I couldn't have asked for a better photographer.

I can’t say enough about Paul and his talented eye as a photographer. He truly is an artist. He perfectly captured our big day and we had a blast doing our shoot. One of the best pieces of advice I received was- pick a photographer you feel comfortable with and want to spend your wedding day with, because they are there every step of the way. For that reason, I am so glad we found Paul. From the moment we met him, it was as if we were old friends. His calming presence and sense of humor on our wedding day put my husband and I at ease. He knew exactly the shots to get and captured the love and joy of our big day so beautifully. The album Paul put together for us is unlike any I’ve seen. It is truly a work of art that we love to share with our family and friends. Paul Photography is well worth the investment! I highly recommended one of the best photographer in San Diego Paul Douda Photography | San Diego Wedding Photographer

Working with Paul for our Engagement Session as well as our Wedding was the best experience with a photographer. He was able to capture those special moments while being creative with the surroundings bringing together a look and feel that is unique and memorable. Paul is a true artist when it comes to his vision of how a picture can say a thousand words just by brining together multiple elements to capture a moment with a couple that is amazing. We are forever grateful to Paul for making our day extra special and for creating lasting memories we can cherish for years to come. We highly recommend Paul Douda Photography to anyone that is looking for a personable touch and amazing one of a kind photos.

Paul is an amazing photographer. We did an engagement session as well as our wedding with him. He is super down to earth and easy to get along with but also very professional. He listened to what we wanted out of our pictures and brought some great ideas to the table as well. We have some great shots with sparklers. He came on a walk through with us before the wedding to look at specific shots we could do at the venue and was very prepared. I recommend Paul very highly to anyone that is looking for a great mix of candid and portraits with a slightly modern twist. We wanted fun, but traditional photos and Paul does both very well. We were on a budget and Paul customized the package to meet exactly what we were looking for. It was very easy to cut out things we didn't want and add in "extras" that we really wanted that other photographers wouldn't so unless you upgraded to a pre set package.