Ben Kaatz Photography

Ben captured my fiancé proposing while not even letting on that he was there. It was an amazing day, and he was so excited for us as well as a pleasure to work with. Not to mention the beautiful photos we always have to treasure. Thank you. Ben!

I meant to write this review a year ago, but time got away from me. Ben was an absolute godsend when it came to our wedding! He was patient, always quick to respond, and very affordable for a small, short wedding event… he even recommended an officiant (Brian Borgia, who, although he mispronounced my name TWICE, was still overall pretty great). After the ceremony, he helped us get great shots, and even got some awesome smiles out of my less-​than-​photogenic husband :) Over a year later, Ben is still willing to edit photos if we want to make large canvases or prints. I wish I could give more than 5 stars, because he was just amazing. I definitely would recommend him to anyone and everyone.

Ben is a pleasure to work with, doesn’t waste anytime, and managed to capture the perfect shots, even with the uncooperative teen! I highly recommend his photography services.

I have been so keen to see what Ben had created from our family portrait pictures. We just received them and yup, he was tremendous at capturing the moments. He was ready for us when we arrived and knew exactly what was needed to get going quickly and efficiently (as we need to be with kids). Ben is low key and easy going, making the experience smooth and enjoyable. Thank you, Ben!

Ben was just great. We met up at a beach and took a whole bunch of family pictures. It was me and my wife with a 10 month old and a three year old. Ben was great and even helped make kitty sounds at my son to try to distract him to look at the camera. He even took allot of casual shots of me hold my son on a rock in the water and my daughter dancing along the sand. The pictures turned out great and I can’t recommend enough anyone who wants a family portrait on the Monterey bay to do it outside with all our naturally beautiful places and with Ben taking the shots.

It was our parent’s 50^th wedding anniversary and our family gathered in Pacific Grove for a long weekend together. I called Ben on a Friday on the off chance he could do a photo shoot for our family and surprisingly he was able to come that weekend!!! Ben was so fun and flexible with our rowdy bunch, but more importantly, he took the most beautiful pictures of our family and made a wonderful weekend one that is captured forever for our family.

My fiancé hired Ben to photograph our engagement on the beach in Carmel. I obviously had no idea my fiancé was about to propose, so not only was the proposal a surprise, but a hired photographer to capture the «down on one knee» moment was even more special! Ben was awesome to work with and we had so much fun taking pictures with him after the actual proposal. The photos were taken at sunset on the beach and they are absolutely stunning! It couldn’t have been a more PERFECT moment for us and my fiancé really knocked our proposal out of the park with Ben’s help! I would highly recommend Ben, especially for surprise engagements! Thanks Ben! :)

Ben took family photos for our 50^th wedding anniversary…6 adults and 6 teens. He choose beautiful sites that framed our photos nicely; worked quickly, which is important with 4 antsy teen boys, and kept everyone relaxed and happy for some very good results. I would highly recommend him to anyone who asks.

Ben is AMAZING!!! We traveled from out of town a few hours away & had planned to do family pics with another photographer. After the stress of getting everyone portrait ready & 20 minutes after our scheduled portrait time our photographer cancelled! In a panic I called Ben & he took pity on our situation! He was booked & shooting a wedding & reception for 9 hours that day & still agreed to meet up with our family. He was professional, experienced, and great with our kids. I am extremely grateful to him & the photos of our family are so beautiful that I’m having a hard time narrowing down my favorites. He really made a horrible beginning to our day turn out wonderful in the end. Thank you again Ben :)
The Viloria family

Ben provided an amazing service, for a special day, our engagement photos. I got in touch with Ben early on to discuss plans and he was more than helpful and friendly in setting things up. We planned out the secret photographer idea and he led me to a beach bonfire set up to add to the awesome occasion. After I proposed he stuck around and took beautiful pictures of the moment and provided every picture via the personally created website. The photos turned out great and we couldn’t have asked for a better person to capture this moment!

Me and my husband were in Carmel with our extended family to celebrate his step mothers 70^th birthday and I found Ben from Unilocal!The entire process went very smooth from start to finish. We were looking to just have 1 hour of family pictures taken since we were all together from Alaska, Texas and IL. Not only is Ben a great photographer, he was nice funny and personable. He was flexible and let us choose the shots, locations ad even some goofy shots! He is kind and polite when he arranges the shots, making sure everyone is comfortable. He was truly a great find while vacationing in Carmel!!! I would highly recommend him to anyone looking for a photographer !!! It was a pleasure to work with such a great guy!!! Thanks for capturing some great photos for our family!!!

Ben was a great choice for a photographer! We had a family party to celebrate my parent’s 60^th Wedding Anniversary. The family came in from all around the country and we wanted to make sure we captured it with some family portraits. We wanted a natural look, that was informal, but professional and high quality. We wanted someone who would be flexible to our time frame and who could work with our diverse age group.
Ben came through with flying colors. First he is extremely responsive. Anytime I called him he was available and provided answers. He has a really fun disposition and makes people feel at ease. He worked well with the little ones and beep-​beep made them look and smile for the camera.
The location he selected for our pictures was Stillwater Cove and it is one of the prettiest beaches on Monterey Bay. It provided a beautiful backdrop for our portraits and was a great place to frolic in the sand allowing Ben to shoot a number of candid shots of the family.
Finally one of the most important points is that we received the proofs and pictures really fast. We have dealt with a number of photographers over the years and some really take a long time before you get to see the results. This was not the case with Ben, we had all of our pictures in less than two weeks. Whether typical or not, it is another example of Ben’s responsiveness and willingness to do whatever it takes.

I just used Ben for my surprise proposal/​engagement this weekend in Carmel. Ben responded to my questions and requests quickly either by email or on the phone. Ben has a personality and charisma that shows he just wants to make you happy and have great pictures.
Ben helped me figure out the details to my proposal plan and hooked me up with Brian Borgia at Romantic Room Designs (also highly recommended) to set up a beach bonfire and blanket with lots of goodies. Ben confirmed our plan discretely with a text or email on the day of.
While I walked with my unsuspecting girlfriend, Ben took photos posing as a Carmel tourist. Once the proposal started Ben was able to capture every moment from his hidden perch above the beach. After a few minutes, I revealed to my fiancé that there was a photographer the whole time. We got fixed up and had about an hour to shoot some posed photos.
Ben was friendly, warm, and made us both so comfortable/​be ourselves during the photo shoot. He is a true professional and I am dying to see the pictures in a week or so.
THANK YOU BEN!

We had a 15 year reunion of our group. Ben used our location (beach by Asilomar, Pacific Grove) effectively, with several «scene changes», and great suggestions for posing. A lot of fun to work with, great with the kids, highly tolerant of parents shooting over his shoulder. Superb photographs.

Ben is a wonderful photographer. My husband and I got married in Carmel and thanks to Ben we have a beautiful chronicle of our day that we will cherish forever. Ben was a pleasure to work with… warm and funny. He made great suggestions and the pictures came out beautifully. He was also extremely helpful in setting up an online album that we could share with friends and family, as well as helping people order the prints they wanted. I highly recommend Ben!

Ben took pictures of our family for our holiday card. He was from the beginning flexible, professional and what’s most important during what can be some stressful family moments, fun! He had creative ideas of how to best shoot posed and candids and we ended up with many beautiful shots. We liked so many of them that we chose one of those cards that has several «frames» so we could share more than one photo with friends and family. Highly recommend Ben Kaatz Photography.

Ben just photographed my family for the second time, and was able to perfectly direct my three kids into perfect position and get exquisite photos of them and the full family. His patience is amazing, and his ability to work with families of squirmy kids is second-​to-​none; I can only imagine how he’d be with adult subjects. I was amazed with his work last year, getting everyone into a natural outdoor scene, capturing the atmosphere and background with perfect lighting, and help us find relaxed poses that didn’t seem artificial.
Ben took dozens of pictures, discarded the flawed shots, and presented us with a bunch of choices to pick from. He only charged for his professional services, and we are free to order any print from him at reasonable prices — we’re not forced to pay exorbitant prices for prints; he even provided us with high-​resolution digital copies at no extra charge.
He is my permanent go-​to photographer for any special occasion. I’d even consider getting divorced and re-​marrying my wife, just so I could have him do my wedding, too. Yes, he’s that good.