Checkerbox Photography

I found Jonathan while searching online for a last minute photographer to take my senior pictures. He was very accommodating, even agreeing to meet the next day. After scheduling a photo shoot at the City Hall in SF, my family and I met him there to take my senior pictures. The photo shoot was a lot of fun, and the time went by so fast. Jonathan’s humor and ability to think of creative new ideas on the spot made the experience an unforgettable one. We absolutely loved the photos, they were even better than I envisioned them to be! Jonathan met us at his studio the following day to view the 30 or so best photos. It was
very difficult to choose only 7 because there were so many great ones. Jonathan was
such a pleasure to work with, and I feel lucky to have found him. I would give him my highest recommendation!

First, I would like to state that I am not the type to normally give a review on Unilocal.However, the service I have received from Jonathan was not what I had expected.
I planned on purchasing a Groupon, but instead decided to contact Jonathan first to ensure that he had an appointment available for my family and I before Christmas (we wanted family photos taken for Christmas cards). I mentioned to him my interest in using a Groupon, and he immediately mentioned to me that it would be best for me to purchase the Groupon through him (so that he could make more money). I should’ve known from that moment that was a bad sign…
On the day of the photo shoot, my husband, our 18 month daughter, and I arrived to the location almost an hour early. We waited, and waited until 11am (our appointment time). Jonathan was nowhere to be found. 11:10am came and he still was nowhere to be found. No phone call. Nothing. I finally called him and he answers stating he’s running late (oh, really?) and did not make any apology for his tardiness. It’s already 11:20am when he arrives.
The photo shoot was mediocre at best. My husband and I have been involved in other photo shoots and I honestly did not feel like Jonathan gave us any direction. It felt more like a random friend of ours picked up a camera one day and decided he will be a photographer.
What struck me as odd is that he still finished the photo shoot at 12pm… Even though he obviously started 20 minutes late. My husband and I felt cheated. After the photo shoot, Jonathan preceded to show us the pictures on his iPad. So, I asked how we could purchase… And he insisted to preview the pictures again at his house on a different day. We told him we live over an hour away and we both work conflicting schedules. But still, he insisted we still go to his house to see it on a «bigger screen». Fine. So we previewed the pictures at Jonathan’s home the following weekend.
My husband and I did not see any difference between previewing it on an iPad and previewing it in his house on a projector screen. We ended up only purchasing a few pictures (merely because we already spent so much time and effort already in doing the photo shoot that it would be even more of a waste not to purchase anything).
He promised as we were leaving that we would be receiving our physical photos before Christmas. I have stressed to Jonathan even before purchasing his Groupon that it is important for us to receive the photos before Christmas. We also (thank goodness) purchased a digital picture that we can use for our Christmas card. We asked how long it would take to be sent… And he said no they will be picked up at his house when they’re ready (Of course…)
So, Christmas comes and we hear nothing from him. New Years passes… Nothing. Finally, I contact him asking what happened and all he could say is «oh I thought I ordered them but I didn’t! Thanks for reminding me» and that they’ll be ready for pick up by Monday. Monday comes, and we get an email from Jonathan that the PICTURES ARE STILL NOT READY. It isn’t until Wednesday that they are ready for pickup and my husband had to drive out of his way to work to get THREE 8“x11″ photos that could’ve just been sent. I’m just glad we purchased a digital copy or else we definitely wouldn’t have had one Christmas photo in time!
So, to summarize:
–don’t choose this photographer if you don’t like to take multiple trips to the photographer (all at his own convenience)
–don’t choose this photographer if you expect timeliness in appointments or timeliness in services
–don’t choose this photographer if you want quality photos
–and, don’t choose this photographer if you don’t want to feel cheated or feel like you are not a priority!
Save your money and take pictures with your own camera!!!

For quite some time, I had been in need of some head shots. Since I work both as an architectural designer and as a creativity expert, I did not want something that was run of the mill. I wanted something that conveyed the dynamic, interdependent, deeply mysterious nature of creativity that I attempt to illicit in my own work.
On advice from some friends of mine, I decide to check out the work of San Francisco based photographer Jonathan Mandel and his company, Checkerbox Photography. I could see from his portraits that Jonathan knew how to capture the emotions and experience of his subjects. Then I looked at his personal work sections, the shots he had taken out of his love for the craft of photography. I was was instantly captivated. There, in a grouping of photos entitled «Follow the Light», I found what I was looking for: sparse, budding branches emerging from a mysterious orange light, sunlit fog overwhelming a colorful San Francisco skyline, elevated freeways with the sensual elegance of the divine feminine. Jonathan images nearly brought me to tears.
I composed a lengthy email to Jonathan, praising his work and highlighting the different audiences who would be receiving my message as a creativity expert. Jonathan called me an articulated some non conventional possibilities for my portraits.
Last Monday, we met at Jonathan’s studio and got to work. With a sense of mutual respect and collaboration, we worked seamlessly for the next four hours, Jonathan patiently orchestrating the process and listening to my needs and concerns. Both of us in a creative zone, four hours went by in no time. I walked out of there with some really amazing photos for my various audiences as wells as striking front and back cover images for the next book I’m writing.
For both of us, it was a great collaborative experience. Moreover it was another great lesson: when two minds are aligned and in dialog on a creative project, amazing thing happen.

After taking the DSLR Field Workshop with Jonathan from Checkerbox, I can no longer blame my mediocre photos on a lack of camera capabilities. I signed up my mom and I for a Mother’s Day camera outing in the Mission and we both thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The workshop environment was relaxed, yet informative, and Jonathan provided a breadth of technical information in layman’s terms. I would absolutely recommend the workshop to DSLR novices (although basic familiarity with your camera is needed).
As a side note, this would be a great first-​date outing if both parties own a camera.

I can’t recommend Checkerbox Photography highly enough. Jonathan is a skilled, patient and gentle photographer, with a great sense of humor and play that shows through in his work. He came to our house for the photo shoot and worked absolute miracles with our four neurotic felines, including the one who insisted on hiding in the bathroom the entire time (who knew you could get such awesome pictures of a Siamese cat in a pink tiled bathroom?!)
If you’re thinking of hiring someone to take your pet, family or wedding photos, please arrange a consultation with Jonathan. You won’t find better. Seriously.

I’ve hired Jon Mandel and Checkerbox Photography on several occasions for both personal and professional projects. Jonathan brings a great deal of creativity to his work, transforming the usual dull executive head shots into compelling portraits. He is skilled at meetings my clients’ needs, and understands how to work within their time constraints.
For personal portraits, he brings the same skills — really drawing out the subject’s personality and showing a side of them (or of you!) that you might not have known about! I asked him to create a portrait book of my cat Buster — not an easy task, since cats aren’t the most cooperative subjects. However, with Jon’s patience and skill, he created engaging, warm and funny pictures of my special pet, and made a book that I’ll enjoy looking at for years to come. See one of the Buster’s pictures above!