Russ Levi Photography

Russ was so amazing to work with! I used Russ to take some headshots for my website. The photos came out amazing and definitely exceeded my expectations. Russ has a very unique/​modern style that was exactly what I was looking for. He was extremely professional and felt like an old friend right away. I would definitely recommend him as a photographer for anything.

My husband and I were so, so lucky to work with Russell for our wedding. Our pictures are stunning, and he was incredible to work with. We had a call with him a few weeks before the wedding to go over logistics and discuss the specific pictures we wanted to have. During this call he also had some great suggestions about how to make the process work well and have the pictures come out great (such as having kids and Grandma go first during formal photos, keeping the ceremony cell phone free so there are no cell phones in the shots of us walking down the aisle). Such great pro tips I never would have thought of! On the day of, Russell was a delight to work with. He really put us and our family at ease during the formal pictures. He also has an incredible eye. Our pictures are so creative, beautiful, and well done! He captured some of the most beautiful candid moments of the day! It was so much fun to experience the wedding all over again through his images. Another really nice thing was that the night of the wedding, he sent us a few shots which we were able to share with our families and put on Facebook. They were so beautiful and it was great to have them so early on. It was really above and beyond. Russell is incredible at his craft, and a super cool guy.

Russell is fabulous to work with. It is evident that he has mastered his craft — he gives clear directions and knows what he is looking for. Russell keeps it fun, light and very comfortable. He is easy to be around and makes me laugh. Russell captures natural moments in beautiful lighting. His compositions are creative and unique — but his portfolio speaks for itself. His experience and devotion to his art are invaluable — Russell is my first choice for any photography needs!

Russ is amazing! My fiancé and I used him for our engagement session (and hope to use him for our wedding next year), and the session was great. The real reason for this review, though, is the dudoir session Russ did for me. My man is really hard to gift for, so Russ and I did a sexy photo shoot, and the results were so much better than I could’ve hoped for. Professional lighting makes everyone hotter, and Russ made the session really comfortable. He found a great location, gave me good direction, and coached me through my embarrassment. The photos are amazing, and my fiancé loved them.
Dudoir is a thing now. Go get a session!

My husband and I got married at Nestldown in the Santa Cruz mountains in Los Gatos, CA. We lucked into finding Russ and he did a fantastic job with our wedding photos — totally above and beyond.
A few days before the wedding we talked about specific photos we wanted and how we wanted the day to go and the photos to feel when everything was said and done.
Day-​of he showed up on time (actually early), and made my bridesmaids and me feel at ease right away. I’m not used to having much attention on me, and I was pretty nervous about having a photographer but there were lots of jokes through the first shots and enough direction when we were taking posed pictures that I got over my nerves quickly.
Another thing I was grateful for was how fast we moved through our posed family pictures after the ceremony, which meant my husband and I got to enjoy more of our cocktail hour and reception! I wanted great photos but I also wanted to enjoy my guests and Russ was totally on board with that.
During the party, Russ did a great job of being around when we needed him and blending into the party the rest of the time — once I looked down and he was sitting on the dance floor to get some shots, that’s dedication!
If all the work at the wedding wasn’t enough for one day, Russ sent us a few processed photos the NIGHT OF the wedding! He went home after a long day and made sure that we had some amazing shots to share with everyone that same day.
I can’t recommend Russ highly enough. He was professional, fun to work with, and his work is absolutely beautiful. Check him out, you won’t regret it.

Russ was our wedding photographer, and he did an incredible job. His photos were amazing, I love them! Very professional, likeable guy. I recommend him!

R — Ridiculously talented
U — Unusually patient
S — Super professional
S — Sense of humor rocks
E — Excellent service
L — Love the price
L — Likely the best part of our wedding day
I’ve written an acrostic poem for Russell because he’s that special of a dude. He shot our engagement and wedding photos, and I wish I could express how awesome they came out. He’s knowledgeable, professional, and as previously mentioned, ridiculously talented. Thanks so much for being you, Russ!

Russell felt like a friend from day one. Why? He treated us like friends, cared about what we wanted, and was interested in us as a couple. He was honest and responsive and comfortable to be around. I frankly was sold once I saw his portfolio (exactly the style of photography we wanted – artistic, not trite), so meeting him just sealed the deal.
Russell is stunningly talented. I am not comfortable in front of the camera, and I verbalized this, but Russell sees some amazing things behind the lens and makes you trust this. He is excited about his craft and that is evidenced by his creativity and flexibility. It doesn’t matter whether your setting is «picture perfect» or whether you’ve modeled your poses in front of a mirror for months – he will find beautiful shots and will always be up for those «what if we try…» moments.
The Bay Area is saturated with «wedding photographers» and «event photographers» who often follow a template and will produce pretty results at a pretty penny. They’re predictable and great and will get the job done, which is super. We chose Russell because he is invested in creating beautiful photos worthy of being in print and at the same time, being identifiably YOURS, full of your personality and affection.
I’ve already asked him for a lifetime contract. Not lying.

After having our Engagement and Wedding photos done with Russ, our friends could not stop raving about Russ’ talent, professionalism and just his awesome personality. He is so easy to work with and is such a pleasure to work with. We have already had two other friends work with him and their pictures turned out lovely as well. We are going to try and use Russ again for some family photos, because we just can’t get enough!!! HAHA
He’s great! You have to use him because he is just the best and so much fun (and adorable)!!!

We had the pleasure of having Russ be our photographer for both engagement and wedding session. Russ is an amazing, creative, and flexible person. For our engagement, he really let us be ourselves without too much poses and rigidity. We were able to be normal and he captured that well. On our wedding day, Russ was organized and assertive with the chaos. In addition, his photography style is great! His use of lighting, flash, and compositions.

I’m so happy I went with Russell for our wedding photography, it couldn’t have gone better. The experience was easy and fun, and we have the most stunningly beautiful wedding photos.
Service: Russ was very responsive, flexible, friendly, and knowledgeable. He offered guidance where I needed it, and at the same time was happy to go with ideas I had. He’s also just a really great person to be around — we invited him to our family dinner after the reception!
Photos: Stunningly beautiful. Just as good as the ones in his portfolio on his website. I am sooo happy we invested in a great photographer. We were able to re-​live the day all over again after we got the photos, because they really captured the day so well.
Price: Very reasonable. I interviewed other photographers who charged a similar price, but didn’t produce the same quality. He was willing to negotiate to fit my budget, and there were no unexpected extra costs.
Day-​of experience: Russ showed up on time, ready to go. He gave excellent direction for the posed photos, and the rest of the time stayed out of the way. After seeing the photos, my family and I all commented how we didn’t even realize he was there when he took many of them.
If you want a top quality photographer and photos that will wow, go with Russ!

Russell captured the most candid shots from our wedding day (& we had three photographers and by far his photos were our favorites). They are photos that we will cherish forever. Thank you Russ for helping us make our memories last a lifetime! Love, The Creedens

Talented. Hard-​working. Enthusiastic. Professional. I could continue with a long list describing Russell and his wondrous ways; simply put, he is, as someone else mentioned here, as good as it gets. My wife and I were blessed to have him photograph our wedding in the Eastern Sierras (and our engagement photos), and have been absolutely blown away with not only the finished product (i.e. AMAZING PHOTOS!) but he’s demeanor throughout the weekend. Russell has the unique ability to have a clear vision of what he wants while being flexible enough to go with the flow and read the situation. Really easy to work with throughout the whole process, from start to finish. Looking through the photos, again and again, we have found ourselves saying, «wow, he captured (fill in name)‘s essence perfectly!» As fast as the whole weekend went, we’re so grateful to have all these amazing images to look back on for years to come.
This is my first Unilocal review ever. And quite possibly my last. He’s that good.

Russell was awesome! I can’t say enough great things about him! He did my recent wedding and made things feel totally natural. It immediately felt like I had known him for years, he made me feel at ease and made the picture taking part of the day super fun! Russ has no problem telling people where they need to stand and how they need to look while still letting things feel natural and unforced. He’s professional and gets the job done but he’s also a good time. My husband and I were drawn to Russ because of the quality of his work online and the fact that he seemed to be able to capture candid moments. I would absolutely recommend him to anyone looking to memorialize a special day!

Russell is one of the best photographers I have ever met! He has an exceptionally artistic vision and meticulously approaches it with his solid techniques. Also his fun-​loving personality is contagious and he can make people around him feel really nature even in front of his two huge cameras. At the end you will get one of the best experience you would ever have for a wedding plus a ultrawide variety of photographs, from outrageously hilarious dance moves to breathtakingly romantic private moments. Absolutely recommended!

As good as it gets. My wife and I were lucky enough to have Russell as our wedding photographer on the 1^st of November, 2014. We had a hindu style ceremony, outfit changes, two first looks, the threat of rainstorms and Russell handled it all with a smile on his face and his camera at the ready. His talent, not only taking the pictures, but also making the subject[s] feel at ease in front of the camera is all part of the package. He is communicative throughout the process and he actually made it feel FUN taking wedding photos! Never thought I would say that.
We were very impressed and would recommend him to anyone looking for any professional shots [wedding or not].

Russell was absolutely amazing! My husband and I hired Russell to shoot our wedding and it was one of the best decisions we made. He was professional, fun loving and very friendly. He made us feel so comfortable that we didn’t even feel like we were taking pictures. I can not put into words how great this man is. He not only took the shots that we wanted but he came up with some that came out beautiful! If you want an amazing photographer that also adds some fun your day Russell is your guy!

I was just clicking through the images from our nearly week-​long Hindu wedding from about 2 weeks ago and said, «Wow. Russell is so, so talented — we’re lucky we had him as a photographer!» and my husband said, «Yup. He is the best.»
I totally agree. Russell is the best — amid the chaos of a large Indian wedding, where getting family to take portraits is essentially like herding cats, Russell kept his calm, had a smile on his face the entire time throughout the wedding, took some of the best shots that none of our friends could capture and had a way of not being seen to take some key shots and then being around in super crucial moments. It was incredible — I don’t know how he did it!
He has a creative eye that not all wedding photographers have and understands the key points of Hindu ceremonies to take the right pictures that I like and my parents loved.
Thanks so much for being a part of our day, Russell!

First Unilocal elite reviewer: D yessss.
I first had the delight of meeting Russell through my husband. They studied together in grad school & Russ did photography as a hobby. He graciously did the honors of shooting our engagement shots when I came to visit from Dallas, TX.
(Sidenote: even though I did meet Russ first on a more personal level, the 5 stars is warranted completely from a professional/​client level.)
The whole experience couldn’t have been better. He scoped out a few different scenes to take us & allowed us to really be ourselves. I don’t know how he captured the pictures he did, but he really captured those kodak moments. The ones where the smiles were authentically happy & alive. LOVED IT.
And you can tell Russ thoroughly enjoyed the photosession (probably even more than we did). Russ has a natural talent in photography & loves it– and that’s what you want in a photographer. Not just someone who’s out there for the $
Anyways, just take a look at his pictures. They pretty much speak for themselves.
Yes, I would absolutely recommend him for your photography needs (whether you need head shots, engagement, wedding, car, baby, scenic shots).

I had the great opportunity to work with Russ a few times. He is a talented wedding photographer that goes above and beyond with his clients. He is punctual, has a great demeanor, and always ready to capture the moment.
I have worked with other photographers and I must say that he is one of the few that left a great impression.
Check out his portfolio and you will agree that he offers nothing but quality work. Coming from another photographer, he has my recommendation :)