Jeff Kassebaum Photography

I first met Jeff when he photographed our family, beach picture. He was very nice and laid back and I thought he would be perfect for my wedding photographer because he was so good at making everyone feel comfortable and at ease. The family picture turned out rather dark, but I guess with the beach and the outdoors, you can’t control the lighting, although every beach picture on his website has perfect lighting. I should have considered this more, but thinking that my wedding pictures would come out differently, his positive Unilocal reviews online and seeing the pictures on his website, I hired Jeff as my wedding photographer.
Our first red flag was when we met Jeff and our videographer from a separate company at our wedding venue. Our videographer was young, but his work was phenomenal and I was excited to work with him. However, during the meeting, there seemed to be some tension between the two. As the videographer tried to coordinate with Jeff with how they would proceed on the wedding day, Jeff’s responses to him were rude and disrespectful, saying that the videographer would have to just «follow» him around on the wedding day. During the day of the wedding, I constantly heard negative comments from Jeff toward our videographer and his assistant. I thought this was very unprofessional. Not only did the videographer and his assistant tell me that «they never wanted to work with him again», but wedding guests and our coordinator said that they witnessed Jeff behave weirdly «territorial» as he jockeyed for dominance with the video team.
Regarding the photos themselves, my mom and I gave Jeff a list of pictures we wanted as well as examples of shots that we would like taken. Unfortunately, many «standard» wedding pictures that we didn’t include in our list were not even taken, such as pictures of my fiancé and his groomsmen in the bar toasting each other before the wedding, a picture of me getting ready to throw my bouquet with the girls behind me, or a picture of my husband and my left hands with our wedding rings laying across my bouquet. Almost all of the photos of the groom (my husband) and his groomsmen were shadowed and dark and the background was so bright that the people’s faces couldn’t be seen. The pictures taken of my bridesmaids and myself before the wedding contained counter tops with trash and water bottles, other people’s legs who were sitting nearby and backpacks, purses, etc. Additionally, there is not ONE picture of the entire wedding party where everyone is standing and looking straight ahead and smiling. Jeff’s wife was there as his assistant. She should have been looking for these things and adjusting the people before the pictures were taken. It was not done. I understand the difference between candid and posed, but I would have really liked One picture of the entire wedding party that was posed with everyone looking forward, smiling and with their eyes open.
I think the pictures that I was most surprised and disappointed with was our First Look photos. Every single picture has Jeff’s wife leaning against a wall in the background, watching us. Why was she even on the side where she could possibly be in the photo or why didn’t he see that she was in the photo and zoom in a bit to get her out.
Not all of Jeff’s pictures were bad or unusable, but the bad ones certainly outweighed the number of good ones. Thank goodness that I know photoshop. I have been drastically editing photos for months in my free time and I still haven’t been able to share them with friends and family because it’s taking so long.
I am SO glad that we hired our videographer. I have been able to retrieve many of the photos that Jeff did not take or did not take well from the video screen shots. My family and I were shocked and sad to say the least when we received the pictures from my wedding day and ultimately wished we had done more homework and gone with someone else.

Our family needed our photos updated and since we would all be together during Christmas time, we made it happen. Jeff was available and put our family at ease being relaxed and professional. We had a beach photo session and had some really nice shots. Tip is make sure you are on the beach at the right time of day and Jeff will guide you to that time depending on the time of year. Our family will enjoy our photos for years to come.

I have had Jeff do family portraits on two occasions. Once when my girls were younger and a second time with a couple of husbands and grand-​children. Both experiences were a true pleasure. He truly knows how to set up a family on the beach for great photos. Though you may initially have some doubts, the photos are spectacular. He is great with the kids and enjoys making everyone smile.

Very happy with my experience with Jeff at his studio in uptown Carlsbad. This guy has all the latest and best equipment. My wife and sons will always treasure our family portrait taken by Jeff. Next time we’ll have him photograph us on the beach, or maybe at the Carlsbad Flower fields which he specializes in. He’s a very warm and likable guy. Go pay him a visit. You won’t regret it.

Jeff always makes our family look great, and is very patient — even when our dogs and kids are crazy. I highly recommend using him!

Jeff did an amazing job with out family portaits. Love the beach shots — perfect lighting! Jeff is very easy to work with — relaxed & professional. Turnaround time was exceptional. We will definitely use Kassebaum Photography again!

First of all I love the quaint studio location in downtown Carlsbad. Jeff is so friendly and quickly put me at ease to photograph my headshot for business. He was really great to work with and I would highly recommend him!

What a great experience! Photo/​profile shots for business and special family photography. Jeff adds excitement when taking photos which can only explain the great photos he takes!

Jeff’s office was warm and friendly from the moment I made the appointment. I had photos done for work and they came out very professional and the appointment only took about 20 minutes. Jeff makes you feel comfortable the whole time. I would recommend him highly.

Our family has used Jeff Kassebaum Photography over the past few years and have been constantly amazed at the quality of his work. He seems to do more than just take photographs; he creates a mood and a feeling of warmth that radiates from the pictures themselves. Best of all, he makes all of us look great and can always get the kids to smile! Thanks Jeff!

This guy did my senior photos for high school and he just did the worse job on my photos ever.
I looked really bad in the photos and he did the worse job with lighting and just positioning me around.
I have done photography for three years and I also worked in a photography studio and I could have taken a better photo of myself then he or his company.