Paul Barnett Photography

Paul was incredibly fun to work with and captured perfectly all the love and joy that made our wedding day so special. He has an incredible talent for making everyone in the photo laugh just enough so they relax and look natural in the photos. We kept saying he was like a ninja because he would sneak around and somehow end up getting the most amazing shots without you even realizing he was there. He also did an incredible engagement shoot with us before the wedding so we knew we were getting the best for the big day.

Our wedding happened to fall on the day in July that San Diego experience the craziest storm ever, and Paul didn’t let it stop him from capturing epic moments, he is beyond incredible! From the moment you meet him, his energy and passion for what he does is contagious. I have to admit I am not a fan on being photographed but Paul made me feel so comfortable I was ready for my closeup all day/​night long. If you want someone who knows how to capture those life moments where time seems to stand still, Paul Barnett is the only choice!

After getting great reviews from friends who’d hired Paul for their weddings, we decided to also hire Paul for ours. He is so easy going and made our day flow with ease. We felt so comfortable with him and his sense of humor made us enjoy the photo sessions even more. Our pictures are amazing– both engagement and wedding pics! On our actual wedding day, Dean and him were spot on, photographing our huge wedding party of 400+ and capturing all the right «picture perfect» moments. My family loved working with him that my sister also hired him for her upcoming wedding. If you want unforgettable photographs of your special day, go with Paul!

Paul was absolutely amazing to work with. He has a great eye for photography and made the entire wedding a complete breeze. He was funny yet professional and our bridal party could not say enough positive things about him! We were so impressed with the photos he took and he provided them to us within the month! As a bride i felt so confident knowing Paul was there to capture all the special moments and he was truly a great addition to our team of people helping to pull off the wedding! Would definitely recommend him for anyone looking for 5 star quality!

Paul just shot my daughter’s wedding in LA at MountainGate Country Club, and it was so much fun! He is really a master at getting people to relax, laugh, and be themselves. He disappears into the background, but stays up front enough to get amazing shots.
When Paul was shooting the bridal party getting ready, he scooped my grandniece out of her stroller and did shots of her too! How fun was that?
Go with Paul and you will not regret it. He just shot a family friend’s daughter’s wedding last year, and the pics were perfect.
Thanks, Paul and John!

We hired Paul for our wedding in January and couldn’t be happier! He not only did an amazing job with the pictures, he was so much fun to work with! It can be pretty easy for me to get uptight when having my photo taken constantly but he made the process so much fun! We had such an amazing day! Can’t wait to continue using Paul for baby photos when we have our first this October. Can’t go wrong with Paul!

After amazing reviews from family and friends, my fiancé and I hired Paul for our wedding this upcoming August. We had our engagement shoot a few months ago. The photos and memories from that day were priceless. Paul was such a joy to work with. I know he will add an element of fun to our wedding day and leave us with photos we will share with our family forever. I highly recommend Paul to anyone who wants to capture true happiness in moments and not the typical «prom photos»

There really is none better, period. In my opinion, Paul is one of the world’s greatest portrait and wedding photographers. I’ve hired him to do my family’s portraits several times and his photographic artistry was featured on my last two albums. He’s a really great guy to boot.

Hands down Paul is the best photographer ever! I met him several years ago when I was in my friend’s wedding at the Hotel Del, I later referred him to my sister who got married 3 years ago at the Grand Del Mar, and just earlier this month I had the pleasure of having him shoot my wedding. All of the pictures are amazing, I’m so glad I went with him. It is totaly worth the money since the pictures are what you will keep forever. He is currently working on our photo album and I couldn’t be happier with his work!

Just got our wedding pictures back from Paul and loved them. He did an amazing job capturing important moments of our wedding day. He’s not exactly cheap, but you really get what you pay for with a wedding photographer. Before booking Paul, I looked at our friends’ wedding pictures, as well as the pictures of photographers recommended by one of our friends in the industry, (most of whom were in the $ 2000-​range) and none of them were as good as Paul’s. Fiancé was somewhat reluctant to spend the kind of money that Paul charges, but even he is really glad that we went with Paul. Even in comparing the «standard» wedding pictures (for example, the one of the wedding shoes in front of the wedding dress), Paul’s pictures are just better. Given that your pictures will be one of the one tangible things left from the day, it’s really worth the investment to have a good photographer. Added bonus is that Paul is funny/​quirky, which I liked.
Will definitely be coming back to Paul for family portraits, Christmas pictures, etc.

There’s no doubt that he is the best in San Diego. After our wedding 2 friends have since used him and loved the result.
We interviewed quite a few but he captures moments so well. He’s definitely worth splurging on as the ‘memories last a lifetime.’ He’s really fun to work with as well.

My wife and I were referred to Paul by our wedding coordinator. We were told that he was a true master. We couldn’t agree more! Paul and his assistant, Dean did our wedding about 2 months ago. We are in the process of picking out photos to include in our album. Like a fellow, reviewer, we are having difficulty choosing! One thing for sure is we won’t have a redundant photo album with the amazing pictures that were taken.
The way Paul interacts with his subjects is what sets him apart. I have been part of wedding parties before, and the photographer would make you” fake” poses. Like they would say, «pretend you are laughing and talking». They would be more directors. The pictures looked so generic.
Paul on the other hand, would make us all relax and be natural. If he noticed I was getting stiff, he would remind me to take a deep breath. Then he would tease my sister (a bridesmaid) with close up shots causing the whole group to laugh. His assistant would then capture an amazing shot! Our family and friends were also impressed with Paul’s personality and the results of his shots.
Paul and his studio also have amazing customer service. They work quick and efficiently. Our pictures were downloaded online as soon as we came back from our honeymoon. We used them for our Thank You cards. Paul also takes children’s photos so he relies on return business of his wedding clients. We definitely recommend Paul Barnett.

This man is an artist. I have seen his work and he is the Michelangelo of photography. Too bad he has moved out of Kensington. I think he is now in Hillcrest. The landlords needed to get more money so they negotiated him out and are bringing a pizza place into the spot. I am sure that they cannot take pictures like Paul. Find him and enlist his services.

PAUL IS AMAZING!!! He is worth every penny! You don’t remember the flowers, the food, the people, the ambiance, the details, its a blur. But Paul and his camera capture all the moments you expect him to get and the ones you don’t and you will treasure that forever! All that while not even noticing he is there! As a bride Paul made me feel worthy and I loved it. He even did a great job of managing my mother — what a job lol! And made my groom feel super comfortable. Paul has shot my growing belly and my growing children several times since then. We have worked with Paul since 2000 — through 2011. No one can capture a kid’s personality in one shot like Paul can! Hands down — he is the way to go. Get him and a kick ass band and forget about spending $ on flowers etc. Rok it!

Paul is simply an amazing photographer. He did our wedding over the summer and it was unbelievable. The day of the wedding Paul’s personality helped pull some amazing shots out of even the most finicky subjects. He always kept us laughing and having fun. The pictures were never a chore we had to do, but rather a fun opportunity to hang out with Paul.
I remember when we met Paul the thing that stood out for us what how every picture had a story. So many pictures that you see are flat or cookie cutter or boring. Even the beautiful shots often times are simple and pretty. Not Paul’s. Paul’s pictures show a story that leaves you mesmerized, trying to imagine what was happening in the subjects’ minds when that shot was taken. I’m not an artist in any way, but I feel like his pictures have depth that pull you in.
Right now we’re trying to select the pictures for our wedding album. Paul gave us over 600 and asked us to choose 80 or 90 we like. It’s virtually impossible. We probably have 500 we love.

Paul is amazing!!! We just received our wedding photos and they are incredible. He captured our wedding to the T. We have had the pleasure of working with Paul in the past for a few family events and he amazes us everytime. He is able to capture everyones true expressions with candid shots and makes everyone comfortable. We are so excited to use Paul in the future for all of our family photos.

We found Paul Barnett by accident, since he was a neighbor of a close friend. Afterwards, we discovered he was the most recommended (top of the list) wedding photographer at The Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego!
He spent an hour with me at his studio, showing his work and just getting to know me. He is such a personable guy that you know he’s going to be great to work with — even though he is a world-​class photographer. He is not inexpensive — but worth every penny for the moments he captures.
Although he has done many high-​end weddings, he made us feel special at our very casual beach wedding (everyone wore Luau shirts and jeans). Do yourself a favor and make this part of your wedding a high priority. You will want his photography skills to capture these very important memories.

Paul is a world-​class photographer. My husband and I live in San Francisco and had our wedding in San Diego. Paul bent over backwards to visit San Francisco so that we could have our engagement photos in our home city. This engagement photo session gave me all the faith, trust, and confidence that Paul was going to do an amazing job capturing our wedding and we could not be happier with the results.
Paul has a talent at capturing people’s true self in photographs. Some how Paul managed to photograph every guest at my wedding without being visible – it was like he wasn’t there!
I was quite overwhelmed the morning of my wedding and Paul, with his calming yet energetic presence made my morning so much better. My husband hates getting photographs, but he was so happy to be working with Paul (minus that one time he made us run across the lawn :). One of my favorite memories of the wedding day was when Paul pulled Patrick and me out of the cocktail reception to take a few shots. This was the first time of the day that we got to soak it in that we were married – it was like he sensed that we needed that time together. He is such a pro!
We could not be happier with the investment we made with Paul doing our photos and we look forward to working with him the future.

Paul’s work speaks for itself! The photos in my profile are from our engagement session with him last week. My fiancé and I are both not photogenic and neither of us like the camera. However, when working with Paul, even in the studio, he made us feel totally comfortable. Doing a session with him was more like chatting with an old friend than posing for some studio photographer, the shoot was full of laughs and great conversation. Before we knew it the session was over and he had never even asked us to pose! He simply put us in different parts of the room and started talking!
As we left he told us that he would have the proofs in the mail within the week for our approval. Sure enough we had the proofs in the mail within the week and we were delightfully surprised with the turn-​around and the turn-​out.
Bottom line: having Paul as our photographer is proving to be one of our best wedding decisions!
More photos to come!

Paul is hands down a very talented and awesome photographer. «traditional» he is not. 13 yrs ago I had Paul take my wedding pictures and since then he has taken our family portrait. His work is just awesome. He does a lot in B/​W and spontanious candid shots.
He is great to work with, easy going, and so nice. I highly recommend him, but I will say he skews towards the pricer side.