I am a professional photographer myself, so photography was KEY for me in priorities for my wedding. It was the one piece that I was willing to make the investment in, because I understand the quality of the portraits that come with it. Choosing a wedding photographer based on price is a bad, bad idea. This day in your life is truly one of the most important. Having someone that is able to tell your story is great, but having someone who can tell your story in the most absurdly magical, eloquent and artistic way is freakin’ PHENOMENAL.

There truly are no words to describe how transporting Nirav’s work is. They are full of emotion – he has the ability to capture expression, emotion, stillness, joy, light, shadow, breath, heartbeat, laughter, tears, and love – all in one image. He is a master of light. The way he sees it, in combination with the subjects he captures, is the ultimate recipe in storytelling. I’ve never seen anything quite like his work.

He himself is a rockstar. Super down to earth, so easy to get along with! He has become part of our tribe. We love him. I’ve enjoyed working with him so much that I’m sad to see it end. I’m looking forward to being able to hire him in the future for an anniversary session, or whatever reason I can think of as an excuse for more.

People, he’s the real deal, and being recognized by major establishments such as VSCO, Instagram, Rangefinder Magazine and Forbes to name a few. Get him while you can before he’s even more in demand than he is now. You won’t regret it… not one bit.

Where to begin….
I had spent weeks researching for someone who was more than just a wedding photographer. I wanted a photographer who could capture depth and the genuine emotions piercing through each person photographed. I wanted the scenery to sing like a sweet song behind the complicated features of my husband and I. I wanted my wedding photos to be a work of art. I wanted the photos to say I love you, I needed them to tell our love story.

Nirav is one of the most talented photographers I had ever seen, we were determined to have this man photograph our wedding. He was the one, I actually based my wedding date on his availability. As a bride my wedding day took so much time to create, on the day of I was nervous and busy, I was on a true roller coaster of emotions and just like that, it was over in the blink of an eye. I couldn’t really go back and savor those moments in my mind, everything was a blur. it all happened so fast.

After the wedding our days went back to normal, it had already began feeling like a distant memory. One day while skimming through my mailbox an email popped up from Nirav; our photos were ready and he prepared a beautiful slide show with warm music to really re-live those moments. My husband and I sat together in bed and watched the clip, tears began flowing, we held each other tight, time traveling back to our wedding day. He surpassed our expectations, I honestly didn’t know it was possible to create something so beautiful. The small details I had forgotten about came back to life, each photo had a story that shined through his subtle and perfectly timed snaps.

Nirav is a gentle soul, an honest, kind person. His presence was warm and we felt so comfortable being ourselves while he did his job. His rates if you ask me are below what he should be charging haha. Nirav is on a spectacular path and I cannot wait to see where that journey takes him! If you’re so fortunate to have this talented young man photograph your wedding, you’re in great hands.

Nirav’s work shines in a sea of sameness among wedding photographers. If you’re tired of looking at the same poses and want something different for your wedding, hire Nirav. This man is a genius and a prince among men and we are so beyond lucky to have had him there for our wedding.

If you’re here you’ve probably already seen examples of his work so you know you like his style. What you want to know is if he’s kind. If he answers emails. Shows up on time. Doesn’t yell at guests for taking their own photos. Yes, yes, yes and no. But more than that, Nirav told our story.

Our wedding was easily the most wonderful day of my life. I think about it every day, just to catch a glimpse of that joy I felt. When we got our photos back from Nirav last week, it was like I smelled something I hadn’t smelled since my childhood. The library. My grandma’s soup. It hit me all like a flood and suddenly I was there again and I didn’t have to try so hard to remember or imagine.

From start to finish, Nirav captured the essence of our wedding. From the chairs before set up to his drive back across the Golden Gate Brides at night, I can now re-live my wedding day whenever I want (with the added bonus of feeling seriously beautiful in all the photos he took).

Nirav captured the moments I missed (my friends coming in and greeting each other before the ceremony started) and the ones I want to re-live over and over (giving our dog a scratch on our way up the aisle). Basically, Nirav has a gift and I am so grateful I got to experience a glimpse of it.

Stop looking for a photographer now. Hire him.

Nirav, you have a natural talent for capturing timing, movement, and light… but all that I knew before I hired you. When we met I realized that you also had a rare quality that makes all the difference – you have a way of making people comfortable around you very quickly, allowing for real reactions and therefore much more arresting images. What really struck me was how quickly you understood our personalities and how delicately you captured them in your photos. The slideshow you made for us proved your perceptive nature – not only did you organically illustrate the story of the day, but the addition of certain shots had us laughing out loud and saying “yep, that’s about right!” – you clearly saw us, not just a subject. The technical precision of your fine art practice combined with traditional wedding influences makes for an emotional bond, a long lasting romance with the image for all those who view – our guests have been as breathless as I have over our collection. We are so very grateful you made the decision to become a photographer – the world is all the more beautiful for it!

Summary of my rather long post: Find an excuse to work with Nirav. Seriously. You will not be disappointed.

If you want the longer version, keep reading….

So, just over a year and a half ago, my (now) husband and I got engaged and I knew right away that photography would be one of the most important elements of our wedding. Almost as soon as we got engaged, I began the hunt for the perfect photographer and we luckily stumbled across Nirav’s work. We were immediately enamored with it, how he is able to capture and perfect seemingly peaceful moments framed and executed in a way only a practiced fine art photographer can. We loved his ability to fall into the background and capture sweet and candid moments of his subjects. So mere weeks after we were engaged, we booked Nirav, and my husband and I are SO glad we did.

A few months before our wedding, we met Nirav for our engagement shoot and he immediately put us at ease – we had never had photos taken of us before so it took a little getting used to. By the end of the session, Nirav genuinely seemed like a friend we had known for far longer than a couple hours. Not to mention the pictures came out amazingly – they not only make us look good, but they also beautifully captured the scenery around us.

Fast forward to the day of our wedding. Nirav was patient, diligent, and knew exactly what he was doing. As you can imagine, weddings can be hectic and Nirav and the second shooter he brought with him that day (Amari) kept things running smoothly and did not add to the fray.

When we received our photos from the wedding, they were AMAZING. Truly, truly amazing. I literally teared up as I saw them for the first time. He was able to naturally and organically capture genuine moments between me and my husband, and of our families and guests. While we had several amazing vendors on the day of our wedding, Nirav was perhaps the best. We hope we can find another occasion to work with him in the future!

Damn. Working with Nirav was amazing. Some bullet points:

* He’s patient, kind, and fun to be around. Seemed unflappable, which seems difficult in the world of weddings, with a million personalities and ideas in the mix.

* I knew that photography would be important to me, but I hadn’t been prepared for just how much the moments Nirav and his awesome second shooter (Jeramie Shoda in Seattle) would mean to me. It’s like they were everywhere, but never underfoot or overwhelming. Looking back at my photos now brings me back in a way I hadn’t known was possible.

* The photos. Not only were all kinds of moments captured, but the photos are each little masterpieces. I don’t know much about the technical aspects, but they were warm, inviting, creative and beautiful. They were exactly what we hoped for.

* The package. Every single penny was worth it. Nirav really does a ton of work and he clearly puts time and thought into all of it. We have an amazing account of our engagement and wedding ceremonies, plus a post-wedding shoot.

Can’t say enough good things about he man, his work and the experience. Super satisfied. Thank you!

When you hire Nirav, you’re getting the full meal deal. Not only is he a great photographer, he is also one of our favorite human beings.

Nirav’s ability as a photographer has sky-rocketed him to the top of the wedding photography world. His proven talent is not only evident in his work but is also appreciated by his peers (he was recently named one of Rangefinder Magazine’s 30 Rising Stars of Wedding Photography). Accolades such as these are well deserved but what makes Nirav truly top-notch is that the quality of his personality matches his jaw-dropping photographs.

Nirav is open and kind and will immediately put you and your better half at ease. For our engagement session we spent an adventurous day exploring the coast followed by dinner, beer and good conversation. By our wedding day, Nirav already felt like an old friend.

Clicking through our photos brought back all the emotions of our wedding day and we know we will experience those feelings every time we see them. Nirav was a great fit and we’re so happy we found him. We wholeheartedly recommend him!

Phenomenal. My daughter and her fiancé scrutinized photographers for their wedding more than any other vendor. A passionate hobby photographer, she looked for someone who shared her aesthetic and crafted beautiful, unique, and interesting photos that could tell a visual story of relationships and personalities with light, shapes, color, movement, touches, and nearly imperceptible details more than just capture great shots or posed portraits. After being recommended by a friend, reviewing Nirav’s website, speaking to him on the phone, and then meeting with him, J & R were completely convinced that Nirav was the photographer for their wedding. My daughter was impressed that he communicated what he does and how he does it extremely well, discussing certain guidelines and expectations well ahead of time, and asking them great questions when they met together over a casual meal. J mentioned that Nirav was very personable and open, and shared about his background, life, and family. J & R walked away from their meeting feeling like they were the only couple in the world that mattered to Nirav, their wedding was the most important event of the century to him, AND that they had really made a friend.

I met him the first time when he and his assistant were performing their magic by taking photos of the girls prepping the morning of the wedding. He was warm, friendly, witty, kind, flexible, and purely enjoyable to be around. Someone in a previous review described him as a Ninja, and I concur. He and his assistant were part of the ambience of the wedding preparation and dressing (boys and girls), ceremony, games & cocktails, dinner, and reception. They seemed to be everywhere and capturing the most intimate, hilarious, touching, and incredible moments with the backdrop of an absolutely beautiful venue (Nestldown), but never in the way or prominent. Working with him was very easy – he knows his stuff, knew the venue, has a great eye, and is efficient. The posed shots took very little time because he was very clear in his direction and ultra organized. He worked incredibly well with our venue coordinator, caterers, and videographer.

The confirmation of his technical expertise, artistry, innate talent, and professionalism is in the resulting photos. He compiled a collection of his photos which he put to music commemorating the day (from beginning to end) that simply took our (collective) breath away. Every person who has seen it is awestruck and, in most cases, moved to tears – between unbridled belly laughs to intense tenderness. Along with this presentation are over a thousand photos posted on a web site to review. J & R are now reviewing layouts and selecting photos for an album Nirav is creating.

How Nirav is able to use every available element to tell the story of this couple’s lives and values and love and devotion and humor and joy and craziness and passions and friendships and families and sensibilities is mind-boggling. He GOT them. That’s really the best that can be said of a photographer. In the short time he had to get to know them and understand what they wanted, he nailed it unconditionally and resoundingly.

My daughter and her husband have now been able to see their entire wedding day, and especially the two of them, as their guests, family, and bridal party experienced, but with much greater depth, breadth, and intimacy. These photos, like Nirav, are precious treasures. I cannot recommend Nirav more highly with absolutely NO reservation, and I want him to be part of our family. He just makes you feel that way.

Nirav photographed our wedding and we honestly can’t say enough good things about our experience with him and his photography …but by golly, we shall try! Because he deserves some serious kudos.

We searched the internet high and low to find a photographer for our wedding and came across Nirav’s work. We were beyond impressed with his unique shots, brilliant use of light, and uncanny ability to tell a story through his photos. Nirav captures the big moments of course, but most impressively he has a knack for catching the subtle, unexpected moments, which is where the real magic lies. You can tell he truly puts his heart into each wedding he photographs, and needless to say, this and much more translated to our experience.

Nirav was professional and extremely giving of his time. He was with us the entire day of our wedding and also agreed to meet us at our venue prior to our big day to scope out the place, not something every photographer will do. And as an awesome bonus, he was a joy and a half to be around. As many of his yelpers have testified, Nirav became an instant friend – he immediately puts you at ease with his warm personality, fun sense of humor, and personable nature. We can wholeheartedly say that his presence enhanced our day in a way we’d never imagine.

On to the photos. Only a couple of weeks after our wedding, Nirav sent us a slideshow that included his favorite images from our day perfectly synched to a beautiful selection of music. My husband and I pushed play, and we’re instantly transported back to our wedding day, emotions and all. We laughed, cried, oohed and awed as we viewed each image. As my husband put it, Nirav “put us up in the clouds” with his creation. Or as I put it, I wanted to hoist him up on our shoulders and parade him around town – strange thing to say for sure but I think it says it all 🙂 Nirav sent us the rest of our photos shortly after and we we’re excited to find countless other gems that we will love forever.

The moral of this yelp review is that Nirav is a phenomenal photographer with talent oozing out of his ears. His take on wedding photography is unique and refreshing; he’ll leave you with absolutely breathtaking images. Pair that with his wonderful spirit, not to mention fabulous taste in music, and well folks… you’ve got yourself a real winner. Nirav, we can’t thank you enough for documenting our day! Lots of love.

Over the past 10 years I’ve adopted the philosophy of the Mayan people, succumbing to belief that cameras steal your soul, and in my case, your ability to look attractive on film.

In many a group photo you’ll see the edge of my sleeve, hidden behind the tallest person. In solo portraits, you’ll often glimpse a closeup of my hand, or an object successfully obscuring my face.

In other words, I’m not a photogenic person and therefore not a fan of having my picture taken. Candid shots of me always feature 12 chins, giant protruding teeth, a hook nose and devilish red eyes. So when it was time to chose a photographer for my upcoming wedding, I had to find someone who made people look exceptionally pretty, no matter if they’re not that pretty in the first place.

That person is Nirav. Although our wedding isn’t until Summer 2011, we spent time with Nirav taking engagement shots, which ended up being absolutely breathtaking. Details, emotion and color are all featured in his intimate, photo-journalistic style. He’s inventive and fun and most importantly, he makes you feel at ease.

His first request when he started shooting us was for us to be “natural and in love.” Well our natural in love pose usually looks like two people in sweatpants sitting on the animal-fur covered couch eating burritos. He then asked us “how comfortable are you having your picture taken?” To which we replied “not at all.”

Nirav tries to make you feel relaxed and doesn’t put you in ridiculous, cheesy poses, but rather, tries to capture you at your most natural moments.

We’re incredible happy with our engagement photos and can’t wait to spend our wedding day with Nirav, as his presence is akin to an old buddy (an old buddy following you around with a camera, but a buddy nonetheless).

Amazing guy with an amazing talent and amazing spirit. Oh and an amazing ability to not take a photo at the moment I have 12 chins. Thanks for that, man.

Sitting to write this review is a joyful challenge. I have been at a loss at how to fully capture our experience with Nirav through the course of our wedding planning. The emotion is so present, that my eyes become teary as I reflect on our experience. But there is also lightness as I think about the hilarious fun moments that we shared with Nirav and those amazing moments that he captured.

There was a moment during our cultural engagement ceremony when my husband’s almost three year old nephew was lazily strolling past us in the ceremony tent. My mother, who was sitting close to me, reached out to his exposed tummy and gave him a little pinch. He immediately exhorted her with a “stop it” and kept on his way to gaze at the object of his affection, a young family friend. We of course were laughing at his swagger and wit. It was a moment that I repeated many times to friends and a memory that stands out. Well I was gobsmacked GOBSMACKED that the entire interaction had been captured in the photos. I couldn’t even believe it. This moment that maybe was all of 5 seconds was immortalized. And that is what is so amazing about Nirav. There are layers to his photos. Each viewing is a different experience… noticing the Hollywood sign fuzzily in the background…seeing an interaction between friends that I hadn’t previously noticed…seeing a picture of an outside wall of my mom’s house that is a quiet reflection of our immigrant family’s American dream. Nirav’s photos tell the stories of your wedding, but his gift is his ability to capture the narrative about everything else- friendships, relationships, pride, achievement, resilience. Those are all of the things that I see and feel when I look at photos of our wedding weekend. Upon viewing the photos for the first time, my mom just kept on saying, wow…wow…wow. She was in awe, she was speechless and she said something that resonated so deeply for me I had to write it down. Of the photos she said, “the ‘silence’ is penetrating…I don’t know what to say, I just have to let the emotion wash over me.” Nirav’s photos are powerful; powerful in their depth, playfulness, richness. To me the power of the photos are not that I have an exact retelling of everything that happened, but that I have an experience that I can continue to build in my thoughts, imagination.

When I first spoke with Nirav, I was struck by the similarity in our family stories/trajectories. I immediately was so happy for this person that I had never met; that he had the incredible courage and support to choose the path that was truly his purpose. Nirav is present, he is truthful, he is generous, and there’s a calm that literally lives in his photos. Nirav and Jeramie were such a joy to be around. Our friends raved about them. They understood what we hoped our wedding weekend to be and they made it possible. We are forever indebted to Nirav; he truly honors the ritual of weddings.

when you meet nirav you will undoubtedly be instantly at ease. funny and humble. kind and silly. he truly is the epitome of a good soul. you may even forget to be nervous about someone pointing a huge camera at you (maybe?).

you’ll love your time together and you’ll go home and you’ll feel great. you’ll know that he has it covered, that he is good at what he does. and he is . . . so.darn.good.

but then you’ll get your film back.

and you’ll realize that there was a point when you didn’t know you were booking him. that you were reading through reviews and something about him or his work or his connection to his clients stuck out to you. and you were smart enough to take the chance.

because you will look amazing. and all that gushy lovey mess that you feel about that person you are marrying? it will show through. but in a cool, non lame way. it’s your life, in art. that’s flipping cool.

people, you have a very rare chance. the chance to get in on something incredible before the entire world knows. seriously. nirav is a talent not to be taken for granted. he should be unbookable and unaffordable. it’s only a matter of time.

so when you get your film back, remember this moment. you totally made the right decision and you look awesome.

I can’t recommend Nirav highly enough.

Photography was a huge choice for my wife and I, as we love photography and wanted a set of really special memories to be left with us after our wedding day.

Nirav is an artist and a genius. The photography he’s taken has blown our expectations out of the water! There’s two things he’s done brilliantly in our mind:

1) The content. Those who were there are instantly taken back, and those who weren’t there feel like they were. He’s captured every kind of shot we wanted. From the standard shots that we needed, to the extraordinary artistic shots that we wanted. He seemed to be everywhere all at once, without us even noticing him. There’s nothing we’re missing. The subtle things that we didn’t notice on our day, Nirav did. It’s like looking through each part of our wedding through the eyes of a guest. A guest with an eye for really nice things.

2) The execution. Each photo is a work of art. Each photo looks like a composition. Each photo is natural. Each photo is different and yet the same. There’s a consistent mood that he managed to capture, which was the mood of our day! I don’t know how he did it, but our friend’s ideas of how good wedding photos can be have dramatically changed. They are beautiful and they are ours. I don’t know how Nirav has managed to capture it in the way he has.

Lastly, Nirav is our friend. He is a wonderful human, a true gentleman, and a humble genius. We will stay in touch with him for a long time. He was worth every penny we spent and my wife and I couldn’t recommend him highly enough.

Nirav was actually a surprise gift. Jonas Peterson brought him along to our wedding back in 2011 as a second shooter. Nirav quickly became very dear and important to us. He became part of the love that surrounded us that day and today. The incredible images he took revealed a lot about him – dynamic, patient, creative and mindful. It was hard to say goodbye after the wedding as he felt more like an old, dear friend than a brand new one.

The next year my husband and I found ourselves pushing through a very painful time and we knew we needed some love, support and positive energy around us. Nirav made time in his busy schedule to visit us between two East Coast weddings and brought his wonderful photographer pal Amari. They did a beautiful couples shoot with us, spent time with us and gave us the strength we needed.

You know when you meet someone in life who radiates warmth and love? That’s how Nirav feels to be around. He is adored by his friends, family, and clients because he cares about people and he cares about his work. You would be blessed to have him be a part of your special day.

The one thing i didn’t realize is that after the wedding (while you are totally STOKED the wedding planning is over) you’re completely heartbroken that the wedding is…over! you spend so much time, thought and effort for what feels like a million years making this one day amazing – and it is, i promise – but then afterward it’s like, wait, COME BACK!

our wedding day was the happiest day of my life. bar none. i would live it over and again a million times. which won’t ever happen. that’s where nirav and his gift come in. there is only one way you will ever get to live those once in a lifetime moments of pure, total and complete bliss: through nirav’s photographs. nirav’s photographs are unlike any other you’ve ever seen and i doubt i’ll ever see others that will compare. everytime i see them, every. single. time. they break my heart because i remember those emotions of love, excitement, the thrill of living my wedding day. nirav captures the most intimate moments of the most intimate day of your life, yet you never even see him! he really is like a ninja – in fact, i found myself missing him! but he captured every part of the day and all the little parts you hadn’t even considered. those are the most beautiful.

if i had to give up every other component of my wedding day for nirav – i would do it in a heartbeat. the moments he captured are absolutely the most valuable “things” i own. to top off everything, nirav has become a true friend. when you share something this incredible with someone like nirav, who opens himself up to the whole world and all it has to offer, you can’t help but keep him as a friend forever. he is utterly an amazing human, the most talented photographer and i would get married all over again just so he could photograph it 🙂

As a designer with a fine art background, I knew that finding an exceptional photographer would be a challenge to fulfill what i envisioned for my wedding photos. Nirav exceeded all expectations and he truly went above and beyond to deliver breathtaking photos that i will forever cherish for life. Nirav is a true professional, an expert at his craft and has a demeanor that is comfortable-soothing. I couldn’t recommend Nirav any higher for the most important moments in your life. Not only do I get to take a piece of history with me for years to come, I also gained a friend for life.

Even before we had a venue and date set for our wedding, we reached out to Nirav because having him shoot our wedding would be a dream come true. One of our favorite parts of the wedding was getting to interact with Nirav throughout the whole day–he is every bit as kind as he is talented! Thank you, Nirav, for capturing such beautiful moments for us that still brings us to joyful tears every time we look at them.

When we set our wedding date, priority number one was booking our venue and very close behind that was finding our photographer. My husband is a wedding photographer and a friend from the industry said we should check out Nirav’s work. We fell hard as soon as we looked through his galleries. Both of us immediately loved how he worked with light and seemed to see everyone from a unique perspective.

We were never able to do an engagement session because we were planning a Sonoma wedding from Boston so 1 skype session, 1 phone call, and a few emails was the entirety of our interaction before our wedding. Luckily, Nirav is incredibly laid back and easy to be around, he felt like a friend from the moment he joined us the morning of the wedding at the maid of honor’s house.

Our wedding day was seriously more special than I could have ever imagined and it went by in a flash. Looking back over the next few weeks I started to wish that we’d hired a videographer because I didn’t want to lose all those little moments. And then our pictures from Nirav came. I truly think that his pictures hold more emotion than any video recording could. Watching the slideshow that he sent us of our “highlights” really brought us both back to the day. Every picture had us reliving the parts of the day we’d shared, telling stories about our separate moments that day, or seeing parts of the wedding that we hadn’t been present for.

I think every review has said this in some way, but to reiterate it, Nirav is a truly gifted storyteller and there is absolutely no one else who could have told our story more beautifully. We are so lucky to have had Nirav document our day.