colleen rosenthal photography

I am not the best with words, and when it comes to Colleen Rosenthal I'm at a total loss. She has to be one of the most genuine and caring human beings I have ever met. Not to mention her talent with her camera. She knew exactly what to do to get the most amazing shots I have seen. You can actually see the emotion that we were feeling jump off the print. I wish there was a way to express my gratitude for everything she has done for me and my family!!!

When you book Colleen Rosenthal, you are not just booking a photographer; you are booking a world-class artist with the vision of a master and the down-to-earth attitude of a family friend. Colleen’s love for her work shows through not only in the end product, but you can feel it during every moment that she works with you. She genuinely wants to showcase the beauty, charm, and timelessness of your wedding as much as (or even more than) you do. She not only captures the classic shots in an amazing way, her gift is her uncanny ability to capture those wonderful and memorable moments that happen spontaneously. Colleen is truly in tune with her art. Her photographs are like a magic time machine that takes you back to the moment, and fills you with the irreplaceable emotions that you felt then, and can now feel over and over again.

Hello :)My wife Shawna and I were married this last November 2010 at the Ritz Carleton in Marina Del Rey, CA. We had a perfect magical day, and Colleen played such a pivital role, I cannot begin to express how thankful and fortunate we were to have had her with us that day, but hopefully this note can assist you similarly:COLLEEN AND HER WORK, WERE WITHOUT A DOUBT THE HIGHLIGHT (save my wife) OF OUR PERFECT DAY. In retrospect Colleen was the one thing we could not have done without. She was the one item we couldn't afford to make a compromise on. She was that special. As good as I had heard and hoped, nothing could have prepared me for the positive impact Colleen had, and continues to have every day since in the way she captured that perfect day for us. I cannot possibly put into words the full impact, but having just gone through the process ur going through and having a little hindsight, I will give it my best shot in hopes that your wedding has every success and joy that ours did. First things first: THE PICTURES: I don't photograph well, never have...of the many hundreds of pictures my wife and I loved EVERY single one. What's more, generally you have to pick and choose which pics you want to share and which ones you don't...there wasn't a single bad picture among them and, throwing caution to the wind, we opened up the entire album to everyone. TO A PERSON, I havent heard anything besides 'that is one of our most favorite pics ever..." In wondering what to get family, bridesmaids, groomsman, etc as a thank you, so far its been one of colleen's pictures blown up and framed and everyone has loved it. She captured EVERY moment we remembered, and showed us the ones we missed. I will never forget my mother-in-law casually asking Colleen at the end of the 5 hour reception if she had seen the monarch butterfly that landed above us during the ceremony and Colleen w/o hesitation answered 'wait till you see the print of it". So regarding the finished product, I have nothing but the highest praise. Along that line, there was one thing I did not love initially but will include so u can make a more informed decision:Colleen warned us ahead she liked to touch up every single picture before sending them and it would take 5 weeks from the day as she was booked for so many event and insisted on doing them all personally. When I saw the results I understood just how much attention was paid to each picture and why she is as busy as she is. This was the greatest day of our lifes and Colleen treated each and every print with the love and respect I would only expect from me or my wife. I promise you from spending 8 hours with her, she loves what she does, truly deeply and passionately and she imparts such wisdom and love into her work. So that's our review of the finished prints. Now to our second (and last) review, which for us was even more important than the finished product and that was the flow of the moment and people management which invariably any photographer will have to undertake...I cannot emphasize how important that was to our wedding, and something i had not thought of before. Colleen's bedside manner is unparalleled. Simply, in that regard she was the single most important asset to our wedding. Our guests (all 175, from beverly hills, pacific palisades, santa monica, potentially hard-to-pleasers) LOVED Colleen. Most people don't like being told when to smile, how to smile, where to stand, and ur in suits, uncomfortable clothes and you just want to enjoy the moment, eat, drink etc. Colleen keeps people moving, she has an agenda and she knows what she's doing, but she helps every single person (young, old, grumpy and even drunk) to get where they need to go, to get the shot, on time, and to do it with a beaming smile. Colleen made everyone feel SO GOOD ABOUT THEMSELVES and I'm quite sure that had a lot to do wiith why her pictures turned out so well. We had a few relatives hell bent on making a scene or a protest or to take the moment away from my wife and quite simply Colleen would NOT ALLOW it. My wife and I never saw or heard about anything like that till after Colleen had handled it discreetly and professionaly and what's more those same relatives all complimented Colleen profusely at the end of the night and in notes to us later. Colleen listened to us before about what was important to us and familiarized us with how she operates. Again she loaned her expertise to us in helping us discover how to best articulate the moments we wanted to capture, and in addition she gave us her full attention and listened to exactly what we wanted, even when a few of our requests were a bit untraditional. I have never discussed the financials of our wedding, but for the sake of this review I will in hopes that it may properly help you to relate to what I hope is a spectacularly over the top review of her services. Our budget was around $50,000 and money was a HUGE concern for us, like with any wedding. Additionally, our budget got cut a few times during the process, and I'm so glad Colleens reputation proceeded her, and that she made herself so accessible, helping us make some tough decisions. So there it is. I'm not terribly inclined to write reviews or recommendations, but as our day turned out so perfectly and its so easy to identify the single greatest outside influence, I'm writing this review. Her prices were very comparable to the dozen or so other phtotgraphers that were recommended to us, but again, having spent the money we did, I'm so grateful that Colleen was there to capture it all and maximize every penny that was spent. She made the day with her talent, her passion and her charm, and her finished work was simply brilliant. If Colleen feels like someone who could work for your event, I hope this review helps to paint a better picture of the effect and importance she had for us. Colleen is a perfect ten across the board and I cannot recommend her more highly. Good luck, and Congratulation! - Caleb and Shawna

We had a very small wedding (just the 2 of us on a beach!). Colleen made us feel very comfortable and at ease. Her photographs were beautiful and at a very reasonable cost. I would highly recommend her!

I googled photographers in San Luis Obispo and came up with 5 or 6. The first group were nice, fairly standard wedding type photos. Colleen was last and the photos were at a different level altogether. True artistry. We are extremely pleased with the results. She took the pictures we all want and for the last hour disappeared. She was there of course, getting great candids. Colleen is a class act.

Not only were the pictures artiistic and beautiful, she captured the energy of the wedding. The best part was how comfortable she made my groom and I feel... I'm usually pretty awkward in front of a camera.

Colleen was absolutely the best thing that we did for our wedding. We had a destination wedding in wine country and not familiar with the area at all. Colleen gave me advice for all of the details and even made calls to find me a florist!!!! The pictures are stunning and she captured all of the best moments. She was not intrusive and many times I didn't even know she was around taking pictures. Such a blessing to have found her!

Colleen has an amazing eye for capturing the true emotion in a photo. She excels at candid shots and gets great posed shots as well. She knows how to tell a story with her photos and helps you relive your day every time you look at them. Somehow she gets a picture of absolutely everything and you don't even know she is there. Simply the best!

Colleen was great to work with.... she really loves what she does and makes the whole process fun and painless!.. and her photographs are INCREDIBLE!!!! A very lovely person and very lovely person (who is great at photoshopping!! ;) Highly recommend her!

Colleen is AMAZING!!! If you have the opportunity to use her for your photography, do it. We have the most beautiful wedding photos. She is a pleasure to work with and has an amazing artistic eye.

Colleen took the most amazing pictures for both our engagement and our wedding day. She was not only an amazing photographer but a great help at planning so our pictures came out perfect. Both she and her staff our great at getting your questions answered. She took the best photos without us even noticing she was there. We couldn't love our pictures more.

Colleen is an amazing photographer! She was an absolutely delightful part of our wedding. She wasn't just a photographer, but a wonderful guest who made us laugh and enjoy the day. People are still asking me about our photographer even though they haven't seen our photos and it's been nearly four months since the wedding. Once they've seen the pictures, the praises begin again. The hardest task I've faced has been choosing which photos will go in our book because I love all of the hundreds of photos Colleen took. Colleen has a remarkable talent for capturing the moments of the day, and her photos help me relive the most wonderful day of my life over and over again!

Colleen is absolutely fantastic. There are many photographers that are talented, but Colleen definitely has a gift. Her photographs are artistic yet classic. She has a great personality and works well with the bridal party and families. She brought a positive and upbeat vibe that was infectious. She was also very professional and was careful not to get in the way, as many photographers do. I would recommend Colleen to anyone.

Colleen was the perfect photographer for our wedding. We wanted an informal intimate wedding. The morning began with a hike to the top of a mountain, a wedding, an incredible vista of the Pacific Ocean as the fog parted and a tromp back down. At first we were disappointed that the sun was hiding behind some fog, but after seeing the pictures Colleen was absolutely right. The folliage looked like ethereal layers of a torte. She captured precious true moments between all of us, and took charge corraling us when we needed a group shot. She accomodated our budget and schedule and was willing to hike a mountain with us. We couldn't be more pleased.

Colleen Rosenthal captured so many beautiful moments from our wedding! She has a unique artistic eye that no other photographer can match. After researching different photographers and looking on photos online, her albums of photos were not boring posed pictures, but they depicted the emotion and expression of love in a natural way. Colleen's personality only adds to her incredible ability in photography. Her energetic and positive attitude made the day stress-free and fun! She easily communicated with the family members, and her laid back personality and laugh made everyone enjoy the experience. Colleen is very generous with her time and even came a little before the designated time, and stayed longer afterward! Our family felt very blessed to have her be a part of our day. Thank you Colleen for your artistic skills and simply for who you are. Our wedding album and digital files are a keepsake and a reminder of the vows we shared on that day.

Colleen is an extremely tallented photgrapher and really brought our wedding to life through her pictures! It is important to invest well in photgraphy because the pictures you have after the wedding are your best memories. Colleens pictures captured not only the way the wedding looked, but also the emotions of everyone on the special day. She was a pleasure to work with, kind, encouraging, and calm (very important!!). I would recommend her to anyone!

Colleen was very willing to adjust to our intimate Big Sur wedding and made us feel like we were planning the most perfect wedding and that she truly desired to be a part of it. She helped put us all at ease and took the exact style of photos we desired, unobtrusively. We now have the most beautiful, candid, and natural photo journal of our wedding that we could have ever wanted.I would give her our highest recommendation and would be willing to speak with anyone considering her expertise.Thank you Colleen!

My husband and I were looking on the central coast to elope in March 2009. I found everything I needed mostly by online searchs. I confirmed my decisions by checking with the lodge where we stayed letting me know whom I had chosen. I went with my gutt, look & feel of the website and the name. We met Colleen for the first time when I opened our hotel room door. There was a smiling woman just bursting of joy and a camera around her neck. I was partially dressed & my fiance was starting to change. She started snapping immediately. We had the most joyess day with Colleen and the other professionals. The minister, videographer, and Colleen all knew each other and worked very very well with each other. it was like 'old home week'. There were times when we had forgotten that we were even being photographed. We felt so at ease with Colleen. I had dreamed of sunset and beach pictures for our wedding, and she knew exactly what I meant. Since our elopement, I have thought about going back to the central coast for an anniversary in the future and contacting Colleen for another photo opprotunity. We have more photos than we could have possibly imagined. But we love absolutely everyone of them. This was exactly what I was looking for. Colleen, was exactly who I was looking for. From the moment that I heard the music on her website, to the candid snapshots of people enjoying themselves, I knew that she was the one for us. She matched exactly what I wanted our photographs to capture, our joy, happiness, and love for eeryone to see for years and years to come. I would highly recommend her to anyone! Glenn & Kara Gwaltney.

I love her....Colleen blew me away..I had my family and friends calling after my wedding this past December and telling me how amazing she was. She had a blast at the wedding and captured everything so beautifully....Colleen actually took our engagement photographs earlier in the year and we were so impressed with her...I am really going to miss her after this wedding! All you need to do is look at the types of pictures she captures and you will see...she is the only choice..no brainer. She made my family, friends and bridesmaids so comfortable the day of the wedding..it was incredible. We really felt like she was part of the celebration. Best-in-class.... Sincerely, Cori

Colleen of Colleen Rosenthal Photograhy did a fantastic job! She captured the joy and beauty of the day! She was very helpful and patient. Her creativity and talent were very much appreciated!