Douglas Despres
Helios Images | San Francisco Wedding Photographer
Expertly Capturing Memorable Moments Around the Globe for 19 Years
Doug is an award-winning photographer based out of San Francisco Bay and offers coverage for tiny weddings and elopements. His style is documentary with drops of lifestyle. He is known for his peaceful and positive demeanor, and ability to easily connect with family and guests. Doug has shot nearly 600 wedding events since 2002 from San Francisco to Seoul and Big Sur to Bangkok. Seen as an extension of the family, he gets in close and comfortable, being quickly accepted and forgotten while framing the perfect shot at the height of the moment. Departing a bit from his days as a photojournalist, Doug prefers to photograph from 'inside the circle' instead of out... often ending up as a longtime family photographer and friend. Published in leading blogs such as NPR, Brides, Style Me Pretty, Snippet, Ink, and Le Magnifique, his images are treasured by the professional community. Doug is listed as one of the top 30 photographers in the world by the Wedding Photojournalist Association and is a preferred talent on premiere venue and coordinator lists along the California coast.
"Douglas' exceptional talent for candidly capturing wedding moments shines through in every image. His background in photojournalism gives a unique perspective to the rawness of a wedding and brings out the quirky and humorous aspects. The images in his WPJA gallery offer a genuine glimpse into the pure emotions and unscripted moments of a couple's special day." -WPJA
8 Awards for Documentary Wedding Photography
1 TOP Wedding Photographer Titles
The WPJA proudly recognizes Douglas Despres as a TOP International Wedding Photographer. Members holding the most contest points at the end of each year are ranked as TOP Wedding Photographers or, in some cases POY - Photographer of the Year.
9 Client Letters
The following letters are from the clients of Douglas Despres.
Married: 7 years ago
Kerrie and Maureen
Hi Douglas, Thank you so much for everything. I have to say you surpassed all our expectations! The pictures are absolutely amazing! We love so many of them.
Married: 7 years ago
Katherine and Richard
Hi Doug, We cannot thank you enough for all of our wonderful pictures. It has been such a joy this week to go through each and every one. It feels as if we are there once more and reliving our happiest day. They are more beautiful than we could have ever imagined and full of all the love, tenderness, and joy that filled that day. Again thank you so much and we can't wait for the next special occasion to work with you. Warmest regards, Richard and Katherine
Married: 8 years ago
Kiley & Josh
Dear Doug, Thank you so much for sending these images, and for the images themselves which are outstanding. We love so many of them, the hard part is going to be selecting the ones that go in the album! We'll have more time to look and select over the weekend, so we'll probably write to you then or early next week. Again, many thanks for your work -- we are very impressed :) Best, Josh & Kiley
Married: 10 years ago
Nicole & Chase
Hi Doug! I meant to ask you this before but I forgot... What's a good place (or places) for me to write a review of you for future brides to see? You were wonderful and made our day so special and stress-free and I wanted to share that with anyone looking for a photographer :)
Married: 10 years ago
Christine & Bryan
"Doug these are amazing!! I can't even tell you how much I'm in love with them! You did such an incredible job and I cannot thank you enough! They're unreal!"
Married: 11 years ago
Lauren & Seth
It was such a delight to have you at our wedding, we couldn't imagine a better choice.
Married: 12 years ago
Karen & Fumi
You guys were amazing at our wedding!! It was hands down the best day of our lives and we were so happy to have you and Katherine with us on our special day. It was so much fun! I cannot thank you enough for shooting some photos in film. It is one of the best present we received so far! We cannot wait to see them :)
Married: 12 years ago
Eleanor & Dave
Doug you did the most FANTASTIC job! The photos are all so beautiful I can't even make a favorites list because they're all so great. I confess that I even teared up looking at them it was such a happy day and you captured everything. We're so grateful for all your efforts, we really can't imagine having had a different photographer there to share our day with us. Thank you so so much!
Married: 13 years ago
Jenny & Eric
WOW. Pictures are simply amazing. We especially love the super special film photos. Thank you once again for being a part of our wedding, and our life! When you come to Boston next, please shoot us an email! We would love to have you and Katherine over to our place. :)