Bride laughing in the groom's arms beside a lake, holding a succulent bouquet
Santa Cruz, CA — Weddings & Events

Real moments, told well.

Photography & film for weddings and events — documentary at heart, with an editor's eye for the story underneath it.

I don't direct your day — I follow it. My job is to be close enough to catch the real thing: the look, the laugh, the hand you didn't know was shaking. Then I bring craft to what happens after, so the finished work feels less like coverage and more like a film about the people you love.

Personal

A personal series shot around town at dusk — friends, surfers, and the old Volkswagens that still roll down West Cliff. Part of an upcoming Santa Cruz print exhibition.

Four friends sitting on a bluff watching the ocean at dusk
Santa Cruz SeriesFour friends, blue hour
Person in a cap and camo jacket sitting alone watching the ocean at dusk
Santa Cruz SeriesAlone with the tide
Weathered stone archway framing a rose and lavender dusk sky over the ocean, with a railing and beach below
Santa Cruz SeriesFramed by stone
Four friends sitting on cliff rocks watching surfers at dusk
Santa Cruz SeriesWatching the last set
Vintage Volkswagen Beetles with roof racks driving down a Santa Cruz street
Santa Cruz SeriesOld Volks, West Cliff
A row of vintage Volkswagen Beetles driving through a residential Santa Cruz street
Santa Cruz SeriesSunday cruise
Surfer riding a wave at dusk with other surfers waiting nearby
Santa Cruz SeriesOne more wave before dark
Woman walking barefoot on a wet beach into a long-exposure sunset of blurred orange, blue and violet
PersonalToward the light
Blue lifeguard tower number 1 on the sand with the wharf and calm ocean under a pink and lavender sky
PersonalTower One, soft light
Brick and cream clock tower with an American flag against a purple-tinted sky
PersonalThe Town Clock
Small fishing boat on a long-exposure blue sea under a rose-colored sky
PersonalOne boat, still water
Sunflowers in a bucket at a roadside stand with hand-painted price signs
PersonalFive dollars a bouquet
Woman in a straw hat and embroidered vest among blurred strawflowers in warm light
PersonalIn the flower field
Lone cypress tree on a rocky point above misty blue water
PersonalLone Cypress
Wave breaking beside a rock crowded with pelicans and cormorants
PersonalPelican rock
Windswept cypress trees above dunes and rocks under a lavender sky
PersonalWind-shaped cypress
Turquoise surf between two rock faces with pelicans flying overhead
PersonalThe gap
Turquoise cove and sandy beach at Point Lobos framed by lichen-covered cypress branches
PersonalPoint Lobos cove
Weathered wooden staircase climbing between pine trees and coastal brush toward blue sky
PersonalThe climb

Prints

Each photo is printed on high-gloss metal in high resolution. Shipping is free within the US.

Woman walking barefoot on a wet beach into a long-exposure sunset of blurred orange, blue and violet

Toward the light

Metal print, high gloss

Order this print
Blue lifeguard tower number 1 on the sand with the wharf and calm ocean under a pink and lavender sky

Tower One, soft light

Metal print, high gloss

Order this print
Brick and cream clock tower with an American flag against a purple-tinted sky

The Town Clock

Metal print, high gloss

Order this print
Small fishing boat on a long-exposure blue sea under a rose-colored sky

One boat, still water

Metal print, high gloss

Order this print
Sunflowers in a bucket at a roadside stand with hand-painted price signs

Five dollars a bouquet

Metal print, high gloss

Order this print
Woman in a straw hat and embroidered vest among blurred strawflowers in warm light

In the flower field

Metal print, high gloss

Order this print
Lone cypress tree on a rocky point above misty blue water

Lone Cypress

Metal print, high gloss

Order this print
Wave breaking beside a rock crowded with pelicans and cormorants

Pelican rock

Metal print, high gloss

Order this print
Windswept cypress trees above dunes and rocks under a lavender sky

Wind-shaped cypress

Metal print, high gloss

Order this print
Turquoise surf between two rock faces with pelicans flying overhead

The gap

Metal print, high gloss

Order this print
Weathered stone archway framing a rose and lavender dusk sky over the ocean, with a railing and beach below

Framed by stone

Metal print, high gloss

Order this print
Turquoise cove and sandy beach at Point Lobos framed by lichen-covered cypress branches

Point Lobos cove

Metal print, high gloss

Order this print
Weathered wooden staircase climbing between pine trees and coastal brush toward blue sky

The climb

Metal print, high gloss

Order this print

Reviews

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Portrait of Daniel Nader

"I'd rather catch you laughing at something no one else saw than pose you for something you'll forget."

Shooting since2014
Based inSanta Cruz, CA
LanguagesEnglish & Español
Available forTravel, worldwide
EducationB.A., Audiovisual Comm. & Screenwriting

About Daniel

I picked up a camera in 2014 and never really put it down. Since then I've shot weddings up and down the coast, produced film projects across South America, and spent plenty of days just chasing good light.

I hold a Bachelor's degree in Audiovisual Communication & Screenwriting, but the classroom only got me halfway there — the rest came from showing up to hundreds of real moments and learning what makes them worth remembering.

My approach is documentary first: I stay close, stay quiet, and let the day happen the way it's actually going to happen. Then I bring my own eye to the edit — color, pacing, story — so what comes back feels less like footage and more like a film about the people in it.

I'm bilingual (English & Spanish), based in Santa Cruz, CA, and always up for a trip — some of my favorite work has happened far from home. My rates are straightforward and reasonable; I'd rather talk it through with you directly than hide behind a price sheet.

Weddings Events Documentary Style Canon 5D Mark II Blackmagic Cinema Bilingual EN / ES
Let's tell your story

Have a date in mind? Let's talk.

Tell me about your wedding or event — where, when, and what matters most to you — and I'll get back to you with reasonable, straightforward pricing.

Email Daniel See more work