About Ken
| My name is Ken Mendoza and I am an International Award Winning Wedding & Portrait photographer based in San Francisco, California and the founder of San Francisco City Hall Wedding Photography and Cofounder of Duendephoto.com (San Francisco Bay Area & Destination Weddings) & Yosemite Wedding Photographers. |  |
Experienced & Professional
I have photographed over 700 weddings at City Hall and know all the secrets to capture amazing images in this world-class venue. I have more photography awards from City Hall images than any photographer. In fact, a recent image taken during a real wedding resulted in me being picked as a member of Team USA in the World Photographic Cup (The Olympics of Photography) in 2022. Additional accolades and awards are listed below.
Approach To Wedding Photography
Awards are great, but wedding photography is about you, the couple. Every couple is different. Some are silly, some are more reserved, but all want their love captured in striking images. Over the years, I have developed a system to help couples pose in a way that does not feel or look fake or disingenuous. I call it "dynamic posing." Everything is a movement. Dynamic posing is easy to learn and takes no more than 10 minutes of direction, before we use the concepts for the whole session.
With movement, the biggest impediment to creating beautiful photos is avoided, thinking too much! So many of my clients work in tech fields in Silicon Valley find it easy to default to being very analytical when faced with a new experience. I like to say that "The Left Brain is great for 9-5 but the Right Brain, takes better photographs." Well, this is true for both the photographer and the subject! It is my goal to make you look good and feel good during the session. I will use all of my experience to bring out your love and individuality as a couple on this momentous day.
Destination Weddings & Elopements
I am based in the San Francisco Bay Area and often travel to Wine Country, Vancouver, & Yosemite. I'll go anywhere in the world to capture that special moment of yours. After all, it only happens once.
Awards and Accolades
• Master of WPPI 2022
• 2022 World Photographic Cup Finalist Wedding Category
• Member of Team USA 2022 World Photographic Cup
• Gold Medalist Professional Photographers of America International Photographic Competition, 2022
• Grand Imaging Award Finalist Professional Photographers of America International Photographic Competition 2022
• 17x Winner of WPPI Silver Award for wedding photography
• Gold Medal and 2nd Place in WPPI Couple Wedding Category 2021
• Elite Status Cosmos Awards
• Elite Status Asia Wedding Photography Association
• 2X Photographer of the Year Professional Photographers of the Wine Country
• Competition Judge and Mentor to professional photographers through local Professional Photographers of America Chapters
