Hi! I'm Monique, the girl behind the lens who's always making you do goofy things for photos. I'm uber camera-shy, which is why you'll rarely see me post a single selfie. Even my associates know that when they take behind-the-scene photos of me they shall do it from the back. I'm often asked how long I've been doing photography and how I got started.
It's kind of a funny story. I picked up a beginner Canon DSLR camera about 10 years ago and became obsessed with nature & wildlife photography. Being a nature lover at heart, I spent a lot of my free time going outdoors & traveling to national parks to photograph birds and wild animals and glorious sunsets.
It's kind of a funny story. I picked up a beginner Canon DSLR camera about 10 years ago and became obsessed with nature & wildlife photography. Being a nature lover at heart, I spent a lot of my free time going outdoors & traveling to national parks to photograph birds and wild animals and glorious sunsets.
Services
After turning away many weddings because I was booked, I felt it was time for me to create a team of talented & trusted photographers to help me document as many love stories as possible! Meet the lovely ladies of the Monique Dao Photography Team! We are a fun group of creative souls who share the same vision & passion for capturing love stories, and creating the most authentic imagery that lasts a lifetime.
Thank you so much for considering Monique Dao Photography to tell your story! We aim to capture the most loving, authentic moments of your day and create timeless photographs you will cherish forever. Our Wedding Collections start at $2,800, with a 6- to 10-hour coverage, with more available upon request.
My name is Monique Dao, a passionate fine art photographer based in Southern California, US. Photography has been my love for years. What started out as a hobby and creative outlet turned into a career doing what I love. I am obsessed with capturing the beauty of nature all around me, and creating beautiful art out of the images I take.
Reviews (19)
Gabriel M.
Jan 13, 2022
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Monique was amazing! We hired her for our maternity photoshoot. Found her on Yelp and looked her up on IG and was immediately impressed by her work.
When we booked her, she sent over locations and even a guide on how we should dress, which was exceptional. She even offered to help coordinate our outfits. On the day of the shoot, she was prompt, professional, and excellent at giving direction as to how she could get the best shot in terms of positioning, background, and lighting. You could tell immediately she had the "eye" for the perfect picture! The shoot was enjoyable and we had
When we booked her, she sent over locations and even a guide on how we should dress, which was exceptional. She even offered to help coordinate our outfits. On the day of the shoot, she was prompt, professional, and excellent at giving direction as to how she could get the best shot in terms of positioning, background, and lighting. You could tell immediately she had the "eye" for the perfect picture! The shoot was enjoyable and we had
Sandy H.
Jan 01, 2022
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HIGHLY RECOMMEND! Monique took such great photos and they did not disappoint! She was such a joy to work with and very easy going. I loved how she knew how to take shots with the beautiful scenery in the background. She has quick responses in a timely manner, and great communication skills. Anyone that would like to take gorgeous photos with nature? Ask for Monique! You can also check out her portfolio for other samples.
Ivey P.
Nov 09, 2021
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We just recently had an engagement session with Monique, and we couldn't have asked for a better experience! Monique was so great to work with and really captured our relationship in an album. We were really blown away when she sent us the previews so quickly. She was patient and encouraging throughout the session, and was really attentive to angles I wasn't too fond of myself. She was quick to respond from the very beginning and even gave us a style guide for choosing our outfits.
These pictures turned out incredible and Monique was just absolutely amazing. 100/10 recommend!!!
These pictures turned out incredible and Monique was just absolutely amazing. 100/10 recommend!!!
Aly D.
Oct 27, 2021
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We found Monique through Instagram and she was absolutely amazing! She did our family photos with our 3 month old and was very patient, professional and made us feel very comfortable during our shoot. She is very talented and knows how to capture light extremely well. Her packages/pricing were clear and she sent over outfit ideas for us as well. We are very happy with all of our pictures and will definitely be using her again!
Mrs. M.
Jul 24, 2021
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Monique is the best. I found her on Yelp and emailed her instantly. Her photos are wonderful, just as it is working with her.
I was excited to let family and friends know about my big news and needed someone who would take pregnancy announcement photos in a week time. Monique came to the rescue and she did absolutely marvelous!
Would definitely hire Monique again!!!
I was excited to let family and friends know about my big news and needed someone who would take pregnancy announcement photos in a week time. Monique came to the rescue and she did absolutely marvelous!
Would definitely hire Monique again!!!
Linda D.
Jul 15, 2021
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I did my graduation pictures through Monique and I am so happy with the experience from start to finish! She was easy to connect with, had a quick response time, flexible, and so talented in her craft.
In terms of pricing, everything was through different packages that you could select from(which is amazing!! It's not some random quote other photographers just throw out). I knew exactly what I would be getting and what the expectations were :)
Monique cleared most of my questions for anything and everything-- whether it was prior to the shoot asking about the best time of day to the various
In terms of pricing, everything was through different packages that you could select from(which is amazing!! It's not some random quote other photographers just throw out). I knew exactly what I would be getting and what the expectations were :)
Monique cleared most of my questions for anything and everything-- whether it was prior to the shoot asking about the best time of day to the various
Natalie D.
Jun 10, 2021
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Monique is such a talented photographer! I love all of my graduation photos!! She was super helpful throughout the whole process and recommended photo shoot locations when I wasn't sure where to take my photos. She is super friendly and made me feel comfortable throughout the entire photo shoot. Monique was also super quick in getting me my final photos. I'm so happy I found her to capture my graduation. I will definitely be contacting her in the future. I recommend reaching out to Monique to capture your memories!
Stacy W.
Feb 09, 2021
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Monique was amazing! She is kind and patient which was a must for our big group! She is wonderfully creative and a very skilled photographer, yet she listened to our suggestions and was completely open to anything that we wanted to do! We received our proofs quickly and loved them! Monique was on time for our appt, which was also a biggie since we had children involved and they are never good at waiting! I would highly recommend her and am so happy that we found her! We will definitely be calling her again!
Nicole L.
Feb 09, 2021
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Monique was great! I found her on instagram and she was extremely responsive from the moment I reached out to her. We booked a family photo session with 11 people, including kids. She was extremely patient and professional with all of us and made the whole experience fun and enjoyable. The whole family felt relaxed and comfortable around her. We are so thankful for Monique and all the pictures turned out lovely. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for professional photos! Thanks Monique!
Toni O.
Dec 27, 2020
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When I researching photographers for our wedding, I immediately fell in love with the way Monique captures romantic daylight photos.
Monique was kind, patient, professional throughout our wedding. We had a shift in plans due to covid, but Monique was willing to roll with our changes. She picked out an offsite location to snap first look photos, I would never have known of this hidden gem in Anaheim. She was well prepared and even willing to hold our phones and glasses in her belt pouch. My fiancé and I are not picture people, but she made our first look photos so much fun! We laughed and I truly
Monique was kind, patient, professional throughout our wedding. We had a shift in plans due to covid, but Monique was willing to roll with our changes. She picked out an offsite location to snap first look photos, I would never have known of this hidden gem in Anaheim. She was well prepared and even willing to hold our phones and glasses in her belt pouch. My fiancé and I are not picture people, but she made our first look photos so much fun! We laughed and I truly
Mina A.
Aug 21, 2020
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I am absolutely thrilled with the results from our engagement shoot! Monique did a great job of recommending the perfect beach and capturing the light to be so playful and soft! We requested for the vibe to be fun and upbeat and all the photos turned out better than we could've even hoped. I would definitely recommend!!!
Joanna L.
Dec 20, 2019
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First time working with Monique and my husband and I were SO impressed!
I was actually running late because my lips were chapped and I wanted a color to cover it and I texted her letting her know. She immediately responded saying she had chapstick for me already. So prepared, I love it!
The session: We got the simplicity session, family shoot with my baby who's almost turning a year old.
Monique was easy to work with, gave us direction (head closer, move the hair out of face, put your hand here). She kept checking in on us since it got chilly towards the end and she was EXTREMELY patient
I was actually running late because my lips were chapped and I wanted a color to cover it and I texted her letting her know. She immediately responded saying she had chapstick for me already. So prepared, I love it!
The session: We got the simplicity session, family shoot with my baby who's almost turning a year old.
Monique was easy to work with, gave us direction (head closer, move the hair out of face, put your hand here). She kept checking in on us since it got chilly towards the end and she was EXTREMELY patient
Pinkii C.
Dec 02, 2019
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Monique was so easy to work with. My friends and I booked an hour long session with her to surprise our bride to be on her bachelorette. Monique was extremely considerate of our timeline and agreed to shoot us outside of her desired golden hour. Due to a recent fire our location of choice was closed. But Monique quickly thought of a second location that was still convenient for us as it was headed in the same direction we were going. We had so much fun with Monique! She also provided teaser photos on the same day! Our bride to be was thrilled she was able to post about it on Instagram. Monique
Marvin E.
Nov 29, 2019
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We had Monique for my engagement pictures. She went out of her way to get the perfect shots for my Fiancé and I. During our photoshoot it started to rain. She was very professional during the inconvenient (at the time) circumstance. Monique was a trooper and she kept on shooting. It was cold and we were all wet so we had to cut the session about 15 minutes short. She offered us a discount since we had originally booked an hour session but we were too grateful for her time and couldn't accept her offer. We gladly paid in full and couldn't have asked for anyone better. The pictures came
Taylor C.
Nov 17, 2019
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I waited to the VERY last minute to take our holiday photos and of course all my usual photographers were booked.. I randomly found Monique on Instagram and she surprisingly had a last session available. I stalked her IG page and loved her work and booked her. I showed her the look I was going for and she absolutely nailed it! She was so good with my little family and especially my 4month old. Monique has found a forever client for every holiday year :) thank you for these beautiful pictures!
Jessica C.
Nov 16, 2019
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Had a wonderful experience with Monique! I saw her photos on Instagram and fell in love with the style. One of my best friends was getting married and as a gift, we wanted to give her a photoshoot to capture our friendship. When I saw Monique's photography, I knew my bestie would love it!
The day of when we arrived at the location planned, unfortunately it was closed due to Fire hazards. At that time we really didn't know what to do, but Monique thought of a different location super fast and it turned out just as beautiful as our original location! She was also super fun to work with
The day of when we arrived at the location planned, unfortunately it was closed due to Fire hazards. At that time we really didn't know what to do, but Monique thought of a different location super fast and it turned out just as beautiful as our original location! She was also super fun to work with
Van D.
Nov 12, 2019
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My girlfriends and I were in the midst of planning a bachelorette getaway for our bride to be and we wanted to gift our bff a photo session because she loves to get her photos taken. We found Monique on instagram and immediately reached out to her for her availability after seeing her portfolio. Our getaway was located in San Diego and we were traveling down from the San Gabriel Valley so we knew we wanted the photo location to be around OC. Monique usually takes her photo during the golden hours but gladly accommodated to our timeline for a morning shoot as we had the whole day planned out and
Faye F.
Nov 11, 2019
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Valerie G.
Apr 10, 2019
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From the moment I found Monique on Instagram (@moniquedaophotography) I knew she was everything I was looking for. She has such a keen eye for what makes a great photo and my husband and I could not have found a better person to work with. Her responsiveness, flexibility and overall customer service skills went above and beyond our expectations and she was able to deliver our beautiful maternity shoot images in no time.
Although I live in Santa Clarita and she is located in the Inland Empire, she is worth the distance.
If you are looking for someone that is easy to work with, affordable and just
Although I live in Santa Clarita and she is located in the Inland Empire, she is worth the distance.
If you are looking for someone that is easy to work with, affordable and just
