Pete McManus Photography

A Bay Area native, living in San Francisco shooting freelance advertising, lifestyle and commissioned work wherever the work takes me. My creative path began with a degree in sound design and a variety of great TV and radio projects. I was pulled away by a job that was not at all artistic. Luckily it didn’t last and l learned to edit video, bought a Canon DSLR for its video quality and started shooting still pictures for fun. That year, a friend opened the urban winery TANK 18 and, as a favor, I shot marketing pictures for the business. A combination of chance, luck, and good networking led to a big opportunity just weeks later when I was asked to shoot in New Orleans for the Puccini Group at the famous Hotel Monteleone. Still an amateur photographer, they took a chance on me and helped catapult me into my current work. Puccini Group’s beautiful design garnered a lot of press and led me to many more great projects – including returning to NOLA for more shots at the Monteleone. What started as a hobby has become my passion. I’m proud of my work behind the camera and, along with assisting at studios like Restoration Hardware, I’m incredibly grateful that I get to be creative for a living.