One of the coolest events that I was privileged to take part in this past summer was the launch party for the cast and crew of the upcoming movie The Descendents starring George Clooney.  While we weren’t able to take any photographs at the actual party due to press and security concerns I had a great time the night before shooting the set up and establishment for the grand event.  MANY thanks to the amazing team of vendors that helped put all of this together.  I hope that you enjoy!

Venue – Oasis World Estates

Coordination – Seasons of Life Events HI

Linens/Rentals/Lighting – REA Events

Florals – Passion Roots Studio

Cake – A Cake Life

This was a first for me!  I’ve never had the opportunity to shoot a birthday party before (except for Warren!) and this was definitely the way to start.  Combining the background of the absolutely beautiful Honolulu Zoo with the joy of an Easter egg hunt, Saphira’s birthday party went off without a hitch, including a family portrait session at the end!  I hope you all enjoy

One of the VERY FEW downsides to being a destination wedding photographer is that I don’t always have a chance to meet my clients prior to their wedding day.  When I flew over to Kona to meet Steven and Venessa it was even more so that way since I was in a location that I had never shot at before!  However, I was immediately welcomed into the joy and love that surround this couple and their family and I couldn’t have had a better time.  Please enjoy the images from this fantastic celebration of love and family.

Roberta and Nelson are one of the sweetest couples that I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with.  They were loving, down to Earth and 100% wrapped up in the joy of being married.  I hope you enjoy!

Happy Monday everyone!  Today I’m excited to share an incredibly fun session that I had with an amazing couple this spring in Kailua.  Allie and Kyle are ADORABLE (as you can see!) very much in love, and absolutely a joy to work with.  I hope you enjoy!

Sparkling sunshine, crashing waves, a man in uniform and a carnival.  If you put all of these things together, mix in a little bit of unquestionable love, and add a photographer who loves to capture joy then you’ll have Spencer and Nicole’s fun filled e-session.  I hope you enjoy!

These two shots are quintessential Hawaii to me.  Crashing waves and breezy palm trees?  Yes please!   Nicole’s eyes are KILLA!  I loved having her in front of the lens!  My signature sunset shot:  The golden glow of Waikiki.     There was a fair at Ala Moana park the weekend we got together.  We decided to dodge some carnival workers and take advantage of the not yet open fair grounds!  This MIGHT be my favorite shot of the day…I promise, it’s the bloopers that make for the most memorable pictures!

I love my life.  It’s a plain and simple fact, I’m lucky and incredibly grateful to have a career that keeps me motivated, creative, challenged and happy!  One thing that I will freely admit however, is that if I can find a way to save myself some extra time, to streamline my workflow, or all in all just to make my day to day existence easier, I’m never going to turn up the opportunity.  Early this year, one of my greatest Twitter friends Brenda of Best Wedding Sites contacted me about a beta testing position for a new piece of software designed for wedding vendors.  It was off season for me, I had some extra time, and I was definitely intrigued so I agreed.  Let me tell you, I didn’t realize that after that day one HUGE aspect of my business was about to be blown out of the water! 

Two Bright Lights describe themselves as “an online image-sharing and networking service that will transform the way you market your wedding business.  Intelligent, targeted, and easy to use, our tools help you showcase your work and promote your business.”  They are all of this, and SO much more.  One of the biggest goals and accomplishments of photographers is to have their work featured and published by bridal publications through blog posts and traditional print.  TBL allows you to have a one stop interface that puts you in contact with the leading bridal editors in the industry in an easy to use and amazingly simple process.  They have officially changed the way that I submit and share my images not only with editors, but with other wedding pros that I’ve worked with as well.  Just as an example, check out the inspiration board that I made below…it took me about 2 minutes, seriously!

Another great thing about TBL?  The ease of the features.  Thank you to the Get Married girls for featuring Donna and Mike’s Pensacola wedding last week on their blog!

So for all you wedding vendors out there, check out TBL!  They’re amazing and WELL worth the time.  Have a great Thursday!

The greatest benefit that I count with my job is the ability to meet and develop relationships with other amazing vendors in the industry.  Through the powers of social media, networking, and working together I’ve developed a collection of vendors that are no longer simply my colleagues, I am also honored to call them my friends.  As often happens with women who run their own business, as well as being a mother, we don’t get the amount of time that we would always like to spend with each other and on ourselves.  SO, we decided to take a day to pamper ourselves!  With the help of some amazing talent, several of us gathered together for a day of makeovers, hair dos and headshots…as well as some great noshing and conversation!  I’m so grateful to each and every one of you for making my transition to Hawaii as amazing as it has been.  Hugs to you all!

Gemina Chong – Faith and Beauty Makeup Services

Pinky Yoshimoto – Pinky Photography

Karine France-Matsumoto – Seasons of Life Wedding and Event Planning

Monae Watkins – Hairstylist

MANY thanks to Marina Miller (not pictured) for the kickass job that she did on my new headshots, you rock girl!

Back in March I was contacted by a local businessman regarding some informal “day after” style portraits for one of their traveling couples.  The Nishida’s had gotten married on Maui but traveled over to Oahu for the remainder of their honeymoon and wanted to spend the afternoon hanging out and grabbing some great shots.

Some of my most memorable shoots have definitely been some of the ones that I’ve been the most apprehensive of.  I personally feel that adding a challenge to something that you do regularly keeps you fresh, on your toes and prevents things from getting too repetitive.  When presented with this shoot however, I wasn’t just apprehensive, I was downright terrified.

One of the integral parts of my interaction with clients is getting to know each other through an ongoing conversation throughout their session.  Now, let’s throw in a language barrier and see what that does.  Not just any language barrier, but one where I honestly couldn’t even say hello to my couple in their native tongue!  Folks, let me tell you, it was like telling a mime to “talk” without his hands.  Sigh.  Then, let’s add on the cultural differences between a young Japanese couple and an outgoing American photographer.  My requests of “kiss, flirt, love each other!” were met with giggles and blushes, which actually turned out to be even cuter!  I had an amazing time with these two gorgeous newlyweds.  I couldn’t have done it without the help of our fantastic interpreter that traveled around Waikiki with us, even getting us rock star access to some private gardens in Kahala!  Thank you so much to the two of you for sharing a portion of your honeymoon with me, I hope you had a great time!

Here is the final installment of the bridal fashion shoot that was I was thrilled to be a part of earlier this year.  Gabby has an absolutely amazing exotic look and I had a fantastic time capturing some images around the beautiful estate.  Please take the time to check out the amazing vendors that were a part of this fantastic day.

Venue: Justin Panoke – Oasis World Estates

Planner: Karine France-Matsumoto – Seasons of Life Event Planning

Make Up: Gemina Chong – Faith and Beauty

Hair: Monae Watkins

Model: Gabby (via Model Mayhem)

This was my favorite shot of the day, I love the simple lines of the bamboo framing Gabby.