What a fun shoot!  This was a family of 15, his, hers, theirs, spouses and girlfriends.  This was their last day of vacation here in Hawaii.  With a group this large I decided to take them to a little hidden beach on the North Shore that would give us a lot of different backdrops.  After shooting the family portraits they asked if we could do some underwater pictures.  This was totally not planned, no one even had swimsuits or towels.  Of coarse I said yes, I will take any excuse  to get in the water.  At first a few of the family members were a little hesitant,  but once we started getting in the water it was just all fun.

It definitely is feeling like summer time, and true to form, this last month a lot of my sessions have included water photography.  It was a lot of fun capturing Ashlynne and Ben’s engagement photos before they headed back to the mainland.  We started off the session at the Haleiwa bridge, and then headed to Pipeline on the North Shore where we did the underwater pictures.  Congratulations Ashlynne and Ben.

I photographed Silvia and Matt’s destination wedding last year on the big island of Hawaii, you can see their wedding pictures here. Stunning bride and groom.  I was so excited when they contacted me about doing a trash the dress session in the ocean. Both of them were fantastic in the water, and I love the way Silvia’s wedding dress flowed in the water for these dream like shots.

As I arrived at this engagement shoot on the North Shore, the rain started and I thought for sure Tanya and Adam would want to reschedule, but they were troopers. I’m glad because it ended up being a fantastic photo shoot.  The video I included is a little behind the scenes look at the underwater part of their session.   Adam has been deployed three times overseas already and I wish them all the best in their upcoming wedding and life together.  Congratulations Tanya and Adam, can’t wait to photograph your wedding.  You guys are a beautiful couple.

Being a wedding photographer here in Hawaii I deal with a lot of different variables, especially when it comes to getting in the water for a trash the dress session.  Being on an island we are often at the mercy of the wind, sun, waves, and all different elements.   Dana and Jake’s “Trash the Dress session” almost didn’t happen.  Jake sliced his foot open before their wedding and almost didn’t make it to the ceremony after spending most of the morning in the ER.  The doctor told Jake to stay out of the water.  A friend let us borrow the big blue boot to keep Jake’s foot dry, as seen below.   Busted up foot or not Dana and Jake did a great job hiking over the coral on the North Shore, and getting in the water. The waves were a little big that day but we were able to find a safe location to get into the water. My two favorite pictures of this shoot are the 4th photo were Dana is running, and the last one.  I think she looks so peaceful as she is gliding through the water.

This is one of the most stunning locations I have photographed for an engagement session.  Marcus and Anela wanted to encompass the land and sea in their shoot.  So we spent time in these gardens on the Windward side of Oahu and also in the ocean for some underwater engagement pictures.  Marcus and Anela are truly some of the best people I know.  Marcus is in medical school and Anela is an amazing teacher here in Hawaii, my kids just light up anytime she comes around.

I am so excited to photograph Traci and Adam’s wedding at Waimea Vally this week.  I took some bridals of Traci a few week back at the Laie Hawaii Temple, and last June we did some underwater engagement pictures on the North Shore.  You can see those here.  They are a fun couple,  and Waimea Vally is a beautiful place to get married, I think this is going to be an amazing wedding.

Love the Kennedy family.  This year we headed over to the skate park on the North Shore for their Christmas photos.  It was Curran’s birthday, he is the 10 year old below ripping.  I wish I could’ve skated like that when I was 10.

Eugene and Jane met at medical school and are doing their residency in different states.  They met up here in Hawaii where Eugene is doing his residency. We spent the day on the North Shore photographing them in Haleiwa and Sunset Beach in and out of the water.

Urielle & Francois are from Lyon France, and came to hawaii for their honeymoon.  I didn’t know this but in france couples do not get engagement pictures. Urielle wanted to get some engagement type photos of her and Francois, so I took them to the North Shore and it was a beautiful day.  I love the color of dress that Urielle chose to were, it just pops out against the blue sky and water.