It was a dark and dreary day...

So my first wedding after my back surgery turned out to be a major challenge. The weather people predicted stormy and rainy weather and they were correct. When I got to the hotel, it was so dark that any natural light photo was going to be a challenge. Top that off with my being a little slow in moving made it even more of a challenge.

With my two trusty second shooters, we managed to move equipment, get the shots, keep the bride calm and kept on cursing the weather. Everyone cooperated so I think we got a good amount of images some of which are shown below.

I wish I could have done more but we had to keep the bridal party dry.









































































































Next wedding is in a couple of weeks and I'm looking forward to it.

Erin and Scott Got Married!!!

Erin and Scott finally tied the knot on July 12, 2008 at the Westin Moana Surfrider. Here's their daughter Kyra hiding behind her Mom's wedding gown. She was a little princess that day.



























After some preliminary shots, my assistant met up with the guys and got some "guy shots." Of course, some sort of booze was natural.










The bride, being "traditional" did not want to see the groom prior to the ceremony. That's what she wants so we try to accommodate (even though knowing her as long as I have, I was ready to conk her on her noggin).












So the bride disappeared and the groom came down with his guys to do their shots. At the same time, family photos were taken with the plan to do the combined families after the ceremony.











The ceremony was held on the Terrace of the Moana. The bride was tearing before she walked down the aisle and her mom was not holding on too well with the tears. The couple's daughter served as both the flower girl and the ring holder as she got the rings from her grandmother.











After the ceremony, we finished the family portraits and did photos of the bridal party and the bride & groom. The flower girls as young as they were were complete angels and cooperated as well as they could. (I wish I could say that about all the small kids we've photographed in the past.)

























At the reception, Drill Team Hawaii surprised the couple with a special performance. The bride had been a member of the group for the longest time and now her daughter is following in her footsteps. The daughter also surprised the couple by participating in a special performance for the couple.





Of course the groom got roasted by his siblings with the catch phrase of the night being "DONE!"

Retouching - What Does That Mean?

I offer basic retouching on all the wedding portraits (3/4 to closeup images) unless the couple requests no retouching. Why retouch? I do it because it enhances the portrait.

Generally most of the retouching is done on the women in the party. That may include, softening of the dark shadows (bags) under the eyes, removal of blemishes and lines and a slight soft focus applied to the portrait to smooth the skin.

On the males, I generally may soften the shadows (bags) under the eyes but will not remove them unless requested by the groom. I will also clear out any blemishes and apply a general soft focus. If one wants further retouching, they should make their wishes known to me.



The first image is straight from the camera. The second image is retouched and enhanced on the edges so the attention is focused on the bride's face. Some of you may like this, some of you may feel it's overdone. Just make your wishes known to me and I'll be happy to accommodate your request.

A good makeup artist can minimize the need for extensive retouching by applying the proper makeup. We'll be happy to recommend makeup artists whom we've worked with and have done a good job for our clients.

Many more retouching services are offered so feel free to ask about them.

Engagment Portrait Presentations

I've had a couple of clients want to try some different presentations with their engagment portraits. Lynn and Ikaika got dressed up in a kimono and a hakama for their engagement portrait. On the image below, I had set them up by the gong at the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park and as I was setting camera up, they started clowning with each other. I just started to take photos as fast as I could to capture the whole sequence. They decided to use those photos to make a 8x20 collage to display at their wedding reception.


Then they also wanted a collage with the "regular" images. This 16x24 wall collage will be framed and has three images. The background is detail from the kimono.

They will tie the knot at the end of June.

I'm really feeling old...

This is Erin. I've been photographing Erin ever since she was about 3 years old and a flower girl in her Uncle's Wedding Party back in the mid 80's.

I've pretty much been her only photographer since then. Her parents brought her in every year and sometimes more than once. I did her photos while growing up, when she graduated high school and now I'll be photographing her wedding when she marrys Scott.






This is Erin's 5 year old daughter, Kyra. I've been photographing her ever since she was in her first year. The early years were challenging as she wasn't used to me and it took a while before she overcame her shyness and relaxed a bit. Ever since she was three years old, her manner has changed 180 degrees. Now I can't take enough photos of her because she loves the camera and does her own posing. What was a challenge to photograph is now a joy





This is Scott, Erin's fiance' and Kyra's Dad. They will finally tie the knot in July at the Westin Moana Surfrider. Not sure what Scott does but Erin is in the Human Resources field.

These photos were taken on their engagement portrait session on the North Shore close to sunset. We shared the beach with another couple who was getting married.

It's going to be a memorable day when they get married and I'll be remembering the day when I first photographed the Bride way back then.