The Jones Family Photos ~ Waikiki Beach

Below is a sneak peek from my time with Jones fam. This shoot was so much fun for me, for several reasons. First of all, I had 3 girls (two teenage) who weren't into having photos taken and felt totally awkward in front of the camera. *Queue Ricky Bobby "I'm not sure what to do with my hands" Then there was awesome Mr Jones, one of his girls wants to go to school for Photography and, well, become a photographer. That scared the crap out of him, he had spent lots of time googling facts on how much money the average photographer made and wasn't thrilled with the results.

Let me start by saying, I love it when my subjects feel awkward, and I actually try and make this happen at least once. Why on earth would I want that to happen? Well, there's honesty in awkardness, a funny thing happens, the moment we feel awkward and we're in the spotlight a little curtain is pulled back where the essence of oneself tends to shine through and then it is often followed by beautiful genuine smiles and laughter. 9 times of 10 it's the winning shot, the one the family absolutely  loves and wants to hang on the wall, because it can't be replicated. It was a rare genuine moment where that little thing, that sparkle, that makes this person who they are, and what you love about them but have a hard time putting in to words, and it has shone through and was captured for you to keep forever. It also is a great ice breaker, one the girls started to feel silly they opened up with me more and began to feel more comfortable with me. 

My conversation with Mr Jones, regarding his daughters passion and the realities of making a living in this industry is a whole other blog in itself, so stayed tuned for that because we had a really great talk.

Fun Family Photos in Waikiki ! ~ Oahu Family Photographer

The C family. How I adore this bunch. They recently moved to our beautiful island and I've had the pleasure of photographing them twice now! On Halloween I photographed a cute little mermaid named Faith and three adorably scary pirates Dylan, Ethan, and Channing. We had so much fun a couple of weeks later the whole family met me on the beach for family photos. What a fun family to photograph.

I love this location in Waikiki there's a beautiful park with nice greenery for natural light photos, a great stretch of beach that's relatively quiet (compared to the main stretch of Waikiki beach), beautiful views of Diamond Head, a great rock wall right on the water, and a gorgeous harbor. In 45 minutes, you end up with a huge variety of gorgeous and very diverse shots.

Ann & Derek ~ Bun in the oven

Meet beautiful Ann & Derek. Pregnant with their first kiddo, they are absolutely glowing with excitement as it gets closer to the birth of their little guy. We had a beautiful time in the park and they  were grinning nonstop ear to ear thinking about their little guy.  Can't wait to meet him myself at our newborn session!

Jenna Lee's Child Photography Tip #0034

Jenna Lee's Child Photography Tip # 0034

When dealing with a super active, high energy kiddo... RELAX and shoot. 

To capture the child being natural in their environment, is to capture the true essence of the child.

Bouncing energy off of the child by reacting to their energy, only intensifies the situation.

I had about 5 minutes to capture the beautiful little Kiki below and she was BOUNCING off the walls. After a quick Peek-a-boo sesh...

My main objective was to try and get this beautiful little one in front of the colorful wall of this boutique restaurant (Java Jazz in Maui) I decided to lay down on the floor and just chill, maybe capture a few shots of her from the ground. Kiki immediately looked at me and laid down on the floor beside me. I grabbed this flower and gave it a sniff... "what a pretty flower!" and the rest is history... 

Love this girl.

Next time you have an over active child... just remember to RELAX. If nothing else, you'll capture that child's personality, as they explore the giant world ahead of them full speed.