Maui Wedding Photographers

Our professional team of Maui photographers, second shooters and assistants are dedicated to capturing the beauty, romance and power of your special day here on Maui. We have decades of experience shooting at all of Maui’s most spectacular locations, from the Olowalu Plantation House to some of the most secluded and unknown beaches in Maui. We have the timing down and will guide you through the afternoon making the most out of that spectacular light Maui is famous for. Outdoor photo sessions on Maui are a challenge. The light is harsh during the day and always changing. A seasoned, Maui based pro is the best and most reliable way of making sure you get those images. You only get one chance, be sure to retain a Maui professional for that once in a lifetime event. When the cake is gone and the tan is faded, all you bring back with you are the pictures. Make sure they’re the best.

We always get asked about the right time of day to do a Maui wedding ceremony. Many of our clients want to do a luau as a reception, which usually start about an hour before sunset, pushing the wedding to the middle of the afternoon. While a luau seems like the Hawaiian way to end your wedding day, the timing makes photography  very difficult and limits your photographers ability to capture those portraits at the golden hour. We usually recommend that couples save the luau for the day before or after and schedule their Maui wedding for about an hour and a half before sunset. This gives us time to spend about 45 minutes exclusively with the couple to get those romantic, golden images and dramatic sunset backgrounds.

Are you using an assistant for your photo shoots? If not, you’re missing out on a great opportunity to up your game and create some incredible images on location that will blow away the competition. Nikon’s SB800 strobes can be used off camera to create highlights without wires. The system is easy to use and can create a studio look on location with minimal effort and time. A flex fill and diffuser panel are used to either reflect light onto the subject or to diffuse harsh sunlight to create a soft, luminous look for a blushing bride. All of these tools require a competent assistant who knows what you’re looking for and understands the uses of each of these light modifiers. They also need to understand the limitations of each device. If you can price your jobs to include an assistant then do so. Now. If you can’t raise your prices then bite the bullet and pay someone. You’ll certainly be able able to up your rate later, as you up your game.

Many couples choose a wedding planner to coordinate their Maui wedding. Prices will vary widely between companies, but all planners are not created equal. While the idea is the same, to get people married, the means for achieving that goal vary as widely as the prices. Most, if not all wedding planners have particular photographers they use to provide the images for your wedding. The only way these planners can provide “cut rate” weddings is by hiring inexperienced, inexpensive photographers who charge little for their services. If imagery is important to you, tell your planner you’ve hired Joe D’Alessandro as your photographer. They can work with that. I have worked with many of Maui’s wedding planners and all those planners will work with you and your choice of Maui Photography services.

Sunsets in Maui are incredible. It was raining the day we shot this. Right after a beautiful ceremony, while rounding up the guests, the sky opened up and a light rain came down. Fortunately, the wedding planner had the foresight to have a large tent available, an item often overlooked, especially during the extended drought we’ve been having here in Maui. Even though Makena gets the rainfall typical in a desert, rain is always possible. The bride took it in stride. We did some work in the tent and as soon as it slowed we hit the beach and started shooting. The interesting thing about rainstorms is that it means there are clouds around which help bring out the best in a sunset. We kept telling her everything was going to be OK. I never show the client images on the camera monitor but I showed the bride this one and it calmed her down immediately.

Sunsets at a Maui beach can be spectacular. Golden clouds and rich reflections off the ocean create a magnificent backdrop for your most romantic and special day. Most Maui photographers will crank up that on camera flash and hit you full bore with it to light you against that backdrop, but is that really the way to light a couple on their wedding day? The reason most beach photographers hit their clients with on camera flash is simple: cost. It takes money to hire an assistant to hold a strobe and a reflector and in a tight economy with cutthroat competition, it is difficult to justify the extra expense. But what about the destination wedding couple who has spent a sizable sum to get married thousands of miles from home? Is it our responsibility to inform them of the difference between a professional photo shoot and an amateur one? We believe it is. When we coordinate your Maui wedding an assistant travels with the photographer to assure images like these.

Maui Photographers come in all different shapes and sizes with different levels of skill and various pricing and service structures. There’s so many of us, there’s almost too many choices. My suggestion in picking a photographer is to find the ones who have an online photo gallery that you like. Images that you would like to have of your wedding day. Be mindful of style. Some Maui Photographers have very stylized approaches. Some shoot very posed “romantic” stuff, others use a more relaxed, photo-journalistic approach. Choosing a format that makes you feel comfortable is important. After that, establish your budget and choose the photographer that comes closest to it. 

I was told by my esteemed friend, photographer and sometime employer, Tony Novak-Clifford, that my last post had so much whine, it needed a little cheese. He may be right. When it gets busy I get almost as crazy and when it gets slow. Which brings me to the subject of “The Edit”. A professional job requires not only excellent capture but a commitment to an extensive edit. Some of my clients will have 400 images in their package. This type of edit takes time. That’s why I try to buy myself at least 2 months on these types of jobs. If your photographer is promising that many images and will deliver the disk to your hotel room before you leave, it might be reasonable to re-think your choice.