Engagement Photos || What to Expect

Your wedding is weeks away and the anticipation is so exciting. Being engaged is an important time in your life, as you transition from a couple to a married couple. Engagement photos share the connection that brought you together in the first place. It also makes it much easier to relax and enjoy wedding portraits on the big day.

Here at Pacific Dream Photography, we believe that having an engagement session is important for many different reasons. It allows you to get comfortable in front of the lens and showcase your personalities in a fun setting. Engagement photos have many different uses such as, a guest signature board, save the date cards, or even decorations for your future home.

Wear something that makes you feel comfortable. Of course, this is a great excuse to dress up, but it is important to wear something that makes you feel like you. Engagement photos are going to reflect who you are, and what your like on a day-to-day basis. Don’t forget, the ring is the star of the show, so make sure to give it a little cleaning for extra shine.

If you and your fiancé are feeling a bit camera shy, ensure each other that you look amazing. Make your significant other laugh and have a great time. This will help you both relax, smile, and enjoy yourselves.

As you prepare for your engagement session, remember to trust your photographer and allow them to be creative. Your photographer works with everyday couples all the time so there is no need to be nervous. Amazing things happen when you trust your photographer, and give them the creative freedom to take one of a kind images that you will cherish forever. An engagment photography session is also a great way to get to know your photographer and test them out to see if they would be a good fit for your Wedding Day.

Lastly, be on time. Timing is very important. Photographers are dependent on the sun. We want to make sure that your images come out breath taking and lighting is the key to a successful photo shoot. Take a look at a previous post on why lighting is so important.

That’s it! We hope you have a better idea on what to expect for your upcoming engagement session. Most importantly, have a wonderful time!

Written by Julia P. (Pacific Dream Photography at the Grand Hyatt Kauai)

Keeping the Love Alive || Eric & Elaine

When you are a photographer, often times you find yourselves enveloped in intimate moments between couples. Photographing honeymooners, Bride & Groom, vow renewal ceremonies, or even just a couple vacationing, we are welcomed into a space, with oftentimes new friends, that gives you a close glimpse into that relationship.

We are so lucky to be able to experience that love and intimacy on a daily basis, because it helps keeps us grounded and thankful in our own lives. 

I had the pleasure of photographing a couple last week at the Kahala Hotel & Resort in Oahu. Elaine told me that she didn't get pictures with her husband of over 20 years as often as she'd like and wanted to plan a fun beach photo session for the next afternoon.

After 24 years of marriage, Elaine and Eric were just as fun, playful, and starry eyed as when they were kids. In fact... they still looked like kids! Elaine showed me a picture from when they first got married, and it was eerily identical to some of the pictures we had been taking. The scariest part is, they hadn't aged a day!

I had to ask Elaine, how do they keep such a youthful playfulness with each other, which she confided in me all her secrets. But most importantly, they set aside time to do fun things with each other. Whether it be sparring in their martial arts class, a birthday trip every year for the two of them, or a sunset beach photoshoot in Hawaii, these two really know how to keep the love alive.

Written by Julia J. (Pacific Dream Photography at The Kahala Hotel & Resort)

A Getaway to Remember || Big Island Engagement Photo Session

There's something about the Hawaiian Islands that bring out an array of emotions for those that experience the beauty of what it's magic has to offer. Often times, we see couples escape here to the islands for a memorable trip of a lifetime, and at Pacific Dream Photography, we are here to capture those special moments that you'll hang on to forever.

Upon meeting Matthias and Jasmine, their energy and love for one another beamed through their radiant smiles. The two had traveled from Germany to spend a week on the Big Island of Hawaii for a relaxing yet adventure filled trip. Little did Jasmine know, Matthias had planned his marriage proposal for Jasmine and a Hawaii photo session with Pacific Dream Photography to commemorate it.

On a warm sunset session with Pacific Dream Photography, Matthias and Jasmine let their love shine through our lens with a sunset to compliment the two on their engagement. From all of us at Pacific Dream Photography, congratulations to the beautiful couple! A Hui Hou! Until we meet again.

- Written by Samantha (Pacific Dream Photography at the Fairmont Orchid) 

Recreating A Picture || Photo Ideas for Anniversaries

If you cherish those precious moments in life, like we do, you probably have photographs spanning the years. Looking back on all the fond memories, do you have a handful of pictures in which you or a loved one is making that one goofy face or that same pose from year to year?

We recently had the pleasure to photograph Mark and Terrie Marino while they celebrated their twentieth wedding anniversary here at the Grand Hyatt, Kauai. The Marinos took advantage of our professional photographers in the island of Kauai to do something very fun.

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For their wedding, they had an intimate ceremony on the beach, very little guests and a photographer. Unfortunately, a lot of the pictures didn’t turn out great back then, but they had one portrait of the two of them that they loved.

This is when we got really excited about this anniversary photo session. Terrie approached us and asked if we could recreate the photo of her and her husband on their wedding day and, of course, we said yes! They chose a sunrise time slot on the beaches of Poipu for their couples photo shoot.

They showed up to the session wearing nearly the same wardrobe, casual attire for Mr. Marino, and a bikini, and sarong for Terrie. The sun slowly crept up over the Shipwrecks cliff. What gorgeous light it created. We walked along the beach, getting to know each other, and trying their wedding pose at different locations.

It was easy to create great pictures with their fabulous chemistry. Mark and Terrie were so pleased they ended up going home with an entire collection of images. They spent the remainder of their visit relaxing in sunny Kauai and lounging by the pool.

-written by Michael (Pacific Dream Photography at Grand Hyatt, Kauai)