Tips to Ensure the Perfect Maui Family Portraits

So you’re past the engagement photos, wedding planning and anniversary shots of just the two of you, and now you’re onto the Maui family portraits. That’s great! Congratulations. But be aware, the family photos can be tricky. When you have multiple people of all different ages in one photo shoot, it can be difficult to get those special shots you dream of hanging on your walls for years to come. Lucky for you, here at Trade Winds Photography you’ll find the best Maui family photographers around. We will make sure you have plenty of great shots to pick from; and you will love them all so much it will be hard to choose your favorites.

Once you’ve booked your shoot with Trade Winds Photography, take a look at the following tips so you’ll be ready for a successful family shoot and a super fun day…

Allow the kids to be kids: Don’t be too concerned with getting the kiddos to behave or pose just so. Sometimes the best shots happen when the kids are just being kids and the photographer is getting silly with them. Embrace the silliness, at least for a portion of the shoot; there will be plenty of time to do more formal, posed shots too if that’s what you have your mind set on.

Keep it light and fun: This one goes hand-in-hand with the above tip, but we think it’s so important that it’s worth breaking up into two tips. It never fails, the best photos always happen when everyone is having fun together and the photographer has the wherewithal to take stealthy, candid shots when you least expect. Don’t you worry, when you’re shooting with us here at Trade Winds you can bet your bottom dollar that we will get those perfect candid shots.

Coordinate outfits: While you don’t want to be too matchy-matchy for your family portraits, a common color scheme goes a long way. We would suggest light, crisp colors such as white, beige and pale blue for the beautiful Maui backdrops. 

It isn’t all about the posing: If you focus too much on “posing” you often get stuck in your head and your photos will end up looking stiff and lifeless. We will always take a few posed shots and suggest some more fluid “posing,” but as stated above, candid shots are usually the winners.

Variety is the spice of life: The most important aspect of a family photo shoot is options. This is mostly our job as the photographer, but it’s important to go into your photo shoot knowing you’re going to be asked to do lots of different things in lots of different places and that the camera is going to be snapping away all the while. So always remember that this will ensure you end up with the perfect family photos. 

Take Holiday Family Portraits in Hawaii

No matter how sunny it is around you, no matter how beautiful the beach is, or how green the palm trees are… you can’t deny that the holidays are here. What better way to stick a flag in the occasionas a marker than to book your holiday family portraits. You can have your own Hawaiian take on what the winter holidays look like with a sunny smiley picture of the whole family.

Just in case you need a little more convincing as to why you need to book your holiday themed Maui family portraitsMaui family portraits ASAP, here are some top reasons:

1.  If you have children, you know that they are growing and changing every single day. You know that these changes are even bigger each and every holiday season, which means that is a no brainer, really. As your children grow up right before your eyes it is important to create great memories of important times in your lives, and although you may have a million photos of everyday stuff on your phone, Instagram, and Facebook, nothing replaces a beautiful professional photo of the entire family during a special time of year.
2.  Getting dressed up… You and your family have a chance to dress up. You can go formal or absolutely corny in ugly Christmas sweaters. You can make all of your children match just a bit, or if your dogs are going to be a part of the photo, why not put some antlers on them? If you have teenage boys, it’s probably extra special to have them dressed up in something other than board shorts or jeans and a tee shirt.
3.  The entire family all in one shot! Because seriously, how often is one parent left out of the picture because they are playing the photographer? Even if you have tons of pictures of your children, pictures of your spouse with the children, or pictures with you and the kids… how often are you all together?  Most families will admit that it is rather rare to get a photo of the entire family, so this is really your chance.
4.  You’re going to end up with a great photo, especially if you book your Trade Winds Photography. Having a professionally trained Maui photographer makes all the difference. When you’re the one having to take pictures of your children at some point you’re probably going to hear “Awwww, I don’t want to…” or “I don’t want to smile!” It’s easier to let a professional deal with these situation and smooth things over. 

Trade Winds Halloween Edition: Haunted Hawaii

Maui is a gorgeous Hawaiian island known for its natural beauty, endless adventures and relaxing atmosphere. But there is another side to the island that you may not be familiar with—a spookier side that is not for the faint of heart. As is the case with most places around the world, Maui has its share of ghost stories and haunting legends. So in honor of the quickly approaching holiday that’s filled with tricks and treats, we’ve decided to do a little something different with this month’s blog…

Trade Winds Photography Presents: Haunted Hot Spots Around Maui

The Iao Theater: This theater, located at Makawow, is rumored to be haunted by spirits who seem to live in the dressing rooms. Visitors report feelings of being watched, doors slamming all by themselves, voices coming through the walls and items moving around on their own. This is by far the most spine-tingling haunting on the island.

Old Maui High School of Hamakuapoko: The whole area that was formerly the town of Hamakuapoko is said to be haunted by spirits from its historic missionary and plantation days. But the old abandoned high school in the area is the creepiest haunt of all. Before the school shut down, numerous students reported mysterious occurrences, such as being accosted by a “chocking ghost.” Today, the remains of the high school still stand and some say you can hear the ghost of a girl crying drifting out from them.  

Iao Valley’s Kepaniwai Heritage Park: This tourist-heavy park isn’t the most haunted location on our list, but there are rumors that float around among the locals. Some say that when the sun goes down and the tourists have all gone home you can hear the eerie whispers of spirits all around you. 

Giggle Hill: This is the sweetest haunting in the world!  Those who visit the top of this aptly named hill report hearing the giggles of young women floating through the air. 

Wailea Coastline: This one sends shivers up our spines… Legend has it that there is a lone female spirit who drifts around the coastline and when she sees anyone who can see her presence, she apparently stops dead in her tracks and stares that person down until they leave the area altogether.

While some of you may not be interested in hauntings of any kind, others may already be making plans to visit each of these sites. If you and your family are urban legend lovers or Halloween fanatics, you might even consider taking Maui family portraits at one of these locations. Perhaps you and your fiancé are thrill seekers; if so, these could be prime engagement photo locations. But whether you like to play it safe or scare yourself silly on the regular, one thing is for sure: When you call Trade Winds Photography, you’ll be calling the best Maui photographer around.

It’s More Than Just the Gear

Digital photography technology has made gigantic leaps in the past few decades. For most of the history of photography, taking pictures involved planning. You needed to pack for a camera and remember the film. Now it’s an afterthought. These days, the phone in your pocket can take pictures with higher resolutions than the most expensive digital cameras just twenty years ago.  If you’ve seen Apple’s new “shot on iPhone 6” ads, you’ll know that your phone can create some truly stunning images. And it’s not just phone cameras. High quality consumer DSLR cameras are more affordable than ever, allowing the average person to take beautiful, high-quality pictures.

So with all of these resources available, you might wonder if there’s even a point of professional photography anymore. What can we do that you can’t? The answer does have something to do with equipment. As good as “prosumer” cameras have gotten, more expensive professional cameras can still capture a deeper, more dynamic range; in other words, they can pick up darker darks and lighter lights in the same frame. Additionally, some of the most beautiful photography is taken in very low light situations, and this requires super fast and (unfortunately) super sensitive lenses.

But most of our value as professional photographers has nothing to do with our gear. These are just our tools. What really makes the difference is our skills and knowledge that we’ve gained over years

of experience. The kinds of things that technology can never “cheat.” First, there’s composition. The way things are composed in the frame can create a sense of balance or tension or excitement. What angle should the camera be? How much should I include? What can I leave out? Which lens? These decisions affect the way we perceive the image, often in ways that aren’t immediately obvious.

Then there’s the lighting. It’s all an image really is: reflections of light off of surfaces. There are many different types of light and types of surfaces, and they all interact with each other in unique ways. It can be textured and beautiful, or it can be flat and ugly. A good photographer doesn’t fight what the sun gives him; he works with it and shapes it into what he needs.

At the end of the process, you have more than just a recording of reality. You have an impression—a subjective, emotional statement that tells a story. At Trade Winds Photography, I bring my passion for visual storytelling to every assignment. Whether you’re looking for Maui family portraits , wedding photographers in Maui, landscape art or any other photography job, I’m honored to bring my experience to help express the story you need to tell.