Shoots! Photography

Matt & Nicole

2012-01-09T10:51:00.000-08:00

Nancy & I have been wanting to shoot another session at the Ewa Hawaiian Railway Park for years, so when Nicole asked us to do a Trash the Dress session for them, this was the first location that came to mind. They let us do some really fun and creative things and the results were beautiful. I thought it really fit their timeless, romantic style. The Ewa side of Oahu really has its own small town character, and reminds me of visiting my grandparents in rural Pennsylvania, where a freight train ran behind the house. It was the perfect backdrop for a beautiful couple.

The Okahara Family

2011-12-12T19:08:00.000-08:00

We met the Okahara family at the Yelp Halloween event where we took these gorgeous pics:

Leila owns Kreativephoto, a really nice photo booth company. If you're not familiar with the concept, (you know, for those who were in space for the last ten years or so), photo booths are set up at events like weddings, fundraisers, first birthdays and Yelp parties. You go into the booth and 1, 2, 3 cheese! Then Leila puts your photos on this really cute strip with the name of the event on the bottom. The print quality that they use is really nice and the pictures came out FAST. They were one of the most popular spots at the Yelp party, so I was really glad when Leila called to take family pictures with us. They have a really sweet (and photogenic) toddler that they were a little worried might act shy, but Nancy got him out of his shell within a few minutes, and after that, he had as much fun as the rest of the family. What a charming smile!

Get in touch with Leila at leila@kreativephotobooth.com if you're looking for a photo booth for your own event. She is really sweet and I'm sure they would love to take pictures at your next party!

Viernes Family Mini Session

2011-12-10T16:36:00.001-08:00

The Ito's

2011-11-22T18:49:00.001-08:00

The Ito Family is back with a new edition! They welcomed a baby girl into their lives last year, and this was the first time we've gotten to photo the whole family. She looks like she's doing fine holding her own against her two big brothers. Julie & Marshall, your family is alway so much fun to photograph! We end up having a great workout by the time we're done. Hope to do it again next year!

Yelpy Halloween!

2011-10-31T17:59:00.000-07:00

Once again, we got to party with the Yelp Elite. THIS time the event was Yelp's High Flyin' Halloween Party at the new Pacific Aviation Museum on Ford Island. And most of these Yelpers went all-out on their costumes (when you're surrounded by recognized critics, your costume HAS to be good). The museum has some amazing World War II era planes and other large scale items on display. This is not a "glass case" kind of museum. The exhibits really put you IN the scene. There is also a lot of floor space since it used to be a military hangar. Great for a dance floor!

This Yelp event was organized once again by the INCREDIBLY talented and detail oriented Emi Hart who we caught up with while setting up the DIY cupcake station. Notice the airplane themed costume. We told you she was all about the details!

The "nerds" from T-Mobile who donated prizes for the costume contest.

Thanks again to Paul's Poppers (who were at the last Yelp event with us)! We would have been STARVING all night if you guys hadn't been there! And the new lilikoi cheesecake popper was killer!

P.F. Chang's kept the drinks going all night. The giant missiles behind them were pretty freaky though.

It was also great to meet Leila Okahara & her husband with Kreative Photo. If you need a photo booth, their rates are REALLY good (like ours)! The print quality from the photos they took was high res, clean & glossy.

Sounds were provided by DJ Troy Michael. You guys were a lot of fun!

Regal Bakery showed off their BACON doughnuts! Of course they also had some vegetarian options too. Makes doughnuts almost sound healthy when you put it that way!

Aloha Beer Company (brewed at Sam Choy's) brought the Aloha Lager!

Another great part of the museum is the Combat Simulator Flights.

When flying like a bat just isn't cutting it.

No Halloween party is complete without a costume contest. Some of our favorites included: Kitana from Mortal Kombat

(Thankfully) Non-Twilight Vampires

Geppetto & Pinocchio

Mr. & Mrs. Julia Childs

Charlie & his two Goddesses - this giant Charlie face just got funnier all night.

And the winner of this year's costume contest...LEGO BATMAN!!

Right after the contest, several of the guests broke out into a flash mob THRILLER.

We hope everyone had as much fun as we did. Here's a few more pictures of the creative costumes that turned up:

You can see ALL the photos from this event at our gallery shootsphoto.smugmug.com

Happy Halloween, Everybody!!

Nancy & Sunshine

Ryan & Jessica Engagement Shoot

2011-10-21T19:25:00.000-07:00

We met Ryan & Jessica about two years ago when they first came to Hawaii. Ryan has an incredible green thumb, and knows a ton about organic farming. Jessica, is also really into sustainable living & loves cooking and baking from scratch. They both met at church in Colorado and fell in love in high school. They plan to have a ceremony on New Years Eve, but since it's in Colorado, they wanted to have a Hawaiian photo shoot at the beach. Ryan & Jessica, we're so glad you're in our lives & that you've been such great friends. We wish you all the best and dream of visiting you at the farm!

Sean & Pohai

2011-10-13T17:57:00.000-07:00

Pohai & Sean started their day at the Pacific Beach Hotel in Waikiki. For the ladies, it was early morning hair & makeup. For the boys it was a couple extra hours of sleep to make up for the late night PS3 Rock Band playing at the hotel. From the wedding to the reception, both Pohai & Sean really let their personalities shine throughout the day. Thanks for letting us share such a beautiful day with you two!

Grandparents' Day at the Children's Discovery Center

2011-09-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

For Grandparents' Day, we were at the Children's Discovery Center again for another great event. We had met Kyle from C.H.E.F.S. Hawaii at the Yelp even earlier this year and had talked about joining up to do something together in the future. C.H.E.F.S. is a new non-profit that helps other non-profits with their food needs (like getting lots of people served on a tight budget) They also have a community outreach component which includes teaching children about healthy foods. They worked with Liane & Loretta at the Children's Center to create a special event for Grandparents' Day. They had a cooking demo for about 20 kids who learned how to make a fresh salad using local ingredients including a lilikoi honey dressing. It was super delicious and VERY photogenic. Thanks, Kyle & all the C.H.E.F.S. volunteers, you guys did a great job educating Hawaii's grandkids! Thanks also, to the Fairy Cakes staff & personal trainer, who volunteered their time (and cupcakes) to the event!

Super fresh local fruit.

Kyle, showing a trick to shaking a salad.

Pohai & Sean

2011-09-19T12:57:00.000-07:00

Kiani's Graduation Party

2011-09-03T19:40:00.000-07:00

The trickiest part about scheduling a grad party in Hawaii is finding a date when no one else is having their grad party. This is why Kiani was having her party now in gorgeous Waimanalo. Kiani's mom, Luana is a friend of ours and she spent most of the year planning the party, so everything would reflect her daughter's style & personality. Kiani's two loves are volleyball and hula. So the event had some really beautiful performances including one with all the aunties & friends. She has such a fun and beautiful family! Congratulations, Kiani, on your graduation, and we wish you the best future!

Park Sang Min & Yurisangja Concert

2011-09-02T11:11:00.000-07:00

And now, the main event! Nancy was asked to emcee at the concert while Sunshine and our assistant Jeffrey photographed. Mayor Peter Carlisle gave an opening address to the attendees. The concert was a benefit for the Korean American Women's Club of Hawaii and they packed the Mimiya Theater with Park Sang Min and Yurisangja fans. The guys even put on Hawaiian shirts and sang Aloha Oe together at the end of the night.

Park Sang Min Meet & Greet

2011-08-31T14:52:00.000-07:00

You can't live in Hawaii without knowing about Korean dramas. And in Hawaii, K-Dramas are BIG. Not just big with Koreans, big with LOTS of local ladies. So it's not a big surprise that Singer/Actor Park Sang Min has a pretty big fan club here in Hawaii. In fact, he comes to do concerts almost every year. So this year his fan club & the Korean American Women's Club got together to organize a concert, and for the the VIPs, a chance to meet Park Sang Min up close. He also brought along a group called Yurisangja (means Glass Box) for the concert & mixer. It was a really fun event at a gorgeous Kahala house. Stay tuned...concert pics tomorrow!

Fans bringing aloha shirts for Park Sang Min and Yurisangja.

Awaiting the entrance of Park Sang Min

This is Grace, she's the president of the Park Sang Min fan club and one of the organizers of this whole event. She was making sure everyone had a great time and of course, she played host to the singers.

And here they are!

The official Park Sang Min tees.

Meet the official Park Sang Min!

Waiting for autographs and CDs.

All of the fans went away with a photo of themselves with the stars.

In case you didn't know, the pretty lady in yellow is Nancy's mom. She's the Korean American Women's Club president this year and helped organize the concert and mixer.

Jennifer & Aaron

2011-08-30T10:35:00.000-07:00

When Jennifer & Aaron approached us to shoot their wedding reception, they were already married. Wha?? Yep, like many modern couples, these two had a destination wedding. Their unique vision for the wedding ceremony was to find a spot where they could get married next to pandas. And who knew how difficult it would be to find that exact spot? It turns out that only the Atlanta Zoo allows wedding ceremonies next to any animal house you choose. So Atlanta it was. Now that they're back in Hawaii, they wanted to share the fun with their family & friends, so they had an amazing brunch buffet at the Hawaii Prince Hotel complete with a bananas foster flambé station. Jennifer has true sewing skills, so she sewed her and Aaron's wedding outfits AND managed to sew cute printed pillow cases for favors for EVERYONE. I think she also sewed her hula dress! A really fun an talented couple. Congratulations Jennifer & Aaron!

Kama & Randy

2011-08-18T19:32:00.001-07:00

This is Kama and Randy. Remember Kama? She was one of our awesome assistants this year! Kama is leaving for college this week, so she wanted to do something special with her boyfriend, Randy. And what would be better than one last day at the beach with Shoots! Photography? Best wishes at school, Kama! We'll miss you!

Come Pley with Yelp!

2011-08-15T23:18:00.001-07:00

Last night's FREE Yelp hosted party was a hot ticket! They ran out of RSVP spots almost a week ago and it was a really fun crowd. It was held at the Hawaii Children's Discover Center.

Hundreds of Yelpers waited patiently to get in for FREE entertainment, FREE food, FREE drinks and lots of fun.

Thanks to all the partners who served food last night! Hanapa'a Sushi had delicious spicy ahi hand rolls. We would have eaten these all night, but we had a job to do.

And here's a NEW restaurant in Kalihi called Paul's Poppers. We can't wait to go visit and have a full plate of fried poppers!

And of course, we've enjoyed P.F. Chang's lettuce wraps. Thank you to whoever had to prep the 600 leaves!

If only we weren't working...Aloha beer brought two of their brews.

They look so refreshing.

And we love the Whole Foods ladies who introduced us to raw kale salads with a tahini based dressing. Buy local!

And if you're like us and can't read Chinese yet, this table is for Jade Dynasty restaurant. They brought their leaf steamed mochi rice.

The fun part of this event is that they had a huge variety of activities to try out. One of the favorite booths was Flipbooks Hawaii - they record a short video clip of you & your friends and then turn it into a flipbook for you. Great idea for weddings or birthday parties. They brought some crazy props!

Special thanks to Keith for helping me when I wasn't sure if I could get the Yelp logo in time to upload all the pictures today!

Another popular stop was Lena's Fab Brows which was doing free treatments. She was so popular, that at one point the wait list was about an hour. Good thing there were so many other great activities right around the corner.

Like this artist from Colorwhims. She made some amazing body art. This is not your carnival face painting!

In addition to the painting, Colorwhims was also doing glitter tattoos...

...and balloon art!

Heaven on Earth Salon & Day Spa was there with their comfy massage chairs and friendly employees. They were doing all kinds of great spa treatments. A massage sounds so good right now!

And for dessert, the ladies of Fairy Cakes had some really pretty (and tasty) mini cakes to sample.

Thanks to the staff of Mac 24-7 who came out to serve mac & cheese.

Outside, Camille's on Wheels was serving tasty samples from their taco truck. They alternate between Kailua & Kakaako, so look them up and check them out. I'm going tomorrow!

Did you know Ocean's 808 Club is changing again? Well, now you do. They're going to become Tower 10 in the near future. Judging from the samples they had at the event, they might become more well known for their food than their clubbing. It looked GOOD.

Thanks to all the sound guys with Mystical Sounds, Star 101.9, and Troy Michael Wedding DJ. The music helped to create a party atmosphere & the DJs were great!

Another fun activity was the StarShotz Photobooth. Another batch of great props & everyone went away with a Yelp memento photo.

There were other great photo-ops all around the Center.

Pacific Digital Signs set up a camera to post a photo directly to Facebook with the Come Pley With Yelp event logo.

Another yummy snack from C.H.E.F.S. Hawaii. Grape & Pineapple with fruity gel bubbles.

Yelp also invited several artists to create art at the event; The Starfish Guy, Evolve1, EdyG & Phatees.

Sunshine's balloon flower, shortly before she popped it with the heat of her flashbulb. Oops.

I don't know WHAT'S going on here, but you can't say the Discovery Center isn't a fun place to throw a party.

Special thanks to Emi who organized this entire event with the help of her Yelp staff! You guys rock!!!

Yelp asked attendees to donate to the Hawaii Children's Discovery Center. We hope you raised a lot of $$$! The center staff were great hosts.

For more photos from the Come Pley with Yelp event, visit our Smugmug gallery HERE.

Ashton's 100th Day

2011-08-08T12:37:00.000-07:00

Ashton celebrated his 100th day with us at the beach. 100th day is a special birthday celebration for Korean babies celebrating their passage out of infancy and into a long and happy childhood.

Don't you want to PINCH these cheeks?

This is one of our favorite shots. They were laying with their heads together for less than two seconds before Ashton went straight for the hair and earrings! But their family is so cute, it just looks like the poster for a Korean comedy. Ashton looks so satisfied.

Rebloom Hawaii

2011-08-02T14:31:00.001-07:00

Earth laughs in flowers. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Hamatreya"

Have you heard about the volunteer group Rebloom Hawaii?

They re-purpose floral arrangements from weddings and big events and donate them to Hawaiian hospitals and nursing homes. Fantastic idea since most flowers from weddings get thrown away when they still have a lot of life left in them. Tropical arrangements are particularly hardy and can last several days. Consider contacting them if you're a bride-to-be or hosting a big event.

The Johnson Family

2011-07-16T10:51:00.001-07:00

Sometimes things just work out better than you could have planned.

While on a different shoot, we were approached by the Johnson family to see if we could come back later in the afternoon to take pictures of their family. The timing couldn't have been better. Although we were racing against time to get pictures of everyone before the sun went down, the lighting from the setting sun was gorgeous - as you can see, the backlighting makes blonde and red hair absolutely glow.

The two girls have such contagious smiles - they make us think of summer vacations when WE were that age. Summer sun, flowers, playing in the ocean. What a great day!

The extended family kept us rolling - what a bunch of jokers! You can tell how much they enjoyed their day at the beach. We had to post a few of the pictures of the extended family; great personalities that really come through in the shots.

Miae, Jason and.......

2011-07-09T22:16:00.000-07:00

Nancy's known Jason since her childhood, so it's been a real blessing to capture Jason and Miae's engagement, wedding (see their previous shoots on our blog) and now their maternity shoot! Congratulations!

This shoot was done 3 days before Miae's due date.

Little Elijah was right on time and we were honored to capture his adorable image on his first day! Welcome Elijah!

It's TIME!

2011-07-07T19:45:00.000-07:00

Exciting news for us: Sunshine has decided that it's time to go into this crazy photo business FULL TIME! Although she loved her "day job," the call of the camera (and giant computer screen) is just too strong. SO, this means that our turn around times will get MUCH faster. Not only that, but we'll have more flexibility to shoot during the normal work week (we know a lot of the good event places give discounts for booking on the weekdays). It's been an amazing two-and-a-half years (already!?!?) that has brought us to this point. Can't wait to see where this new path takes us!

The Chambers Family

2011-07-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

The Chambers were the winners of our family portrait session that we gave away at the Kevin Nutt fund raiser last year. They have such big hearts, we were really looking forward to doing their pictures. The weather in Hawaii is almost always great, but this day was exceptionally beautiful with white fluffy clouds and a turquoise ocean. What a fun family! Thanks again to the Chambers for donating to the fundraiser - we were really proud to be a part of it.

Ian, Helen and Baby Chang

2011-06-05T22:16:00.000-07:00

Ian & Helen are old friends of ours. It's crazy to think they're soon (VERY SOON) going to be parents! We're so excited for them and couldn't wait to show off their baby bump pictures. Helen is probably less than a week away from giving birth and she still looks amazing! Ian & Helen, congratulations again and we're looking forward to meeting the new little one.

Jamie

2011-05-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

Jamie was another one of our assistants this year. I know, you're thinking we had a lot of assistants, and we did! We were so lucky to have great help. Most of our assistants are working on their career hours for their senior year in high school. They've worked on weddings, birthdays, senior portrait shoots and even learned a little Photoshop. The only problem with working with high school seniors? They LEAVE at the end of the year! We'll miss all our assistants and wish them all the best wherever they go. And if anyone knows of juniors who are interested in learning the photography business, please tell them to email us at shootsphoto@gmail.com.

And now on to Jamie's photos:

Nicole

2011-05-17T17:27:00.001-07:00

Jeffrey

2011-05-11T13:39:00.000-07:00

You can't fight the weather. Jeffrey's shoot was a windy, stormy day. The results? Great lighting!

New graffiti! I can't believe they gave Nancy STARS to work with.

Looks like we brought our wind machines!

Kelli

2011-05-04T09:39:00.000-07:00

Kelli, as you might have guessed, is friends with Kama and Ruth, so they decided to take their senior portraits together. When we do portraits we like to make sure that each person's personality comes through. Even though with Kelli, we had just met, we could tell she was a lot of fun. Check out her ring in the closeup!

Ruth

2011-05-03T09:24:00.001-07:00

Ruth was another one of our assistants this year and got a chance to do some big events with us. She also has an INCREDIBLE leap. Best jumping picture yet, I think.

Kama

2011-05-01T23:38:00.000-07:00

Kama was one of our assistants this year. She helped all year was a big asset to us. Thanks for everything, Kama! Congratulations on your graduation!

Kiani

2011-04-27T00:44:00.000-07:00

Kiani had a great shoot at Makapuu. Last time we did a shoot there, it was cloudy and dramatic, but this week it was bright and sunny and worked for a beach shoot. Kiani was just named queen of her May Day, no wonder! She's pretty, athletic AND friendly!

Joey's 1st Birthday

2011-04-09T15:49:00.001-07:00

We have the most adorable babies at our church! No joke.

Mua

2011-04-02T17:06:00.001-07:00

Scott

2011-03-28T00:31:00.000-07:00

Vivian

2011-03-24T22:52:00.000-07:00

Shiloh

2011-03-13T21:15:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday, Shiloh!

Loved the chocolate fountain and how much fun everyone was having at your party. You have such beautiful eyes! Hope you had a very happy birthday and got to eat as much as mommy & daddy would let you. I know I couldn't get enough of the smoked pork that one of your uncles brought. It was amazing!

Abigail's First Birthday

2011-03-02T21:38:00.001-08:00

First birthday parties are always amazing in Hawaii, and there's something especially adorable about babies in Hanboks! This is Abigail and her mom, Seunghee.

Seunghee designed AND decorated this birthday cake! I couldn't believe it, she bought the fondant and shaped all of the goodies on top too.

Baby Hanbok!

Chauncey & Risa

2011-01-30T18:43:00.001-08:00

Melinda

2011-01-10T08:49:00.000-08:00

Jason & Darlene

2010-11-15T00:20:00.001-08:00

As I post this I'm in the middle of packing for a trip to Phoenix. But I wanted to post some pictures from our wedding this weekend. Darlene has been such a wonderful friend. It was such a fun and emotional (in a good way) wedding. Lots of familiar faces of friends.

- Sunshine

P.S. More to come...

Zach

2010-11-12T11:32:00.000-08:00

Ellie's 1st Birthday

2010-11-02T10:01:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to Ellie! One YEAR already. It's been such a blessing to know you and to love you. Ellie had 4 costume changes for the party and just kept us all smiling all day with her sassy personality.

Jay & Darlene

2010-10-23T20:38:00.001-07:00

Dar is one of my closest friends and I'm so happy that Shoots! Photo will be shooting her wedding to Jay wedding next month. Dar probably has tons of dirt on me since we've known each other for 10 years and been through so much together, so their photos HAD to be good. Congrats, you two!!

-Sunshine

Brian & Anita 10.10.10!

2010-10-13T01:34:00.000-07:00

We couldn't believe how many weddings we saw this Sunday, the most popular date to get married this year! But Brian & Anita have been together 10 years, which makes this 10.10.10 wedding all the more special. Congrats!

Bethany + Jimmy + Baby

2010-10-07T22:35:00.000-07:00

All pregnant women are beautiful, but I don't think any could be as beautiful as my sister, Bethany. I got a chance to take some photos of her baby-to-be when I was visiting home for a wedding. Can't wait to take newborn pictures! Congratulations Bethany & Jimmy!!!

-Sunshine

Adrianne

2010-09-20T22:00:00.000-07:00

Marc & Talia

2010-08-15T16:52:00.000-07:00

Our friend Bridget introduced us to Talia & Marc. Once we found out it was going to be held at Rascals, we knew this was going to be a fun wedding. They totally transformed the front into a beautiful reception area, and the ceremony area was a magical-looking castle with lights and candles and rose petals. Really great job on the set-up.

I couldn't get over the shoes!

And the best part was taking pictures in the blacklight. Both the lasertag area and the minigolf area had really cool backgrounds.

KILLERZ!

And back to the sweet fairy tale!

Nolan & Jessi

2010-08-03T00:31:00.000-07:00

Jason & Mi Ae

2010-07-28T22:17:00.000-07:00

Jason & Miae

2010-07-14T23:29:00.000-07:00

Ok, if this first shot isn't true love, I don't know what would be.

Blake & Patty

2010-07-03T00:47:00.001-07:00

Sora

2010-07-02T00:19:00.001-07:00