ABOUT

I am the guy who is going to help you be yourself at our session. This job is actually fun for me. I don’t see it as an obligation or something I’m pressured to do. It’s fun! I always find new ways to remove the awkwardness of a photo session. I’m always recycling the same jokes to make people laugh. Just kidding… or am I? You’ll have to find out… I am good with the toddlers, all the way to grandpas. In fact, I typically shoot families where the man always hates that his wife booked the shoot, you can tell he doesn’t want to be there, and at the end of the shoot, I get a big smile, handshake and sometimes a hug where he’ll say something like, “You know, I didn’t wanna do this at first, but you made it so fun and easy”. I will always find ways to make your shoot creative and enjoyable. I will always deliver the best photos and always find solutions to every problem.

My mom taught me how to play the guitar when I was 5 years old. In high school I attended an Academy of the Arts & Performing Arts High School in Southern California, I took photography, fine arts, theatre classes and I was a lead in many musical theatre performances. During high school I pursued my love for photography, the arts and I began to learn graphic design on my own. Making Banksy style stencils with friends on photoshop led me a deeper understanding of graphic design, where I began selling my services to the school and school clubs designing signs, hats, shirts and more. In college, I learned how to harness those skills and use them to work with small businesses on the side.

While studying business marketing and theatre in college, I taught myself how to code websites in HTML, CSS and JS. I quickly evolved into an art director and developer as I was being hired by many companies which led me to leave college and travel around the US, improving business communications for small and large businesses. In 2010, I went from being a contractor to starting my own agency which is now ‘The Hawaii Agency’. You can learn about my 5-star agency and see my work on thehawaiiagency.com

While growing a successful marketing agency, I always shot photos for friends and family. I never considered it to be work since it was so fun and didn’t make me feel pressured in the least. In 2017 I shot a clients’ family for fun. He spread the news and I quickly came into high demand for family, couples, engagement and wedding sessions.

To this day, I am either branding, coding or shooting. My favorite… BY FAR… is shooting. It allows me to get outside of the office, meet new people, take my kids to the beach, capture Maui memories and over deliver. Upon hiring me, you will notice that I go over and beyond to meet my clients expectations with impeccable work and fast turnaround times. I love shooting more than anything! I am happily married with 3 children! A 6 year old boy (Judah), 3 year old boy (Sinai) a 4 month young baby girl (Jireh). My wife Juliane is in the maternity shoot video at Kanaha Beach on the home page of this website. A couple things that you can learn about me before we shoot. I’m not your typical photographer, I have personality, I’m friendly and I will always make sure you’re looking your best. I do not use any flash or strobes in any of my photos. I think flash looks outdated and does not offer the genuine beauty of a photo. I take a more natural approach while using my skills to brighten photos, remove unwanted wrinkles, tuck in love handles, whiten teeth and anything else that you would like me to alter. Just let me know ahead of time!

If you want to learn more about me, just give me a call or shoot me a text message.

Mahalo Nui Loa!