Kauai Family Photographer
Portraits photographer / photo touch up artist - superior family photography Kauai
What's up
Kauai family photography that's a mix of classical, zany, saucy, fun and loving, all thoughtfully realized. Couples photography Kauai, going above and beyond!
COUPLES PHOTOGRAPHY, WEDDINGS, ENGAGEMENTS
Want to see full photo sets?
Here at Sunsets At The Beach you'll see a few hundred photographs that I've selected from about 100 of my photo sessions. Candidly, I know this doesn't give you a full sense of what your photo set will really be like. So I've made it possible for you to view full client galleries to so you can really get a feel for what you're likely to receive when you choose me as your Kauai photographer. Please click on my full portfolio gallery link below.
LIGHT, SHADOW, ACTION
Wedding photography Kauai - with an emphasis on photo-touch up creativity. In other words I make people look their best, and better yet. While I'm known as portrait photographer specializing in creative family photography, I do weddings when they're a bit different, such as happening in very special places. For this particular wedding, when I arrived at the location I saw bright sunlight filtering through the trees and wow-factor boulders to scramble up on. I was at Fern Grotto, mid-morning, a gorgeous location. But the icing on the cake was how regal the couple were. Classical poses—why not. Often I'm not seeking the ultra-posed look. I find a gritty snarl just as striking as a tender smile. A punch in the arm and a yowl works for me too, as does flying out of the surf in a cloud of sea spray. But it's also good to go with the flow. I know by feel when I have the photoset in the bag, er, memory card. The next step of my process is the creative editing of the photos, where it's not unusual for me to spend 6 or 8 hours to create the magic. Mahalo. David Marsh, Kauai photographer specializing in Creative portraiture.
My Kauai photography philosophy
I believe every photoshoot is unique and deserves a personalized approach. I work closely with my clients to understand their needs and preferences. I use my photo-touch up expertise to create Kauai family photographs well above and beyond their expectations, illuminated in the text I received the morning I wrote this, “Omgsh! They are fantastic! Thank you, David.” It was followed by multiple hearts and happy faces!
Photography Options
FAMILY/ COUPLES PHOTOGRAPHY
SURPRISE ENAGEMENT PHOTOGRAPHY
SURPRISE ENAGEMENT PHOTOGRAPHY
Kauai’s misty mountains with lush foliage is stunning for photo ops, only it wouldn’t be so verdant without the rain. Still, not everyone wants to have their photo session in a downpour, which is why as a family photographer Kauai, I try to be as flexible as possible in regards to switching times, even the shoot date for portraits photography if possible, at no extra charge.
SURPRISE ENAGEMENT PHOTOGRAPHY
SURPRISE ENAGEMENT PHOTOGRAPHY
SURPRISE ENAGEMENT PHOTOGRAPHY
For surprise proposals it's actually a good idea to tell your significant other that you're booking a photo shoot, without revealing you're going to propose. Why? Because the precise location and precise moment will be eliminated. Without the coordination aspect, you'll only be paying for a couples photo shoot. FYI -- most of the surprise proposal photos displayed on my website came out of couple's photo sessions. All were true surprises!
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY
SURPRISE ENAGEMENT PHOTOGRAPHY
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY
Destination elopements are the staple of Hawaii's photography business. As a Kauai wedding photographer, during the photojournalism portion of the session I love seeking out interesting angles, which adds to the dimension and blends seamlessly as we move to portraits photography.
HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT PHOTOGRAPH
Dynamic qualities in photographs
"Sunset hour on a beach, please."
I cannot tell you how many times this request appears in emails and texts to me. Well, it is the name of my website. Duh!
"Yes," I tell the client, " Kauai surprise proposal photography sunset. Awesome!" Kauai has so many stunning beaches, vast stretches of sand, glimmering sunset ocean, and then I start thinking (too much thinking, me thinketh) and in my mind I see a gazillion swimmers and surfers and sunbathers. Everybody loves sunsets. Where to do the session? There are beaches in Kauai that are remote, hardly ever trafficked. Thing is, these are not that easy to get to and most of them not very big. But why do I need a big beach? Of course I already know the answer. Dynamic qualities.
You might ask, what are dynamic qualities? They are photo op elements. Misty mountains in the background, swaying palm trees, profusions of jungle, small boats, an outrigger canoe sitting on a sand bank, lazy rock pools, a fallen tree trunk on the beach to sit on. If I'm on a mini-shoot, a remote hardly-ever trafficked beach like Larsons Beach is perfect. But when I'm going for 30, 40 or 50 fabulous images I need to be somewhere where there's more just sparkling ocean and sweeping drifts of sand. This is why I do most of my photoshoots at Hanalei Bay or Shipwreck Beach or Tunnels Beach. There are other beaches with dynamic qualities but I also have to think of factors such as ease of getting there, parking, safety, bathrooms, etc.
As a Kauai photographer I love it when my clients see their photoset for the first time and they text me, "These are amazing!" 'I love them all!" "They're stunning!" Well, having magnificent dynamic qualities all at a stone's throw is the first stage of making awesome photographs. But the second stage is the big part, the part where my magic really comes into play, the craft of Creative Portraiture!
Once again. 'nuff said, for now
—David
Sunset photography Kauai at the beach
I’m in a forest for a sunset shoot. I place my subject with the sun behind her. It's a blinding sun producing amazing backlighting in her hair, but it's also creating flares in my camera lens and blinding me. Thing is, because I'm in a forest I know I can place her and myself in such a way where tree foliage blocks the harshest rays while still providing enough sun flare and back light for a magnificent shot.
On a beach photographing a family during sunset hour is a bit more challenging. I can either live with the bright sun flares, which are arguably creative, with my subject/s mostly in silhouette, or optionally use photo flash to counter the sun and capture skin tones, only the resulting photos will likely have a slight unnatural look, which can also be very creative. Or I can wait for the sun to get very low in the sky, when it's less intense and more colorful and sometimes even magical. This is a very small window of opportunity (minutes to grab the shots) and hopefully have breathtaking photos. As a Kauai family photographer I don’t think there’s a bad time of the day for a photoshoot.
Tidbit if trivia. Do you know the three categories of twilight?
- Civil twilight.
- Nautical twilight.
- Astronomical twilight.
MY FAVORITE...uh?
Tidbits about David Marsh Kauai photographer
Tangelos are absolutely delicious. Winter time is citrus time in Kauai and you'll find me at the farmers' market buying tangelos by the crate load. I’m a Kauai photographer who loves sunsets more than sunrises, digs broccoli, cayenne pepper in smoothies, peanut butter but never onto jelly, and guess what? I don't have favorite things, no favorite movie, favorite book, favorite food, favorite color, or favorite most things, and I’ve read thousands of books, seen thousands of movies, tasted more foods than I can name and so on.
I talk to strangers I pass in the street, like, "hi, good morning, nice sneakers."I do the same at the supermarket, in the parking lot at the beach after I’ve finished a photo session. Growing up I was a shy one. Who knew I’d be such a chatter box?
Don’t be surprised to see me walking around with three cameras slung over me during a photo shoot. If I’m your Kauai wedding photographer and we’re doing a session at the beach, I’d sooner have the three cameras on me, each with a different lens rather than a single camera and a backpack of lenses. On the beach, swapping out lenses is not my thing.
I speak one language but at three different speeds, all with an accent that says I was born where…Australia? Nope. South Africa? Nope. Yup, you guessed it, the other place.
Surprise proposals seem to come in waves for me. I won’t shoot a surprise engagement for months, and then all of a sudden, it’s six in row over two weeks.
A minute ago I wrote I don't have any favorite things. Uh, maybe not entirely accurate. Kauai is my favorite place to live and I love being a Kauai photographer.
Cosplay portraiture. I'm a fan. If you want to get dressed up to the hilt and have me take photos of you, send me a text.
Before I sign off this section with "'nuff said," I want to mention that I write, not just this kind of stuff for my website, but, well, books! I would love a wee bit 'a help here. I mean HERE!
Okay, nuff said, for now.
