Maui Wedding Photographer - Anna Kim Photography

Brightly colored bouquets ~ Wedding Elements

Anna Kim — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:31:49 +0000

This photograph was taken at a recent Maui wedding. There’s nothing quite like a punch of color and uniqueness of these bouquets to add to the look & feel to a wedding.

SmugMug’s August Meeting: Recap

Anna Kim — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:11:35 +0000

What can I say, living in Hawaii offers an array of beautiful backdrops to shoot. This month we had our first shootout at Baldwin Beach and we were lucky to have ridiculously good lighting and gorgeous models to photograph. Every year, the sand from the right side of the beach is swept away, leaving these beautifully textured roots which are normally not seen when the sand is there. There were four stations with different models, and after 20 minutes of shooting the groups would rotate. There was great energy & friendly faces. It was also nice to meet photographers new to the group!

I want to give a special thank you to the wonderful ladies from Wings Hawaii who were kind enough to donate the jewelery, surfboards, and clothing for the event.

Here are some behind the scenes photos from Monday’s shootout.

Maui Photo Festival & SmugMug Giveaway!

Anna Kim — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 23:48:23 +0000

Who doesn’t love free stuff? The Maui Photo Festival has graciously donated a full 5-day festival pass for the festival, which is happening this week at the Hyatt! A wealth of photography resources will be available with speakers, shoots and events. Please check out Maui Photo Festival’s website for more information and an extensive schedule.

In order to enter the contest for the 5-day festival pass, follow these easy steps:

1. Become a fan of Maui Photo Festival HERE.
2. Register for free to become a member of the Maui Smug Mug. Monthly meetings, discussion and networking will be available as a member. Join HERE.
3. Join Maui SmugMug on Facebook HERE.
4. Lastly, submit a photo which you think best represents why you should be chosen to win the pass. Email it to me.

You have until Tuesday 6pm Hawaii Standard Time. A panel of judges will pick the winner. Good luck & happy shooting!

The day after a Maui wedding…..

Anna Kim — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 22:24:43 +0000

…the start of Lisa & Al’s trash the dress session.

Irresistable couple + an equine friend

Anna Kim — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:19:26 +0000

More to come from Monday’s photo session on Oahu…

Heart Shaped Sun ~ a Maui Wedding

Anna Kim — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:16:37 +0000

Here’s a sneak peek of Marisa & Steven’s Maui wedding.

A Maui Engagement Session: Trina & Mike

Anna Kim — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 18:59:18 +0000

A few weeks ago, I met Trina and Mike who were visiting Maui. She was here for work while Mike scouted out the best golf courses. I instantly clicked with both of them. Trina reminds me of a sister that I never had…common interests & hobbies alike. And Mike is a wonderful guy who absolutely adores Trina. Both of them were playful and natural in front of the camera which made this photo session a breeze.

These shots were taken hours before they hopped on the plane to San Diego. Who knows, maybe they will be back for a Maui wedding.

Maui’s First SmugMug Meetup

Anna Kim — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:49:58 +0000

Maui photographers have a great need to come together and share ideas. The new SmugMug group provides the perfect opportunity to help, create, inspire and challenge each other. I was blown away by the number of people who showed up last Thursday for the first SmugMug meeting.

The surprise guest speaker was Jason Lewis. He most recently was in the movie Sex & the City and he has spent many years in front of the camera as a top fashion model. Some of his clients are Guess, Boss, and Tommy Hilfiger to name a few. He’s on island filming a personal project and he’s the one *behind* the lens using a 5D Mark II shooting video. We opened the floor for a Q & A session for helpful tips for ways photographers can make their client feel comfortable in front of the camera to him demonstrating a “crab walk” to keep the video shooting steady.

Beth and Terrie from the Maui Photo Festival came to the meeting and talked about the 2nd annual Maui Photo Festival happening next month in Lahaina at the Hyatt. It’s a 4-day conference on August 25th, offering something for every type of photography. Also we were lucky to have PhotoGraphics Maui in the house speaking about the photography printing services that they offer and also the latest development of being the first camera & equipment rental place here on Maui.

Thank you to Haz Beanz Coffee Shop for opening their space to us. And a special thanks to Catering from Soup to Nuts for providing the delicious fruit plate, chicken skewers and coconut shrimp. It was nice to see familiar faces and to meet new ones. If you’d like to hear about upcoming meetings, sign up HERE. Genevieve and I are excited to see this group take off.

Thank you to my sweet husband Elan for snapping some photos of the first meeting.

Honeymooning in Maui

Anna Kim — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 02:03:36 +0000

Katie and Matt are newlyweds living on Oahu. They got married in Chicago two months ago, among family and friends and decided to have a last minute honeymoon on Maui before Matt is deployed to Iraq. He is leaving for an entire year, in just a few short days. It breaks my heart to think about being apart from my husband Elan for more than a week, let alone an entire year. It also makes me appreciate even more the profound sacrifices our troops and their families make for the safety of our country.

Katie & Matt wanted to document this happy time in their lives, and I really enjoyed photographing them.

Miriam & Todd’s Maui Wedding

Anna Kim — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:40:57 +0000

Last Wednesday, Miriam and Todd were married at Mama’s Fish House. These two lovebirds met through mutual friends on the Harvard campus. A guest told me that she “stalked” Todd at Shay’s (the bar where Todd works) but she’ll deny it. They traveled all the way from Boston for the wedding. Not only did they fly across the country but so did Todd’s grandmother, which was a special treat for the whole family.

Other than a light tropical sprinkle before the wedding, the weather was sunny with blue skies. Miriam has a magnetic personality–she is funny & sweet, I felt like we were old friends. And this girl absolutely adores Todd. Todd is always making her laugh and the chemistry between the two of them is something very special. They both read their handwritten vows which brought everyone (including myself) to tears. It was one of the most emotional weddings I have had the privilege to witness.

Dellables Floral Wedding Design did a lovely job with all the floral arrangements and with decorating the arch. My wonderful husband Elan photographed along side with me. A big maholo to Daniel & Ralph for introducing us to your families, everyone was so warm & inviting.

Congratulations Miriam & Todd!

Exciting Updates

Anna Kim — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 22:30:03 +0000

SmugMug is coming to Maui and I am honored to have been given the opportunity to lead the Maui SmugMug group, along with the help of the lovely Genevieve De Rago. We will be meeting once a month, with our first meeting starting in July. The meetings are open to anyone who enjoys taking pictures, and will change every month. We’ll be having shoot-outs, photo critiques and guest speakers (I’m stoked to have 3 phenomenal speakers already lined up!), and much more. We’re of course open to ideas or suggestions as we build a this new photo community here on the island.

And in other news, I’m super excited to be chosen as a finalist for shooting a Southern Weddings magazine cover! Over 200 photographers applied with a creative brief and they picked 20. I’m collaborating with an amazing team to make this shoot a big success. If it is not chosen as the cover, it will be featured in print or online. It’s really an honor to be on this list with some of the top photographers in the industry. You can read more about it HERE. I couldn’t be happier with the big changes that are happening!

Yaralena & Chris ~ a lovely Maui wedding

Anna Kim — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 22:43:31 +0000

Yaralena & Chris flew in from Kansas to have their Maui wedding. They were married at Po’olenalena Beach on May 24th, 2010. It was just the two of them ~ such a simple & elegant beach wedding.

Congratulations Yaralena & Chris! Thank you for letting me be a part of your big day!

GoBoda Bootcamp 2010 ~ Seattle

Anna Kim — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 23:15:44 +0000

Last month I had the wonderful opportunity to attend Jim Garner’s GoBoda workshop in Seattle. What initially lured me to this workshop was the focus on lighting. Being a wedding photographer on Maui, there is plenty of the most gorgeous natural light available, but it’s equally important to sharpen one’s skills with off-camera lighting as well. I couldn’t think of a better person to learn from than Jim. The photography bootcamp was three and half days of intensive learning, but it was balanced with a lot of fun, and we had a great group of photographers (two traveled all the way from Guatemala!). Enjoy the photos from the Pacific Northwest!

Reconnecting

Anna Kim — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 19:18:04 +0000

Back in May I visited Minnesota for a mini-family reunion. Through the power of Facebook, I was able to reconnect with Jennifer — a childhood friend from grade school. Jennifer, Rana and I were the three musketeers in elementary school — always joined at the hip. I must admit, I’ve always been envious of Jennifer’s pretty red hair.

We started in Loring Park and then walked over the bridge to the Walker Art Center. Here are just a few of my favorites…

Amber & Josh ~ Honeymooning in Maui

Anna Kim — Thu, 13 May 2010 19:35:40 +0000

Amber & Josh are quite the romantic duo. I instantly felt a connection with them. They are both silly & fun-loving, and I could have talked with them all night had we not had to worry about the sun setting for the photo session. I was also really impressed with Amber’s determination. When she sets her mind on something, she does it. She was living in Florida and was hoping to move elsewhere. She flew to Los Angeles to “check out the city” but I really think it was to “check out Josh.” They hit it off right away. A few weeks later she returned to Florida, having decided to move to LA. Josh flew to Florida with his dog and helped Amber pack her belongings into her car to drive across the country for the move. The rest is history. I am secretly (okay, not secretly — I’ve voiced it quite a number of times) hoping that they follow suit and move to Maui. The more West the better, right?

This honeymoon photo session was a sweet wedding present from Sarah Cowperthwaite. Sarah has known Josh for over 14 years and was thrilled when he met the love of his life, Amber.

Congratulations Amber & Josh! I’m looking forward to having you as neighbors. I found the perfect house in my neighborhood–and yes, it has 3 bedrooms because Sarah needs an office, right?

Ms. Gita ~ Part III: Four Seasons Maui

Anna Kim — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:46:15 +0000

Gita is such an elegant & classy girl, and I really wanted to get some photos that showcased these qualities. What better place than the Four Seasons Maui? (Elan and I love this hotel more than any other on the island, the service is absolutely impeccable!)

Baby Sydney (aka: Squeaky)

Anna Kim — Tue, 11 May 2010 04:18:04 +0000

Nova & Kevin welcomed Squeaky into the world on January 23rd, 2010. This little girl is a real doll with a sweet disposition. These pictures were taken on a whim; our first official baby Squeaky shoot is coming up, so stay tuned. Here are some candid photographs of one of my favorite babies on Maui!

This was taken the first day home from the hospital. Baby Squeaky was noticing her fingers are long. And check out her immediate reaction. Classic!

A Decade of Love ~ 10 year anniversary Maui photography shoot

Anna Kim — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:29:04 +0000

Jen & Chris came to Maui to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. Yes, these two have been married for a decade and you would hardly know it since they both look incredibly young. Jen & Chris are hilarious! They make me laugh. Hard. I could feel the love between them through their glances at each other, silly banter and even one threat of throwing him into the ocean. Even though it was my first time meeting them, I feel like I’ve known them for years. I actually connected with Jen through Facebook. She’s the younger sister of Bunn Salarzon, a talented Portland-based photographer who is flying to Chicago with me to shoot a wedding in the Fall.

Jen & Chris — Congratulations on your anniversary! And thank you for all the laughs–my cheeks were sore! Portland is on the top of my list of cities to visit next….and that’s not only because of promises of good Thai food.

Ms. Gita ~ part II

Anna Kim — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 20:04:15 +0000

The concept of visualizing a scene in my head before photographing it (”pre-viz”) has been dancing in my head for the past few weeks, thanks to Fred Egan and also Lara Casey. Of course I love the spontaneity and candidness in family portraits and weddings, but I’m now also fascinated by the idea of creating a particular scene with a style of clothing, accessories, activities and locations. Ms. Gita ~ part I was going for a vintage look with a birdcage veil, high heels and a cafe setting. For part II I wanted a sandy beach, cowboy hat, pickup truck and converses. Of course, not all of those details in a single shot.

My dear friend Gita is a fun loving girl. She’s spontaneous and outgoing, to say the least. I’ll never forget the time she volunteered to go on stage in Vegas in a packed room for a hypnotist’s show. She was the entertainment for the night & stole the show. Don’t worry Gita, I promise that those pictures will never make it onto the Internet. And thank you, Gita, for being an active and willing participant in this creative process.

Side Note: Lara Casey- Editor of Southern Weddings Magazine is having a workshop on April 29th on the Big Island called Making Things Happen. I had the opportunity to hear her speak at WPPI, and this business savvy woman has invaluable wisdom to share ~ in a cute Southern accent to boot!

West Kuiaha Cutie ~ Thi’s Family

Anna Kim — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 23:14:04 +0000

Ann, Aron & Thi are great friends of ours on the island. They live in Haiku, on a spacious two acres where they grow a variety of vegetables, fruit, ginger, galanga, fresh herbs and coffee beans. Every time Elan and I go over there we walk out with a big bag full of fresh produce. Who needs Whole Foods when you have friends like them, eh?

I had the pleasure of taking some family portraits for them. Thi is one of the most intelligent little girls that I know. She’s always asking questions, even sometimes stumping me. She’s also one of the happiest girls in Haiku. And how could she not be, Ann & Aron shower her with so much love.