Meranda and Alex Engagement | Makua Tidepools | Oahu Photographer
Meranda’s mom Shannon took me aside one afternoon and told me her daughter was getting proposed to that weekend and after “he puts a ring on it” could I take their engagement photos and of course I obliged. Meranda and Alex are the sweetest young newlywed on the planet. They didn’t have a prefenrce for the location other than they wanted the west side of Oahu so I told them to meet me at Makua Tidepools as it never disappoints with amazing sunsets and often times rainbows.
Since the photoshoot was just days after the proposal we didnt have a time for a typical consultation so when they arrived for the photoshoot we met for the first time. Normally people are a bit tense and nervous at at the beginning of a photo session and it takes awhile to warm up to the camera. Not for these two lovebirds. I barely had a chance to give them my first que and they were kissing and holding hands and basically being the most madly in love couple on earth. Made my job super duper easy. Oh, and yep, we got a rainbow.
Jenna Leigh Weddings | Hawaii Wedding and Engagement Photographer
Mix an uber talented wedding and engagement photographer, a stunning couple, some beautiful mural art in an urban setting...and voila, you have Jenna Leigh Weddings behind the scenes promo film.
When I met Jenna at a photography meetup over two years ago, little did I know that we would immediately become friends who would spend every week "working" together on some project or event....I use the word "work" here loosely because we have too much fun and love our jobs way too much to call it work.
Fast forward two years, and now, not only do we share an office together downtown, but I assist her at most of her weddings and engagement/elopement sessions, (I have been to over 20 of them with her in the last yea!r), we've traveled to Kauai (read about our Kauai adventure here), and Maui, and we always find time to share our love of music as we travel to and from weddings and sessions. Man, do we ever make a great harmonizing team.
I so proud of the photographic art she produces for her clients, but even more happy to now call her my dear friend.
Jenna's passion for her work speaks for itself, she loves what she does and it shows in her photographs. Her couples rave about how they love her romantic style of shooting and how she captures the true romance between them. I have watched her work at over 20 weddings and can tell you first hand this girl LOVES her job and LOVES photographing love.
She is so passionate about wedding photography in fact, that she created the first annual Hi On Life Photography Conference which takes place here in Honolulu March 6-9, 2017 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki. This is no ordinary wedding photographer conference, Oh no, Jenna's "go big or go home" motto applies here. She has world renowned, award winning wedding photographers Susan Stripling, Two Mann Studios, Jeremy Chou and many more super talented photographers speaking at the workshop, as well as three sunrise styled shootouts and three sunset styled shootouts, a private luau and an epic dance party to follow. Its shaking up to be a pretty epic three days, so if can skip on over to Oahu within two weeks or you are a wedding photographer in Hawaii and you haven't purchased your tickets, you need to get on it today! Everything Jenna touches turns to gold so I just know this is going to be an amazing conference.
The engagement promo shoot was filmed in the Kaka'ako area of Honolulu. This was such a fun shoot to film. The couple was gorgeous, the model couple looked like they just stepped off of the runway (the bride is Miss Waikiki and .absolutely stunning and the groom looked like a GQ Magazine model). The urban Kaka'ako setting was a perfect place, the juxtaposition between Christina and Morgan's stark black and white wedding attire against the color and vibrant urban backdrop looked amazing. And the PowWow Hawaii artist murals were on point as always and such gorgeous backdrops for their photos.
Typically Jenna's weddings are on the beach or at a more rural venue with a very romantic feel, so this shoot was so fun for me to film as it really shows how when somebody as talented as Jenna get's a camera in her hand, anything is possible.
It doesn't matter where her clients are, she always finds a way to use the landscape and her surroundings to create magical, romantic photographs for her clients.
I always love to watching Jenna work, she just gets "in the zone" and is so passionate about capturing that perfect moment between her couples.
For Romantic, Timeless, and Elegant & Epic
Wedding and Engagement Photography, get in touch with Jenna!
A few stills from the session...
Still images by Jenna Leigh Photography
Oahu, Hawaii Photographer | Hawaii Military Spouse Photographers Holiday Party 2016
Approximately three years ago, serendipity brought us four crazy kids together, and as luck would have it, we totally jive and make a great team of admins for the Hawaii Military Spouse Photography group. One of our favorite events to plan each year is the Annual Holiday Party. This was our third annual holiday party with all four of us as admins, so together with Kat of Kat Parker Photography, Sharleen of Sharleen Mey Photography and Chelsea of Chelsea Little Photography, we pulled off another amazing party!
I cant event begin to tell you how much I love the ladies of HMSP. We collaborate together, learn from one another, refer business to one another, have quarterly styled shootouts, monthly coffee meetups and so much more. Being a military spouse has its challenges, and we bond over much more than our love for photography. We have become such a tight knit group that we consider one another family and I don't know where I would be without these awesome girls.
Over 30 ladies attended the party and we had such an amazing time. We laughed so hard our cheeks hurt, played silly games, had a white elephant gift exchange, a raffle, and best of all enjoyed each others company.
We had the most amazing swag bags a photographer could ask for, and a ton of door prizes and giveaways from the following generous vendors:
Because of the amazing swag we received from our generous vendors, we held a raffle for some of the donations and were able to raise $450 for a local charity called Hoʻōla Nā Pua, which is a Hawaii-based, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to provide underage female victims of sex trafficking with a pu’uhonua (a safe place) where they can begin to heal from their physical, spiritual, and emotional abuse. What an honor it was to hand over the money we raised knowing it was going to such a great local cause.
Thanks to all the ladies who attended, and the amazing sponsors that donated such fabulous door prizes for raffles and giveaways.
We can not thank our sponsors and members enough for their generosity!!
As is tradition, we had a sparkly backdrop for some silly group photos. Photos courtesy of Chelsea Little Photography
Oahu, Hawaii Photographer and Videographer | Girl Behind the Camera Series - Always an Hour Early
If you have known me for any length of time or have made an appointment with me, you know I am a very punctual person. I would rather be an hour early than a minute late. I pride myself in always being punctual and find it extremely rude if I have an appointment with somebody and they arrive late. To me, if somebody arrives late, its show they don't respect me and they don't value my time. And let's face it, life is too short to be waiting around on people who don't value you.
There are moments in life when you learn the most valuable lessons in the strangest of ways. I don't remember much about middle school but I have vivid memories of my band teacher who was a brilliant musician but quite possibly the meanest person I had ever met.
He trained me to become a first chair flutist, but he also taught me two valuable lessons.
One was to always use a pencil because you need to continually revise and tweak your craft to improve and be the best you can be.
And the other was to always be punctual. I learned quickly that if I wanted to advance as a musician I would have to arrive early to rehearsal. He'd lock us out of band rehearsal if we were late and would throw music stands across the room if we messed up during rehearsal. To this day I can recall the sound of his voice as he would yell at us for arriving late to band and sectional rehearsals and wouldn't let us in. We would have to sit outside in the hallway and listen with agony while the other students practiced.
To this day, I refuse to be late to ANYTHING. I would rather be an hour early than a minute late. I live by William Shakespeare's motto in that its "Better to be three hours too soon than a minute too late".
So the next time we have a meeting together and I arrive an hour early and you see me sitting in the parking lot catching up on emails or reading you will know why. :)
Girl Behind the Camera Series - I Married a Sailor | Hawaii Photographer
On this Veterans Day, I want to thank my sailor, USN Retired, First Class Petty Officer, Gunnersmate, Affron Herring, and all military veterans for serving our country.
“The willingness of America’s veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude.”
—Jeff Miller
If you would have told me I would one day marry a sailor and live this crazy military life, I wouldn't have believed you.
It was almost 20 years ago when I was in Hawaii on a national student exchange program from the University of Minnesota to the University of Hawaii Manoa. Upon arrival, I knew I was in love with the islands (as I had visited once before in 1993 with my friend Tara), but I had no intentions of falling in love at 22 years old with a US Navy sailor.
When I entered the room of a local Honolulu church "singles ministry" in September of 1997, I couldn't help but notice the tall (dude, he's 6'5", you can't miss him!), dark and handsome man who happened to be in charge of the meeting that night. I sat in the back like a scared little puppy, not wanting to be noticed as "the new girl". I'm not sure if it was my midwest vibe (picture overalls, Birkenstock sandals and a thick Minnesota accent) or my short spikey blond hair that got his attention, but a certain somebody made sure I was on his team for the scavenger hunt activity that evening.
At the time, I had no idea he was in the Navy. So it wasn't the uniform that got me (and I am sucker for a man in uniform...I mean, who isn't??), it was his good looks and charm that won me over.
When the semester at UH was over in December, Affron was supposed to drive me to the airport for my flight back to Minnesota, but he was on an emergency duty at sea and wasn't able to bring me. And, this was long before everybody had cell phones so I didn't know he wasn't available to bring me until it was almost too late and I was moments away from missing my flight. I do believe that by us not being able to say goodbye, it made the "distance makes a heart grow fonder" thing real strong and being 5,000 miles apart really made us realize we had fallen in love.
Once back home in Minnesota, as I was sleeping off my jet-lag, my mom said "this man keeps calling the house phone and wondering if you are ok". Turns out "this man" would come visit me in February of 1998, would give me a ring and would marry me a few months later in August 1998, just a few days before he would be deployed to Afghanistan for six months.
When he returned from our first deployment as a married couple, he was required to do recruiting duty, and as luck would have it, Minneapolis/St. Paul was one of the location choices. So we lived in the Twin Cities where I was able to finish my college degree and he was a navy recruiter from 1999-2002.
Our daughter Raina was born in Minnesota in June of 2002 and one month later the Navy moved us to San Diego where Affron was stationed at Coronado. Unfortunately for us, he was then sent on a 10 month deployment and missed the entire first year of Raina's life.
As the ship pulled back into Coronado in September of 2003, he had a retirement ceremony on the ship, at the age of 37 with 20 years of service.
The Navy then moved us one last time back to Hawaii where we have lived every since.
This military life has been a crazy one, but one that I am so thankful for all the things it has given us. Now as a retired veteran, Affron is able to receive wonderful benefits from the Veterans Association, nearly free medical care for our family, access to reduced rates at military stores and the commissary and many other things.
Have you filmed your HOLIDAY VIDEO CARD yet? | Hawaii Family Videographer
Why send a holiday card when you can send a HOLIDAY VIDEO this holiday season?
This year we are so excited to announce that for the first time ever we'll be filming Holiday Mini-Session VIDEO CARDS!
I know, I know...it's not even Thanksgiving yet! But trust me, you'll be glad to have this checked off your list before December arrives, and the holiday chaos that comes with it!
What exactly IS a holiday video card, you may ask?
Think of it as your tradition holiday card, only WAY MORE AMAZING. And, you don't have to lick any stamps or go to the post office.
While sending family and friends a traditional holiday card is nice and all, it doesn't really capture the essence of you and you family...how much the kids have grown, their cute little kiddo voices and all the love and squishes shared between you.
Click below at the Searcy Ohana's day at home baking cookies and snuggling in their jammies!
The Details:
Amount of time:
We come to your home and capture footage of you for 1 hour. The activity you want to do during that time is your choice. You can bake cookies, jump on the trampoline, sing karaoke, play board games, or just hang out and play while I capture the essence of your family. Within a few moments of me arriving, I promise you won't even notice I am there. After awhile, I am like a fly on the wall and the camera continue to roll as the magical fun of your family unfolds.
What you receive:
You will receive a high definition, digital download of your Holiday Video Card via Dropbox, which can then be shared to any social media platform you choose. It will be 1-2 minutes in length and contain a licensed music track. All films will be ready for delivery by December 15th.
Filming Dates in 2016:
We are taking holiday video card clients on the following weekend dates.
November 12 - 13, November 19-20, December 3-4, December 9-10.
Price: $250
click below and Select your filming date & let's get started planning your holiday card!
Oahu, Hawaii Videographer | Lucky Latina Clothing ~ Brand Film
We are so thrilled to be a part of Sharon's journey with her Lucky Latina Clothing brand and jumped right on board when she said the brand vision is to celebrate strong, sexy and unstoppable women.
Done and Done!
From initial consultation to finished film in 3 weeks. Boom, we got right down to business on this one folks. Show her some love at crowdfunding Indiegogo page and on her facbebook page or go to Lucky Latina Clothing to shop.
Fur baby Chupacobra and Joy joined in on the fun at the end for some fun bloopers.
