Pet parents, please don't be fooled by this "complimentary desk portrait" offer. Based on my…read moreexperience working with Kevin, I am highly skeptical of any positive reviews his business has. While the photography session itself is technically "free," be prepared to be subject to predatory conditions: you are required to pay a ~$150 "booking deposit" and sit through a mandatory follow-up Zoom appointment to actually get your portrait. The entire process was packed with passive-aggressive upselling, including an upfront warning that if I needed an additional Zoom meeting to finalize my portrait(s), there would be an extra $200 fee associated. He also insisted that I invite my significant other to the follow-up session to ensure that "all decision-makers" were present. This felt extremely patronizing and misogynistic, especially since I had already explained to him that I would be making the decision for my household and that additional input was unnecessary. During our follow-up Zoom call about a week after the session, Kevin spent a good part of the time stalling. After a frustrating 25 minutes of having to sit through Kevin's emotionally manipulative tactics, I let him know that I would need to leave the call early in 10 minutes and asked if we could expedite this process, at which point his "friendly" demeanor instantly changed. He told me that he would be keeping my deposit and charging me $200 to reschedule. I made it clear that I was no longer interested in his services, meaning there would be no need for an additional meeting, and asked for my deposit to be refunded. After a tense back-and-forth, Kevin reluctantly agreed to refund my money. While I understand that he blocked off an hour of his time, the stalling I experienced during my thirty-five minutes on the call felt like a setup to force me into that extra $200 meeting in hopes of selling me an overpriced, lackluster product. His constant claims of "not trying to sell me anything" while very obviously trying to sell me something were exhausting. This business relies on holding your deposit hostage, stalling to pressure you into additional fees/products, and using emotional blackmail over your pet. Save your time and stay far away!!!!!!

Kevin is an outstanding photographer with a heart of gold filled with passion for his artistry. My…read moretwo boys and I had a photo shoot. Kevin was patient as the boys (age 7 months and 2 years) had a difficult time sitting and paying attention. He worked different angles and ways to capture the perfect picture. I was taken away by the wonderful pictures he took. Kevin knows his craft. He understands that he is capturing a moment in time that will last a lifetime. I highly recommend Kevin. He is professional and aims for top of the line photography.

So glad Nick was our photographer! Nick was ready with his cameras, lights, bags, and sand-ready…read moreshoes. You can tell Nick really loves story-telling though his photos. I recall seeing him power-walking in the sand and to take photos. Despite the breeze and uneven lighting, all the photos came out wonderfully! They were all beautiful. Nick's style is timeless and vibrant which really captures the energy and the story of the best day! Nick is a personable photographer that made the photo-taking experience enjoyable, especially for coupes like us who are new to photo-taking. Not only is he personable, Nick shares posing tips and asked us to tidy up hair or our outfits during the shoot, which was a big plus, as there was a bit of wind through the day for us. Nick is a energetic photographer and his work is shows his talents. Definitely recommend Nick to capture your Best Day.

Nick was absolutely amazing on our wedding day. The energy he brought was everything you could ask…read morefor in a photographer for such a special day in your life. He made us feel comfortable and made sure he had a list in advance to ensure all of our guest got pictures with us. We traveled from California so we hadn't had a chance to meet in person but Nick is so nice and such a great person that the chemistry was just there from the moment we met him the day of the wedding. Now, our pictures were to die for!!! Your wedding day is such a special day, you want to capture that moment to have forever and Nick did just that. We loved all of our pictures and we got them back pretty fast too. Nick is just such a genuinely cool guy. We had a blast with him, laughed and felt like we made one of those life long friends that we have to visit any time we come back to Hawaii.

"Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured…read moreforever... It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything." - Aaron Siskind, one of the greatest American photographers In hosting our granddaughter's 3rd birthday party, I knew that I wanted good pictures for my granddaughter to remember this event years down the road. I didn't know any professional photographers, and my party coordinator, Tessa Gomes of Fred + Kate Events, was tasked with recommending one. It didn't help that the party fell on 8/18/18, which was a popular day for weddings, so many of the photographers were already booked. However, Tessa gave me a photographer who was available to do it: Dave Miyamoto & Co. I couldn't have been happier with this photographer! He took a lot of pictures, and all of them captured the joy in this happy occasion! In fact, I didn't realize he took so many pictures, as I didn't see him taking pictures and apparently just blended in with the guests (he wore an aloha shirt). His approach was relaxed and informal, as he took family portraits and candid shots throughout the party. I loved the many photos with Mickey Mouse that Dave took; my husband was in the Mickey Mouse costume and could see how he looked like as Mickey Mouse afterwards! My daughter, Kristin, remarked that it has always been difficult to take pictures of 3-year-old Kayla, as most mothers can tell you that kids that age are constantly moving around and will not sit for that perfect photo. She also said that Kayla took a liking to Dave Miyamoto, and he was easily able to coax her to take the perfect shots. So, he must have that natural gift or touch as a photographer to get those prime shots, and with kids even! I think it's because of his comfortable, relaxed, approachable and easy-going personality that others taking liking to. And with some 28 years of photography knowledge and experience, he knows what works and what doesn't. He loaded all the photos on a thumb drive and arranged to meet the day after the party to give me the thumb drive. Now, that is what I call lightening speed! He also had the pictures easily accessible via the computer for my daughter on "dropbox." And he gave permission for us to be able to reprint as many pictures as we wanted, which we did at Costco. (For those of you who are like me, remember those days when we had to buy a photography package and be charged for each additional photo, which would take weeks to get?!) Dave Miyamoto specializes in weddings, but that doesn't limit him to do other special occasion events, such as birthday parties like ours. His love for photography spills over to things he likes to do, with many photos of surfing, underwater diving, and yoga. He leads a team of photography specialists in his company: * Michelle Guda- Miyamoto - Dave's wife and is the Marketing, Social Media and Client Services Director for more than 22 years. She ensures that your photography experience will be the best and most memorable time you can have. * Ryan Miyamoto - Dave's son, who has a degree in Television, Film and New Media Production from San Diego State University. He has a keen and natural artistic eye for the art of photography, loves to surf, and has photography experience of more than 9 years. * Claire Miyamoto - Dave's daughter, who is the Graphic Designer and has been photographing for more than 7 years. She has a degree from the University of CA-Santa Cruz in Film and Digital Media. * Erwin Resurrection - Associate Photographer who does freelancing. He's been photographing with Dave for more than 15 years. * Paula Ota - Associate Photographer who loves the beauty in nature. With a love of yoga, she has been photographing with Dave for more than 8 years. With so many years of experience, it is no wonder that Dave Miyamoto & Co. is one of the top photography companies in HNL. While Dave was the sole photographer for our party, I found him to be creative, personable, knowledgeable, professional and quick to move in getting those memorable moments. And he was timely, arriving before the party started and having the photos ready for me the next day. I could tell that Dave was very comfortable in taking the necessary photos. It is not surprising that Dave Miyamoto & Co. has consistently won top Wedding Wire (wedding planning website) awards for its photography. Yes, photos are memories of events and loved ones that live on forever. I'm so glad that Dave Miyamoto was there to capture those memories! Thank you, Dave, for those excellent photos that will last forever!

I'm just going to go straight to the point. Dave is Very…read moregenuine and hands down Amazing!! He is so chill, nice, very patient, and he definitely knows what he's doing!! We had Dave for our wedding In November 2019 in Oahu, Hawaii and he also shot our engagement photos 3 days before the wedding. He was SOOO quick with sending our engagement photos. We basically got all of our shots through Dropbox to view with ease in less than and hour and a half! The photos came out so nice!! My husband and I felt at ease with Dave and so relaxed. He has a great sense of humor and was just so sweet!! We highly recommend him! Can't wait to see all of our photos from the big day!

Plenty mahalos to Doug and his second photographer. E kala mai, I can't remember her name, but she…read morewas very sweet and helped Doug capture very tender moments of our wedding day. Doug was very professional from the moment I contacted him about investment. I was engaged for almost 2 years and spent a lot of time choosing a photographer. I received quotes from at least a dozen photographers and even met a bunch at one of the Wedding Cafe events. I was very picky and wanted to stick to a budget. I happened to find Doug's wedding photography company on Instagram and fell in love with the candid photos he took of couples. Doug's quality and attentiveness is comparable and, I argue, better than other wedding photography companies on Oahu that charge crazy amounts of $! I've had photographer friends compliment my wedding pictures according to the light setting he shot with and other techniques that I know nothing about. Lol. My husband told me Doug was super cool and very patient with him and his groomsmen. Doug even took some GQ grade photos of him lol. As for me, Doug made sure to bring a list of shots I wanted to capture. But, the best were shots he came up with himself! I must highlight how patient Doug was with us. My bridesmaids and I were running late with getting ready, but Doug and his second shooter made it happen and still managed to get important shots of us! He was even patient when working with the craze and demands of my ohana! Not an easy task lol. Mahalo piha e Doug! You gave us beautiful photos that we'll cherish a lifetime!

Doug and I did a photoshoot for my yoga website. Doug is an amazing photographer. Not only does he…read morehave an eye of an artist, he also holds space for the people he's working with to feel as comfortable and at ease as possible. Super professional and very easy to talk to. I would totally recommend for anyone to hire him! I mean, just check out his Instagram account!

Are you stressed and still looking for a wedding coordinator and photographer? Well look no more!…read moreYou definitely need to join forces with Stephen Ludwig - Salt & Sandalwood Events and divert your energy to other things. I know this sounds like an info-mercial, but we had such a great experience with Stephen Ludwig and his team from start to finish. I think we lucked out and also I think everyone deserves a special wedding so I hope you give them a look. I contacted several companies/groups/people looking for flexible packages to fit our needs. It's hard in the early stages of planning a destination wedding knowing just how many guests you'll have! My ceremony was at Kualoa Ranch with the reception to follow in Honolulu. I was stood up by a few companies; bad sign when your potential wedding team "forgets" they had a phone call appointment with you! Stephen and his lovely wife, Litton, were incredibly accessible and responsive to every wacky question or request I had. Super easy to negotiate with and I never EVER felt like I was being swindled or lied to. Obviously their website scores major points for organization and being aesthetically pleasing. The clean, professional yet personable style matches them in real life, too! We exchanged numerous emails along the way during planning stages. Stephen and Litton helped me find a great hair/makeup stylist, arranged for the most perfect officiant (his wife was also wonderfully helpful but that's for another review), and coordinated a guitarist for the ceremony. Stephen went to look at the site a few weeks ahead of the date then sent me photos in order to know exactly where to put the chairs and flower arch. Ceremony went off without a hitch thanks to the on-site day of coordinator and the rest of the Salt & Sandalwood team making sure my flowers and chairs and guests were in their proper places. I was able to worry about just myself. I was pleasantly surprised to see they brought water for my guests, I completely spaced on that detail and given the sunshiney day it would have been a major faux pas. Now, the main reason I selected Stephen with Salt & Sandalwood was because I knew I'd be looking at these photos for a lifetime. So far I just have the mini gallery, but it's amazing. After the obligatory group photos and diplomatically dealing with certain relatives (haha) we broke off to do our own photo shoot with tons of backdrops, angles, poses -- really incorporating the beauty of Kualoa Ranch and Hawaii. Stephen made my husband and me feel at ease, expertly ordering (in a nice way) us around, "hand here, walk that way, do a twirl," snapping a bazillion photos. I was disappointed when last minute the ranch told I couldn't have horses in the nearby paddock as advertised. Stephen even asked Kualoa if we could go to the stables, but that idea was shot down. I'm still a little bitter about it, but with how great everything else went I can't complain too much. Remember how I said my ceremony and reception were different locations? Salt and Sandalwood drove us from A to B, which was so nice of them. He busied himself taking photos of guests and decor and things; obviously he does this a lot and knows what matters and how to make things look magazine worthy. He made sure to photograph the cake before we attacked it, my husband and I before we got too drunk and really did a fantastic job of capturing moments without being a nuisance. 100% would book again! My favorite vendor from the whole wedding experience. Heck, Stephen Ludwig was the backbone of my Hawaii wedding experience! You won't be disappointed.

Highly recommend Stephen Ludwig as a photographer. We had him as our photographer for our wedding…read moreat Kualoa Ranch and he was great. Very experienced and professional, and he had plenty of experience shooting in different lighting at our venue. He did a great job capturing the event and we love how his photos turned out. He had great energy and did a great job making us feel comfortable and candid for our shots. Loved his artistic style! Thank you Stephen!

As we were searching for the photographer to cover our vow renewal and family photos, we had a very…read morespecific vision in mind. Chris went over and beyond everything we asked for. He was patient, calm, and responded to every email efficiently... As with every major event that you plan months away, we had an unexpected occasion arise that threatened our trip... Hurricanes Iselle and Julio! Not only did he follow the hurricane watch with us, he kept in close contact with us the entire time! WHILE he was on vacation. We will forever be grateful to Chris for being available to us and capturing this momentous occasion. His style and personality are unmatched and the images he produced are beautiful. We will treasure our photos forever! Hiring him was one of the best things we did for our event!

Chris was a fantastic photographer! Super fun and creative! He is really easy to get along with and…read moremade us feel comfortable so we could be ourselves and take great pictures. He has an eye for great shots and was very helpful in directing us but also allowing us to come up with our own ideas as well. We loved how our pictures turned out! He captured the fun we were having and our love for one another-what more could we want? He communicated well with us and got us our pictures fast. His editing ability is phenomenal and we would recommend him to anyone.

We have hired Jason for our wedding and have done multiple family photo shoots with him. He is…read morewonderful to work with. He is very easygoing and responsive. He's calm and gives pointers for poses, because I know we're awkward sometimes. HAHA He also gives great suggestions for locations since we aren't local to Hawaii. He asks for your preferred style and backgrounds and will base it off that. If you have certain poses or photos you want, let him know! His turnaround time is also great. Our last photoshoot included my extended family and he was able to get so many great shots quickly without feeling rushed. My family were also impressed and asked for all sorts of photos, and he handled them all very well. Posing photos are great but I love candid ones that he captures of our kids. They're the ones that always come out the best. I highly recommend Jason to all my friends and family if they are in Waikiki. Thanks Jason!

Jason is a beyond amazing photographer. He has a magical way of capturing moments, no matter big or…read moresmall. When we were flipping through our wedding gallery it was like we were watching a movie. His kind and professional demeanor guided me and my husband (we do not consider ourselves photogenic at all) through poses very well. Even with the sudden rain fall at the venue, he continued to shoot and took advantage of the situation with some more cinematic photos. I highly recommend Jason as your wedding photographer!

Jimmy was so fantastic to work with. When we found his website and saw his work loved his vibe from…read morehis bio, and his style of work. From our first meeting with him we felt so comfortable and supported by him. He was happy to accommodate a family member who does not particularly like being photographed. And he was on board with our dog being a very important part of our day and how we wanted him to be a focus for pictures as well. Jimmy did an initial consult by phone, met with us over coffee to get comfortable and really go over what we were looking for, and did a pre-shoot with us so we could be familiar with his style and so our dog could be comfortable as well. He went above and beyond for us. On the day we had some difficulty with our venue and we loved and appreciated how he handled everything and took charge. We felt that he was really prioritizing us on our day and helping me not have to deal with anything additional stress-wise. We have only gotten our sneak peeks and we love them so much already. We cannot wait to see the rest. We loved how fast paced and direct he was. In our meeting with him we had asked him to be very candid and direct with us when it came to posing - for example I wanted to make sure I was not slouching in the pictures and he had no problem reminding me any time I did- or would even physically pose us - always being considerate and asking before doing so. We felt so comfortable. We cannot recommend him enough!!

I was fortunate enough to have James take our wedding pictures during our beach ceremony and it was…read moreamazing. James is truly a master of his craft. My wife and I have never gotten professional pictures taken so we were a bit worried with posing and how everything was going to come out, but James confidence is super contagious and made us feel comfortable, confident, and excited! Because of James we now have beautiful memories to cherish for the rest of our lifetime together. His turnaround for pictures was quick exactly how he promised and the final pictures came out amazing. Thank you, James! If you are looking for a photographer in Oahu please don't hesitate to book James.