Jeff Okuna Wedding & Portrait Photography Kailua Kona Hawaii JK Okuna Photography

Shauna & Bully

2011-10-05T18:28:00.000-07:00

Shauna contacted me wanting to shoot an engagement session for their wedding invitations, after some delays we were finally able to get some time in for the shoot. Shauna and Bully were awesome to work with, when clients are eager to let themselves go with the flow of things the photos always come out great!! This was a new spot I had never been to, so I had no plan. Off we went searching for the light, and what was supposed to be a 1hr session turned into a 3hr session because the light we found was so good, I wanted to keep shooting as long as they were willing, and at the end of the day I was very excited to see the images we were able to capture. I was impressed with how far Shauna was willing to go! Hair, nails, make up, heels... climbing fences, walking through the pasture, climbing rocks, what a trooper!

Amber & Keoni

2011-03-10T09:53:00.000-08:00

I recently had the chance to photograph Amber and Keoni's wedding day! And I must say I'm lucky I get to notice every little expression through the eye piece of my camera. A nice late afternoon ceremony, a reception with hula performances and dancing that would continue on into the night! Lighting and audio provided by Hawaii Sound & Vision http://www.hawaiisav.com/, I highly recommend these guys for your event, ask for Luckey Brown very cool guy. I also want to thank Amber & Keoni for giving us a room for the night at the newly renovated King Kam hotel!

Strobist: The ceremony photo's were just about impossible because of how stong the afternoon back light had become, and I knew it would be a problem ekkkkhhhh! Break out the secret weapons! I had previously stashed a SB600 hidden in the gazebo @ 1/4 power just in case, dont remember the rest of the settings, I was using a radio trigger to pop off the flash for some fill, there was no way I knew there was going to overpower that ambient, but it came out great. Night shots were done using a single Nikon SB24 bare flash also on a radio trigger and light stand ISO 800, 1/250th @ f9

Interesting weather...

2011-02-26T19:47:00.000-08:00

I have been sick ALL week!!! it's my kryptonyte! Woke up at 4am to an amazing lightning storm that I watched move in from the ocean outside of keahole airport, and up Hualalai in less then 15 minutes! A great photo op for sure and I would have taken better photo's if it wasn't for me being hopped up on Nyquil and not to mention my son work up crying because of the lightning and thunder... and a pretty cool sunset sky, the colors were amazing

Merisa & Charles

2010-11-06T16:30:00.000-07:00

Merisa and Charles had nice afternoon wedding ceremony under this canopy of trees at Honokohau Harbor Park. Shooting from and in the shade is a luxury that I don't usually have. The afternoon sun was bright, but the trees helped to block it all out, and only through small openings in the tree tops, light rays would beam through I loved it! The reception at the Yacht club highlighted the night, with lots of food, hula performances, including a beautiful solo dance by the Bride dedicated to the Groom as he watched on. Going through the photos I could tell that Merisa and Charles although both are very shy, they are also a VERY loving couple!

Kim & Craig

2010-10-31T18:40:00.000-07:00

Kim & Craig planned their wedding on Halloween day, why not? Nobody gets married on Halloween, which explains why every minister, photographer, planner, musician, whatever... would be available on that day. We all know that simple is always better. The wedding location ended up being at a newly renovated private home on Alii Drive... very nice. Claire and I were off to cover another wedding. On another note, nothing to do with the wedding I never realized how many homeless people live on the beaches of Alii Drive, it's shocking

Leilani & Nathan

2010-10-10T21:40:00.000-07:00

Nathan called me up looking for a wedding photographer, and that he and his wife were on a limited budget for photography, I decided to give them a break and help them out. Anyone that wants a photographer shouldn't have to decide they don't need to have one becuase they cannot afford to pay $500.00 for an hour!! I personally hate that side of most professional photographers. Anyone that had passed up Nate, and Leilani's wedding didn't have a chance to see and photograph the hands down best wedding reception of 2010!!!! It was like watching "The Gathering of The Kings" but better! Dim dramatic mixed lighting throughout the reception area was really a challenge, but made this wedding very original!! By the end of the night I had run out of batteries for my flash units, and we were still photographing well beyond our scheduled time, because the reception was so busy we didn't have time to to get away and take some photos of the bride and groom alone but at the very end I was able to get one strobist shot in, before my batteries wouldn't power my flash at all... this was a test shot as I was setting up my lighting you can tell by the framing but that's all she wrote

Diane & Scott

2010-09-12T19:16:00.000-07:00

As a favor for my sister I had helped out her friend with some photos. Diane & Scott were scheduled to get married in the near future. Insisting on an early shoot to avoid harsh lighting on numerous ocassions, their schedule wouldn't have it. Bright blue skys at Kiholo Bay.

Amber & Keoni

2010-08-29T13:09:00.000-07:00

Amber & Keoni, have both been busy making preperations for their wedding in December, working, and along with taking care of their one year old son finding the time to do things is always a task in itself. Amber had asked my wife about doing some last second engagment photos, and as busy as I am, we were able to squeeze something out of the early AM hours, here's what happened.

Renee & John

2010-08-17T03:01:00.000-07:00

Normally I would be here to look @ some god dang broken air conditioner, but on this day I was lucky enough to be photographing Renee & John's wedding. Time was some what lacking, so the only time we could break aways was during the late overcast evening... into the night we go. Here are a few pics

Sammi & Jack

2010-06-27T20:39:00.000-07:00

Sammi & Jack were already married, however because of their busy lives they've never had the chance to go on a honeymoon. When Sammi told me they were coming to Hawaii, and wanted to schedule a portrait session, I was more then happy to be their photographer. Both, Sammi and Jack were easy, and fun to work which made the entire session relaxing, I had a great time taking their photos.

Lenses used: Sigma EX DG HSM 50mm F1.4, Nikon AFS 10-24mm F3.5, processed using Nikon CNX2 & PSCS3. 2nd time using CTR301P's decided to try it and see how they work, no miss fires in daylight, well as far as I know.

Strobist: 2 SB600's on my custom Dual light stand, camera right. F7.1, 1/60 sec, ISO 100 @ 1/4 power bare

Pauahi & Scot

2010-05-07T00:56:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to have been apart of Pauahi & Scot's wedding day here in Kailua Kona, it turned out to be a very exciting day not just for the Bride & Groom but for myself as a photographer, so many exciting things to photograph! Not to mention the 18+ wedding party that took a litte time to set up but I think things turned out pretty good.

Lenses Used: Nikon AFS 24-70mm f2.8, Nikon AFS 50mm f1.4

Brenden

2010-05-05T09:22:00.000-07:00

Brenden La'akea Okuna, was born on April 14th 2010 @ 8:08am, this lightweight weighed in at 6lbs. 14oz. and is skilled in the art of Brazillian Jiu Jitsu, well according to my wife it's what he was doing to the interior of his home for the past 9 months. He was delivered by Dr. Michelle Shimizu @ the North Hawaii Community Hospital. A lot of people talk about the care from this hospital, and let me tell you they are right, everyone here at this hospital is so helpful and kind. Our son had a case of jaundice, and so we had to stay at the hospital and have our son on light therapy and during that time everyone who worked in the birthing unit was great! The quality of care is A++

New Cards!

2010-04-11T11:04:00.000-07:00

I finally got some business cards made!! People would always ask me for cards, and I'd always have to say that I'd give them my email, or website address after the event, or tell them that I just dont have business cards right now. That was then and this is now folks! I honestly couldn't afford anything fancy so decided to stick with the basics, and I think they came out pretty good. Also, I've decided to eventually move my blog over to wordpress and get a real high quality photography blog going since I've been having so much problems displaying images here on blogger! In the mean time I'm giving the blogger site a small face lift, so if things look a little off you'll know why.

Ashley, Madison, & Peytyn

2010-03-07T09:30:00.000-08:00

After Peytyn's 1st birthday party, the family wanted to do a quick family portrait here in Kailua Kona. Claire had invited me along and since I actually had some free time, I joined her.

I really need to remind myself find a new place to host my blog, the image compression from desizing makes my images look so pixelated, unsaturated, and not so sharp yuck.

Lenses used: Nikon AFS 50mm f1.4

Kanani & Koa

2010-03-06T11:21:00.000-08:00

Kanai, and Koa had both their wedding and ceremony at Mauna Lani's Canoe House, and Terrace. Claire and I are off to waikaloa. It's always fun to see how happy the bride and groom get when they realize what they've accomplished. Here are a few images of their day.

Adam & Leah

2010-01-10T10:00:00.000-08:00

Adam & Leah, got married not too far from where my wife and I had our special day. That morning it was a perfect day, not a cloud in the sky! It's good to see that even though the economy is bad, people learn to appreciate the little things that really matter, a simple wedding that will provide for a life time of memories!

Lenses used: Nikon AFS 50mm f1.4, AFS 18-200 VR, AFS 70-200 f2.8 VRII (first time using this new lens, it's sharp, and heavy! would probably balance nicely with a D700 or D3x but I wouldn't know) My SB600's have always been more then sufficient enough for the work that I do, and I have been surprised with what I have been able to get away with using them. This was the first time where I was using my strobes @ full power for every shot (off camera) Some shots, I think I barley had enough power to overcome ambient, they were pushed to the limit. At least now I know the limits of the SB600, I may need to upgrade... anyone selling a pair of SB800's?

ISO 100, f11, 1/80 sec, single sb600 camera left @ full power

SB600 camera left, sun above & behind subject, ISO 100, f14, 1/200 sec @ full power

Keala

2010-01-09T14:00:00.000-08:00

Keala, has a big 1st birthday party coming up, and I was asked to take some photo's that could be used on the invitation. We headed down to the nearest park, and let him do his thing!

Lenses used: Nikon AFS 50mm f1.4

Sunset Portrait

2009-12-19T17:45:00.000-08:00

I had contacted Debbie & Andy asking them if they had wanted to do a "free" sunset portrait session. The reason being, I really wanted to do something more for them since the weather and location wasn't able to do them justice during their recently past event (if that makes any sense) you could say I felt bad and it was eating away at me. Honestly I love doing the strobist thing every chance I get, so it's down to a secluded spot in Kona for another sunset shoot!

Strobist info noted. Lenses used: Nikon AFS 24-70 f2.8, & AFS 50mm f1.4, processed with Nikon Capture NX2 & Photoshop CS3

ISO 200, f13, 1/160 sec, SB600 camera right @ 1/2 power

ISO 200, f13, 1/125 sec, bare SB600 camera right (between subject and background)

ISO 200, f13, 1/125 sec, bare SB600 camera left @ full power

You know, I dont know why my photos that I post start to look blurry when viewed, must be the way that I'm uploading or resizing the images, perhaps I should be uploading tiff files instead of jpg? Either way the original files dont look like that, and it seems to be a common problem with blogger, perhaps I picked the wrong blog to display my images, I'm too poor to get the fancy version of wordpress, I gottah figure this one out.

Debbie & Andy

2009-12-15T16:00:00.000-08:00

We had booked a small family affair at the "Keahou Hideaway" this was the first time I had been to this location, and proved to be the most difficult weddings I've had to shoot. We started off at 4:00pm with a wedding ceremony at 5:00, followed by the sunset which was scheduled to set at about 5:30. Combined with all sorts of mixed lighting, half-lit interiors and exteriors, busy backgrounds and a lack of time, I was a little worried how things would turn out. I think the most difficult thing I had to deal with was the confined space of the wedding ceremony itself. It was hard trying to frame shots with such busy backgrounds. Following the ceremony the bride and groom elected to do the group shots, I had set up my strobes for some sunset family shots only to find a huge kukui nut tree blocking the entire sunset (and a slightly overcast sunset it was) There were a lot of complications, that I found difficult but more so dissapointing. As a photographer you always wish for good lighting... I've learned to deal with bad lighting situations, and expect bad lighting rather then good and have learned to over come this. But this was the first time I had to deal with backgrounds I felt were less than ideal, and my DSLR didn't have the "terrible background compensation button" to bail me out. I know that the Bride and Groom were okay with it, but it was bugging me and it still is. We ended up staying an hour longer then contracted, and I had also offered to do a free sunset portrait of the bride and groom at a later date. Through no fault of mine, I just felt bad things were less than idea (in my honest opinion) Would it have been better if I had known before hand what this location had in store for me? Probably not, what could I have done if I had known... give them the cold shoulder? Even though it seems like I was worried (which I was) I think things turned out pretty good, and I think they'll be happy!

Strobist: I used a SB600 shooting through a umbrella camera left, and/or a bare sb600 camera right bouncing off of a high reflector for some of the group shots. which I havent posted which makes it pointless for me to even be talking about it. Lenses used, Nikon 24-70 f2.8, Nikon 50mm f1.4. Processed with Capture NX2 & Photoshop CS3

shoot through umbrella camera left ISO 200, f5.6, 1/40 sec

on camera flash diffused with small softbox

Ahi & Scott!

2009-12-12T17:30:00.000-08:00

My wife's good family friend, who was also my classmate had called us up and asked to for some engagement/portrait work. I told them I'd do it but had not set a date or time, at the end of this very busy day, I was somehow able to squeeze them in for some sunset photographs during the late afternoon. I had fun taking these shots, got carried away, and remembered we needed to leave our location before we get locked in... made it out just in time. I love the orange color cast from the setting sun.

shooting info: first shot, bare strobe camera right, ISO 200, 1/160, f18. second shot, SB600 camera left shoot through umbrella, SB600 camera right behind subjects ISO 200, 1/50, f2.8, the third shot I used strobes and shoot through umbrellas, but decided this looked good as a silouette. Last shot, single strobe camera left shot through a small soft box ISO 200, 1/60, f5.3. Lenses used: AFS 24-70 f2.8, AFS 70-300 f4.5-5.6, AFS 50mm f1.4. Processed with Nikon Capter NX2, & Photoshop CS3

Bare SB600 strobe camera right, ISO 200, 1/160, f18

SB600 camera left shoot through umbrella, bare strobe camera right ISO 200, 1/50, f2.8

SB600 camera left, softbox, sunset providing orange rim light, ISO 200, 1/60, f5.3

Angie & Chad

2009-11-13T16:00:00.000-08:00

I was thrilled when Angie and Chad had contacted me to shoot their wedding here in Kona. They were both very outgoing and easy to work with, we had fun photographing their event, and they had lucked out considering it was raining all week up untill the day of their wedding. Thanks for the corona's guys

Mike & Diane

2009-09-09T10:15:00.000-07:00

Michael & Diane had invited me to photograph their small intimate affair down at Kikaua beach. No major expectations, just something simple and private, it was nice to see the couple so happy on this day reminds me of my own wedding which wasn't so long ago.

Shooting info: This was my first wedding I shot during the morning, and it was certainly a little different then what I was used to. Considering at the time I didn't have my 2.8's at my disposal although I was shooting from the shade it worked out good . Various shots were taken with a bare SB600 on a 8' light stand. 1st shot in sequence was shot a through umbrella 1/200 @ f10 ISO 400 flash @ 1/2, controlled with nikon SU80. Lenses used 18-200vr, 70-300vr, 10-24. Processed with NX2, some additional work through CS3.

Strobist Portrait

2009-09-05T12:59:00.000-07:00

An afternoon in Kona with a blue sky and without sun blown out highlights... rare during this time of year. Every photoblog posting, I'm always in a battle against the harsh late afternoon lighting during this time of year in Hawaii. With a blue sky, clouds softening up some of the ambient light, out come the strobes for a portrait shoot during this small window of good lighting. The fist shot in this sequence is actually one of the last taken during the shoot, and you can see that the blue sky was only there for a few minutes before it had gotten overcast. Hawaii weather is so unpredictable.

Shooting Info: All images were shot using a single SB600 shot through an umbrella close to the subject and to the left of the each shot. Lenses used: Nikon 18-200mm VR f3.5-5.6. Processed with Adobe Photoshop CS3. The beauty about shooting strobist, is that you dont really need to use expensive lenses to get good shots, as if you were just shooting in a ambient light only situation. Fast glass doesn't really mean anything if your limited by your body's max flash sync speed. Heck you dont even need to have the latest and greatest body! simply being able to balance the light makes all the difference.

1/200, f8, Iso 400 SB600 camera left @ 1/4 shoot through umbrella

1/200, f9, ISO 100, SB600 camera left @ 1/8th shoot through umbrella

1/200, f7, ISO 100 SB600 camera left @ 1/8th shoot through umbrella

1/200, f9, ISO 100, SB600 camera left @ 1/2 light modifier - diffuser

Fuga Wedding 8/8/09

2009-09-04T16:30:00.000-07:00

Inah & Pat had their wedding @ Pohoehoe beach. On the weekend that local residents were expecting a hurricane to hit the island. It all worked out in favor Inah & Pat, because it turned out to be a very clear day with a lot of light to illuminate this late afternoon wedding in Kona, and the hurricane never did show it's face! Inah, Pat... Good luck to you both

Shooting info: The group photographs were shot using my typical two light SB600 off camera flash and SU800 wireless commander and setup using a crosslight pattern. I didn't have much time allocated to get in the family, group, plus the seperate bride and groom photographs. So I shot the family and groups using Nikon's CLS in TTL mode. I honestly didn't want to waste time setting up my lights with the rapidly changing light, so I shot in iTTL. A strong back light reflecting off of the wather just blew everything out as far as the background is concerned. I had some reflective fabric on the bridesmaids dresses to I tried to dial down my flash to minimize the highlights off of the dresses. Lenses used Nikon 18-200vr f3.5-5.6, Nikon 70-300vr f4.5-5.6, Nikon 50mm f1.4, Nikon 10mm fisheye f2.8, Nikon 24-70mm F2.8. Processed with Nikon Capture NX2 & Photoshop CS3.

Kalino Portrait

2009-08-23T17:00:00.000-07:00

Bruce Kalino had asked me about doing a family portrait, of course I wasn't against it. Now I'm not a fan of indoor portraits because they always come out looking like elementry school photographs (no offense to those who do that sort of thing) but too plain for my taste. Since the family was staying at the Royal Sea Cliff, we had decided it was most convient for everyone to have the portrait done there. The Kalino family was very enthusiastic and very patient about doing the photoshoot. It was fun to shoot this one and I enjoyed it! Along with some of the beer and pupu's afterwards!

Info: Very harsh lighting once again. I had subjects backlit with the sun behind them, but the light was still too much. I was having a hard time overcoming the sun and balancing my strobes. 1st location was a great spot, but crashing waves and ocean spray in the air + my strobes made some shots look too hazy & noisy. Eventually we moved to a sidelight shot that worked out much better then the back light, but I lost a good location. Used two SB600's on light stand cross lighting, one of my strobe's batteries began to lose power so I was getting intermitent operation. The harsh lighting was beginning to make my subjects too uncomfortable so I decided to finish up with one working strobe, and some ambient for fill. Lenses used: 18-200vr f3.5-5.6 & 10-24 f3.5-4.5, processed with Nikon Capture NX2

Waikaloa Engagement

2009-08-09T17:00:00.000-07:00

We went to Waikaloa to meet our couple @ the Hilton for some engagement photography. It's a good thing our clients were down for anything, because man it was hot! and at 5:00pm on this day the light was very harsh and very difficult to deal with. Walking around, in these conditions was not fun for anyone. For whatever reason the couple had requested photographs be taken from the chest/shoulder area up, I was curious but never asked why they wanted to do that. Because of the harsh lighting I hardly had a chance to take photographs, and to save the photo shoot, I worked the reflector to shade our clients while Claire took most of the photo's.

Strobist info: last picture in series was shot with two Nikon SB600's one was placed behind the couple to provide rim light and to illuminate the tree. I couldn't get this light into the position that I wanted to without having my light stand sitting awkwardly on the stairs behind them leading into the water and/or potentially falling into the water this explains the sidelight on his face. F4.8 @ 1/200 ISO 400, strobes @ 1/4 & 1/8th. The second light was placed up and camera right. nothing spectacular The 3rd shot in the series was shot with a single SB600 pointed down and shot through an umbrella F4.8 @ 1/200 ISO 400 strobe @ 1/4 all strobes triggered with SU800. Lenses used: Nikon AFS18-200mm VR, Nikon AFS 50mm f1.4

Waverider Graduate!

2009-07-18T12:03:00.000-07:00

I recently took photos of a graduating Waverider Celena Rasay, during the commencement ceremony for the class of 2009, and at the last second she also wanted me to shoot some photos @ her graduation party held this past friday, no problem. You've been to one party you've been to them all right? What was most interesting about this party is that it wasn't the usual, sit down and eat food party, the planned entertainment set this party apart from most.

Strobist info: The fire knife dance was shot using a single SB-600 placed on a low 3ft tall table slightly off center and to the right of the dancer, about 8ft from the subject, camera left. Strobe was fired using a SU-800, group A in manual mode, with 14mm zoom @ 1/8th power. These shots were not set up either. At the spur of the moment I decided to set up the strobe and see what I could get, I'm glad it worked out great! Lenses used: Nikon 18-200vr, 70-300vr, 10-24

Kisha

2009-07-16T04:51:00.000-07:00

I had an opportunity to take some pictures of my wife (which doesn't come all that often) and I did. I have to give my wife the credit, she is the driving force behind what ever I want to do, she always supports what I do and I love her for that.

Strobist info: This first shot was taken using off camera flash, two nikon sb600 speedflash units, one light is on a tripod positioned behind her and to the right for the rim light on the hair, the other in front and up to the left. the SB600's were controlled with a SU-800 Speedlight Commander in manual mode. The good thing about the Su-800 is that you have the ability to shoot both wireless TTL & wireless manual and control your different groups or flash units from the commander unit itself. No more walking to the flash unit and making adjustment then walk back to your shooting position. This is an option you don't have when you go with wireless ebay flash triggers, and it makes setting up the shot a lot faster.

The second shot was shot using natual light coming through a glass slider adjacent to my subject. The second shot was I was just playing around, I dont normally use photoshop to process my digital shots, but decided to mess around a bit, and enhance some of the shadows. Nothing spectacular, but I like that shot for some reason, probably just becuase it's my wife and she really doesn't let me take pictures of her all that often. Destructive editing, eh.

Mike & Lani

2009-05-26T23:57:00.000-07:00

Mike and Lani decided to have their vows renewed, and had asked me to take some photos for this event which included photos of them, and a family portrait. What I didn't realize is that they originally wanted to do something small in their back yard. I had a little convincing to do, and I could honestly feel a little reluctance, with the idea of taking photo's at a location other then the yard they see every single day as they walk out of their front door. As much as possible we were able to get to a better location for the shoot, I was happy and the final outcome of the photo's looked great! Because of the fact that I needed to be in these photo's I had brought along my friend and fellow photographer Claire Suzuki, who took most of the photo's of this event.

Mother's Day Hula Show

2009-05-08T00:35:00.000-07:00

The mothers day Hula show held annually @ the keahou sheraton resort is a big event. And this years event featured some top Na Hoku award winning musicians along with the hula students from Halau Kala’akeakauikawekiu. The show itself was a lot more entertaining then I had originally thought, and If you've never been to this event before, I highly suggest checking out next years show.

Pick my brain: The lighting inside the ballroom, where the event was being held was hard to work with. The stage area was not evenly lit, the left and right sides of the stage were brighter then the center stage. And I refuse to use on camera flash unless I"m bouncing in a room. I was also plagued with not having fast glass with me so I had to rely on higher ISO #'s and nikon's Vibration Reduction to help me out. I was surprised that I had quite a few good shots in the end. Trust me going telephoto @ f4.5 with uneven low light, and high ISO... not the best idea but all I had to work with. But if I was a big time professional, I be able to afford the fast glass and the mortage payment to go along with it sheesh

Wilson / Fuga Engagement Photo's

2009-03-10T01:43:00.000-07:00

One phone call and we were headed down to a location to get in some last second Engagement photo's for Inah & Patrick. Along for this photo shoot was friend and fellow photographer Claire Suzuki. Claire's brother happens to be known photographer Bruce Omori. Taking pictures of Inah and Pat went was fun because they were very easy to work with, and were down for anything during the shoot. Often though you'll come across a tough crowd, one that would almost make you feel like a washed out comedian telling one too many bad jokes, unwilling to participate in cool poses or open to fun ideas for the photo shoot, lucky for me Inah & Pat were far from it. Here are a few shots from the shoot.

Lenses used: Nikon 18-55 3.5 & 55-200vr