Top 10 Maui Portrait Planning Tips

Our team has collectively photographed thousands of events and portraits, we have encountered just about everything you can think of! See below for our best tips when planning your hawaii portraits.

What time of day is better? Sunset or morning?

number one

Morning and sunset are both great times of day for portraits, it really depends on the look you want for your pictures. 

Morning portait sessions give a brighter more tropical look because the light is coming more straight down and gives you that vibrant blue and aqua water color. Mornings are also usually much less windy, it can be far easier to deal with long hair. 

Sunset portrait sessions offers a more orange/warm light and the opportunity to have a Maui sunset in the background. I recommend mornings for families with small children. Kids are usually more focused in the morning and have more energy. It can be tough for kids to play in the sun all day, then stay alert for up to an hour and a half when they are hungry for dinner!

What is the best location for our Maui portraits?

number TWO

There are many great portrait locations on Maui! To start, take a look at our portrait locations page below. 



We have our favorite spots for Maui portrait photography listed there on our locations page. You can also see tons of real portrait sessions all over Maui at all of our locations on our blog below. 



We often meet customers at their hotel, condo or vacation rental house (some hotels do not allow outside photographers, so check with us first). 

TIP: West Maui locations are near the resort area of Kaanapali. State laws prohibit photo shoots on Kaanapali Beach, that is why it is not listed on our portrait locations page. South Maui is near the resort area of Wailea and is a great are for portraits. We generally prefer South Maui as the beaches are larger and tend to be less crowded, but the West Maui beaches are just as scenic! 

maui portrait locations page

view the blog

What do we wear for Our Portraits!?

number three

We have a really helpful page about what to wear for family portraits in Maui, so check out this resource below.  



First and foremost, wear something you feel good in! The better you feel the better your portraits will be! 

Second, matching aloha prints or matching in general is not advised. Being all matchy-matchy looks dated really fast and takes away from the individuality of each group member. 

Our goal is to bring out your individual personality as well as the personality of the family as a whole. It is tough to bring out your individual style when everyone is wearing the same thing!

 Try to coordinate rather than match. Our favorite colors on the beach are blues, pinks and greens. Try a neutral base like khaki pants for the guys then throw in splashes of color with tops, dresses or jewelry on the ladies. Take a look at the blog for tips from our past clients.



Wear something comfortable that you can move in and if you are planning on being on the beach, something you don't mind getting a little ocean water and sand on! Avoid loud patterns and prints or large logos, these sometimes look strange in pictures (especially stripes) and logos will make your pictures look dated quicker as brands and trends change quickly. You can also see our pin boards with lots of example here: 

what to wear for maui family portraits

general clothing tips:

Maui Portraits Clothing Ideas - Pinterest

Who will be taking our family photos?

number four

With a full staff of professional Maui family photographers, we assign a photographer based on your date availability. 

No need to worry because all of the family photos on our site are a blend of all of the professional Maui Photographers that shoot for our team. 

With thousands of shoots under the belt of our Maui photography team, you can ensure that you are getting the most qualified family photographers in Maui.

How many pictures do you take during our Maui portrait session?

number five

There is no limit to the number of pictures we take during your family photo session. The amount of photos you can expect is based on the amount of time we shoot for and how cooperative our subjects are (kids sometimes like to cut things are little short). 

View all of our Maui portrait packages below to see just how many photos you can expect from each of our Maui portrait packages. 



We usually take about 100-200 pictures per hour, but this is raw photos, not edited images. The amount of pictures you will get in your final collection will depend on your package selection, but usually around 50 edited images per hour. 

maui portrait packages

How do we pay for our Maui portrait session?

number six

We require a $50 portrait deposit to reserve your date and the balance of your session less the $50 deposit is due two days before your session.

We make it as convenient for you as possible by sending you an invoice which you can pay with any major credit card. You can also pay for your portrait session in advance if you wish.

How soon can we expect to see our pictures?!

number seven

We post a sneak peek of your Maui photo session on our blog with around 20 photos in about a week. Feel free to share the images on social media with your friends and family. 

Your full portrait collection will be ready to view in 3-4 weeks after your session. Turnaround time may be longer in peak times. 

Once you receive your images they will be fully edited for skin tone, background and lighting. Additional editing for slimming and other personal tweaks is charged at a small fee by the hour. 

How do we get our high resolution image files?

number eight

Once your photos have been edited, we upload them to a private proofing website that you can share with friends and family. You can download a zip file of your photos directly from that proofing website! No waiting for snail mail from Hawaii!  

In addition to the digital download, we also offer a keepsake USB drive for $175 that is made of wood and custom printed with a photo from your portrait and presented in a wooden keepsake box with a photo on the top.  

What happens if it rains!?

number nine

Luckily it doesn't rain much in the Maui portrait locations we usually work in. 

The first option would be to re-locate your photo shoot to an area of the island that is not raining. It is very common that it will be raining in one area of the island and bright and sunny just a few miles away. 

If your session gets rained out, we can try to re-schedule at no additional charge, if your session can not be re-scheduled your booking deposit will be refunded.

Do you provide any portrait props for us?

number ten

Our beach portrait packages are designed to capture the natural interaction between you and your loved ones, a snapshot of your time together, so we don't bring props unless asked. 

However we almost always have a few beach toys for kids who need a little help staying in one place or warming up. If you have a prop request, please let us know and if we have it, we are happy to bring it. 

For those looking for a very styled shoot, we offer our Magic of Childhood Portraits where we help you develop a theme and coordinate any props or floral you may want for your shoot.

Maui, Big Island, Kaua'i or Oahu Portraits?

Our Team is available on All the major Hawaiian Islands: Maui, Big Island (Hawaii Island), Kaua'i and Oahu.

select yours below:

maui portraits

oahu portraits

big island portraits

kauai portraits