Toni took full advantage of her 6 pose senior portrait package. Her family scouted an amazing location: Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. Located in Onomea, the gardens feature rare tropical plants, waterfalls, ocean vistas. It was the perfect place for a location shoot.
We met Sean, a groundskeeper who personally chauffeured Toni and her mom on a golf cart around the property. Sean went above and beyond for Toni. He personally hand-picked a rare Thai orchid for her use in most of the shots.
Unfortunately for my assistant (my awesome nephew), Toni’s boyfriend and myself, the golf cart was off limits. We trudged around, hiking behind them. No problem we thought until we had to head back up the hill to the visitor center. It reminded me of football drills up the hills of Kapalama. Great exercise if you’re young and in shape. I’m not so it sucked. Hurrying up the hill, several tourists hurried out of the way as we all gasped for air. Not a pretty sight. I should have ditched them and went on the cart!
Toni really admired one of the trees near the ocean. She had told us during her booking that she wanted to climb the tree and have a photo taken in it. Of course we obliged. While I was setting up the shot when she was up in the tree, I overheard Sean talking to Toni’s boyfriend that a huge beehive was located just of sight. Being the professional that I am, I neglected to tell Toni as the shots were coming out great. It all worked out as no bees were to be found anyway:
Anyway, the effort was worth it as the photos were gorgeous. My favorite photo was taken between the public access trail fences. Toni’s mom and Sean probably thought I was suffering from asphyxiation, but I knew she could pull it off.
Many thanks to Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden for allowing us to shoot there. And also, for Toni’s family to make the extra effort to work for photos that are above and beyond.
Tags: Hilo, Music Video, Outdoor, Studio