Honolulu Photoshoots

Locations

Where to shoot in Honolulu

Waikiki Beach is the one everyone knows, with Diamond Head closing the view to the east and the water going gold in the evening. The quieter end towards the Natatorium is better than the stretch in front of the hotels.

Diamond Head itself gives you the crater rim and a view back along the whole coast. The summit trail is ticketed and reservation-based for non-residents, so it needs booking rather than turning up.

Ala Moana Beach Park is the local alternative to Waikiki — calmer water, a long stretch of palms, and far fewer people in the frame.

The windward side, over the Pali, is a different island. Lanikai and Kailua have the turquoise water and the Mokulua islets offshore, and they face east into the sunrise.

Manoa Falls and the valleys behind the city give you rainforest within twenty minutes of Waikiki, which is a useful contrast in a single session.

Chinatown and the historic downtown blocks are the urban option when the beaches are flat and bright.

Timing

Which way the beach faces decides the hour

Waikiki and the south shore face roughly south and west, so they are evening locations. The light comes across the water and Diamond Head holds the colour after the sun has gone.

Lanikai, Kailua and the windward coast face east. They are sunrise locations, and they are extraordinary at that hour and ordinary by mid-morning.

Trade winds blow most of the year and keep the air moving, which is pleasant but hard on long hair and loose fabric. Mornings are usually calmer.

Winter, roughly December to April, brings bigger surf to the north shore and humpback whales offshore. Summer is flatter, hotter and drier. Rain on Oahu is frequent, brief and localised — it often rains in the valleys while the coast stays clear.

What to wear

Colour against turquoise

Strong, saturated colour works against that water. White and cream also photograph beautifully on the sand at either end of the day, and badly in the middle of it.

Flowing fabric is the obvious choice here and the trade winds will use it, which can be the best thing in the frame or the most annoying, depending on the hour. Morning sessions are calmer.

Bring something you can get into the water in. As on most beaches, the pictures people keep are the ones taken in the shorebreak rather than next to it.

Before you go

Permits and access on Oahu

Commercial photography on Hawaii's state beaches and parks can require a permit, and the rules differ between state, city and county land. We establish what your shoot needs before confirming it rather than finding out on the sand.

Diamond Head requires advance reservations for out-of-state visitors, and Hanauma Bay runs a reservation system and closes on set days each week. Both need checking against your date.

Lanikai has almost no parking and is reached through a residential neighbourhood with restrictions. It is entirely doable, but it is a planned early start rather than a casual stop.

The land matters here in a way it does not everywhere. Shoots that stay on marked paths and off the dunes and reef are the ones that go well.

Arranging it

How a Honolulu shoot gets booked

Honolulu shoots are arranged directly with our team rather than booked online. Tell us your dates, how many of you there are and whether you want Waikiki at sunset or the windward coast at sunrise, and we will confirm what can be arranged and what it will cost.

If you want Lanikai or Diamond Head, tell us early. Both depend on reservations and timing we need to arrange in advance.