MAUI FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER
Family sessions on the calm side of Maui — protected bays, shade behind the sand, facilities a minute from the water, and the sunset doing the work. Every photo reaches you the next day.
With children, the prettiest beach on the island is rarely the right one. What decides a family session here is whether the water is flat enough to stand in, whether there is shade to retreat to, and how far it is back to the car when somebody has had enough. Maui happens to be generous on all three, if you know which bays to use.
We fly over from Oahu for these sessions and plan them around your family rather than the view: the ages of your children, how long anyone can realistically hold still, and the hour between the pool and dinner when everyone is still in a good mood.
FAMILY BEACHES WE USE ON MAUI
Kapalua Bay
The most protected water on Maui: a small bay held between two lava points, shallow for a long way out, with a lifeguard, restrooms and shade behind the sand. If you are travelling with a toddler, this is the first place we suggest.
Napili Bay
A short crescent just south of Kapalua with the same calm feel and fewer facilities. Easy to walk down to from the condos above it, and small enough that a two-year-old cannot get far.
Kamaʻole Beach Parks, Kihei
Three parks in a row with lawns, playgrounds, restrooms and parking, all facing the afternoon sun. The practical choice in south Maui: everything a family needs is thirty seconds from the sand.
Ulua and Mokapu, Wailea
Small, tidy beaches joined by a paved coastal path, so a session can walk from one to the next without anyone getting in a car. Good light late, and easy underfoot for grandparents.
Olowalu
Palms at the waterline and flat morning water, with the mountains behind. The only reliable sunrise beach on this side — useful when your children wake at five anyway.
Upcountry pastures
Fences, long grass, jacaranda trees in spring and the mountain behind. A change from sand for families who have already had their beach day, and markedly cooler in summer.
TIMING A SESSION WITH CHILDREN
Evening, not morning
Both resort coasts face the sunset, so on Maui we book the end of the day. With young children that is usually easier anyway: they have swum, eaten and stopped being shy by five.
Jet lag is on your side
If you have just flown in from the mainland, everybody wakes before six for the first few days. That is the one window where Olowalu and the north shore are calm and empty.
Whales in the background
From December through April the channel is full of humpbacks and they breach within sight of the south and west beaches. Children watch for them between frames, which solves the problem of what to do with their attention.
Shade matters more than the view
Midday here is fierce. If your only free hour is in the middle of the day, we pick a beach with real trees or move you upcountry rather than photograph five squinting faces.
Choosing outfits: what to wear for photos in Hawaii. Family sessions on the other islands: family photography in Hawaii.
QUESTIONS FAMILIES ASK US ABOUT MAUI
How much is a family photographer on Maui?
Sessions run $550 for the hour, with the flight across quoted on top. That hour comfortably holds a family session plus a few frames of the two of you once the children are done.
Which Maui beach is best with small children?
Kapalua Bay for the calmest water and a lifeguard, Napili for something smaller and quieter, Kamaʻole in Kihei when you want playgrounds and restrooms within reach. All three work for toddlers; Makena and the north shore do not.
What time of day should we book?
The hour before sunset on the south and west coasts, which is where almost everyone stays. Sunrise works at Olowalu and is worth it in the first days of a trip, while everyone is still waking up early.
What should the kids wear?
Something they can run in, in colors that sit next to the ocean rather than fight it. Our outfit guide covers the details, including what happens to stiff fabrics in the trade winds.
How long does a session with children actually last?
About an hour, of which perhaps twenty minutes involves anyone posing. The rest is walking, collecting shells and being chased, which is where the photographs you keep come from.
Do you need a permit for a family session?
Professional work in the county’s parks takes a county film permit; the sand answers to the state and has its own channel. Whichever applies, we file it — the subject never reaches your inbox.
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