It’s like this almost every morning of the year.
Vans carrying photographers and their equipment, interpreters, and their client couples, cameras, dresses, hats, and other props like an occasional plastic ukulele, arrive at Waialae Beach Park before dawn. The clusters of photographers and clients then proceed to the beach where they spread out for their respective photo shoots. I call them the pseudo-wedding photographs. There are no weddings taking place, at least not here on the beach. Just photos of couples. Men often in shorts and a hat. Women in gauzy white dresses blowing in the wind. There’s a set routine of shots the photographers set up. Stand this way. Look up. Look down. Rising sun in the background. Look into her/his eyes. Point your feet this way. Smile. Don’t smile. Sit on the coconut tree. Tip toe into the water. And so on it goes.
This morning there were three groups spread along the sand in front of the Kahala Beach Apartments.
There was a good article in Civil Beat back at the beginning of 2018 that’s worth checking out: “What’s Up With All The Fake Brides On Hawaii Beaches?”
One thing I wonder about is whether these commercial shoots need permits and, if so, if they have them. Someday I’ll get around to checking that out.
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We’ve seen them every time we visit family in the islands, and a lot here on the California beaches. I always assumed they were wedding photos for the bride and groom’s photo albums and/or thank you notes. It never occurred to me that it might be a commercial shoot.
We see the same photographers day after day.
If you are using City or State property for commercial (for-pay) purposes such as weddings, ceremonies, portraits, scenics, etc., you must have a permit (daily, monthly, or annual) pay a fee (depending on which type of permit you acquire, and also carry a $1 million insurance policy that covers limited liability for bodily injury or property damage. Public property at the beach, which is the ocean to the high water (high tide) mark, is exempted from this rule.