My Introduction Post
I would say the best way to describe myself would be Brother Noland's line, "She's a coconut girl in a high fashion world". I grew up in Hawaii on the island of Oahu. Hawaii is so special and unique. The culture is beautiful, the people are so genuine, and of course the views are to die for. Ever since I was a little kid I felt inspired by the beauty of Hawaii and carried a camera with me everywhere I went.
There was a mountain in my backyard that my sister and I would hike almost everyday. We were never home until the sun went down. On the mountain we would create short movies that we wrote together, and put together styled shoots from our dress up clothes and our mom's makeup.
In middle school I was the school's news anchor, part of the leadership program, and in love with my media class. I would combine these three parts of my education every chance I could. For Leadership we would often have to get information out to the rest of the school about fundraisers, class activities, etc. I would use the knowledge from my media class to create commercials with my friends using iMovie and Photoshop and then air the commercials on the school news that we watched every morning.
In high school I took my first film photography class and was part of the Film Academy Club. I was not a fan of film photography in high school, it was confusing and I didn't understand it. I was, however, a huge fan of the Film Academy Club, where we created short movies and cinema photography projects. Anytime I had to make a presentation for a class I would always create a short film for it. In high school I really thought I was going to be a film director. I was researching colleges that my favorite directors went to and could not wait to move to LA someday. When I was 15 I even went to LA with my best friend to visit my favorite colleges like USC, UCLA, and Chapman University.
I started college when I was 16. I was not a fan of AP classes in high school since the only way to receive a college credit was to pass this incredibly hard exam at the end of the school year. In my sophomore year I told my counselor why I did not want to take anymore AP classes but that I wanted to continue to earn college credits. He told me that I could drop out and go to college instead of coming back for my junior year and I took it.
During this time I started charging for engagement, wedding, and family photoshoots. I also worked as a barista, medical office assistant, bartender, and even was the Easter Bunny. I also started working on my prerequisites at the local community college. At first looking to major in Environmental Science and then switching to a photography major after I took the best photography class of my life. Anytime I was not at work I was in my school's darkroom where I would be for up to eight hours at a time.
I moved to Austin, Texas at 19 years old. I continued to work a variety of jobs on the side but my main focus was building my photography career. I was still majoring in photography and working primarily as an event photographer. I shot tons of weddings, concerts, conferences, and other events. I dropped out of college because I had an extremely condescending professor who kept telling me I was not a real photographer.
I have been a full time photographer ever since. In Austin, I continued event photography and started photographing popular You-tubers. Instead of a dining room I had my studio set up for clients and would take self portraits whenever I felt inspired. I moved back to Oahu and used my event photography background to really start shooting concerts. Every weekend I was shooting musicians and concerts. Concert photography is one of my favorite things to do, I have photographed Snoop Dogg, G-Eazy, Mike Studd, and so many other talented musicians.
My Monday through Friday job became a full time surf photographer, working with the Beach Boys in Waikiki. I worked twelve hour days on the beach taking photos for tourists learning how to surf. The days were long, the equipment was heavy, and I was at the surf shop rain or shine but, I absolutely loved it. It was so much fun working on the beach, doing what I love, and meeting awesome people from all over the world.
Then, 2020 came. I was let go from my job as a surf photographer the day Oahu got our first Covid-19 case. I really did not know what to do with myself when I got that call. I started creating sets with my sister again. We messaged local brands to create content for. When the laws started to relax a little we started photographing more women in our area who liked the photos me and my sister took together and worked on our Instagram @coconutgirlsmedia. I started learning everything I could about boudoir and swim styled shoots. I took online courses and became apart of every boudoir based facebook group I could find. Boudoir has taught me so much about love for myself, confidence in my own body, and helping women express their own self love and confidence.
I really love helping people see themselves and helping them feel confident within themselves. During the pandemic I had so much free time so, I decided to go back to college. I'm already a photographer so I didn't feel the need to get the photography degree as proof. Instead, I am now majoring in Psychology. At first, I saw the value in learning psychology just for my photography. To help the people I shoot with become more comfortable in front of the camera and possibly work for National Geographic or some scholarly magazine one day. Now, the more I learn about psychology, the more I want my own clinic one day as well. I love that I have the opportunity to help people with their mental health. I'm still a passionate photographer, but I also want to be a clinical psychologist as well.
I have many years of college and university ahead of me with my current goals. It is definitely tiring being a full time freelance photographer and full time student but, so worth it. I'm living in Texas again and looking forward to seeing what the future holds!
Thanks so much for reading my introduction post! My bio has a link to all of my social medias and brands that I am currently an affiliate for. Drop a comment letting me know something about you! :)