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About
Essence Photo Hawaii is a wedding photography company based in Honolulu, Hawaii. Owner Johnny Phayakoun uses contemporary, natural, photojournalistic, and traditional photography styles to provide couples with high-quality images they’ll treasure long after they’ve said “I do.”
Services Offered
In addition to wedding portraits, this photographer also offers boudoir, engagement, and trash-the-dress sessions. He strives to capture the purest and most memorable moments of the celebration of your love. When working with Essence Photo Hawaii for your special day, you can receive your final images in the form of albums, canvas, digital files, prints, and more. Johnny can provide the following wedding services to ensure that your experience is as stress free as possible:
- Additional hours
- High-resolution images
- Liability insurance
- Multiple-locations sessions
- One-event-per-day policy
- Second photographer
- Willingness to travel
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Frequently asked questions
Which of the following are included in the starting price?
2nd Shooter
Engagement Shoot
High-Res Images
One Event / Day
Digital Files
Which of the following are included in the price of your most popular wedding package?
2nd Shooter
Engagement Shoot
High-Res Images
One Event / Day
Digital Files
What primary photographic style do you identify with?
Contemporary
Natural
Photojournalism
Traditional
What photography services do you offer?
Additional Hours
Boudoir Shoot
Destination / Travel
Engagement Shoot
High-Res Images
One Event / Day
Second Shooter
Wedding Portraits
What photography items do you offer?
Albums
Canvas
Digital Files
Matted Prints
Prints
Proofs
Save the Date
Thank You Cards
Reviews of Essence Photography Hawaii
Ryan Sent on 07/30/2020
5 out of 5 rating
A+++ photographer
Johnny was absolutely fantastic! On the day of the wedding, Johnny arrived early and really went the extra mile to get great shots. He gave us great directions and some how made us photogenic. We are not photogenic people, but Johnny really worked some magic here.
To top it all off, he was extremely adaptable and flexible with dealing with the COVID restrictions. I cannot recommend him enough. I will go to him for all of my photography needs in the future.
To top it all off, he was extremely adaptable and flexible with dealing with the COVID restrictions. I cannot recommend him enough. I will go to him for all of my photography needs in the future.
Alejandro Sent on 02/22/2020
5 out of 5 rating
The best of the best
Trying to plan a surprise proposal purely on the phone sounds daunting, but Johnny went above and beyond to make it a fun and exciting process! My now fiancee and I are from Los Angeles and fortunately a friend of a friend plugged me in with Johnny as I was setting up a surprise proposal for our upcoming trip to Oahu. He was very accessible and responsive as we coordinated plans over the past few months. He went out of his way to scout out the perfect location for what I was looking for. My fiancee and I are not naturals at posing whatsoever, but Johnny made the photo shoot experience extremely comfortable for the both of us. Overall, he's just a very down to earth guy who I would recommend for any of your photography needs - my fiancee and I sincerely hope to work with him again in the future!
Kumi Sent on 01/11/2020
5 out of 5 rating
Wedding photos/ Reception Photos
Essence Photo Hawaii took my wedding photos at Kakaako Beach Park. We had a small group of family and friends. Johnny captured many priceless photos! I then had him take my pregnancy photos, kid’s birthday photos, and Xmas photos! I’m never using anyone else! Johnny is the best!!!
Kristy Sent on 09/25/2019
5 out of 5 rating
Sunset Wedding
Johnny was fantastic and so easy to work with! He gave us great direction for our photos and even got some beautiful candid pictures. Our sunset wedding was captured beautifully and we will cherish these photos forever!
Janice Sent on 08/25/2019
5 out of 5 rating
Best Photographer in the industry!
I met Johnny from Essence Photography at a wedding and the images he captured are the best I've seen in the industry. He was always my favorite to work with! After working with Johnny for years, we hired him to photographed our family photos. He captured everything we were looking for and then some! If you are looking for a talented photographer in Hawaii, Johnny is your guy!
Lowana Sent on 08/21/2019
5 out of 5 rating
Highly recommended
Johnny, Ed, and team did an amazing job shooting our wedding photos, as well as running the photo booth!
Both photographers came early to shoot pre-wedding pics. Us getting ready, the venue, our rings, etc. They also provided us with a keepsake collage of edited pics on the same day of the wedding for us to take home! It was an amazing touch!
The photo booth props were super fun and they also give you a copy of everyone’s pics AND a flash drive with each single picture stored, yours to keep!
I cannot say enough wonderful things about Essence! They go above and beyond, 110%! The edited photos were sent back promptly and we now have captured memories that will last us a lifetime. Thank you so much Johnny & Ed!
Both photographers came early to shoot pre-wedding pics. Us getting ready, the venue, our rings, etc. They also provided us with a keepsake collage of edited pics on the same day of the wedding for us to take home! It was an amazing touch!
The photo booth props were super fun and they also give you a copy of everyone’s pics AND a flash drive with each single picture stored, yours to keep!
I cannot say enough wonderful things about Essence! They go above and beyond, 110%! The edited photos were sent back promptly and we now have captured memories that will last us a lifetime. Thank you so much Johnny & Ed!
Marlon Sent on 08/19/2019
5 out of 5 rating
Superb service
We had the pleasure of hiring essence photo Hawaii for our beach wedding ceremony and the photos came out so great. They really did capture the great moments. That we had to hire them again to shoot my wife’s maternity photos. I would definitely recommend them to everyone. Looking forward to working with you guys next year for my wife’s second maternity photo shoot.
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Essence Photography Hawaii frequently asked questions
Essence Photography Hawaii includes the following photography services in the starting price:
- 2nd Shooter
- Engagement Shoot
- High-Res Images
- One Event / Day
- Digital Files
Essence Photography Hawaii includes the following photography services in their most popular wedding package:
- 2nd Shooter
- Engagement Shoot
- High-Res Images
- One Event / Day
- Digital Files
Essence Photography Hawaii offers the following photography styles:
- Contemporary
- Natural
- Photojournalism
- Traditional
Essence Photography Hawaii offers the following photography services for weddings:
- Additional Hours
- Boudoir Shoot
- Destination / Travel
- Engagement Shoot
- High-Res Images
- One Event / Day
- Second Shooter
- Wedding Portraits
Essence Photography Hawaii offers the following photography materials for weddings:
- Albums
- Canvas
- Digital Files
- Matted Prints
- Prints
- Proofs
- Save the Date
- Thank You Cards
Essence Photography Hawaii is recommended by 100% of couples who have used their services. Their overall rating is 5.0, with the same score awarded for quality of service, flexibility, value, professionalism and average response time.