I saw some pictures that Kathy took of other people's weddings in Hawaii and they looked pretty good, so we hired her for our wedding on the Big Island. I'm a hobby photographer myself and very capable of editing photos, so I asked Kathy for all the original unedited pictures on CD. What I saw made me realize that Kathy should not work as a photographer, especially not as a wedding photographer or anything that involves taking pictures of people.

Let me go into detail...

Problem 1.) Faces full of shadows and unflattering angles. As a photographer, you should know how to position your subjects in the best light. Kathy positioned us where we all have harsh shadows in our faces that took me hours of photoshopping to fix, and she took plenty of shots facing up, so that we all have double chins.

Problem 2.) Kathy is more interested in taking pictures of inanimate objects. Right after the ceremony while people were standing around, having drinks and signing the wedding album, which would be a great time to take pictures of everyone, Kathy and her assistant were both far away by the dinner tables, taking pics of centerpieces. One of my bridesmaids had to go over to her and tell her to stop taking pictures of flowers and take pictures of the wedding group instead. Kathy provided me with plenty of images of inanimate objects, such as centerpieces, flowers, champagne glasses, desserts, etc.
However, I have merely 5! pictures of us cutting the cake and they were not great and no close ups of the ring exchange or the kiss. Kathy decided to stay waaay in the background during the ceremony and took shots from far away from the wrong angle, so that the background is completely bleached out by the sun and the top of our heads/bodies as well.

Problem 3.) Your grandma can take better pictures than Kathy. During dinner, Kathy took 1 photo each of couples (our friends and family) sitting at the tables, and most of the people are out of focus! For example, the candle or flower in the center will be in focus, or the background will be in focus, but the people are blurry! Most of these shots were completely unusable.

I was SO mad, sad and disappointed when I saw the pictures she took, cause you cannot retake your wedding photos. Please do not hire Kathy and be very careful in choosing a wedding photographer!