We were really looking forward to our family photo session in Kauai, but unfortunately, things didnāt go as planned. We originally scheduled our session for Wednesday evening and arranged our 5-day itinerary around it. However, due to a scheduling conflict with the vendor, our session had to be rescheduled. I received confusing reminders from Viator, including one with the wrong date, which was the first red flag. On the day of the scheduled shoot, I had to reach out to the vendor myself, only to find out that the photographer was unavailable.
To make it work, we rearranged our plans and rescheduled for a Friday sunrise session. Dana was very kind and communicative, and we appreciated her willingness to accommodate us. On the morning of the shoot, we met at Kealia Beach but were redirected to Lydgate Beach, which was fine. Our group of 15 (three generations) spent a good hour posing and trying to capture beautiful momentsāonly to find out at the end that Dana had forgotten to insert a memory card in her camera.
By this point, our groupāespecially the kidsāwas tired and hungry from waking up early (4 AM) and making the long drive from Poipu. While Dana sincerely apologized and offered to make up for it, we simply couldnāt afford to shift our plans again, as it was our last full day on the island.
This was an honest mistake, but it was extremely disappointing for our family, as we had been looking forward to capturing these special moments together. While Dana was kind and professional, the overall experience left us without the family photos we had hoped for. If booking, Iād recommend double-confirming all details well in advance to avoid any miscommunication.
Response from Host
Mar 2025
Aloha Thu,
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We sincerely regret that your photoshoot did not go according to as planned, and we completely understand how disappointing this must have been for you and for your family. Capturing special moments is at the heart of what we do, and we never want our clients to leave without the memories they hoped for.
However, we do want to clarify to anyone reading this review. We reached out 2-3 weeks prior to the scheduled session to confirm details that the booking became unavailable and we could not accommodate the session for this date. Unfortunately, we did not receive any response via call, or text. Due to our busy schedule and to ensure everything runs smoothly, we require all clients to confirm their bookings in advance. This step helps prevent any scheduling conflicts or miscommunications. That being said... There is a big misunderstanding here. We offered you a 6 AM morning session in Poipu which you accepted. We also offered that we could do this photo session anywhere on Island. However, you were fine with having the photo session take place in Poipu. Dana did send you the photos from her memory card. We in fact sent you all the photos for free and completely refunded you for the photo session. We gave you a free photo session without needing to shift any of your plans.
That being said, we truly appreciate your patience and feedback. We regret that we weren't able to provide you the experience you had envisioned. Your feedback is valuable to us.
Warm regards,
Jon
Adventure Tours