The highest compliment I can pay James and Bev is our house is like a gallery for his artwork. We have hired JRP on two separate visits to the Big Island-- I mean, you've seen his shots on the Internet, they're amazing. And, each time, we get an amazing moment (or three, or fifty) in time of our family in our happy place. Bev is super-responsive in setting up the shoot and James lets us know the best place to head to to get the shot. In this day of smartphones, it has become harder to sift through the professionals who have an eye and the people who just have a camera that takes pictures. James is certainly the former, and we can't wait to keep returning to JRP to keep getting those great moments captured as our family grows older. Thanks, James. If you head to the Big Island (or anywhere in Hawaii) and you need to hire someone who knows how to handle a lens, call James. Use someone else? I certainly... SHUTTER at the thought. ;) read more

How does James Rubio only have a handful of reviews here?! He is the BEST! We have had 3 sessions with him so far - once for our engagement (2013), once when we visited with our 1st daughter (2019), and again once our 2nd daughter was born (2022). We live in Seattle and it is now a thing that whenever we make a trip to the Big Island we book a photoshoot with James! He is extremely kind, and always makes us feel welcome with his warm smile and conversation. He is very good with kids and for family photography too! As a long-time local he has a very in-depth knowledge of the island and photoshoot locations. Each time I've been easily able to email with his wife/business partner to sort out details for our session, and they've always been so helpful in suggesting locations based on any "look" we wanted. All the photos that we get back have been stunning and I always purchase the entire album. We have several very large prints of our photo with James hanging in our house. In my opinion, he could be charging a lot more for his superb quality work. I just LOVE Jame's style! Try him out, he won't disappoint! read more

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Frustrating & disappointing! First of all I hate doing this as a small business owner myself but when you're 32 weeks and only get this opportunity once in a life & you want to capture the most beautiful way humanly possible. It makes me think twice about using this company for my wedding day I reached out to James Rubio photography via email after coming across their IG page a little over a week before I booked my flight and hotel to the big island. I was headed to the big island for my baby moon & wanted to get tropical pregnancy pictures done. In the beginning everything seemed to be going smooth, responding to email in a timely manner & asking all right questions as if it was going to happen. The last was question was asked sunrise or sunset? I replied then NOTHING! I even tried emailing them several times after their last response & 2 times while I was there and still NOTHING! As a bride would you really want this unprofessional & unreliable team for your wedding day..... probably not! read more

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James is Fantastic! We cannot express enough how much we enjoyed having James join our Ohana and shoot our celebration. His photography is stunning and he has a very special way of capturing things. He has such a great personality, always has a smile on his face, and his joyful spirit is very contagious. We had so much working with him. James is so friendly, professional, and made everything so easy. He was thoughtful about capturing all the images we specifically requested as well as just shooting candidly as he saw fit throughout. He's the BEST! We would hire and recommend James in an instant. read more

My family and I took our first family trip to Hawaii in June of 2016. We decided to get family photos to document the vacation with a family photo session since our fondest vacation memories have always entailed the ocean. I knew I wanted to find a photographer who really focused on candid shots versus posed shots. I found James Rubio Photography on yelp/instagram and instantly loved his artistic eye. Although he focuses a lot of his work on weddings (understandably) I was incredibly excited to learn that he also did family photos. I found his prices to be reasonable and competitive with the market compared to other metropolitan cities (we live in Seattle). It was very stream line in regards to booking a date and location. We went off their recommendations since it was our first time in Hawaii. The actual photo session experience was really wonderful. James instantly put everyone at ease. We did a mix of posed shots and candid shots since there was a group of us. Not even seeing the photos, everyone left with really enjoying the experience. We shot at 3 different spots on our location. It was timed just prior to sunset. James was enthusiastic, passionate and professional. We received the photo gallery approximately 12 weeks later. This was disclosed prior to booking. The turnaround time was absolutely worth it. James completed over 200 edited photos from the shoot. They are absolutely stunning. My family was over joyed with how they turned out. We opted for the USB drive which included all of the photos. The USB drive was wrapped in a cute local box. The USB was surrounded by a gorgeous wood with a magnetic closure. My advertising/marketing husband was really impressed. We will definitely use him and his wife, Bev, again next time we are in the big island. read more

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This is a long overdue review....I knew James would be our wedding photographer three minutes into our conversation. He was warm and lovely and knew exactly what we were looking for. There was an instant connection. I also knew that we would be comfortable with him even if we were to meet him for the first time, on the big day. The photos he took were stunning and arrived on a beautiful hard drive quite quickly. He even sent us a few fun shots to get excited about during the short time that we waited for the rest to arrive. My only regret is that we didn't hire him for longer. I wish he had been there since the moment we started getting ready, until the moment the last guest left. I look forward to future photoshoots with this incredible talent! read more

James is amazing! He and his second shooter, Alisa, were super fun to work with for our wedding last summer. My husband and I are usually really awkward, but they made us feel at ease in front of the camera. James and his wife, Bev, were friendly and professional on the business end of things. They were always quick to respond to questions, which is impressive considering that we were separated by a 6 hour time difference. And the photos...oh the photos! Not only is every single picture is beautiful, but they really tell the story of our wedding day and remind us of all the moments we might have forgotten otherwise. We had to dedicate an entire wall to prints of our wedding pictures because we couldn't pick just 1 or 2 ...or 7 to display! read more

I can't even begin to explain how amazing James is! He is a true artist and it shows in all his photography! My husband and I were married on Lanikai beach in O'ahu on an outrigger canoe in the ocean. James was more than willing to jump in a kayak and take photos of our epic day! He's also the sweetest soul too! His wife Bev, just as sweet of a person as James, is always quick to respond to all questions/concerns and kept us well informed throughout the process. What a wonderful experience it was to work with Bev and James! read more

James Rubio Photography - Preview photo from James of our outrigger canoe ceremony on the waters of Lanikai beach in O'ahu. - Event Photography Near Me

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We had the pleasure of working with James and Bev for our family photo session! We were in Hawaii with our family for a rare family vacation on the Big Island. James was referred to us by another photographer and it was the best referral! We had 4 children to add into the mix and he captured their personalities perfectly. He was patient and had a great eye for composition and lighting. James also made us feel very relaxed and captured some really beautiful candid moments. Bev completed this great duo with her quick responsiveness to our emails and clear communication! We loved working with both of them. We are so happy that they were able to capture this special moment with our family! read more

By the grace of God I founds James Rubio Photography online by googling wedding photos. I booked him for my small wedding in Kona! I'm suppressed that James doesn't have any wedding pictures here on yelp, but it's an intimate things to share. I felt like if I was a bride I would want to see true wedding photos of weddings pics. Before booking James I showed my friends & they encouraged me to use an all day photographer at $400.00 an hour. I'm glad I choose against their recommendation& decided to splurge! My wedding photos are amazing!!! I get so many compliments on my wedding pics! My husband loves them so much that he sent them to all his family & friends! We even gave James Photos as a thank you gift for attending our wedding. Since I'm fromCA I was apprehensive about paying for pictures up front, because in Ca we pay half then pay the rest later. no need to worry, bc James & his wife are professionals! I go to Kona almost ever year & I intended to do a photography shoot with James Rubio Photography once a year.. as my husband & I grow as a couple. Also when we have kids! This would be our memories that our kids can hold onto in the future! Thank you Bev & James! Book them fast!! You will NOT regret it!! Get ready to get the most amazing pictures of your lifetime!! read more

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We recently got married on the Big Island and James was the first vendor we booked! He was actually one of the reasons we decided on the Big Island instead of Maui or O'ahu. I guess we could have flown him over to the other islands (yes, he's that good and would have been totally worth it!). I was VERY picky about the photography since we weren't doing video and it was just me and my fiance there. The pictures were the only thing we could share with our families so they HAD to be good. James exceeded expectations and captured every moment beautifully. Everyone who's seen them thinks they could easily be in a magazine. Thanks James and Bev! read more

This review is long overdue (about 2.5 years..). James was the first vendor we booked. I just had to have him shoot our wedding and was willing to change our date if needed. He's absolutely wonderful to work with and he takes such breathtaking photos. My absolute favorite shot is a beautiful sunset one and he had no problems with jumping into the water and getting wet for the perfect shot. The wait for the photos was about 3 months. It is more than worth the wait! read more

Wow! James is by far the best wedding photographer I have yet to come across. Him and his wife Bev were quick to respond to each and every email. They even offered to help us find an officiant/minister. When James arrived on the day of our wedding, he was ecstatic to get started taking photos. He was professional and all around fun to work with. James naturally made my husband & I feel at ease in front of the camera. Our photos were better than we could've even imagined. He portrayed our day exactly how it was--I'd say even better. Friends and family were astonished with how gorgeous our photos are. He also included a disc with a slideshow--how great that we have something so accessible to look back at when things get tough! If you are planning a wedding in Hawaii, look no further. James Rubio is the only way to go. We are so grateful to have found him! read more

I agree with the bottom post; Unprofessional. My fiance and I bought a Groupon for a photo shoot with a certain amount of prints and the digital copies. We got a deal on the photo shoot, but we tipped the same amount that we paid for the actual shoot. So, I expected a little more. The one we had the photo shoot with rescheduled twice. He said we should receive the digital prints on the following Monday or Tuesday. On Thursday when I asked about them, he said it'd be ready in a few days. Ten days later, we had to meet him 30 minutes away to get the cd. By the way, I'm pretty sure he didn't start the photoshop work until the day we received the cd. He was texting, asking for reminders about when we had the shoot and was assuring me that he would get it done by 6 :S. For the prints, I email him the ones we want. I text him a week later asking if he got the email. He did, but I hear nothing from him for a while. I texted him a MONTH later asking if we can PLEASE get those prints, and he says sure, and asks if I could email him a reminder. Really? Should it be up to me to remind him? He's nice enough. The pictures were mostly good. But the deal wasn't worth it. read more

James and Bev are the best! It was our first visit to the Big Island and I happened to find James Rubio Photography by search. With 3 children ranging in ages from 4-13 year old, he was very patient with my family and made the session fun and memorable. We love the beautiful photos James took of us! read more

The photography session was fun, the photographer so friendly and nice, and the photos are magnificent! The whole experience was great. I would highly recommend James Rubio to everyone! read more

Wow! My husband and I cannot stop raving over our wedding photos. James and his assistant were awesome. They were very relaxed, yet punctual and professional. Our families loved working with them. James does mostly artistic photography, so we got some gorgeous shots. But he was also willing to do all of the typical requisite posed photography we did as well. The pictures were stunning. Yes, it does take 10 weeks to get your pictures back, but it is worth the wait! We know people who have gone with photographers who promise the photos sooner, but remember you're paying for quality not speed. James took a little longer to produce the photos, but it was WORTH IT. You have your wedding photos for the rest of your life. It's one of the only things that transcends the day. Splurge. You'll be so grateful! read more

Bottom line, James is fantastic. From our first conversation to our last, James has been absolutely amazing. Friends and family will always compliment your photographer and their work because that is their job. However, we've received hundreds of compliments from family, friends, strangers on social media and even from printing sources on the work that James (&Tracy) &Bev have done. It's truly a testament of genuineness when people go out of their way to pay you a compliment. We had nearly 800 photos from our 6 hour wedding session and from our day after underwater session, and EVERY.SINGLE.ONE of the photos are awesome. As the bride and groom it's easy to say that we are a little biased because it was our wedding, so each photo has a special meaning, but that being said, each-photo-has-a-special-meaning. James was able to capture the true emotions and energy of our wedding to create those special meanings. People will always want their standard shots, stare at the camera, smile on 3, and you should get those, but trust us when we say "just have fun and let James do the work." Our favorite photos are of us looking at each other laughing, having fun, living. On our first conversation with James, I asked him about underwater photos. He had done a few sessions but said that he would deliver and boy he was not wrong. I followed him on instagram and saw that since our convo he had been practicing and snapping some amazing pictures. Don't be shy to ask him for what you want and be upfront. He is absolutely willing to take on a challenge. Despite salt water, tides and treading water with my dress and train flowing, James was able to capture our adventurous side and deliver some extremely romantic pictures with some AMAZING light. We can't say enough about James and his crew. His down-to-earth, wholesome personality & his insanely talented abilities made such a positive impact on us, not to mention, we have 800 amazing photos that capture that special moment forever. read more