Guide
The six beaches I actually shoot.
Not a list of pretty places on Maui — the permitted, uncrowded, wind-aware shortlist a working photographer chooses from, and the reasoning behind each one.
How the list gets made
It is a shorter list than you would think.
Choosing a location on Maui is not about which beach is prettiest. Almost all of them are. It is about three things: whether it is permitted for commercial photography at all, whether it will be crowded at the hour you are standing on it, and what the wind will be doing.
I pick based on where you are staying and work out from there. I will send you photographs of the options with the reason each one is on the list — and my permits typically cover two nearby locations, so if the first one is busy on the day, moving is a decision rather than a crisis.
Filter the shortlist
Narrow it to your side of the island.
- 01
Polo Beach
Wailea · South Maui · Sunrise
A long, open stretch with two or three beaches effectively joined together. If one end fills up I move to the other, and my permit covers both.
Best for: Families · Couples · Maternity
- 02
Maluaka Beach
Makena · South Maui · Sunrise or sunset
Far enough south to be clear of the hotels. A long, wide beach that never feels crowded early in the morning or near sunset.
Best for: Families · Large groups · Couples
- 03
Keawakapu Beach
Kihei / Wailea · South Maui · Sunrise
One of the prettiest stretches on the south side — but the afternoon wind hits it hard, so I shoot it in the morning almost exclusively.
Best for: Couples · Maternity · Seniors
- 04
Ironwoods Beach
Kapalua · West Maui · Sunrise or sunset
A big beach with a tiny parking lot, so it never feels busy even when the lot is full. The sea cliffs above it sit 50–80 feet over the water — the reason it is one of my favourites for proposals.
Best for: Proposals · Couples · Families
- 05
Kapalua Bay
Kapalua · West Maui · Sunrise
My fallback when Ironwoods has no parking. Sheltered, calm, and at low tide there is a hard rocky point you can stand out on for a different angle.
Best for: Couples · Families
- 06
Launiupoko
Lahaina · West Maui · Early morning
Better known as a surf spot, and far enough south that it usually stays dry when the upper west side is getting rained on. There is a rock wall there I like to shoot against.
A local spot first. I book it early in the morning to stay out of the way.
Best for: Couples · Rainy-day backup
The one you cannot use
You are not allowed to photograph on Kaanapali Beach.
It surprises almost every visitor, because Kaanapali is where a huge number of them are staying. Commercial photography is not permitted on the beach itself, and the fines are serious. The likely reasoning is traffic — commercial boats coming in, surfers, and a lot of people trying to enjoy a beach that would otherwise have photographers lined up along it.
On hotel grounds, with the hotel's permission, you can shoot. That greenery strip beside the sidewalk is about as close to the sand as it legally gets. If a photographer offers you a session on Kaanapali Beach, that is worth a question.
Staying in Kaanapali is not a problem though — Ironwoods and Launiupoko are both ten to fifteen minutes away in either direction. West Maui sessions
Rain plan
If the upper west side is getting rained on, drive south.
Launiupoko sits just before Lahaina town and is far enough south that it usually stays dry when Kapalua and Napili are not. It is the standing backup, and from Kaanapali it is the same ten to fifteen minutes you would have driven to Ironwoods anyway.
It is also a local spot first, so I book it early in the morning and keep out of the way. That is a deliberate choice, not a scheduling accident.
From these beaches
The same six spots, over and over.
Next step
Tell me where you are staying.
I will come back with a beach, a time and the reason for both — usually inside the hour.