Defining my style and approach as a photographer

This has always been a difficult question for me to really pin down since I always see my photography as a constantly evolving process. As a creative, I am always seeking to refine my skills and let my taste adjust overtime - I never stop learning. That said, I think a few things have remained true to me over the years.

You might have come across quite a few terms when searching for a photographer such as ‘cinematic, story telling, documentary style, natural & candid, editorial, creative, alternative, traditional, light and airy, film like, emotionally charged, dark and moody and fine art photography.’ Some terms may relate to how a photographer captures a scene and others may hint at how a photographer likes to use light and their editing process. If I were to choose a few that best relate to my photography I’d probably choose the following…

“My goal is to capture your memories in a natural and timeless fashion, allowing space for creative and editorial looking portraits as well as the more joyful, emotional and candid moments.”

— Me

Story Telling. This is especially true on a Wedding Day where I am pretty much a journalist for most of the day documenting moments as they unfold naturally and unobtrusively. Story telling photography is pretty much the same as a documentary photographer although I like to leave a little room for creating scenes if something really catches my eye. I am also more than happy to allow plenty of time for group photos should you want to.

Natural, candid and joyful. Whilst I still believe there is a place for simple, well composed looking at the camera photos, I definitely like to capture a lot of candid moments even if things are a bit posed. We all laugh eventually! Capturing the warmth, love and happiness within a couple is something that has remained a constant in my photography from the very day I started.

Creative & Editorial. These images might be a little more staged much like a fashion shoot or something you might see in a magazine. I have really grown to enjoy this type of photography and like to mix a few of these images into our shoots together for quite a high end look. I think they’re also great for creating some more emotional and romantic imagery. This is probably where I differentiate myself from other Wedding and Portrait photographers in Tokyo.

I really pride myself in being able to create images like these along side the more playful photos that I built my business upon. This allows me to give you a really nice mix of imagery to choose from or we can even focus more or one particular style if you choose to - everybody is different and I try to tailor each shoot to how you feel most comfortable.

Film-like Editing. As my taste has developed over the years, I like to say my editing style is ‘film-like’ rather than cinematic. What’s the difference? I define being ‘film-like’ as trying to mimic the classic analogue film stocks such as Kodak Portra and Fuji 400H which were popular stocks for portraiture and weddings before the age of digital cameras. I believe the engineers who made those stocks knew a thing or two about colour and the look simply doesn’t get old. The colours are still vibrant yet flattering, skin tones are pleasing and there is still plenty of contrast and brightness which I find more suitable for scenes like these.

‘Cinematic’ editing might be a bit more dark and moody with a lot of desaturated colours (goodbye greens) and often quite grainy. Some photographers do a great job with this but my feeling is that when it is overdone, your images might look a little dated as time goes on. If a scene suits then I might go down this route but overall I like to keep a much more balanced edit retaining colours, contrast and brightness without looking overly digital.

I like to think my editing is somewhere in the middle of a fine art look vs dark and moody, giving a balanced look that won’t get old.

“I aim for my editing to have a high end, film-like and timeless look that avoids trends and stands the test of time.”

— Me (again)

Inspired by nature and adventure. Perhaps a little more unique to me is that I’m hugely inspired by nature and my surroundings, particularly the cultural elements in Japan for example. I really like to include the environment in my photographs to set the scene and tell a story. Nothing gets me more excited than organising a beautiful shoot surrounded by nature! I’m also a keen hiker and up for anything outdoorsy!

“I am absolutely in my element when I’m surrounded by beautiful nature and traditional gardens, I’ll simply never tire of it!”

— Me (once more)

Take a moment to think about how the above sounds to you.

When it comes to working with a photographer it is important to take a good look through their portfolio and really understand that their approach, style and colouring is right for you. I love working with customers who really enjoy my work and want to work with me specifically - when the vision aligns then it all just comes together to create a beautiful end result. So if words like story telling, natural, candid, editorial and film-like resonate with you then I’d love to work together and create something special!

Above all though, I genuinely love what I do and I hope that the passion shows through my photos and that you’re excited to create something together! I hope this little overview has helped explain my style and I can’t wait to work with you soon!