Ichiko | 衣知子

I can’t believe I haven’t blogged this yet! Here are some shots I took of Ichiko in Tokyo last year. Ichiko is signed with Folio Management in Azabujuban, and she was great fun to work with! We shot in the streets surrounding the agency office, exploring the different textures that Tokyo’s suburban landscape has to offer.

お昨年、私は衣知子さんの写真を撮りました。衣知子さんはフォリオ マネジメントのモデルです。写真撮影とても楽しかったです。会社の近くところに撮りました。私たちは日本語だけが話しました。ちょっとチャレンジでしたけど良かった。どうもありがとう衣知子さん！！

We conducted the whole shoot in Japanese, and Ichiko was really easy to photograph. She didn’t need any warming up and was able to give off a range of expressions with ease. She also moved so well, creating great shaped with her body. I have to say I was really jealous of her hair- why can’t my hair grow that long!

We shot for about an hour before returning to the warmth of the Folio office. I love shooting in Tokyo and never tire of the landscape. I just feel very inspired by what is around me- probably because it isn’t the same as Melbourne. The light in Japan is also different; there is just something about it that excites me visually. On the day that Ichiko and I worked together, it was overcast and kind of dull, but that didn’t stop us.

Thank you so much Ichiko for being an amazing model <3

Ichiko is represented by Folio Management Tokyo

Yuki | ゆうき

東京の麻布十番でフォリオ マネジメントのゆうきさんの写真を撮りました。とても楽しかったです。私たちは日本語だけか話しました。私はちょっとへんな日本語を話しますからおもしろかった。１０月から東京に住めます。それからもう一度ふぉりフォリオ マネジメントのモデルと会いたいです。＾ー＾

(english)↓

Anyone who knows me knows that I frequently travel to Japan. I’ve only just started shooting there recently though. (Models and test shoots I mean- obviously I’ve taken my camera there to capture the country many times!)

In March I returned to Tokyo to do some testing with Folio Management models. I had done a few test shoots late last year, and when the agency heard that I was back in town, they asked if I could photograph a few of their girls. One of those faces was the beautiful Yuki. She arrived at the office with her little baby in tow, so the other office staff got to care for him whilst we went out shooting.

The shoot didn’t take long at all, as I work pretty quickly in order to keep the pace and enthusiasm up. It was pretty chilly out in the streets if Azabujuban, but I felt fine as I had just spend two weeks up in the snowy northern part of the country. Compared to the -10C I had been in, Tokyo felt like summer. But I think Yuki was pleased to get her coat back on between shots.

I didn’t speak English the whole time, which was pretty fun! My Japanese is mostly self-taught, so I speak a little bit strangely sometimes (well, I think so.) But I managed to communicate easily and even learned some new words (mostly how to describe facial expressions, which is obviously handy when working in portraiture!)

Thanks Yuki and FOLIO for working with me in Tokyo. Looking forward to October when I will be back for more!

Yuki is represented by Folio Management Tokyo

Adventures in Shiba Park

After testing with some of the girls from Folio in Tokyo, I came back to the office to pack up and say goodbye. In the meantime, a young male model had dropped in and was chatting to the office staff. He explained that he was looking to do some testing, so I asked if he wanted to do a shoot the following day. He was thrilled, and so we organised to meet back at the office the next day.

Ty was such a friendly guy, and was in Tokyo to work. He usualy resides in Hawaii, so I had lots of questions to ask him about the differences in living in the two locations.

We decided to shoot in Shiba Park, which is near Tokyo Tower and not too far from the office. This time, it was just myself and Ty with no other staff. There were so many spots to shoot in- shrines, parks, streets- so we just walked around and every so often I asked Ty to stop in a patch of light, or lean against a random wall.

Ty’s folio had a lot of smiling, youthful shots, so I wanted to capture some more serious faces and different expressions. He took direction really well, and was so easy to get along with. He was also very comfortable in front of the camera and moved well.

We shot for only about an hour, but I got so many great shots, it was hard to choose which ones to retouch. Thanks Ty! Looking forward to shooting again next time I’m in Tokyo! :)

And a couple of my shots made it onto Ty’s comp card…

Boy

I’ve really been enjoying testing with kids and teens, its a totally different way of shooting and that in itself is quite refreshing. Trying to get a natural expression from younger models can be easier (as their filters are lower), or harder (because of being shy) depending on the person.

Recently, I had the opportunity to test with N. I only had half an hour or so, because N was on the way to a casting for a TVC. So I decided to photograph him in the studio, and then pop outside to play with the quickly fading winter light.

N is a champ, and really easy to photograph. Plus I learned a lot about Pokemon Go whilst I was shooting (and apparently there was a Pokemon on my camera!)

Thanks N for being a great model!

 

Testing With Lara de Koster

I love working with new talent, and testing with new faces is one way that I get to constantly do this. Often, the photography and style of images needs to be quite simple, as the model will need images that show them with minimal makeup and styling. This makes expression and posing very important.

A few weeks ago I was asked to shoot Lara de Koster, who had only moved down to Melbourne a few days before. Lara is a musician too, but is aiming to break into Melbourne’s modelling scene. She had such a sweet look, and was a little shy at first, but she quickly opened up in front of the camera.

I had Marlene Olsson as my hair and makeup artist. She is brilliant at what she does, so I was glad to have her on board. Marlene agreed to start off with a more natural look, but then wanted to experiment a little later on once we had the basic shots in the bag. I think its important to let your team experiment when testing, so that everyone gets something out of the shoot. So of course I was more than happy to let her experiment too!

Our second look was more of a wet hair look. Here, we focused on expression and conveying a bit more attitude. Lara is such a sweet girl, so this was a challenge for her. But I think she did really well, and by the end of the shoot she let loose a bit more and was able to convey more of an attitude through her face and posing.

Finally, Marlene wanted to experiment with braiding the hair for one last look. I was amazed at how quickly she put this look together. The braiding was incredible! For this look, we wanted to focus on the textures in the hair, but a strong expression was also important.

I’m looking forward to seeing where Lara’s career in Melbourne takes her.