baby photos at the park

portrait at home

a portrait I did this summer in Osaka at this person's home.  I'm based in Tokyo but if you can pay for travel expense, I will make the journey.

lets not forget the dogs

family photos from the past

sad occasions

During the course of our lives we encounter many joyful occasions as well as sad ones.  A friend of mine called me up to see if I can photograph his good friend's funeral.  At first I didn't know what to say, as I figured I couldn't get any "great" pictures during a family loss, and I felt obtrusive to be firing away when everyone was in grief.  This all changed when I spoke to the widow whose request was to record this event in an artistic manner so she can share it with her husband's family who couldn't travel to Japan, as well as document it for her 2 year old son who was too small to remember it.  She told me that there are no "don'ts" and that I could shoot as a I pleased without feelng rude. There will be moments of laughter as well as moments of crying but just go ahead.   I thought about the strong images of the Kennedy funeral I saw as a kid, and decided to take a photojournalistic approach to capture the emotion of the funeral using different camera angles, etc.   I think they came out very good and will serve as a strong documentation of a well repected husband, father, and friend who was loved by many.

photographing children

Children are often difficult subjects to photograph because they don't like to be confined to the same place for more than 5 minutes.  Parents often get frustrated during a family portrait sitting because the little one is most volatile.  In a recent family portrait session, I found the two young boys to be very very active, and wouldn't sit in one place for more than 30seconds.  What to do?  Join them on their turf as they play. I think that once you become one of them, they open up to you and invite you for wonderful photo opportunities, and the result is much more gratifying.  The strong colors and shapes of playgrounds can actually add to the graffic design of the photograph.  And yes, you have to be a photographer with a lot of patience.  In a recent baby photo session, I was told by the parent that "you have the patience of a saint!" Well, after 27 years of shooting corporate CEOs, Prime Ministers, celebrities, and putting up with a lot of unforseen surprises, I think I might have developed some patience.  The funny thing is that children and babies are much more difficult subjects than those just mentioned.

two brothers and kid sister