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Tokyo Family Photographer | Tips On Taking Candid Photos

A dear photographer friend of mine of Izzie Rae Photography (http://izzieraephotography NULL.com/) often talks about photographing just for herself. No client expectations. No rules. Just shooting and practicing and experimenting, just for fun. She raves about how it is good for the soul and the creative spirit. Why have I never thought of this before?

So I took her advice and asked the Kantz family to model for me.  The focus was a relaxed session where I could play and have complete freedom to shoot in new ways if I wanted too. I just wanted total freedom.

I went into this session with a few specific goals in mind. Here were my goals:

  1. To underexpose the images a bit to get a more moody feel. (The stormy weather was the perfect condition for this actually.)

2. To get a good mixed of both posed and candid portraits. ( I am a portrait photographer. That’s what I do best. But I want to be able to incorporate more lifestyle shots when photographing families.)

3. To direct the family well in order to produce images that feel relaxed and natural.

I wanted to capture moments as they happened and help the family arrive at those moments. I don’t know about you, but as soon as a photographer says to me “Oh, just act natural,” I freeze up in front of the camera. There is nothing natural about that. So how do we photographers achieve that natural, candid look for our clients? I believe we must actively direct, pose,coach, and encourage clients during a session to help facilitate the natural look we want to achieve.

For this photo shoot I directed and coached the family so the end result would be relaxed images that looked natural while still making my clients look their best. Most of these images below start with me giving some instruction about how to stand or what to do. Once the position looked the way I wanted I then coached the family members to do things that help facilitate moments and get that natural, lifestyle feel.  Here are a few things I tell clients to try and  achieve that look:

– “Don’t look at me. Look at each other.”

– “Doesn’t mommy look pretty?”

-“Give daddy a snuggle.”

-“Don’t smile. Don’t you do it.”

-“Tell her something you love about her. But whisper it in her ear.”

Along with that I encourage lots of movement. I personally love what movement adds to a photo.

I have found that a little coaching and direction goes a long way in photography. We can’t just show up with a fancy camera and expect magical moments to randomly happen. We have to be willing to work with and help our clients feel comfortable in front of the camera. If they feel comfortable and know that you are going to direct and guide them during a shoot then they are more free to just enjoy their family. And THAT yields more natural, candid photos. The more we guide them the easier it is to get the look and feel we want from the photos. It seems counterintuitive, but it works for me.

So that my friends is what I did during this session to get candid portraits and capture natural moments.

Again, this shoot was really just for me. Even though I have been in business for over six years I still love learning how to do this better. I learn a little bit every time I shoot. So keep shooting and take time to do a creative shoot just for you!

A big thanks to the Kantz family for doing this shoot! You guys are fabulous!

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Tokyo Portrait Photographer | Audrey

This is Audrey and she is fabulous.  She is from Hong Kong and I had the honor of working with her during her short stay in Tokyo. She chose Kiyosumi Garden (http://teien NULL.tokyo-park NULL.or NULL.jp/en/kiyosumi/) for her Tokyo City Session (http://reneebooephotography NULL.com/category/the-city-session/) location. We spent three hours shooting in this lovely part of the city and it was so much fun. We spent lots of time laughing and chasing light. This session was a photographer’s dream.  I am so thankful I got the chance to meet this beautiful gem of a person and photograph her. I love that this job allows me to meet people from all over the world. So if you are ever in Tokyo and in need of a photographer I would love to work with you.

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Tokyo Child Photographer : Sophie

Sweet Sophie just turned three and photos to document this age was a must. During her portrait session she was just beaming with joy and smiles. What a delight it was to photograph her.  I remember the first time I photographed her (http://reneebooephotography NULL.com/tokyo-portrait-photographer-katsurada-family-2/) she was just a little thing and not a fan of my camera. Now she is a precious little young lady who didn’t seem to  mind that I was taking her picture. Her session just oozes joy, don’t you think?

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Tokyo Portrait Photographer | The Suzuki Family

What I adore about this session is that for most of it we just played. It was lovely to capture this family while they interacted with each other.  I must say that being able to do an entire family shoot in one location has it’s perks. Because we stayed in one area we were able to just relax and capture moments as they unfolded. I am honored to have had this opportunity to work with the Suzuki family. I never thought I would be a photographer in Japan photographing local clients. This job is a true dream and I am truly grateful for the chance to meet so many wonderful people from across the globe.

Tokyo Senior Portrait Photographer | Allie

Y’all I am so excited to share these photos with you. If you’ve been around this blog from the beginning you know full well how much I adore photographing high school seniors. I love being able to capture such an exciting season for these young adults who have the world at their feet. Allie is no exception to that. She is one special young lady. Allie, being a military child, has attended four different high schools. Four! What an inspiration. She will be graduating from Yokota High School this June and will be attending Auburn University (http://www NULL.auburn NULL.edu/) in the fall. She is going to do big things. So watch out world.

Tokyo Portait Photographer | The Krumm Family

It was a pleasure to spend the morning with the Krumm family at Showa Kinen Park  (http://www NULL.showakinen-koen NULL.jp/english/)in Tachikawa. We were even blessed with one beautiful sakura. The cherry blossom tree is famous in Japan and to find one with not one person sitting under it is a miracle. The goal of this photo shoot was to capture the essence of Japan. The vision behind this shoot was all Lisa. She has such an eye for photography and even scouted the location prior to the shoot. I love it when clients come to their sessions with a vision in mind. This family was amazing to work with. They certainly have experience in front of the camera with a mama who values photography and it showed. They were an absolute dream.

We also spent some time photographing their daughter Allie, who is a high school senior. Those photos will hit the blog in the near future. Until then, enjoy these family portraits–Japan style.

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