Frequently Asked Questions⁺

General Questions⁺

What type of photography do you do?

I specialize in Headshots, Personal Branding, and Family & Couples styles of portraiture. We can tailor each session specifically to your needs whether that is indoors, outdoors, on location, or in one of our studio spaces throughout the Tokyo and Kanto area.

Why should I hire a professional photographer?

One of the things I hear most from my clients is their insecurities about taking photos. Wouldn’t it be a relief to hire a professional who understands how to handle their client’s insecurities and create wonderful, confident, and memorable images for them to cherish or use proudly? I know I would. Being wary of photography shouldn’t mean skimping on making an investment with a Tokyo Portrait Photographer or any other photographer in Tokyo. Make the investment!

Are deposits refundable?

As long as the cancellation is made before 3 weeks from the date of our session, deposits paid can be refundable or repurposed for a different session.

How much are your photographic services?

For my family & couples sessions, our session fee (AKA the deposit) is 20,000 yen plus sales tax. Our Headshots and Branding session fees are 40,000 yen plus sales tax. Our corporate team sessions have a base price of 50,000 yen plus 12,500 yen per person.

Any event fees are 20,000 yen per hour with images included in our private photo gallery.

I have a question about your cancellation or rescheduling fees

Cancellation and rescheduling fees are both 40,000 yen. For rescheduling fees our 40,000 yen payment rolls into your image packages once we’ve completed our photo session and ordering appointment.

Do you touch up the images?

Yes, we can make small touch-ups in areas while still maintaining the integrity of who you are and the message you would like to convey in the image.

Where can we view our images?

For all portrait sessions, images can be seen via Zoom at our ordering appointment. Once purchases have been made, we will be able to share your new images with you via a digital private gallery. If you have ordered any of our Italian prints, we will place the order with our lab partners and have them shipped to your home.

Do you travel for sessions?

Yes, we travel throughout the Kanto area at no additional charge. For any locations outside of Kanto, any incurred costs such as transportation and accommodation will be added.

What if I lose my images?

We save all of our images in cloud storage as well as on mirrored RAID hard drives. Just let us know and we will be able to restore them for you.

Do I own my images?

Yes, payment for your images grants you commercial rights to use them however you see fit.

What is your philosophy in relation to photography?

My philosophy in photography is that everyone deserves to be photographed and any significant moment of their lives. We get so caught up in wanting our bodies to look younger, thinner, or whatever our idea of perfect is before we step foot into someone’s studio for a photo. But what many people fail to realize is that our bodies do amazing things. They keep us alive, keep us moving. While they change over time they still maintain those two very important functions.

We tend to take our bodies for granted. We also tend to take our significance to others for granted as well. Our significance to our friends, colleagues, and most importantly our family. How will they remember us when we’re gone?

At that point, no one is really counting the pounds or the wrinkles or gray hairs. They’re recounting the memories they had with you no matter what state your body was in at that moment in time. I want my clients to cherish that captured moment in time.

Headshots / Branding / Family & Couples⁺

When will we get our finished prints?

Our print lab partners in Italy usually take 4 weeks to handmake, print, install, and sent our images to our Japan studio.

Do you include digital images?

Yes, our prints are complementary to their respective digital copies.

How long will our session take?

Our sessions are typically 90 minutes long. These are long enough to accommodate outfit changes and location changes if need be.

What kind of physical prints do you offer?

All of our physical prints are sourced from Italy. Our print paper is museum-grade Lustere Matte archival print paper.

We have 2 print collections. Our leather Reveal Box Collection & our suede Portfolio Wrap Collection. Each can hold up to 30 matted images at 8 x 10 inches or 20cm x 25cm.

Our Storybook Album Collection is a leather exterior with Japanese washi paper that holds the rich colors of our images. We can create up to 60 pages. All collections have engraved title options available.

We also have wall art pieces that are as small as an A3 size poster and go as large as an A0 size poster! We have them as Enlarged Mats and Leather Canvases.

Vegan options of equal quality are available.

How many images do you deliver?

As many as you like. Some clients buy 10 and some buy 100! It is completely up to you and your needs (and wants)!

Do you backup images? Can we trust our images will not be lost?

Absolutely. We do not throw away any of our images. We store them in a cloud management system and in our office on mirrored hard drives.

Corporate & Business Team Headshots Sessions⁺

How long will our session take?

For individual sessions, our sessions are typically 90 minutes long. These are long enough to accommodate outfit changes and location changes if need be.

For our team headshot sessions, we can have 5 minutes sessions with each team member or even 30-minute sessions with each team member. It is completely up to the company’s number of headshots needed, budget, and allotted time.

How many images do you deliver?

For our individual sessions, we usually present around 100 images at our ordering appointment to choose from.

For our team headshot sessions, we show each person via our tethered laptop what the images look like. This gives each person an opportunity to select their favorite image or perhaps photograph a bit more in a different way.

I have questions about what to wear.

For a team headshot session, it’s best to confer with the point person in charge of coordinating the session. We photographed some teams with uniforms, in business casual wear, and in business formal wear.

For individual sessions, what message would you like to give your audience? What style of attire do they mostly see you in? We can start here when tailoring your photo session at our consultation.

Events⁺

Can we get images quickly for social media?

Yes, you can receive up to 30 images on the day of the event for social media use.

Do you have a team of multiple photographers?

Yes, I have access to photographers and videographers who I have worked with in past collaborations and trust their work ethic and level of service.

Do you do videography?

I strictly do still photography however, I have a network of other videographers who I have worked with in past collaborations and trust their work ethic and level of service.

How many images do you deliver?

The average number of deliverable images is between 80 to 100 images per hour of shooting. For quick same-day delivery highlights for social media, we send up to 30 images.

How much are your event photography services?

For all of our event photography clients, we make sure they receive the following:

An average image count of 50 to 80 images per hour
My assistant as a second photographer if the event is over 5 hours long or is a large event
Up to 30 images same-day delivery for social media
5 day turn around time for full delivery
Kanto transportation costs covered

All of these for 20,000 yen per hour of covering your event

School Photography⁺

What services do you offer for school portrait day?

We provide individual portraits, class group photos and sibling photos captured on location at the designated school facility. We also offer various digtal and print package options, retouching services.

How is Fine Art School Portraits different to Standard School Portraits?

Fine Art School Portraits is an opportunity to step away from more traditional school photos. A new experience that not only allows your institution a more elevated look but also to enrich your schools student with an experience that allows for them to express themselves authentically without forcing them to smile or create expression unatural to them.

Our images are simple and have a minimalistic black or cream background allowing our team to focus on your child’s personality and character.

What are your rates?

For our schools, we charge a simple day rate of ¥96,000 for half days or ¥160,000 for full days. We find that half days are less intrusive with our school’s daily schedules. Schools have access to one digital image per student for their school use for things such as yearbooks, student IDs and the like.

Parents will have access to individual galleries for both digital images at ¥4,900 per image with additional options for physical prints and retouching.

What time of year do you do school photo shoots?

We work with each international school in scheduling shoots during a time of year that is convenient to them. The most popular time of year tends to be from September to November.

Do you do class photos?

Yes, we offer class photos as well as extra-curricular group photos if needed on the day or scheduled at a different time.

How many students do you accomodate for?

We have offered similar services to international schools ranging from 50 students to over 300 students!

How do parents receive photos?

Parents will recieve an email from us with a link directly to their child’s private gallery. Only the parent or guardian has access to their child’s gallery. Once they have made their purchase, they will receive an invitation to download their digital images or recieve their physical prints by mail via a mailing address provided.