Photo, video & drone services

The catalogue above is everything that is shot, grouped into nine families: travel sessions, the shoots people time their trip for — kimono, cherry blossom, autumn leaves, snow, the beach — couples and proposals, pre-wedding and weddings, family, creators, business, video and drone.

Video and drone are services in their own right rather than extras. A reel shoot is planned for vertical frames and movement, not cut from the stills. A drone shoot depends on where flying is legal at all: central Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka are densely inhabited districts that need MLIT approval, and most shrines, temples and parks refuse flights. Drone work is sold with the paperwork, filed about ten business days ahead, so book at least three weeks before your date; where a drone cannot go up we say so before you book.

Each service carries a starting price in US dollars, and that is what you pay. It covers the shoot, the editing and colour, delivery, and travel within the place you booked. What it does not cover is named: kimono rental and dressing, hair and make-up, venue tickets and any photo fee a temple or shrine charges, which we arrange.

What separates the categories is time and logistics. A 30-minute travel shoot needs one photographer and an early start. A Mt Fuji sunrise needs a pre-dawn start at Kawaguchiko and a clear forecast. A pre-wedding shoot at a temple needs the venue’s permission agreed weeks ahead.