Finding The Light - Christmas Day Photoshoot with Kayo in Tokyo

One of the most valuable lessons I learned in photography came from Master Photographer Irvin Yamada, who told me to "learn to see the light".  If you look carefully, you can find amazing natural light for your subjects.  Even in the middle of a crowded city like Tokyo.

Recently I had the good fortune of working again with one of my favorite models in Japan - the always amazing Kayo. I first met Kayo-san years ago through Model Mayhem and every time we collaborate on a shoot, it's always a lot of fun.  Though this was sort of a last minute impromptu shoot, we were able to create some great images in a short amount of time with very minimal gear.

The nice thing about shooting in Tokyo in December when the sun is low in the sky is that there are lots of pools of reflected light coming from the low sunlight bouncing off of the many windows and glass walls of the buildings around you.  By simply walking around, you can find lots of places where you can get both a front light and back light. Then all you need to do is put your subject in that spot.

These were all shot in a park next to our hotel - no need for a reflector or even fill flash. Pretty much everything was shot with the sun behind the model and the reflection from a nearby window filling in the front.

Everything was shot on a Sony a7ii with either the 55mm f1.8 Zeiss lens or the Sony 70-200 f4 G lens.

At one point we did get stopped by a security patrolman who informed us that doing a photoshoot in this park without a permit was not allowed, so we moved to a spot on a bridge just outside the park to continue our shoot.

The 55mm f1.8 Zeiss was a lens that I had just picked up on this trip and I really liked how it looked shooting wide open.

It was a bit chilly that day, so we wrapped after a few more images and headed back indoors.

I'm really glad that I had the chance to work with Kayo-san after such a long time. Not only did I get to hang out with an old friend, it also gave me the chance to test out a new lens and get more practice in "Seeing the light".