Tokyo Winter Style Shoot

Back in 2014 December, I finally went on my first Japan trip. If you know me, you'd know it was the trip of a lifetime. It was my first time setting foot on the country that I've been dreaming of going since I was a school girl! I almost cried when I stepped out of Narita Airport. No kidding, I love Japan soooooooooooo much.

(We got lucky that year!)

And today I can finally reveal the style shoot we did in Tokyo 2015! Whilst prepping for the trip back then, I couldn't contain my excitement! There were many firsts for me (and for Bubs too!), first japan trip, first time in Tokyo, first winter and also, our first style shoot in Tokyo!

Why did we decide on having a pre-wed/style shoot? Well, why not? We weren't engaged to each other back in 2014 but we sure as hell know we're going to be each other's life partner! So we jumped on the opportunity to have a little fun during the trip and decided to make our first Japan trip a super memorable one. And yes it can be hefty when it comes to destination photo shoots but somehow. we manage to achieve it at half the price!

(Just a little disclaimer; this photo-shoot was taken in 2015 so obvs the current YEN is not as good as before and it's based entirely on our own experience!)

1. Finding THAT photographer - $700+-

I thought this was going to be the toughest but turns out, it was the easiest task to strike off. Initially, we went around looking for local quotes which went wayyyyy off our budget (due to air tickets, lodging, transport, etc) so we turned to looking for photographers in Tokyo!

It can be quite daunting, since I don't speak Japanese fluently. We did ALOT of research, asked a lot of friends whom are staying in Japan for relevant contacts. By ALOT, I meant we went cray googling, going on several websites and emailing tones of photographers based in Tokyo. We went on Instagram as well digging for portfolios and contacting as many as we can. And we are really please to have found Elizabeth from http://www.izzieraephotography.com/ <3 She quoted us 71,000 Yen ($720+ SGD) for 2 days of shoot worth around 4-5 hours in total!

(Izzie was super helpful and kind as well, reassuring us in all the emails!)

(Izzie's Portfolio!)

We were really lucky as she was based in Japan for a couple of years due to her husband's work. And after a few emails exchanged plus video calls, we made our deposit! It can be difficult to make this move because you won't know what's going to happen after making that deposit.

(Izzie was SO CUTE)

So always make sure the artist has a healthy portfolio, able to understand what you need/want and making video calls could help a lot in sealing the deal! Potential signs to lookout for a fraud? Delays in reply, avoiding questions and no social media handles. Keep a lookout for certain red flags to avoid being cheated!

2. Deciding on OUTFITS - $600+-

This was the fun part! We didn't wanna engulf ourselves in full on gown/tux outfits for the whole shoot so we decided to go fun and casual! We had only one formal look throughout the shoot and I remembered how fun it was for us to shop and pair our outfits together! And it doesn't have to be expensive at all. We bought our casual shoot clothes mostly from thrift stores in Japan before the shoot! Always try to keep shoots fun and relaxed, which will really reflect on the photos 😊

Now, for the gown. Having to rent one in Tokyo can be hefty so we started looking for affordable gown rentals in Singapore and yes they exist! Though, in the end we settled for an MTM one which cost us only $600-ish to achieve the desired look that we wanted! The boutique no longer do MTM anymore but rather bespoke gowns, so if you need contacts, drop me a
DM and I can share more with you 💗

3. Makeup Artists - $160

This task took us awhile to checked off because most of the artists are Japanese and it was a tad difficult to communicate with them through emails when it comes to the looks and dates we wanted. We did the same amount of research and thankfully, many replied us showing keen interest and some even help us to look out for rental of Kimonos!

In the end, we found Taca from https://www.modelmayhem.com/! A seriously friendly, affordable and talented artist with brands like Shu Uemura, L'oreal and many more under his belt. And he gave us a super good rate! 15,000 YEN for 2 Days! Back in 2015, it costs only $160!!! He even came to our apartment to do the makeup for me T_T

(A pretty good website to start with for your shoot!)

(He brought all his tools to our Airbnb apartment on the first day)

(And the second day he actually asked his friend to loan the salon to us as it was closer to Meiji Shrine T_____T I'M ETERNALLY GRATEFULLLLLLL)

Well Taca is no longer based in Japan, I still have a long list of makeup artists contacts from Japan for any ladies whom are keen! Some of them can even help you with your Kimono rental or helping you with it!

4. Kimono Rental - $80

I was lucky to have a friend in Japan and she was willing to loan her kimono to me (THANK YOU YURI T_T) which saved us a chunk of cost and she recommended us a place to rent Bubs' Kimono and arranged for the Obasans to dress us up! There are plenty of affordable ones in Tokyo that offers these services, especially Asakusa it seems. It can start from only $30 to rent one!

(There are plenty of choices but I highly recommend this place for the location and ease of communication!)

5. Quick tips and advices

All in all, we spent less than $1.6k for our photo shoot and we got ALL the photos from Izzie (she even threw in some extras for us)! It can be difficult when it comes to communicating between the parties involved so make sure you guys are ready to coordinate and most importantly, work as a team!
Prepare iron or steamer (we bought a handheld one in Don Quijote!) and best prep your outfits one day before shoot.
We took our photos during winter so it was MAAAAD cold so prep some heat packs. Some of the heat packs DO NOT work so best is get the USB types.
RESEARCH YOUR LOCATIONS! This is really important. Best to check the distance between locations and opening hours! Most of the places we went are outdoor so there's no extra cost involved. And that's the beauty of Japan, almost everywhere is scenic and shot worthy!
Ease the load. Don't bother carrying too much barang with you. If you really need to, there's plenty of lockers in the train stations!
Research your poses! Keep an album of your desired poses instead of waiting for the photog's cue.
ENJOY AND HAVE FUNNNN! Don't bother setting your expectations too high and worrying about every single detail. Seriously, just have fun and soak in the atmosphere, the rest will fall into place!

And finally..... PHOTOS!