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Photo session with model Yuriko

AMcguyver

Here for the entertainment value...
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Service and/or Provider's Name:
Yuriko

Date of Encounter:
Saturday, Dec 18th about 2:15ish

Contact Method:
Email yurikosugarstar@gmail.com

Appointment Length & Costs:
Session - Couple of hours Costs - 5000¥ + agreed upon tip

Type/Location:
LH in Shinjuku (forgot name, but it was near Bali An)

Language Notes:
English - Yuriko is very fluent.

Details of the Encounter:
My apologies if this review does not belong here as it does not contain descriptions of sexual services of any kind. We met strictly to do a photo session, nothing else. (On photoshoots I prefer to keep it "subject-photographer" and not cross that line)

I'm writing this review as Yuriko mentioned that other photographers have shot her who are also on TAG and I thought that sharing our experience and Strobist info might help other photographers who may want to book a shoot in the future with her.

It's very difficult for me where I'm from to find Japanese models who are a) comfortable posing nude, and b) able to work within my budget. Yuriko met both of these needs so I contacted her to setup a photoshoot.

When I first sent Yuriko the link to my portfolio, she only looked in one section of it - and she saw a lot of anime themed action shots with models running around with guns and swords and fire. It was a bit violent for her tastes and it kind of scared her away from wanting to shoot with me at first, thinking I must be some sort of nut job.

Luckily, once I explained that I wanted to shoot her in a more Victoria's Secret/Playboy style, Yuriko changed her mind and agreed to a shoot. Whew!

(Btw, yes I am nuttier than a fruitcake) ;-)

We met near Studio Alta in Shinjuku. Yuriko has a very "Girl Next Door" look, which is great because to everyone around us, it just looked like two colleagues meeting up for lunch. The pictures she sent me while we were planning our shoot do not do her justice. She is much prettier in person.

We proceeded to look for a LH to shoot in. Unfortunately all the nicer ones we looked at like Pasha and Bali An were completely full. Apparently Saturday afternoon is peak LH time (I didn't know this btw, cause I haven't been to a LH in decades). We finally settled for one near Bali An that had an available room. Don't remember the name of it, but it was very affordable (which I figured would mean we would be shooting in a closet).

When we got up to the room, I was right in assuming it would be a closet. The room was a very confined area to work in, with only about 1 or 2 feet of space around the bed. Any ideas I had about setting up a whole bunch of lightstands and soft boxes went out the door.

Was hoping to work with some window light, so we opened the only window in the room. We were on the 3rd floor so no problem with people looking into the room. Being late in the afternoon however, there wasn't much daylight to work with. So I decided to work strictly off of several Yongnuo 560iii flashes.

For her main light we used one flash on a single Manfrotto nano stand with a white shoot thru umbrella. This barely fit in the room and was practically on the bed with Yuriko.

The other flash was Justin clamped onto the top of the window blind behind the bed and bounced up into the ceiling as a back light.

I also used a third flash bounced into the wall to camera left, for some additional fill, but in hindsight, I probably would have been better off sticking with just the umbrella and ceiling bounce.

To simplify it even further, I could have omitted the umbrella and simply bounced both flashes into opposite corners of the ceiling. I might try that next time I have to shoot in a confined space.

Shot the whole session with a full frame camera (Sony a7ii) alternating between a 35mm, 55mm, & 85mm lens. Used the widest aperture we could so that we could blur out the background as much as possible and framed it pretty tight to get rid of distractions in the background.

Yuriko was very good at following directions to pose her, though some of the poses were a bit difficult to do. I've been watching a few boudoir photography classes on CreativeLive and working with Yuriko really helped me to practice what I had learned.

Overall given the location we had and that it was our first session together, we did manage to come up with a couple of great images.

If you're interested in seeing some of the shots, please contact Yuriko directly. She was very fun to work with and I look forward to photographing her again the next time we are in Tokyo.

Final Thoughts:
Recommended, Will Repeat.

Closing Comments:
If you are looking to get some experience photographing a nude model, do not hesitate to contact Yuriko. (But find a good location first) :)
 
Interesting review, if you wouldn't mind my inquiry, what is the impetus behind these bookings?

I know that there are a handful of very sought after and talented photographers that do glamour and boudoir shots that commonly work with adult related industries - are you looking to build out a portfolio and hiring models to do so? Or is this a hobby of yours? No judgement either way - I was just trying to understand whether you were an experienced hand or still figuring things out.
 
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Interesting review, if you wouldn't mind my inquiry, what is the impetus behind these bookings?

I know that there are a handful of very sought after and talented photographers that do glamour and boudoir shots that commonly work with adult related industries - are you looking to build out a portfolio and hiring models to do so? Or is this a hobby of yours? No judgement either way - I was just trying to understand whether you were an experienced hand or still figuring things out.

Mostly it's to expand my portfolio. Currently have a lot of swimsuit/action themed stuff and looking to expand the nude/boudoir/fashion sections. As for experience, I've been shooting professionally full time since back in the days of film (anyone still remember film? lol) but now have a regular job and continue to do this on the side. Taking classes on lighting and posing as much as I can 'cause I feel that no matter how experienced you are, there's always something new to learn.

I would love to be one of those sought after and talented photographers with work with adult related industries, but I'm nowhere near the level of photographers like David Mecey, Lou Freeman, Suze Randall, etc. Maybe someday... :)
 
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Mostly it's to expand my portfolio. Currently have a lot of swimsuit/action themed stuff and looking to expand the nude/boudoir/fashion sections. As for experience, I've been shooting professionally full time since back in the days of film (anyone still remember film? lol) but now have a regular job and continue to do this on the side. Taking classes on lighting and posing as much as I can 'cause I feel that no matter how experienced you are, there's always something new to learn.

I would love to be one of those sought after and talented photographers with work with adult related industries, but I'm nowhere near the level of photographers like David Mecey, Lou Freeman, Suze Randall, etc. Maybe someday... :)

Very interesting! While not familiar with those particular names I do follow a few photographers that work with escorts on Twitter such as:
Black Lotus Photography: http://blacklotusphoto.com/
Don Danielo Photo & Video: http://www.dondanielophoto.com/
Inez Louis: http://www.ilsensual.com/
 
Very interesting! While not familiar with those particular names I do follow a few photographers that work with escorts on Twitter such as:
Black Lotus Photography: http://blacklotusphoto.com/
Don Danielo Photo & Video: http://www.dondanielophoto.com/
Inez Louis: http://www.ilsensual.com/

David Mecey and Lou Freeman used to shoot for Playboy magazine. Suze Randall shot a lot for Penthouse.

Thanks for posting those links. Always nice to study the work of other photographers. :)
 
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Thank you for the great review! I'm glad my modelling worked well in your camera! I do love Victoria Secret/ Playboy type of nude modelling.
It was very inspiring and amazing opportunity.

Thank you, again!

All the best,
Yuriko