So here we are, back on location shooting with Melissa, a tattoo artist from Okinawa who flew up to Tokyo for this editorial shoot. Initially the plan was to work in the studio but I had enough of boring white backs, blacks, blues and the likes. I figured it'll be too catalogue-like, plain and just boring especially if you have a unique subject with some really cool ink like Melissa to work with. The location was set at a traditional sushi restaurant off the beaten path away from the typical crowded areas of Tokyo. This isn't no ordinary sushi joint though, this is a place with long history where Hollywood celebs like Will Smith, Angelina Jolie and several others have dined at. For the most part, this place is open by reservation only and comes with a "you get what you pay for" type of price tag that's really worth every yen spent. Anyways, straight to the tamale...
Here's the crew during our location shoot getting prepped...
Hidenori on the makeup and hair. My always go-to guy first for shoots whenever there are any people involved in the shooting. We've been working together for a little over six years straight now.
As Melissa has some amazing ink all over her body this was out of the several hundred frames I shot; the money shot for me. This one was made with a 50mm at F4.0, 1/10 of second. ISO 1600 to give it that rough grainy look to it.
An improvised shot at 16mm, F3.5, 1/8 of a second. ISO 1600.
Melissa laying flat on the wooden table that she was sitting on in the previous picture above as I stood right over her trying not to get my feet in the shot. This was done with a straight on the hot shoe 580EX II flash with a diffuser at 24mm, F2.8, 1/200 of a second, exposure dialed down to -0.3. ISO1600.
You saw mostly the front shots here so stay tuned for the back ones later...