Okinawa Photo Shoot, Yonaha Maehama Beach in Miyakojima

Photos of a couple at Yonaha Maehama Beach in Miyakojima, with Kurima Bridge in view

👋 Haisai! Hi, I’m author S.
Today it’s a Miyakojima photo shoot story. I was insanely busy for 8 days on a work trip to Miyakojima.. but in the middle of it all, I squeezed in a photo shoot. I’d figured Miyakojima, being ever so slightly farther south than Okinawa, would be hotter.. but it was a bit cooler than Okinawa’s main island, so I had a pretty good time.

The shoot took place at Yonaha Maehama Beach. I did my first photo shoot on day 6 of my stay in Miyakojima, and my schedule was so packed that I didn’t even have time to find out what was around, you see? Out of 8 days, I can’t even remember what I did up to day 6..
Anyway, Yonaha Maehama Beach is beautiful, so if you’re planning a trip to Miyakojima, definitely go. Honestly, this is the most important spot! For its location, parking and facilities, see Yonaha Maehama Beach: Miyakojima’s Most Beautiful Beach.

I only shot at Yonaha Maehama Beach. For a one-hour shoot, I try all sorts of things. I work at a very fast pace, changing poses and moving between spots quickly. Still, there are plenty of weird photos 😀

Like this.. I also take plenty of the basic shots I used to do a lot on Kokusai-dori and in Prague.
If this had been a baby shoot, I’d have gone mostly hands-off, but since they’re a couple preparing for their wedding, I get involved a lot, one way or another.
Come to think of it.. since it’s before their wedding, I might have gone heavy on filters when editing the photos, but Miyakojima doesn’t need any of that. The sun is the most powerful prop.

I don’t find Miyakojima very hot -_-;;
But the people being photographed get pretty hot, so I build in a short drink break like this. A shoot of nothing but rolling around in the sea would be boring, so I include some time for them to sit and have something to drink too 😀

The walking-against-the-sky shot, which I did a lot of at Olympic Park from 2011 to 2014.. nobody paid it any attention back then, but when I went to Prague, it was a huge hit.
You can adapt it with all kinds of things.. but there’s sea below here, which makes it dangerous, so I kept the movements gentle.

I give them a quick idea of what to do for each shot. They said this was their first time doing a shoot like this, so I stick to the easiest ones I can.
With people who’ve done lots of shoots, I make them spin around and do all sorts of weird things, but this time I went with calmer shots..

I demonstrate how to puff out their cheeks and pucker up like a fish. Well.. I even explain how to do a supermodel catwalk, so why wouldn’t I manage something like this?

This is what I call spinning them round and round. It’s a hit-or-miss shot. I can roughly tell what kind of picture will come out as they spin, but.. the problem is that the sunlight is so intense that I can’t see the screen at all.. so I just shot this one hoping something would work out.

This couple originally planned a sunset shoot, but we switched to daytime, and I think they’re doing great.
Even for this daytime shoot, I don’t even know what I’m shooting, and since it’s my first shoot in Miyakojima, I’m relying on my basic photography skills.. if I’d shot sunset, I think I would have struggled a bit. Of course, if you already know the direction the sun moves, the terrain and landmarks, and how people tend to move around, I can work more easily and get cleaner results 😀

I’d asked them to time their kicks together.. but the out-of-sync one was simply prettier, so I selected this one. Well.. I always keep in mind that my idea might not be the right answer.

Since they said they needed photos for their wedding invitations.. they needed shots like these too.
For honeymooners, these are the shots I’d never have asked of a family that’s already married.

I asked them to take out a smartphone and take a photo, blah blah blah.. they seem to have understood it slightly differently.. but I thought this one was pretty in its own way, so I just shot it as it was and selected it. Anyway, after editing I noticed the sea has 3 colors, heh
Add the sand and that’s 4 colors in parallel stripes.. kind of like taking a photo on top of a blue flag?

I also take a shot that looks as though they haven’t noticed the camera.
You can see their trousers are slightly wet.. the pity is that.. I wanted to get them into the sea almost up to the knees.. but the waves were on the strong side today, so we couldn’t. They could easily fall over. Getting half a skirt or half a pair of trousers wet can pass as a pretty look, but if they fall, it’s drowned-rat mode, so um..

With Kurima Bridge in the background, I take a photo so the sea looks flat.
This photo captures the outlines of the eyes, nose and mouth very accurately and in fine detail.

I offer Miyakojima photo shoots irregularly.
When I do run one, I’ll announce the dates in a separate notice. An outdoor shoot is 250,000 KRW for 1 hour, with 20 edited photos and 300 original photos.

Anyway, congratulations in advance, and I hope you took home nothing but good memories from Miyakojima 🙏