Okinawa Photo Shoot: Following the Kids at Busena Terrace

Family photos following the kids’ lead between Busena Beach and the resort

👋 Haisai! I’m author S.
It’s been a long time since I last shared photos from an Okinawa shoot. Most of these were taken at Busena Beach, and the beach is reserved for hotel guests, so only guests can have a photo shoot here 😀
Okinawa is hot, so for family photo shoots, I always need to plan somewhere for older family members and kids to escape the heat. Taking photos inside the resort is quite a good option too.

Off to a good start. I don’t take many photos like this. I used to take lots of these.. these days, I just capture things as they happen. I go with the flow. If the kids get distracted, I just photograph that. I don’t try to manufacture anything. I’ve always thought that the most unnatural photos of kids are the ‘normal’ ones.

The kids couldn’t get used to the feel of the sand and seemed a little uncomfortable. So I took photos as the family went back and forth between the resort and the beach. It was quite hot that day too. I’m used to this heat, so it doesn’t bother me, but it’s different for kids from Korea. They struggle with it.

My photos these days.. there’s nothing particularly special about them. If the kids do something, I just take photos of it. Getting more and more easy shots out of it xD

So what’s the theme of these photos.. even I don’t know. If it looks nice, I take a photo.

I’d planned out how to get some lovely photos at Busena Beach, but as ever, shoots with kids never go to plan. So I make sure I get one or two photos with the whole family looking at the camera, and take all the rest like this.

Even for the beach walk.. there’s nothing much to it. I just adapt to whatever happens. I do give them a rough idea of what to do. Really, just a casual suggestion. Hold hands and walk over that way along the beach. That’s about it.
Even when I used to shoot in Prague, my instructions were getting shorter, and after coming to Okinawa, they got shorter still. When I was shooting in Korea, I controlled every little detail: how they held their fingers, where they looked, how they held the corners of their mouths, their gaze.. I don’t do that anymore. I just capture things as they happen, as they are. I go with the flow.

There are fish at Busena Beach too.. but they’re so small that they’re a bit hard to spot.
As I’ve mentioned in my posts about the weather and restaurants.. I really like photos of kids watching living creatures. It’s that look of curiosity, as if everything in the world is new and fascinating.

It’s hot, and sand has got into the kids’ shoes and they’ve started crying.. so it’s time to move away for a bit. With kids or older family members.. I generally avoid spending a whole hour taking photos on the beach. Unless the shoot is entirely about playing in the water..

The kids are gradually starting to ignore me too. That actually works better for me.

Got to get that sand out too.. That’s why they came in, after all: they didn’t like the sand in their shoes.

Here the child is urging everyone to hurry inside the hotel. So cute.

I take photos inside the resort for a little while too. I used to shoot over by the waterfall to avoid disturbing other people. There’s a spacious area with water here, and hardly anyone comes this way. It almost feels as though it was built for Korean-style baby photos.

Busena Terrace is a fairly pricey hotel.. so you’ve got to have some proof that you stayed somewhere this nice. I take photos with a glimpse of the building too. It really is a very well-designed hotel. It’s in northern Okinawa, but not all the way up north, just a little beyond the central part of the island. It’s a convenient base for trips farther north too.

I’d originally asked them to sit on the ground and look out at the beach, but this is how the photo actually turned out. The kids started playing in the sand, so I told the parents to join in with whatever they were doing. There’s no need to make the kids look at the sea if they don’t want to. With kids’ photos, it’s not about having them do what mom and dad want. The loveliest shots are of mom and dad joining in with whatever baffling thing the kids are doing.

Back to the resort to wrap things up. It’s got a little cloudy, so the emerald sea looks a bit murkier.

I try some shots that weren’t possible in the strong sunlight. I’m glad they seem to be in a much better mood now.

And this is how I finish,
They liked the photos, so I came away feeling really pleased with the shoot. One good thing about Okinawa is that there are other places where I could photograph them again too. I hope to see them again.

Mata yasai 👋

Okinawa photo shoots were priced at 250,000 KRW for 1 hour during the day, or 300,000 KRW for 1 hour at sunset or at night, including 20 edited photos and 300 original photos. I’m not currently accepting bookings for Okinawa shoots. I may start again someday, but there’s no set date, so I’ll make a separate announcement if I do. I’m currently doing shoots in Gyeongju, and my base covers Tongyeong, Geoje, Changwon and western Busan. Please visit the Sarangbi Snap page for booking information and contact details.