Okinawa Photo Shoot: A Christmas Night Walk with Twins and Their Family

A night at American Village, following the children through the Christmas decorations

Hi, I’m author S.
Today I’m sharing photos from an Okinawa photo shoot. It’s been ages since I last posted any.
Well.. I’ve photographed more than 2,000 groups at night in Prague.. so shooting after dark isn’t hard for me at all. An old hand at this, through and through..

Of course, I can do night shoots in Korea too. About 13 years ago, I did a winter night shoot at Lotte Hotel (롯데호텔) in Sogong-dong (소공동). My photography skills and understanding of how cameras work were still lacking then.. but I managed to get lovely photos anyway. The catch? It was bloody freezing..

Since I only post photos from overseas.. some people think I don’t know Korea very well.. but before I left Korea, I’d been all over the countryside, visiting every beautiful spot I could find. I was seriously obsessed with landscape photography back then.. That experience doesn’t just disappear. Anyway, let’s get into the Okinawa photos and a bit of a ramble from me.

Clients tell me.. they like that my photos don’t follow a set plan.
That’s right, I don’t usually have one. If you have something in mind, I’ll work with it. But if looking at the camera is difficult, or the kids aren’t doing as they’re told, I just photograph them as they are. Children look their best.. when they’re doing what they want. In Korea, children’s shoots tend to be arranged around the background or mom and dad, with the children made to fit in, right? I do the opposite. I let the children do what they want.. and position mom and dad around them.
It’s less stressful, and the photos look lovely. What would you call it.. a European style? I’d seen Czech photographers work this way, and they influenced me a bit.

Well.. I didn’t ask them to do anything. There are very few photos in today’s set where I asked for or directed anything. Just as they were..

The children suddenly run over and sit on the whale shark, so I’m quick to take photos. They sit down for just a fleeting moment before doing something else, so I really have to work fast.

Again, I didn’t ask them to do anything. I just casually say something like, ‘There’s a deer here~’ and leave it at that. No further instructions. By the way, today’s stars, the twins.. aren’t feeling too well because of upset stomachs :'(

They said they were going to sit for a moment before moving on, so I quickly took some candid shots. This was completely spontaneous. I had something else in mind.. but they suddenly sat down, so I slipped into position and took the photos.

This chef Santa stands outside an Italian restaurant. They thought the lid would open and started tugging at it. This is what makes photographing children so much fun.

There’s something written in that book. Nothing particularly exciting.. and again, I didn’t tell them to do this. When the children get curious about something, I do ask mom and dad to get more involved. That’s how you get natural family photos.
So.. if dad just hovers nearby, I keep nagging him. Usually.. moms aren’t shy about getting involved in a shoot. The usual troublemakers on family shoots are dads and grandpas..

By the way.. when grandparents are part of a shoot, I pay extra attention to photos of them with their grandchildren. Because.. photos with the grandkids are what they’ll show off to their friends back in Korea. Those give them.. some serious bragging rights.

A layup with the laundry bunny. There’s a stuffed bunny hanging from a sign like laundry, and this looks like a basketball layup. Of course, I didn’t ask them to do it. They suddenly started playing with the children like this, so I hurried to get the shot. Since the children are moving, it’s important to change the camera settings in an instant. Well.. after photographing thousands of groups, I can do that easily.

Another layup. Their matching winter outfits look really lovely.

Again, they were gazing off at something, so I sneaked in a shot. By this point, the children weren’t paying much attention to me. The best possible situation.

This one was my idea. A ride in the sleigh 😀
There wasn’t much room, so they all sat together for the photo. Luckily, I got a lovely shot.

There’s another Santa sleigh behind the Cookie Run sleigh. When I said, ‘There’s a sleigh over there too~’ the children ran over and settled in all by themselves. Another easy shot handed to me.

I need photos of everyone together too, so I take shots like this as well.
Well.. I deliberately didn’t give them detailed instructions. All I said was.. ‘Mom and dad, you’re up!’ Something like that?

There were lots of these at American Village at the time 😀

Decorations like these at American Village.. are made with lots of visiting children in mind, so they’re very sturdy. Well.. the same ones were there the previous year too..

They suddenly ran this way, so I ran along too.

The lighting here was purple, which made editing a bit of a hassle.. but the photos came out lovely, so I reduced most of the purple and adjusted the colors to look natural.

Those Santas behind them.. play instruments. There was music too, which got the children dancing like that..

You really can’t predict what children will do. That’s what makes the photos more fun.
I’ve photographed lots of couples, so I can roughly picture the photos I’ll get, but with children, I have no idea at all. That makes the shoot more fun too.

They suddenly sat down.. so I suddenly took a photo.

They’ve spotted some lovely clothes.

They’re looking at things like handicrafts.

I always.. capture a range of expressions. You wouldn’t think this child was feeling really unwell with an upset stomach.

American Village really does.. feel like a fun amusement park.
Reading online communities and group chats these days.. people’s opinions have changed a lot, haven’t they? When I first came to Okinawa, there were lots of posts and messages asking whether American Village was really worth visiting. I hardly see those anymore. I did champion American Village quite a bit myself..

By the way, the sea doesn’t show up in night shoots. It’s just pitch-black and you can’t even see it.. so there are lots of photos among decorations like these.

The funny thing is.. they thought that was real candy.. Watching them try to find a way to unwrap it.. pure innocence.

I take a shot like this too. I waved at them, and luckily they waved back.

The atmosphere was lovely, so I asked them to do this shot before moving on. There were so many people.. it was a bit hard to choose the photos. There’s all this talk about AI these days.. but running photos at this extremely high resolution through AI takes forever. There’s a 99% chance I won’t like the result.. so I just leave the passersby in.. There are usually lots of people in the background of my photos.
I think they’re part of the atmosphere, and without people, it feels a bit.. creepy.

They’re on their way to the Christmas shop.

A little less boisterous after getting too excited.. and being told off by mom.

This teddy bear is always in that spot, even outside the Christmas decoration season.

There’s Santa and a sleigh, but no Rudolph, so they’re doing this. So cute xD

They suddenly sat down there.. so I had everyone sit together for a photo. I used to take photos here fairly often.. even without the Christmas decorations.

Since they’re at American Village, I include the landmark Depot Island building in the photos too. I always make sure to take at least one photo with that building behind them. That way, it feels a bit more.. like they’ve come to Okinawa.

There’s a moon-shaped decoration.. and wanting to climb up its slope.. is something boys and girls both do. It’s something covered in child psychology too.. If I say something about that moon, I can more or less guess how the children will react.

There are lots of people.. but I take it in stride and keep shooting. Maybe 10 years ago.. I’d take photos while hoping nobody else would be around.. These days, the key is to move quickly so the children don’t get bored.. so I keep things moving, quick, quick.

This is the last one. I think it really captures Okinawa at night.
I used to take photos like this in Prague too.. Come to think of it, I’d never posted any night photos, so how did people know to book me for them..? It turned out they’d seen my old night shoots in Prague and got in touch. Anyway.. I’m good at both day and night shoots.

Okinawa photo shoots used to cost 250,000 KRW for 1 hour during the day, or 300,000 KRW for 1 hour at sunset or at night, with 20 edited photos and 300 original photos. I’m not currently taking bookings for Okinawa photo shoots. I may offer them again someday, but I haven’t decided when. If I do, I’ll announce it separately. I’m currently doing shoots in Gyeongju, and my base covers Tongyeong, Geoje, Changwon and western Busan. For booking information and contact details, please visit the Sarangbi Snap page.