Miyakojima Photo Shoot: Kids at Yonaha Maehama Beach

A family photo shoot in Miyakojima with kids watching hermit crabs and walking by the sea

Hi, I’m author S.

This is Yonaha Maehama Beach in Miyakojima.
Apart from the essential photos of everyone together, I rarely ask anyone to do anything specific during a shoot. My style is to keep things relaxed and capture people as they are.
Well.. I can direct the whole shoot too, but kids find that tiring. Of course, if couples preparing for their wedding ask me to direct everything, I can do that for them too.

The family in today’s photos.. was the first family I photographed in Miyakojima. I can take photos without any trouble even somewhere I’ve never been before, so there’s no need to worry.

Well.. I can handle all kinds of photography. I hadn’t really been keeping track, but I was in my 15th year doing photo shoots.
I was just a li-i-ittle bit famous for my wedding day photo shoots when I lived in Korea. These days I enjoy photographing kids more, so that’s where I focus my attention, but I can handle anything.
Outdoor couples’ photo shoots, 70th or 80th birthday parties, first birthday photo shoots.. I’m even better at those.

And maybe it’s.. the experience?
Shooting in sunlight this strong is challenging.. but I find it easy. When I was shooting in Prague, I found bright sunny days daunting, but now I’m comfortable shooting in strong sunlight. Even the sun directly overhead used to scare me.. now I just make good use of it..
For outdoor shoots, good weather and kids feeling well matter more than an impressive location. With those two things, there’s almost a 99% chance the photos will turn out well.

I hear I have a reputation for never directing anything..
I do things like this from time to time. Kids.. look their best when they’re doing what they want without any direction.. but then mom and dad end up too much on the sidelines. So I focus on the kids and position mom and dad around them. It’s a common European approach to family photos.

Rather than trying to photograph something spectacular, I photograph whatever catches the kids’ interest, whatever fascinates them, that sort of thing. My favorite approach to photographing kids is what I call wildlife-watching mode. Watching a snail on the way somewhere, or watching a hermit crab.. photos of kids being curious are my favorites.

I caught a hermit crab for them.
They were scared at first, but soon took a liking to it.

There are plenty of hermit crabs in Okinawa in summer.. but you shouldn’t just catch them and take them away. They’re a common sight.. but I hear they’re protected.. We just had a quick look, and I put it back somewhere safe.

I let the hermit crab go, and it slipped straight into the sand.

It may look calm.. but the waves were quite high that day. They look about ankle-deep on the child, but they actually came up to their knees. So I keep directing the kids to keep them safe. If a child gets swept away, well, I’ll just have to throw my camera onto the sand right away.

It was very hot that day, so we head to an ice cream shop for a break midway through the shoot.

Checking out the ice cream menu..

Personally, I think Blue Wave is the most fun ice cream for photographing kids. It turns their tongues blue, so it’s fun watching them stick their tongues out at each other and play.

I take loads of ridiculously cute photos like these.
I prefer showing everything rather than just my best shots.. so I don’t use Instagram much.
And many of my clients are discerning.. quite a few click on these photos to enlarge them. My photos look even better enlarged.

Mom was taking a photo, so I slipped in a shot from the side as I walked past.

Toddling along with dad

It was my first time shooting here.. and it’s a shame I cut off their feet a little. I usually get it almost perfect, but it was incredibly hot that day, you see? I was sweating so much I could barely see..

Some direction like this is necessary too.
Completely candid photos are great.. but getting a landmark into the background that way is quite tricky.

That gives you a rough idea of today’s shoot.

A 1-hour photo shoot in Miyakojima costs 250,000 KRW and includes 20 edited photos and 300 original photos. I offer these shoots occasionally and announce the available dates separately. I’m not currently taking bookings for photo shoots on Okinawa’s main island. I’m now actively doing photo shoots in Gyeongju, with Tongyeong, Geoje, Changwon and western Busan as my bases. Please see the Sarangbi Snap page for booking information and contact details.