onacliffbythesea

This past Sunday, we walked to a temple nearby our apartment to do Miyu’s Shichi photoshoot. In Japan, they have a tradition called Shichi-Go-San and basically for girls, you take a photo of them wearing kimonos at ages 3 and 7. For boys, it’s 5 I think. Anyway, it was really important to me that I get this done before she turns 8 and for the past month or so we’ve been procrastinating. Needless to say, I’m so glad and relieved that we made it! Even though we didn’t do the ceremony, it’s okay. We didn’t do the ceremony for her 3-year-old photoshoot either. Here’s what I learned from this photoshoot:

• Make sure the subject’s clothes are functioning properly (I didn’t keep watch of Miyu’s long sleeve shirt underneath her kimono so her left sleeve kept popping out and it totally shows in some photos)
• Make sure the clothing is pristine if it’s traditional wear (I missed some packaging seams 😱 and also her orange belt kept slipping off. Also, her faux hair bun kept falling off!)
• Carry a wide angle lens just in case
• Take your time (I was rushing sometimes because I felt self-conscious about the other temple-goers around)

Well, it’s really Ken’s… but you know what I mean. I’m borrowing.

Here’s my favorite shot from yesterday. I wanted to see how it felt using the vertical battery grip and I must say, it’s very comfortable. The only downside with the battery grip is that it adds a considerable amount of weight to the camera. I lugged it around in my purse, but after a while I had to leave it in the car because my shoulder hurt so bad. Next time I’ll bring my camera leash to see if that’s better.

Sharing some happiness tonight because Ken helped me buy the lens I’ve been lusting after for a while now—the XF 16mm f1.4 WR wide angle lens! 🤩🤩🤩