Working as a Photographer in Japan, (Tokyo)
 

Hi!!

This is my first post on these forums iv been looking for a forum about japan for a while and this seems like a good one.. :)

anyway

Iv currently just finished studying to become a Photographer and have been working as a photographers assistant for a while plus doing some of my own work, weddings etc

iv wanted to go to japan for many years and its only been recently that iv been thinking about going very soon i was hoping maybe i could get a few questions answered before i start making plans so this is #1 of #many

i watch alot of "Vlogs" about Japan and living there (Tokyocooney, Youtube) his the best lol ANYWAY from what i understand there arent many christians or catholics in Japan (Im not 1 myself) but unfortunately thats where most of my income is coming from at the moment doing wedding photography as a freelance photographer im not saying every1 who gets married is christian or catholic but in Australia (where i live) them being probably the biggest religions its a part of the culture here to get married and such as it is in america and england and probably many other places

Now i did read that it is strange for a japanese girl to NOT leave home to move in with her boyfriend till she tells her parents shes getting married?

so i guess my questions are

Marriage In Japan/Marriage Equivilent Event?
What sort of photography in japan?

well actually basicly anything you can tell me about Being a photographer in Japan im just hoping that ill be able to support myself over there as id like to stay for about a year (thats the plan anyway) if i can support myself like i am here in Aus

THX!!!!! sorry LONG first thread :P

JoshAussie

EDIT: Im Learning Japanese atm so hopefully i should be able to understand a few things when i go over there

I can't really help much here, and I apologize for that, but I do know that they do celebrate western-style weddings. Some do traditional Japanese-style weddings too.

thanks alot that alone is actually VERY Helpful :)

I married there and I'll tell ya, the weddintg photography is a different. THere are the standard candid/live type shots throughout the reception. But the stills after the ceremony were done differently.
Then again, I did a traditional Shinto ceremony. Its solemn and few people actually partake in the ceremony.

thx for that Paul Hopefully the photography itself shouldnt be a problem (I hope :) lol)

what im most concerned about is the amount of work thats going to be available for me over in Japan, at the moment weddings are a great source of income for me over here thats why i was thinking hopefully i could continue doing the same over there, id like to continue staying freelance so weddings were great for that if not i guess i could try find a job :P

Weddings are pretty lavish affairs, so if you can get into the photography business in Japan, I recommend it. People pay top-yen for almost everything at weddings (especially in Nagoya, for some reason). There is an old saying in Japan that goes "You are born Shinto, marry Christian and die Buddhist". What it means that although less than 1% of the population is Christian, but most people have Christian (or western style) weddings.

Photography in Japan is surely the same as it is most places. A lot of people have their weddings at hotel "chapels" which are basically an area in a hotel especially designed to host weddings. They are usually package deals, using the hotel catering, bar, staff and photographers.

Since you are Australian you might want to look into a Working Holiday Visa at a hotel as a staff photographer. That would at least be a foot-in-the-door.

Thanks heaps MMM extremely helpful i will definately look into that :) basicly answered everything so thx alot! :D