2 Weeks In Japan
The past two weeks have been pretty big. 2 days to myself in Tokyo, 10 days with my client, Sahra from Mindful Matcha, and now a couple days to myself in Osaka. To call this job a simple photoshoot, would really be underselling it. As much as this was a photography trip, much of the time was spent on all-things-business. From strategy, marketing, web tech, website development, social and content marketing, customer service and so on - this was a pretty encompassing.
How this came about
Sahra and I had met in Bali, mid 2017. We were both working from a co-working space in Ubud (Hubud) and just happened to be sitting next to each-other. As is the co-working remote life, we got talking and I was able to help with a few things. Business, marketing, web-stuff, photography - just a couple hiccups that she was having issues with and I was in the right place, right time. No billing, just helping someone out with some experiences that I've had. And that was that.
About 6 weeks back, Sahra messaged me to see if I was available to come to Japan for a shoot. Her product Mindful Matcha was coming along well, but photography was a big problem. She didn't want the typical stock photography, but she was also having a number of issues on the business and technical front. Sahra told me she found my advice and skills in Ubud really helpful, needed a photographer, so here we go.
Starting off in Tokyo
Having a few days to myself meant I could go a little city-scape crazy, so there's a few here.
Down South to Tea Town - Kyoto
Once we left Tokyo, we started to get a feeling of Matcha Tea culture, and this was great for Mindful Matcha media libraries. While the media here is all photos, we did a bunch of video shoots too. Getting the mix was a high priority for Sahra, but this is where we did tastings, farm and factory tours and met a the people behind the businesses.
And Broader Kyoto
In addition to the tea tours and culture of Kyoto, we managed to see some of the broader sites. While these images aren't strictly tea, the idea is many of these images can be used in broader content marketing of all-things-Japan.
Product and Tea Shots
Shooting the product was a key task and for this, we hired an apartment that could be set up for a more fitting scene. These images are used as hero images on the website and are composed with negative space for branding and messaging to be included. While the composition may feel a little empty in parts, it's important to remember the context they will be used. Marketing call-outs, copy messages, call-to-actions, and so on... There's room for it in these.
Wrapping Up in Osaka
Last stop of our trip was Osaka. Having moved from the city to country and back to the city, we've had real diversity in location. In addition to the city shots, this is where we really focused on websites, content and putting together more marketing material. As much as we saw and photographed, these last few days were about brining it all together in the form of a well laid out website. While it's not launched yet, it's getting close and I'm looking forward to the brand going live.
If you're needing a photographer...
Feel free to get in touch to see if we can work together. Be it photography, web-development, or broader marketing, I'm sure i can help in a meaningful way. Get in touch via my contact page and let's work something out.
- Steve
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