Memories of That Day | #04 | Nagoya: The Day Designing a Single Day Touched Someone's Future
The other day, I had a meeting for a spring photo wedding.
While exploring the various possibilities
within the hearts of the couple,
I suddenly remembered a day I created with a couple a few years ago.
What I showed them was
a series of photos from that day.
The time we spent crafting the light in the studio.
The quiet lingering emotion as we moved to the location in the evening.
And the reason I went all the way to Nagoya to meet them.
"There are photos that only this person can take."
As I said that and turned the pages,
the couple whispered, "Amazing, beautiful,"
softly, over and over again.
Seeing that reaction,
I felt something begin to sprout.
—
When I receive consultations for photo weddings or wedding ceremonies,
the first thing I think about is, "What kind of person should capture this couple?"
That is why I always
do not have a fixed creative team.
It is because what the couple desires is different every time.
Photos are the future of the couple as they are now,
and they become memories for the couple in the future.
There is a sensibility that seeks soft light,
and there is a sensibility that wants to leave the margins of twilight.
Sometimes they want to cherish a quiet sense of distance,
and sometimes they want to capture the warmth of a celebration just as it is.
Therefore, I quietly grasp what they desire,
and I reach out to the person I believe can embody that
each and every time.
I often tell male clients,
"It's like being the manager of the Japan national soccer team."
Just as you call up players to match the opposing team,
I gather the people who suit that couple.
When I explain it that way,
everyone nods as if they feel a little relieved.
—
And the person who took the photos I showed today
was exactly one of those people.
When I say, "Only this person can take them,"
it might sound a bit exaggerated.
However, I believe there is certainly a gradation in the sensibility of photography.
Not just focusing the lens,
but including exposure, light particles,
and even the fluctuations of the air drifting in that space,
photos come to life.
I cannot explain the technical details in depth,
but in that person's photos,
there is a sense of capturing the subject not just flatly,
but capturing them in three dimensions, including their emotions.
That is exactly why
I wanted to ask this person.
But that is
not just a story about one special person.
The creators I have met so far
all have perspectives that only they possess,
and they all carry an atmosphere that only they can create.
Someone with delicate handling of light.
Someone with a beautiful way of maintaining distance.
Someone who can quietly watch over the swaying of emotions.
No two people are the same,
and that is precisely why
I want to choose the person who best suits that couple.
—
Today, while having the couple look at the photos,
I thought once again.
Every time, I am
creating a device for the two of them
each time.
The place, the time, the shifting of light,
and the creators who engage with love.
These overlap,
and the device called a day quietly takes shape.
And that device,
not only for that day,
but even when remembered years later,
continues to hold meaning.
That is why I
will continue to not fix my team,
and together with the people necessary for the couple each time,
I want to continue creating
"a device that gives shape to love."
—
The continuation of the memories of that day
will begin again in Nagoya in April.
In the form of a photo wedding.
This time, kimono and a dress.
We will create a beautiful time.
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