Dan Lee Photo wrote:
Travelling to Japan.. not sure how to network with models in Japan? Don't seem to be many apart from a lot in Tokyo?

Anyone have tips on finding models?

Did you search MM Browse?  There are 134 listed for Tokyo.

If you want group shoots then I suggest you contact Alfie Goodrich, a resident brit that organises events. I made some great contacts after attending his events.
http://www.alfiegoodrich.com/

If you are wanting to hire a studio and/or model, then like everything in Japan there are specialist localities that cover studio and model hire but without japanese language it can be difficult for foreigners to make progress. Nevertheless if you Google "photo studio hire site:.jp" then you will see the location quite evidently and take the subway there to sus out what is available.  It is expensive there and TFP is not popular unless you are offering language in exchange for a walk in the park.

There are also organised model shoots you can join - no english spoken - but the models are just every day japanese girls and the charge starts around 10,000 yen for a half day group event. 

Gambarou mate'y

Barry Green Photography wrote:
Did you search MM Browse?  There are 134 listed for Tokyo.

If you want group shoots then I suggest you contact Alfie Goodrich, a resident brit that organises events. I made some great contacts after attending his events. http://www.alfiegoodrich.com/

Barry offers some good advice. Yes TFP is not really a thing in Japan. There's very few Japanese models that do nude (it's a cultural thing) - most of the MM models in the Japan region that do nudes are Westerners. Studio rentals are in general more expensive than Western counterparts as are the specialists associated with beauty shoots such as MUA's and hair stylists.  Regarding Alfie Goodrich. He does a wide variety of things, from group workshops, solo lessons, city photography tours - but also serves as an adviser. He's pretty darn busy and travels all across Japan and Asia so if you see his website and want anything from him, best do it as far ahead in time as possible.

He's become a good mate of mine after the years. I've been frequenting Tokyo multiple times a year ever since I've lived there on a 6 month stint back in 2008. Love the place, full of energy. Lots of fun creative people to work with. I`m finally making the plunge and migrating from Amsterdam to Tokyo this September. So yeah, I`m in a good position to give you some tips.

If you want to rent a great, very affordable studio (for Tokyo that is) go with this studio in Meguro.
http://www.pretty.ne.jp/~art/Zindex.htm
At 6000 yen an hour, it's fully loaded with gear and located very centrally in Tokyo. Just a 10 minute walk from Meguro station which is on the popular JR loop. The owner's a nice guy. He's Japanese, but speaks a little bit of English.
Keep it simple, and you`ll get along with him just fine. You have to call to make a reservation. In all my years, haven't found a studio that offers more for as much, or less than what this guy is asking.

A great and cheerful MUA that I've been working with for the past 2 years is Yuki Haba. He's got great English and is very networked in Japan and the rest of Asia.He's always willing to help setup a shoot, he can provide you with models, hair and wardrobe stylists (he has his own team he prefers to work with)  His rates are very reasonable, and if you book him as a MUA he's even nice enough to let you use his studio; which has no gear aside from a background setup, so you have to bring your own strobes. But it's there if you need it. He's on ModelMayhem so I'd say hit him up.

As was previously mentioned, there are some models up on MM in Japan already; Japan's pretty awesome with train networks. It only takes 2 hrs to get from Tokyo to Osaka on the Shinkansen - so don't limit your model search to just Tokyo if that's your base of operations. Just search across the whole country. You'd have to pay for the model's transport costs of course; which can set you back 20.000 yen easily. if you wan't to keep it cheap regarding transportation costs and you're based in Tokyo, stick to nearby cities such as Yokohama, Kamakura or Chiba.

Some models I've previously worked with that I can recommend: Shinyong Lee, Sasha, Ruri and Miu.

Don't forget to check out the casting calls for model's looking for photographers in Tokyo. There's typically always a few travelling there. Yes , in general if you compare Japan to other countries; there isn't a whole lot of models.

I found great result with asking random people. I've approached some strangers in Shibuya whom I thought looked unique to take portraits of them that turned out great; but also taking it a step further to have a full blown shoot done with a stranger. This girl was a regular at a bar where I'm also a regular. Sure we had the bar in common but aside from some random chit-chat she was a complete stranger. Last April, when a model cancelled a shoot due to hayfever, I thought she I'd ask her since she has great looks. Showed her some examples of what I was looking for and the result was this shoot.



People are very friendly and open to a lot of things if you're nice about it.
Well that's all the tips for now, 6AM, i gotta hit the sack !