Some of my favorite images come from places I didn’t plan for.
Back in February, my husband and I traveled to Tokyo, Japan for his dream trip. As for the planning, I was mostly along for the ride. The one thing I had arranged for myself was an editorial photoshoot with a local after connecting with a few Japanese modeling groups online.
As a fashion and editorial photographer based in Salt Lake City, Utah, I’m always looking for interesting ways to create images. Whether I’m photographing clients in familiar places at home or exploring somewhere completely new, I’m constantly paying attention to the details that most people walk right past.
Once I stepped off the plane, I was completely inspired. Everywhere I looked, there was something interesting. The architecture, the fashion, the colors, the language, and all the small details tucked into everyday life. Suddenly, I wanted to do more than just the photoshoot I had planned. Japan had already swept me off my feet, and I hadn’t even left the airport yet.
Towards the end of the trip, I met up with my client. During her session, we wandered through a shrine and explored the streets of Tokyo. At one point, she pointed out a vending machine, and my immediate response was, “Um yes. We need photos here.”
There was nothing particularly grand about it. It wasn’t a famous landmark or a location that would end up in a travel guide. But there was something about the colors, and the way it felt uniquely Tokyo that caught my attention.
After the photoshoot had ended, I came back and took self-portraits in front of it.
The funny thing is that I hadn’t packed for self-portraits at all. Every outfit in my suitcase had been chosen with travel and my client shoot in mind. Yet somehow, standing in front of a vending machine wearing neutrals ended up creating some of my favorite photos of myself.
Looking back, I think that’s what I love most about these images. They weren’t planned months in advance. I didn’t scout the location. I wasn’t wearing a carefully curated outfit. I simply saw something interesting and decided to create.
As photographers, we spend so much time searching for the perfect location that we sometimes forget to pay attention to what’s already around us. These photos are a reminder that some of my favorite images have come from places most people would walk right past.
Including a vending machine on a quiet street in Tokyo.
