Japanese studio photograhy in LA?
July 3, 2011 4:10 PM   Subscribe

L.A. Kid yukata / kimono photograhy filter: does anyone know of a photography studio that will have yukatas and kimonos for kids to pose in?

As a Santa Monica native (but out of state for the last several years, and now with the addition of young kids) I'm at a loss on how to find a studio photographer with access to the classic "girl's day" and "boy's day" fancy kimono and yukata to take some simple photographs.

Since we've been out of the area for a while, I'm pretty sure they are out in West LA or in Gardena / Torrance. Any suggestions would be welcome!
posted by scooterdog to Society & Culture (7 answers total)
 
Scooter dog: don't know of a studio, but if you don't find one, me-mail me. I may have one or two in the back of the closet that I haven't been able to bring myself to throw away. No obis or accessories though.
posted by SLC Mom at 4:25 PM on July 3, 2011


I got my hair done at a Japanese salon in Pasadena that also did fancy photography ... sorry I can't remember the name. This might be a good question to ask on Yelp.
posted by cyndigo at 5:49 PM on July 3, 2011


Try calling Toyo Miyatake. This Japanese-American company has been around in Los Angeles for something like 100 years - I think if they don't offer this, then they would likely know who does. Their website does feature a kimono page but I didn't see anything that said whether or not they have the kimono.
posted by chez shoes at 6:07 PM on July 3, 2011


You might try getting in touch with Yoshi Ueda at La-Vie Album. La Vie is a big wedding photography company in Japan but their US office produces wedding albums. I don't know if Yoshi still shoots, but he'd likely be able to point you in the right direction. (They used to be in Santa Monica, but now they're in Culver City.)
posted by Hankins at 6:27 PM on July 3, 2011


Best answer: Would you mind renting from a separate place? Maruhachi in Los Alamitos rents shichigosan kimono.
posted by fraula at 1:13 AM on July 4, 2011


I'm almost positive Toyo Miyatake does not have kimono for posing in (honestly, I can't think of any place that does this), but they're an excellent studio who would be familiar with the concept, and they'll probably know of some kimono rental places. We've done family portraits with them on a few occasions, including once with all the women wearing haori, but we definitely provided those ourselves. This is a very niche market, so I think you'd almost certainly be better off renting from someplace else and bringing them to the studio with you rather than looking for a place that provides them.
posted by Diagonalize at 10:07 AM on July 4, 2011


Response by poster: We called around (thanks everyone fro the suggestions!) and were surprised at how expen$ive a simple shichigosan rental / shoot would cost.

We decided to concentrate on spending the vacation time (and funds) at the beach...
posted by scooterdog at 2:57 PM on August 28, 2011


« Older Bibtex strikes terror into my heart.   |   'Authorized' repair guy borked my laptop Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.