Hannah | Tokyo
Hannah is a full-time creative and business owner currently based in Tokyo. While many people may know her as an incredible videographer, her photography is also a testament to her exceptional creative mind.
Read more about how Hannah got started with photography, how she gets herself out of creative ruts, and her advice to female creatives.
What inspired you to pursue photography?
When I first moved to Japan, I would go on day trips to places that blew me away! I wanted to be able to accurately capture the beauty just as my eyes saw it.
My little point-and-shoot from 2008 wasn’t cutting it so I bought my first entry level DSLR (Canon Kiss X5 - Rebel T3I equivalent) and learned everything by myself, as I went.
What subjects or themes do you most enjoy photographing and why?
Landscapes and natural beauty! Sometimes waking up at sunrise and hiking all day to a mountain top doesn’t pay off with a good view but when it does, it feels like such a privilege to be one of the few people who get to see that view and capture it.
What advice would you give to your younger self when you were starting out in photography?
Actually when I started photography it was very pure and from the heart. I just wanted to be creative in a different field than I was used to and because of that I tried a lot of different styles and had a lot of fun learning. I wouldn’t change anything :)
What is the most important lesson you’ve learned through photography?
The importance of patience. The more you try to force the photo to work when the conditions aren’t right, the worse it ends up looking. Follow the light and wait for when the time is right.
How do you stay creative and avoid falling into a rut?
Set a 5 minute timer and tell myself that all I have to do is 5mins of work and then I can stop if I want. Usually, once the timer goes off, I’m already lost in the project and want to keep going 😉
How has photography changed your perspective on the world?
Absolutely! I appreciate the little things more profoundly now. The way the light hits the leaves and illuminates them from above, beautiful framing through a window, low rolling and swirling clouds; all things I adore now but probably wouldn’t notice too much before starting photography.
Can you share a story behind one of your most impactful photographs?
When I was in my self-portrait era, after I finished work I would experiment with different poses, outfits and locations. I’d use the remote function on my phone to take photos of myself to practise photography and posing. I took a lot of duds but there’s one favourite that really stood out to me.
It was liberating to act and pose however I wished in front of the camera knowing that no one would ever see the photos if I wasn’t proud of them.
I’m not normally a very serious person but I feel like this photo captures a side of me that I don’t show too often.
What has your experience been as a female photographer in a traditionally male-dominated field?
In all the years I’ve been creating, the assumption that my partner takes all the photos and videos for me is one that I’ve never been able to get away from.
There shouldn’t be genuine surprise when I say “I took that” or “I edited that” after being a creative for so long, but there still is sometimes, and that can be pretty frustrating.
Balancing my desire to be seen and recognised as a professional, whilst also not wanting to come across as pushy, is something that I think a lot of women can relate to.
How do you think the industry can support and encourage more female photographers?
To change people’s preconceived ideas about who should or can do any given task, what that industry needs is representation and recognition.
There are plenty of incredibly talented, unique and diverse photographers who have perspectives that deserve to be seen and shared. We need to welcome them into photography groups, outings and meetings and support their work when it’s on display.
What message do you hope to convey through your photography to other women?
That little voice that tells you “you can’t do that” or even “you don’t normally do that”, is doing nothing but holding you back from the best years of your life.
It’s cliché but you’re truly capable of going further, doing more, and extending yourself into any field you feel drawn to.
What legacy do you hope to leave as a photographer?
To keep exploring, go further than you think you can and just see what’s out there.
