From the streets of Shibuya and Aoyama to the studios across Tokyo, Kazz Takahashi is known among the creative community of Japan for one particular trait: his ability to photograph female models in outstanding fashion.
His key method of portrait photography though separates him from other model photographers in Japan, where he specializes in low light and model photography. To accomplish this goal, Kazz needs specific low-light capable cameras, like his NIKON D850.
We stepped into the studio with Kazz as he photographs Vanessa, a model from Germany, and he gives us an interview about his camera preferences and why he chose to use the gear he uses:
A transcription of our interview is as follows:
Kazz Takahashi:
My name is Kazz Takahashi and I am a professional photographer based here in Tokyo Japan
I’ve been working as a professional photographer in Japan for about 5 years now. Today, I’m lucky to say my work is something that I’m very passionate about!
I’ve used many different types of cameras throughout my career, but my personal favorite camera so far is the one I’m currently using right here.
This is a Nikon D850, and the lenses I use for this camera is a Tamron SP 24-70mm and the Tamron SP 70-200mm.
There’s many reasons why this is my favorite camera so far, but the main reasons are because this camera has the widest detection range especially in a dark place. Since I often shoot night portraits outside, I needed a camera just like this one here that has an auto focus that works well in the darkness.
I used to use the Nikon D610, which was a very good camera too, but the lowest range was -1EV, so I had difficulty shooting at night sometimes. However, the detection range of this Nikon D850 right here is -4EV~+20EV making it very easy for me to shoot at night.
Also, I don’t crop the images too much in general but there are times when I need to make a big crop. Thanks to this Nikon D850 which has a big image sensor, even when I make a big crop, the image still has a great resolution.
Here are some of the photos of Vanessa that Kazz took during this session.
