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Photographer Takahiro Otsuji’s passion is to capture the expression and inner life that only he can capture.

2024.10.9

#ART

A circle of friends connected by goo-touching! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.

On January 9, we will be joined by Takahiro Otsuji, a photographer. We asked him about how he became a photographer, his mentor’s words that he has cherished since he was an assistant, and the web magazine he started last year.

What inspired me to become a photographer is the sense of craftsmanship of an photographer.

Celeina (MC): Today, we welcome photographer Takahiro Otsuji for the program recommendation. Mr. Otsuji has been in charge of photographing many actors, including the photo book of Riho Yoshioka, a navigator on J-WAVE. When did you first fall in love with photography?

Otsuji: I have loved photography itself since I was in elementary school or junior high school. When I was in junior high school, instant cameras such as Utsurundesu became popular and I started taking pictures with them.

Celeina: What kind of things did you take pictures of back then?

Otsuji: My friends and girls I liked. If I took pictures of them, I could make those pictures my own. It’s a weird idea (haha).

Takano (MC): So you had that kind of ulterior motive (haha). What was it that led you to become a photographer?

Otsuji: When I was just a university student, there were some very famous photographers who had won the “Kimura Ihei Photography Award,” such as Mika Ninagawa, HIROMIX, and Yurie Nagashima. These people were like celebrities in my mind, and I never thought I could become a photographer like them. So, after graduating from college, I went to work as a regular employee.

The company I got a job at was like an agency, and involved going to photo shoot locations. One day, I saw a photographer at a photo shoot, and I felt a great sense of craftsmanship. I used to think that photographers were all starlets, like celebrities, but when I saw this craftsman-like photographer, I felt that maybe I could aspire to be a photographer, and when I was around 23 years old, I began to think about becoming a photographer. I quit my job, went to school to become a photographer, and from there things went rather smoothly, and I became a photographer after working as an assistant.

Takano: Yes, photographers are very cool, aren’t they?

Celeina: I understand. They seem stoic.

Otsuji: When I was an assistant, I used to look at the back of my photographer mentor and think, “How cool!”.

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