Kyoto Photography Masterclass - Private Photography Lesson

Thomas is an outstanding guide! His personal knowledge of Kyoto, shrines and temples provided an excellent introduction to Japan. He took us to locations that provided many photo opportunities. The tour with Thomas significantly exceeded our expectations.

Not just a photo session, but a truly immersive walk through some of Kyoto’s hidden spots. It felt more like exploring the city with a local than posing for pictures. Thomas was very professional, friendly, and made me feel completely at ease, even in front of the camera. He had a great eye for locations and light, and took the time to guide me while still keeping things natural and spontaneous. The whole experience was relaxed, enjoyable, and never rushed. In the end, I didn’t just get beautiful photos — I also got to experience Kyoto in a more intimate and authentic way. Highly recommended!

Had a fantastic photo tour with Thomas in Kyoto. He showed us hidden gems of Kyoto - we had a blast!

Tour in Osaka was great ! If you like to take Photos this is a must ! Nice and professional, Irvin will guide you and help you taking probably the best photos … Thank You for this great experience…

Review is for Thomas Kimmerlin who took me on a photo tour of Kyoto. Best part of the tour was that he knew where to find Geishas to photograph and real Geishas are notoriously difficult to find and photograph.

Had an amazing time learning from Thomas photography but more importantly explored Kyoto and learned its culture, background behind shrines and temples and related rituals. He took me through alleys perfect to photograph, that I would have no way found on my own. Thomas was great providing background on everything we saw, while injecting photography techniques throughout. Was a great learning experience and I would do it again during my next visit. Thank you, Thomas.

Informative but casual walk through the Gion area of Kyoto with a local photographer who manged to inspire us to use our phone cameras most effectively.

I wanted to learn more about nighttime photography. Irven took me to great spots, and he brought a tripod for me to use. He was very patient. I liked reviewing the shots during class and resetting for better and better shots. He was very generous with his time.

Another fabulous Aperture experience. Irven took us to spots that we never would have found even at the most popular tourist sites. With his patient instruction, we left with shots that will be the highlights of our albums. And learned plenty that we'll use in future trips. You can visit any of these places on your own. But you won't find the locations, angles, lighting and so on that Irven helped us find. !

I've been on a lot of photo experiences around the world, and I have found that the best experiences tend to combine local places only a local would know (and have access to) with more well-known places but at the exact right time, which might not actually be when you'd expect. A good guide is indispensable for this. With this in mind, I have yet to find a guide as thorough and open to different experiences as Thomas. I opted for the full-day experience as I wanted to combine a nighttime session with some more customized, local places. A week or so before I even left, Thomas reached out and offered some places he knew of, a couple businesses and universities, for a more local, doc-style feel. We visited a priest who roasts exotic coffee, mother and daughter team custom perfume shop and got a private tour of Yoshida at Kyoto University. Shooting inside can be a challenge, but these places had nice big windows and loads of character. We finished the first session and met up later for sunset and evening at Kyoto Station, where going to the top floor gives some great architectural options, then headed to Gion for nighttime. Rather than chasing Maiko/Geisha, I wanted a darker, more dramatic feel and he took me down some little alleys and to the Yasaka shrine, which is lit well at night and looks toward a great street for light trails from traffic. I would probably have missed it but Thomas mentioned it specifically and it was indeed worth it. The beauty of an experience like this is that a good guide and company know not just the best places for what you are wanting to do, but Thomas was able to organize them in such a way that it maximizes the time you have. This is what you're really paying for, because it doesn't just ensure you get to great spots but that you can outsource the logistics, which frees up a lot more of your own time in a place. I would highly recommend Thomas and Aperture's Kyoto tour, you will have a great time and a reference point for how these things should be!