ABOUT
Meet the Photographers
About Shizen Photo
Shizen (自然) means natural — and that's the whole approach. Relaxed sessions, real moments, natural light, and whenever the season allows, the landscapes of Hokkaido as a backdrop. We'd rather catch you mid-laugh than frozen in a pose, whether we're out in Sapporo's parks and snow fields or set up indoors with studio lighting for the shots that call for it.
Joshua's work spans fine art and commercial photography. His nature and landscape photography has earned a number of awards, and on the commercial side he's shot for hospitality, small businesses, and real estate — experience that carries directly into branding work for restaurants and local businesses in Sapporo. His connection to Japan runs deep: he earned his Master's and PhD in Cultural Sociology from Osaka University, and is also a teacher of the shakuhachi, the traditional Japanese bamboo flute — a way of understanding the country that goes well beyond the camera.
Miana brings her own voice to the work. Born in Fukui, Japan and raised in Buffalo, New York with regular trips back, she's grown up moving between both cultures. She completed CEPA Gallery's Photography Works program — a selective year-long mentorship for young photographers, culminating in an exhibition at the gallery. Her photograph "On The Edge of Awe" went on to win the 2026 Congressional District Art Competition for Western New York and now hangs in the U.S. Capitol Complex in Washington, DC.
Behind the scenes, my wife Satomi — born in Fukui — keeps our bookings, bilingual communication, and the small details running smoothly. We work in English and Japanese, which means sessions feel easy whether you're visiting Hokkaido, living here as part of the expat community, or a local family who'd simply rather book with someone who speaks both.
We shoot on professional, high-resolution cameras —
including medium-format — so your portraits are rich
in detail and hold up beautifully, whether on your phone
or printed large for the wall.
Beyond portraits
Portraits are the heart of what we do together, but our
photography doesn't stop there. Joshua's fine art and
landscape work lives separately at Gen-setsu.com, and
Miana shares her own travel and personal photography
at mianasmith.com. Different lenses, same family.
A father-daughter team
We're Joshua and Miana Smith, a father-daughter photography team. Photographing together is something we've done for years — our fine art book Thunder & Mist, a study of Niagara Falls, came out of exactly this collaboration: two people seeing the same place through different eyes.
