Some photographers arrive at their practice through obsession. Others, through accident. For Kaede James Takamoto, it was inheritance — a moment of quiet transference when her mother handed her grandfather’s Nikon F3 to her. “I’ve always been obsessed with image-making,” she says. “But it wasn’t until that moment, in my early twenties, that I truly found my ideal medium.”
That moment lit a fuse. Since then, Takamoto has pursued photography not only as a form of expression, but as a field of experimentation. Whether capturing candid moments or constructing dreamlike scenes in collaboration with stylists and set designers, her work feels both intimate and architecturally deliberate — a testament to her dual heritage and creative upbringing.
“I’m a Japanese Australian raised by two sculptors,” she explains. “I’d say that’s influenced me more than anything else. Growing up in a household like that challenged me to look beyond the surface, and to approach my own work with a conceptual eye.” This kind of background doesn’t just shape taste — it instils a sensitivity to form, material, and the emotional resonance of space.
