Erena Shimoda’s Underwater Photography

We had so much fun with Erena she worked with us to accommodate all of our wishes and we ended up with great products that we LOVE and will be the highlight of our wedding!!! Would def. recommend booking her she is awesome :)

I had the pleasure to meet and work with Erena on a beautiful underwater project in San Francisco. I haven’t swam in 10 years, and was very nervous about going underwater. Erena brought beautiful energy into the space, and was able to calm me down, and her patience was incredible. She makes you feel very comfortable, and will wait for the right moment to begin the process. Once you are underwater, the combination of Erena’s intuition matched with her talent, captures the perfect moment. The underwater experience was also surprisingly theraputic, and by the time you are done, you come out feeling incredibly relaxed. It is such a unique, beautiful, and magical experience. If anyone has a chance to try this, I highly recommend Erena. She was just lovely to work with, and I am so grateful for my experience with her.

I had so much fun working with Erena and the pictures she took are truly amazing. I did a series of pregnancy photos and my partner jumped in for a handful as well. She helped me put on water-​proof make-​up, that she provided, and also helped to pick out what to wear. I had never done a photo shoot like this so it was great to have her guide me through it. I felt sexy during the shoot, which is hard too do at almost 8 months pregnant, and I owe it all to Erena!
The pictures are incredible. That being said, the experience alone was priceless! It felt great to be weightless in the water and we also had fun just playing around in the pool!
I would highly recommend Erena for maternity photos, especially if you are looking for a truly unique experience. She was professional, accommodating, and fun.

Working with Erena was an absolute blast! She is calm, patient, humble, kind, and immensely talented. I’ve never done anything quite like this before, but Erena made me feel immediately at ease. She’s a complete professional, meeting with me before the shoot to discuss the process, helping me with my makeup, and giving me tips to feel more comfortable and less self-​conscious in the water. And the resulting photographs were unbelievably fantastic! You can truly tell how much Erena loves the work that she does. I especially liked that she showed me the pictures as we went along, so that I could make any necessary adjustments. It really felt like a true collaboration.
The best part is Erena’s generous spirit. The proceeds from her regular portrait sessions help to fund her beautiful «underwater healer» project, in which she volunteers her services to cancer survivors! How amazing is that? It’s a win-​win situation: not only are you able to have this amazing experience and come away with these lovely images, you are able to help share its uplifting and confidence-​boosting effects with others.
I highly recommend working with Erena. You will not regret it!

I had the most peaceful yet exciting experience with Erena. She was very sweet, has a great spirit and does absolutely stunning underwater photography. She made me feel very comfortable. This was my 1^st time doing this type of photography with my pregnancy and I loved the outcome. I will definitely recommend Erena to friends and family or anyone else wanting to try her GO FOR IT! You won’t regret :)

We had a great time for our maternity photoshoot, and we love the pictures! They are gorgeous and fun. A once in a lifetime experience!

Erena is amazing I had so much fun working with her she made me feel comfortable. I was a little scared of doing the underwater pictures but she told me that there was nothing to be scared of and made me feel safe too. I had I lot of fun doing my photoshoot on Monday but once I was there I forgot all about it and had fun. =)

Erena is a very nice and easy going artist who aims to please her clients and help them construct their vision. I wanted an airy, nice underwater maternity shoot that displayed my pregnancy in a unique light. Often, in pregnancy we feel heavy and sometimes clumsy, but underwater this is not the case, and it is a very liberating and beautiful feeling. I recommend this type of shoot with Erena to anyone looking for a different, artistic and memorable experience in maternity photography.

Erena, herself, is one of the sweetest, nicest people I’ve ever met. Working with her was such a joy, and she makes you feel so comfortable in the water.
The photos came out beautifully and Erena is such a talented photographer! By far, one of the best experiences ever. Hopefully, I can attend one of the retreats she is a part of and do another shoot at gorgeous beach!

It’s been a while since my shoot with the sweet and encouraging Erena Shimoda, Underwater Healer, so I will have to recount my amazing experience as best I can. First off, Erena is very adamant about your comfort level being high. When I voiced doubts or concerns she was there to calm me and remind me that everything would work out beautifully. She has many gorgeous pieces of cloth that she lets you choose from to help add whimsy to the photos and also provides water proof makeup so I could «dress my face» with makeup that would stay on throughout out entire shoot. Aside from that shooting was a lot easier than I thought it would be. She encouraged me to try different shapes and she guided me through the entire shoot making me feel at ease. Before I knew it our time was up but I was ready to shoot for the rest of the day! That speaks volumes for how much fun I ended up having. Maybe a week after the shoot Erena send me some raw images to select which ones I wanted to keep and let me just say, this was the hardest part! She was able to capture such breathtaking and elegant photos that I never knew I was cape able of producing. I was amazed at the images we were able to create. The end result was proof that every worry I had or any insecurity was wiped away by these stunning images. I will be clear in saying that I, myself, am not a surviver of cancer but I am a surviver in other ways and these images did heal parts of my broken self esteem. Thank you Erena, for helping me see with, new eyes, just how beautiful I am. I would tell any undecided client to just do it! Book a shoot and experience the magic for yourself.

Working with Erena is always a joy. She has served as the photographer (underwater, of course) for my Maui yoga retreats and I had the pleasure of working with her myself for an underwater yoga photo shoot. She is skilled in making you feel comfortable under the water, and makes the shoot a joyful exploration for all involved. Her artistic nature and healing presence help to create a magical experience, and the images she produces are top quality. I’d highly recommend her to anyone considering an underwater photo shoot!

I’ve known Erena for 4 years, and been a part of two separate shoots during that time.
She’s professional, kind, fun and very talented at her craft.
The underwater martial arts photos she took of us went viral in our community. She really captured the form and beauty of our martial art & our fellow practitioners saw it!
I’d highly recommend her to anyone looking for this unique style of photography.

Erena is skillful, talented, and fun to work with. I wasn’t sure what to expect with underwater photography, but Erena was so helpful and enthusiastic throughout the shoot that I immediately forgot about any worries I had. Her photos are not only beautiful, but imaginative. If you are looking for an underwater photographer or are looking for something new and creative with your portrait photos, Erena Shimoda is the person for you.

Erena is great to work with. She captivates chemistry with grace and turns it into art, providing you with great shots of natural movement. Very patient to work with and really down to earth. I’ve always wanted to be a mermaid as a little girl swimming in my own pool, which is what sparked my interest and thoughts of this underwater maternity photo. Its definitely an experience because its not as easy as it looks, erena is just a great photographer.

Erena is a talented photographer and a wonderful healer. I knew of Erena’s work over the years and always appreciated her beautiful portraits. When I got the opportunity to get my portrait taken in New York, I jumped at the chance.
In preparation for the shoot, we had a conversation about what I’d like to gain from the experience, what I’d like to wear, which accessories and props I’d like to use, etc. It required some contemplation, imagination, styling, and shopping for an underwater photo shoot.
When the day of the photo shoot arrived, I experienced first hand how much work it took to capture an amazing moment. I am an excellent swimmer, but it didn’t quite help during an underwater photo shoot. I couldn’t go into my default underwater mode of blowing air out of my nose. I had to embrace the therapeutic elements of the session. It was unavoidable. And, Erena was there to guide me through each step of the process.
Erena is patient and kind. She taught me to relax. I had to learn to hold my breath, relax, and smile all at the same time. Erena suggested various movements and poses that made me feel more and more comfortable. It required meditative focus and trust in the experience.
I am very happy that I had the opportunity. The experience was amazing and the results came out beautifully! I highly recommend working with Erena!

I happened to find Erena through a mutual friend and couldn’t be happier with how everything worked out. I wanted some maternity shots done, and was SO excited about the unique opportunity to do photos underwater, especially after seeing her beautiful work.
As a result of luck in finding her and her amazing talent, I got some of the most BEAUTIFUL maternity shots, that everyone I have shown them to RAVES about them. One friend of mine was so taken with them she kept pulling up the website to show them to friends of hers that didn’t even know me. :)
She is organized, sweet, kind, and patient and my husband and I have photos of both of us of a precious moment in time that are erethreal and stunning. I would highly recommend her.

My underwater photography session with Erena changed my life. That’s not an exaggeration. You know how there are some things in life that are so amazing and astounding that you couldn’t even imagine them if you tried? That’s how I felt about both the underwater session itself and and the gorgeous pictures that resulted.
First of all, I’m actually afraid of water. I don’t like water going up my nose or touching my face. I can technically swim, but I refuse to go deeper than 5 ft (where my feet can’t touch the ground). I decided to do an underwater photography session right before my birthday because I wanted to challenge myself. I’d seen portraits from some of Erena’s other photography sessions, and I was just mesmerized. I was a little afraid that all my pictures would come out with my face looking all frozen in terror, but I decided to give this a shot because I was excited and determined to overcome my fear.
Erena totally worked with me to make me feel comfortable. We did the shoot in the 4ft. section of the pool (so I didn’t panic about drowning, knowing that I could always just stand up). She also gave me some weights so that I would have more control over some of the poses I did. After about 20 minutes, I started relaxing and having fun. I started concentrating on the poses and working with Erena rather than focusing on the fact that I was submerged in water for such a long time! I’m really glad Erena and I talked over the concept of the shoot beforehand because then it became like a project that we were working on together. We were getting more and more excited as the shoot went on because everything felt like it was coming together.
The pictures themselves are so, so beautiful! The flowy look of the photos have this ephemeral quality to them. They’re so unique! I would never have been able to do such poses above water (I’d be too self conscious). I’m kinda amazed that they turned out so well. Every time I look at these pics, I feel a twinge of pride.
If you’re even remotely curious about doing this, just go for it. You only live once, and trust me – you won’t regret it.
Thanks, Erena!

Review #200 goes to the super talented and creative Erena Shimoda!
Looking for a special and unique way to capture our relationship, my then-​fiancé and I hired Erena to photograph our engagement photos last summer. My parents enrolled me in some summer classes at the community pool growing up but my skill level is at that of a swim-​class dropout… Needless to say, I was nervous going into the photo session, but Erena’s calm and professional demeanor put me at ease. I appreciate that she started us off in the shallow end of the pool to give us plenty of time to adjust before heading to the deep end. What a fun and unforgettable experience it ended up being! We’re so happy with the results; these are photos we’ll treasure for the rest of our lives.
Erena, you rock.

Very professional and pleasant to work with. She has all the equipment ready to go!
I must say it was the most amazing experience ever!
First I thought, «Can I really do this „under photo shoot“??»
I can swim and all but, I wasn’t so sure if I could do photo shoot under the water.
But Erena was great! She walked me through the whole time! She made me feel comfortable and confident at the same time which was very nice!
Once in a life time, Try it! Great memory piece for sure! (^-^)/​

My once in a lifetime experience was well captured by Erena!!!
I had my underwater maternity photo session with Erena when I was 34 weeks pregnant. She is not only a talented and creative person but also very pleasant to work with. The photo session was fun and the images that she captured were beyond my expectations. I recommend her highly!