Erena Shimoda's Underwater Photography

I have been meaning to write this review for a while. I had an underwater photo shoot with Erena when I was about 8 months pregnant. The entire process was very professional from our first FaceTime phone call to receiving the pictures.

Before the shoot, Erena gave me information on what to do before the shoot, what to expect during the shoot and also gave me some suggestions for what to wear.

During the shoot, Erena made me feel very comfortable and the direction she provided resulted in some breathtaking pictures! The location where we met was in San Jose and although the pool was outside, the water was very warm and I did not feel cold at all despite the fact that it was sprinkling a bit. I wasn't sure how I would feel about the photos but once I saw them, it was difficult to select just 3 (she gives you a total of 30. 3 edited and 27 un-retouched).

Erena is also very friendly and easy to work with. I would definitely hire her for her expertise in underwater photography and her attention to detail and vision overall as a photographer.

Tip: Don't forget to bring a change of clothes and a towel to your shoot. There are some nice showers and a locker room located at the pool

Erena is awesome,Very patient and listens to our imaginations and help us thru' out the journey of this underwater experience.

If you want your lifetime memories captured under water, just trust her and follow her instructions.

We highly recommend Erena for unique underwater photography experience. This is best you can find around 1000 miles of bay!

Thanks again Erena,

Kruthi and Sumanth

Erena is very the best photographer ever!!

I'm a stage3 breast cancer survivor and after 1year of my treatment, I felt that wanted to have something to show all my supporters to we won a fight and I'm here again.
lucky me one of my coworker introduced me to Erena.

Honestly I didn't know that what a underwater photography is until then. And after I researched it on internet and WOW!!

So asked her to photo session and like a 2months later my turn was finally came.
(Erena is busy and took little time to book,but even though the day came,she kept contacted me to what I want or gave me some sample images, I felt so comfortable and feel like waiting a Santa !)

When I was diagnosed , I was 33 old and just 1year of a marriage life. But my husband really supported me .
So my theme was just simple " Trash a dress "

During a photo shoot, Erena was directed me how to hold breathe easily and some poses look natural:-)
All the time I was relaxed and really enjoyed with her.

And now those are the photos she took me .
Woo foo ! I look better than ground.lol

I have highly recommend to you who is / fighting some trauma . And also just a nice portrait, family photos, maternity photos etc..

Erena is the BEST !

She is super sweet and nice to work with. I had a great time shooting with her but the problem arised when I recieved the pictures. We shot for an hour, let's say 20/25 pics total.. but I only got 3 retouched pics the rest I got are low resolution with a huge watermark across each pic ( you can't do anything with those pics because it looks stolen from online and most of them the watermark is on the face it's useless) when I brought this up to her attention, she said oh on one of my emails if u scroll down it says you only get 3 pics ( we went back n forth soo many times on email and FaceTime I don't remember it ever comming up) when I told her, I paid $470 for just 3 pics is insane, it comes to $156 a pic! I would've never signed up for that, she said the money I paid is a donation to her cause, not so much for my pics! Wait! What! When did I sign up for that? How does my maternity picture shoot turns into a charity? I'm glad your doing a positive charity but I wasn't looking to make a $470 donation, I wanted maternity pics and I spoke to numerous other underwater maternity photographers, they give you 15 retouch high resolution pics and the rest unmarked still high resolution in a file( you can print and put in album as a memory).
Honestly, I feel duped,I never signed up to make a donation I jus wanted underwater maternity pics which I got 3 of for $470.
When I asked her at least remove your humongous watermarks from the unretouched pics, she said it will cost me $25 for each pic she jus removes the watermarks on!
She was professional when we shot the pics but money hungry at the end, I wouldn't recommend unless your good with paying $156 for each pic and you only get 3 of !

She is very professional, she is very patient and she made sure that I'm fine. Prior to the shoot I mentioned to her that I don't know how to swim but my husband can and she said it is ok and that she worked with other people who also has same problem as me. I was on my 35 weeks of pregnancy when I had a photoshoot with her. I'm so happy that the result of the shoot came out great even I have aquaphobia. This is my last pregnancy so I want to do something unique or rare. I'm so glad I met Erena Shimoda to do an underwater maternity photoshoot.

I was so lucky to participate in this project with Erena Shimoda, her work is amazing & beautiful, I was initially apprehensive and unsure about doing it, but Erena's gentle encouragement was reassuring, I am so glad I was able to share my cancer story and push beyond a boundary that I never dreamed I would do.

Oh my gosh! Erena take beautiful underwater photography.
She is warm, personable, and fun to work with. I couldn't be happier with my photos.
Thanks Erena !!

One of the best experiences that I ever had with a photographer. Erena is amazing in directing you and taking pictures underwater ( which is not as easy as it sounds). We had a hard time picking out of beautiful pics that she took. Her personality is awesome and she is pretty easy and fast to give the pics to you. Last but not least these pics support a great cause.

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!

I can't say enough about this amazing photographer! She's amazing! I reached out to her and explained what I wanted and why; an under water shoot as I had almost drowned as a child, I wanted to conquer my fear! Our first skype consultation was so reassuring, I felt as if I had known Erena all of my life. The shoot was a success! She made me feel comfortable and she was calm and nurturing. I give all thanks to Erena to being able to put my face under water after 36 years! She stayed professional before during and after the maternity shoot! She has that type of spirit where you feel like you've known her all your life. I am so glad she captured these beautiful memories for me and my unborn son.