Standard: The Three-hour Photography Plan
Through the scenes of the Manor, one frame at a time, the story of a person and the furnishings
About Standard: The Three-hour Photography Plan
Standard is the basic photography plan of Queen's Butler The Studio: three hours in the Manor for up to six guests. Using eleven zones, including the dining room, the study, the fireplace room, the bedroom, the wardrobe and the gallery, you photograph with your own camera or smartphone.
Standard includes photography within the Manor and a butler's assistance for ¥56,800
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Duration | Three hours, including the welcome at the door, preparing costumes and equipment, photography within the Manor, checking items you have brought, tidying and seeing you off |
| Guests | Up to six, including photographers and companions. We ask at booking who will be photographed, who will photograph and who will wait |
| Spaces | Eleven zones within the Manor. Choose the scenes to prioritise from the dining room, the study, the fireplace room, the bedroom, the wardrobe, the gallery and more |
| Photography | Your own camera or smartphone, or the equipment of a photographer you have arranged. Please check batteries and memory cards |
| Lighting | RGB lighting and a large softbox. The photographer operates the equipment; the butler checks its placement and the passageways |
| Butler | One butler in attendance for reception, placing chairs and props, assisting with photography, restoring the rooms and seeing you off. We never leave the Manor unattended |
| Price | ¥56,800 (incl. tax) |
Prices include tax. For pricing to suit your particular requirements, please enquire via the contact form.
The first frame begins with a butler's bow as the double doors open
At the hour of your arrival, a Queen's Butler butler waits inside the double doors. The moment the doors open and a white-gloved hand shows the way is the very opening of the story of entering the Manor. After taking your luggage and coats, we make a brief tour of the scenes to be used.
The butler checks where subjects will stand, where the camera will go and the routes by which you may pass without touching the furnishings. Even for first-time guests, we explain each scene as we go so that the next movement is clear.
The welcome is not merely a matter of showing the way; it is the gesture that turns the mind from the everyday to the Manor's hours. Rather than hurrying to begin, enjoy first the moment of drawing breath before the door.
See the double doors scene
Choosing a scene means deciding not only the background but the subject's movement
In the dining room, capture the seated figure and the hands of service
Against the 1980s English yew table and the nine-light Maria Theresa-style chandelier, photograph a figure taking a seat, a hand reaching for the silver bell, or hands receiving a cup.
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In the study, link the movements of reading, writing and turning
With the leather-topped desk, bookshelves, globe, typewriter and suit of armour in frame, photograph both a seated portrait and a standing figure.
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In the fireplace room, make use of the flames and the wine-red sofa
Lit from low by the fire, move from seated to standing to a profile with a rose in hand. With the lighting kept low, the gold damask and the colour of the sofa quietly enfold the subject.
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In the wardrobe, capture expressions in the mirror and the details of the costume
Take up a top hat or a coat and photograph a profile in the mirror, a cuff, the line of the back. If you will borrow a costume, we ask your size in advance and allow for changing within the three hours.
Read moreFrom arrival to farewell, three hours in five scenes
Welcome and taking your luggage
The butler bows at the door and takes coats and luggage not needed for photography. We check costumes and fragile items together, separating the order of changing from the keepsakes to be photographed.
Tour of the Manor and lighting preparation
We visit the three or so scenes you wish to photograph and decide the chandelier, the lighting equipment and the positions of subject and camera.
Photography in the dining room or study
Begin with a seated frame, where the pose is steady, then move to hands, profile and standing figure. The butler checks the furnishings and any disorder in the costume.
Move to the fireplace room or bedroom
Change the background and the light to leave a different story in the same costume. Check hems and equipment, take a short breath, then move to the next frame.
Close in the gallery and at the double doors
Photograph a figure walking away, a moment before the hall clock, the lingering close of the doors, then confirm you have every combination you need.
Assisting with photography means never breaking the subject's concentration
The butler's role is not to operate the equipment in the photographer's place but to arrange the scenes of the Manor. We check the angle of a chair, the turn of a cup, the distance from a candelabrum, the hem of a costume and the moment an item is handed over in white gloves, and stand by so that the photographer may concentrate on composition.
For a commemorative photograph, the butler may also take your camera or smartphone and photograph you. If you would like one frame with everyone in it, please tell us how the device works. You check the result on the spot. The Manor has both male and female butlers.
If you are unsure partway through, the butler compares the last frame with the next scene and suggests, one at a time, what to change: the background, the pose or the item in hand. Even in the same spot, rising from a chair, looking up at the chandelier or receiving a cup changes the impression of the photograph.
See why a butler is in attendance
Have your belongings and attire ready the day before, and the shooting time is preserved
| Equipment | Please bring your camera or smartphone, charged batteries, memory cards and any lenses you need. If you will bring tripods or the like, telling us their size and number in advance lets the butler separate where equipment goes from the passageways. |
|---|---|
| Costumes | Separate what you will wear on arrival from what you will change into at the Manor, and keep each set together, shoes and accessories included. For long hems, we also check how to carry them so as not to touch the double doors or the furniture. |
| Keepsakes | Letters, photographs, flowers, watches: please tell us their size and fragility at booking. The butler decides in advance where to place and support them, and arranges compositions that do not overlap the silver and porcelain. |
| Food and drink | You are welcome to bring your own. As the Manor does not serve meals, please bring what you need. If containers or vessels will appear in frame, the butler shows you where and how to place them so as to protect the furnishings. |
| Rainy days | Wet coats and umbrellas are taken at the entrance. Photography within the Manor proceeds as planned, switching to compositions that use the light of the chandelier, the fire, the candelabra and the photographic lighting. |
| Address | 2-7-4 Aomi, Koto-ku, Tokyo. Chauffeured pick-up to and from five points, including Tokyo Teleport Station, is a service accompanying your plan. As there are days when the vehicle is unavailable, we confirm at booking. |
What the plan includes
- Photography in the scenes, chosen from the Manor's eleven zones, that suit your costume and the picture you have in mind
- RGB lighting and a large softbox.
- One butler in attendance for reception, scene-setting, commemorative photographs and seeing you off.
- Placement and restoration of chairs, props and candelabra. Silver and porcelain are handled by the butler
- Chauffeured pick-up for up to six guests (to and from five points, accompanying the plan, confirmed at booking)
What you provide
- Arranging a photographer. Please photograph yourselves or bring a photographer with you
- Editing and retouching of image files. Storage and management after the shoot are also your responsibility
- The fee for wearing butler's attire. Please discuss type and size in advance
- Meals.
QCan all eleven zones be photographed in three hours?
A brief tour of all of them is possible, but to capture expression and composition with care we recommend choosing three or so main scenes. Adding the gallery and the double doors in the remaining time gives the whole set a beginning and an end.
QMay I book on my own?
Yes, the plan is available for a solo portrait. The butler may also take your camera or smartphone and photograph you, so please tell us the composition you wish to keep.
QMay I bring a photographer?
Yes, you may come with a photographer you have arranged. The photographer counts towards the number of guests, and we ask in advance the size and number of tripods and lights, so please also check batteries and memory card space before your visit.
QIs there a dress code?
You may be photographed in attire to suit the Manor or in your everyday clothes. Costumes, shoes or accessories that might mark the floors or furnishings are checked in advance, and the butler advises on safe handling.
QMay I use drinks I have brought in the photographs?
You are welcome to bring your own food and drink. If you wish to use them, for instance in a frame of hands receiving a cup, please discuss at booking. We do not serve meals; the butler advises where to place vessels and how to handle them so as to protect the furnishings.
QDo female butlers also assist with photography?
Yes. Our butlers include both men and women. If you have a preference, please tell us at booking. We also ask in advance whether only white-gloved hands or the whole figure should appear in frame.
About the attire
- Sizes and styles are limited. Before booking, please tell us your height and usual clothing size
- Please ask about sizes other than those listed
About using The Studio
- The manor is never let unattended. A butler is present for every booking, and keys are not handed over
- You are welcome to bring your own food and drink. We do not provide meals
- Please use the antique furnishings under the butler's guidance. The armour, hall clock, porcelain and silver are handled by the butler
- Please consult us in advance about loud sound or the use of naked flames
- Prices shown include tax
You may also wish to read
Four-hour celebration photography, including costume preparation
Pre-wedding and milestone photography, with one set of butler's attire.
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Photograph in the bedroom with the corbeille bed
Compositions that make the most of burgundy linen and curving lines.
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Choosing light and composition in an antique manor
How to show a person at their best in the dining room, the study and the fireplace room.
Read more
Tell your butler the three scenes you wish to keep from three hours
We ask your preferred date and time, number of guests, costumes, equipment and favourite scenes in the Manor, and propose the route for the day.