Maiko and Momiji: Tanewaka
What I remember most about this portrait of the maiko Tanewaka of Miyagawa-cho is how perfect her hair was on this day. She knew she was coming for a photo session with me, so she had had her hair done that morning.
Although I have never seen a maiko with what I would call messy hair, it is very common for the hair on the back of a maiko's neck to come loose. Most of the maiko I work with check their hair right away when they arrive at the ochaya, but even the most carefully coiffed hair moves while they are dancing.
I have to walk a fine line in asking them to comb their hair back into place. If I were to do it too often, they would become self-conscious, but if I don't do it enough I have to spend more time in Photoshop cloning out stray hairs. I usually will ask them only once or twice in a two to three hour photo session.
If only every maiko could have her hair styled the day we work together!