ラブグラフ（Lovegraph）

Market position

Described by third-party review sites as a leading on-location photography service in Japan, positioned against fotowa, OurPhoto and Famm, with a distinguishing editing aesthetic and a younger photographer and customer base than rivals. The company's site cites first place in four categories — photo satisfaction, photographer quality, photographer service and search ease — in the 2025 GMO customer-satisfaction ranking for on-location photography matching sites in the couple/family segment. A noted drawback in third-party coverage is high photographer designation fees on some profiles.

Nationally uniform pricing regardless of region, photographer coverage in all 47 prefectures, an in-house training program and screening process for photographers, an in-house photography school (Lovegraph Academy), and a proprietary retouching style applied to every delivered image that produces a recognizable visual look. Travel costs are generally included in the shoot price, except for shoots outside a designated photographer's area or on remote islands.

Technology

Web booking platform with search by location, date and shooting scene; customer 'My Page' accounts for delivery of edited image files, cancellation and postponement handling; LINE and email as the photographer-customer communication channel; card, PayPay and auPAY payment support with refunds routed back to the original payment method.

Go-to-market

Online booking through its own site with location/date-based photographer search; LINE official account offering a 1,000-yen-off coupon; referral codes (2,500 yen off for the referred customer and a 2,500-yen Amazon gift card for the referrer); repeat-customer, regional, relationship-length and wedding-announcement coupons; campaign discounts on wedding and multi-session plans; gift vouchers sold as e-gifts (code emailed within three business days) or mailed cards (shipped within five business days, valid six months from payment); active Instagram and X accounts including a dedicated Shichi-Go-San Instagram account; and coverage in television, magazine and newspaper media.

Consumers in Japan marking family and personal milestones — parents and families (Shichi-Go-San, Omiyamairi, newborn, maternity, birthdays, school ceremonies), couples and married pairs (dates, anniversaries, engagement, wedding pre/post shoots), friends, solo subjects and pet owners; also gift buyers purchasing shoots as wedding, birth or anniversary presents, and corporate clients via a business shooting category.

Geography

Japan-wide: photographers are stationed in all 47 prefectures and the company recruits and trains photographers nationwide. Tokyo, Osaka, Aichi and Fukuoka are highlighted as principal shooting areas. The discounted Light plan is restricted to specific parks and districts in a limited set of locations including Sapporo, Hakodate, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Aichi, Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Yamaguchi and Fukuoka.

History

The company's site refers to 10 years of accumulated know-how and more than 10 years of experience, and its editorial 'Best Lovegraph' award posts date back to March 2016. In March 2022 it was acquired by MIXI, Inc. (株式会社ミクシィ), a company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section, becoming a subsidiary; its photographers also staff MIXI's Mitene on-location photography service. During the COVID-19 period the company issued infection-prevention guidelines for both photographers and customers, distributing masks and alcohol sanitizer to photographers and imposing ventilation and attendee limits on newborn shoots.

Risks & controversies

Third-party review coverage notes that photographer designation fees can add 5,500 yen to more than 30,000 yen on top of a base plan priced at 26,180 yen including tax, and that competitors charge no designation fee. The same source notes negative search suggestions associated with the brand name, attributing them to the company's earlier focus on couple photography rather than substantiated complaints. Gift vouchers carry a six-month validity period that recipients have reportedly overlooked, and additional travel charges can apply for distant or remote-island shoots.