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Grace Tan

Mark & Mun Tzin’s Engagement

It’s really so exciting whenever I hear proposal plans, and even more so when you are involved in it! Tonight, Alex and I had the privilege of witnessing Mark’s proposal to Mun Tzin at House & Co in Bangsar Shopping Centre. Mark is one of Wedding Story’s key photographers and an extremely good friend of ours. For weeks, we discussed proposal ideas and thought of what to do to make the proposal exciting.

Mark even thought of proposing during the recent ShootFest! But in the end, he decided to do it in the company of his closest friends. The idea was that Mark, Mun Tzin, Alex and I were supposed to be filming and photographing another couple’s proposal. The couple (Boon Keat & Melody) are close friends of Mark’s, and he had convinced Mun Tzin that Wedding Story was hired to cover the event. So we went to BSC today… Munz did not suspect a thing! In fact, Mark had bought a bouquet of flowers for Munz but told her that it was from Boon Keat for Melody. She even carried her own bouquet to the proposal location unsuspectingly!

As she was focusing her camera on the guy proposing, he opened this sheet of paper with the words, “Look at Mark now”… Munz was stunned! She turned to Mark, and there he was, on his knees! We got the entire proposal on video, so we’ll upload it sometime soon!

Well needless to say, she said yes!! Here are just a few photos from this momentous event tonight. This is Boon Keat, pretending to propose to Melody!

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They are a really really happy couple. So happy for the both of you!

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The couple Boon Keat and Melody

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Just one of Munz and Mark’s funny faces.

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Shooting Tun Mahathir’s Portraits

What an exciting assignment to be photographing our country’s former Prime Minister! I was called to photograph portraits for Tun Mahathir and his family, and other behind the scenes shots of the video crew at work. Red Communications is creating a video biography on Tun Mahathir for the History Channel, and the video will be ready some time this year (UPDATED: November 2009). The photos I have taken will be used as publicity stills and for press release. Unfortunately I cannot really post up the portraits yet until the program has gone on air. But here are a few shots of myself at the location taken by Mark, who was there with me that day. Photos were taken at Tun Mahathir’s residence. Mark was really happy to get his 21 Mega pixel photo of himself with Tun Mahathir. I told him that he could get it printed and framed as a large poster if he wanted to!!

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Haha Mark caught me chimping in front of Tun Mahathir. Oops!

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Here are some behind the scenes shots that I have taken.

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Proof that Mark was there. :)

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And lastly, since everyone was busy taking photos with Tun Mahathir at the end of the day, I became kiasu too and took a shot!

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Zachary’s Baby Shower

If you met Priscilla’s mom, and then Priscilla herself, you would have thought that they were a little young-looking to be a grandmother and mother. They radiate youthfulness. I just don’t know how they do it! (great health regime, skin care, enough sleep perhaps? Things I don’t really practice right now!). We celebrated Zachary’s full moon luncheon at Putrajaya Shangri-La where family members and friends of John and Priscilla gathered. The food not only looked good, it tasted great too! After the scrumptious meal, we had a quick portrait session on the grounds of Shangri-La.

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Priscilla’s mom on the left, and Priscilla and John on the right.

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The other baby in the house… this one belongs to Stephanie.

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Look at how cute Zachary’s cake is!

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Unfortunately most of the time, he’s asleep, oblivious to the attention he’s getting!

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Finally, a group photo.

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The Hashim Family Portraits

I met the Hashims through Jek. The moment I met them, I instantly liked them. They are such an easy going family with really good looking children! It was a challenge avoiding the crowds of people at the park, but we managed to find some little corners to shoot in. After a number of outdoor family shoots with children below 3, I have collected a few tips for families who intend to have their outdoor portraits taken.

1. It’s a good idea to dress in similar or complementary colours for the photo shoot. Your family unit will look coordinated and united.

2. Bring a spare change of clothes, especially for the children. They might get dirty or wet as they run around, rolling on the grass.

3. Make sure there’s drinks and some snacks prepared, especially if they start to get a little cranky.

4. It’s also a great idea to bring along a favourite toy.

5. If the child refuses to smile for the camera or pose, don’t worry! If you feel stressed or start yelling, it will show in the photos. You can try to speak in a stern tone for a while, but if the child still wants to do his/her own thing, let them do it. It’s a great time for candid shots.

6. If the child starts to cry, take a little break.

7. Playing little games with the child helps. Make them think that the photo shoot is a fun activity! At the end of the day, treat it like a fun family outing instead of a stressful ‘let’s aim to get my child to behave session’ and everyone will have a good time!

Hope these tips are helpful!

Family Portraits: Ben & Joanne

I seem to be photographing a lot of 2-3 year old boys lately. Little boys at this age are really cute, but the one thing that is difficult to do, is to keep them still! I haven’t done a shoot with little girls that age. I thought there were more girls in this world than boys? Well a friend of mine said that girls are easier to photograph, so probably the ones who have boys look for professional photographers cause they just can’t get a good pic of them through their compact cameras. Perhaps there is an element of truth there.

Recently, I met up with Ben and Joanne for a family portrait shoot with their two lovely boys, Zach & Jaden. We went to FRIM, and since I haven’t been there in a while, I actually missed the turning from the highway on the way there. Luckily I started out early, and after a couple of turnings and guidance from Chui who was my helper for the day… I finally got there. Here are a selection of images from the shoot.

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I love his little chair! So cute.

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