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Grace Tan In Casual Portraits, Family + Children Portraits, For Photographers, Life, Maternity, Musings, Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits, Promotions, Relationships

July & August 2013 Portrait Promo

Someone wise told me, the only asset that is truly valuable is time. I’ve always been a person who waltzes through life, never really having any set goals, but now, as I am in my mid-30s, having been married for 7 years and as a mother of a 7 month old daughter, I realize I cannot just let life pass me by.

All the more so as I see my sick, ageing parents who are approaching their 80s. I am a little sad that my dad, with his Azheimer’s, will never know his grandchild. My mom, who suffered from stroke in the past, cannot carry my 7kg daughter in her arms.

But I am glad that I had the photos from when Krysta was a newborn, and my mom could still manage to hold her, even though it was for a short period of time.

Or those images of my family when my dad still had traces of his personality intact. (Or that video of my dad singing at my wedding… even though he had forgotten the lyrics to the song… he was just diagnosed with Alzheimer’s then).

I know that I can never turn back the clock to experience these things again. So time is truly precious to me.

Relationships matter.

That’s why we would love to help you record these memories with the most important people in your life. This July and August, book a pre-wedding or lifestyle portrait shoot with us and you’ll not only get to immortalize these moments, but enjoy a discount on our packages.

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Do email us for a full list of our services and discounted rates. Photography must be done within the months of July and August 2013 (subject to availability). We hope to see you soon!

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Grace Tan In Casual Portraits, Family + Children Portraits, For Photographers, Maternity, Musings, Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits, Running a Business, Tips + Ideas

Bloom Workshops #3: Portraits in Penang

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Bloom Workshops is back once again this year for another round of teaching, learning and absorbing all sorts of photography goodness from each other! We ran 2 successful workshops last year – the first was themed “Empowering Female Photographers” and the second, “From Passion to Skill”. This time, we’re headed to the beautiful island of Penang for some inspiring time with each other. You don’t have to be a pro-photographer to attend, as long as you have an interest in photography, this workshop is for you. It’s open to both male and female participants (yes, people do ask!).

The early bird registrations end by 1st of July, but if you do manage to gather a group of 2 other friends who are interested, you can still enjoy the rate of RM1,100 as long as you register before the 9th of August 2013. Three days of goodness together!

The main topics you’ll be learning will be about posing and lighting. We will teach you all sorts of skills on posing couples, plus-sized people, couples with height differences, large groups, families, children and more! One of the practical session involves a trip to the beach and we’ll learn how to do shots like these:

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You’ll also learn how to pose large groups like these:

20120623_CHEN_FAMILYPORTRAITS_002 Continue Reading

Grace Tan In Casual Portraits, Family + Children Portraits, For Photographers, Musings, Portraits, Relationships

Stories Family Feature: Diane Lee

Since this blog is mainly managed and written by me, Grace, I thought that it’d be great if the readers of this blog could get to know the people behind the Stories family a little better. I am really thankful for these amazing group of people who have been ever so supportive and working oh-so-hard to make sure everything is in order!

Today, we’re featuring Diane… probably the very first person you’ll come into contact with whenever you call the Stories line or email us through our website. She has been working with us for 2 years now and is a crucial link to everything because she communicates with everyone before and after a shoot. Diane is a bubbly person whose laugh matches her personality. She can speak to anyone and everyone, and lights up a room just by her presence (and singing, sometimes!). The photos featured here were taken by Diane. Read on about her!

1. Describe what you do at Stories and what you love about your role as a Studio Manager and Photographer.

As the Studio Manager, I am the bridge and communicator between the clients and the team. I am also the one replying all your emails and calls. I enjoy knowing our clients personally – to know their different personalities, hear about the things they have planned for their weddings and hear their excitement for their own weddings. I also shoot family portraits for Stories.

* View more of the Chong family portraits here. Continue Reading

Grace Tan In For Photographers, Musings, Running a Business, Tips + Ideas

Our First Wedding Fair at Westin, KL

Last Sunday, almost our entire Stories family trooped over to the Westin, KL for their Capturing Memories Fair. It was the very first bridal fair that we’ve ever participated in. To make it more exciting, 15 other photographers were featured at the same fair. Since the industry is pretty small, it was really nice to meet old friends again and to just catch up between talking to potential clients who visited us that day.

We decided prior to the fair, to go all out for it…meaning, we would cart furniture and decorations from our studio to The Westin for the event. We had heaps of fun doing up our little space, and it certainly attracted a lot of attention from the couples! Here are some photos of our little booth that day.

Diane In For Photographers, Musings, Tips + Ideas

Tips on Stage Photography

I recently volunteered to photograph a charity event for Project Liber8, which is a human trafficking awareness campaign. They have invited some local bands to play at Zouk KL, it was a rocking night with powerful music and talent, coming together to bring awareness against human trafficking! Real powerful stuff.

As for photography experience, I have to say, it’s different from what I am so used to shooting for our clients at Stories! Here’s what I can share with you from the experience I gained.