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Running a Business

Bloom Workshops: Empowering Female Photographers (our first!)

Who would have thought, that 4 very different photographers with unique personalities and style could sit together and organize something as unlikely as a female photography workshop? It took us 5 months to brainstorm ideas, get together a sponsor list, and plan for the event, but our inaugural Bloom Workshops was a hit! The event was held on the 10th & 11th of March 2012 at the Terrace of Hock Choon and attended by 30 eager female photographers. The trainer list consisted of Anna-Rina, Asther Lau, Fiona Lim and myself.

We would like to thank our main sponsor, Canon and all our other sponsors Schmidt Marketing, Wall Canvas Arts, Simplr, Laura Mercier and Kelly Moore bags for adding lots of spice to the workshop.

I had a session on lighting, which is a huge topic to cover in 3 hours! I taught the participants how to look at available light and also did an introduction on off camera flash techniques. I was really excited to read some of these comments on my session:

“Something new and challenging but very beneficial as before this lighting was something that I didn’t take seriously. Understand that it’s all about the light and not all only about the location and pretty subjects.”
“Clear & Precise. Enjoyed applying the techniques during the practical session. Hot models haha.”
“I came away with so much more tips that I’m excited to put into use!”

For those of you who couldn’t make it, here are some photos from the workshop! When the participants arrived, they were greeted by Diane’s friendly smile.

And they received a Canon paper bag filled with lots of yummy goodies from all our sponsors! They even received a personalized print of their photo, created by Simplr.

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Our Studio in SStwo Mall, PJ

This week has been an exciting one for me. Other than trying to sort out the details for the upcoming Bloom Workshops that’s happening this 10th and 11th March, photographing local celebrities like Cheryl Samad, Datin Umie Aida, Low Ngai Yuen amongst others for International Women’s Day, I am also finalizing all the details for the renovations of our little studio in SStwo Mall.

The structure is almost complete. Today, we have our lighting installed! I still have to get some curtains and furniture to make it more complete. As you can see, our spiral staircase doesn’t even have steps yet. But it’s all good! Once everything is done up, I’d love to invite all of you for a visit and I will make some coffee for you here and we can have a nice chat. With the launch of the studio, we’ll also be having some promotions, so keep a look out for it!

Of travels and holidays

I have to admit. Since the Chinese New Year celebrations in January this year, I’ve been slacking off a bit. Just a bit. The end of 2011 was so hectic that my back was beginning to ache from all those shoots, and on top of that I twisted my ankle the day before a wedding in January. That week, I had to shoot 2 weddings with a twisted ankle. At that stage, it became clear to me that somehow I needed to rest. God’s message to me was crystal clear: If you don’t learn to rest, more of you will soon start to break down.

So Chinese New Year was a welcome break for me, and then came February with some other Malaysian holidays (did you know that Malaysia has one of the highest number of public holidays in the world? So yeah, if you love your holidays, do work in Malaysia).

So we kick started February with a celebration dinner with the team – to remember and give thanks for the success of 2011. Since it was Weiming and Mark’s birthday, we also had a cake!

Standing (L-R): Myself, Mun Tzin (Mark’s wife, who recently started her wedding planning business, Milestones), Felicia (our Digital Artist), Diane, Johan, Alex
Seated (L-R):  Zhi Ming (Intern), Weiming and Mark

In February I went to Jakarta to photograph the wedding of Eric and Jennie. That was the first Indonesian wedding I’ve ever photographed. I loved it! But that’s for another blog post (speaking of blog posts, I am absolutely delayed with many of them!).

After Jakarta, Alex and I flew to Jogjakarta for a short holiday. We didn’t really do too much there but one of the must-dos was visit Borobudur temple, of course!

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A Grateful Christmas


Stories is part of the Integricity group

It’s true, God’s love is extravagant. God has blessed us abundantly, even more than what I could have imagined. My heart is overflowing with thankfulness…I see the business flourishing, and I know God definitely had a hand in it. Every year, I make it a point to reflect about the year that has passed, and to give thanks for good and bad experiences. In 2010, Stories turned one, and now, we’re two!

Last year, I gave thanks for the 38 wedding & pre-wedding clients that we photographed in 2011. This year, the number of clients increased. Collectively, the Stories team photographed 58 different wedding / pre-wedding clients and 30 other clients for lifestyle portraits & events. On top of that, we had a great year with a number of different corporate projects as well.

Our team grew as well and we now have a strong team of 7 core members with other supporting members. Everyone worked really hard this year and I am thankful for such a wonderful team.

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Updates & a beautiful wedding at Capella, Singapore

These past few months, my mind has been filled with many different things… mostly with work and trying to meet the many deadlines and deliveries we have to make. It’s been rather challenging for me physically, because this is the first time in my career that I’ve been shooting non-stop every weekend from August 27th till December 17th. This does not include the other family / pre-wedding portrait and commercial shoots on weekdays. So yes, I am sorry for the lack of updates on this blog.

I am really looking forward to the Christmas holidays though, as that will be the first break I am getting in many months. I will be planning for next year and also trying to sort out everything for the new office… we will be moving into SS2 mall early next year! Once the studio is opened, we will have some promotions, so do keep a look out on this blog!

Just as a little teaser, here are some images I took yesterday at the gorgeous Capella Hotel in Sentosa, Singapore. Definitely one of the prettiest outdoor locations I’ve seen so far!

Have a great Christmas season and happy shopping!