Running a Business

Grace Tan In International, Musings, Outdoor Weddings, Running a Business, Weddings

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!

Grace Tan In For Photographers, Musings, News, Promotions, Running a Business

Bloom workshops is here! Check us out!

If you are a female photographer serious about learning the craft and needing some new inspiration, do come and join us for a weekend of fun and learning! Four professional photographers (Anna-Rina, Asther Lau, Fiona Lim and myself) will be sharing our experiences, tips and tricks of the trade with you from a female perspective. We hope to inspire photographers to dream big and aim high!

Do view our little promo video, and visit our website www.bloomworkshops.my to find out more AND register for the workshop!

Video edited by: Weiming
Music credit: Akvalung

Grace Tan In Life, Musings, News, Running a Business

Our New Ride – The Volkswagen Kombi!

One fine day when Alex and I were talking about life and business, an idea suddenly came to his head… he suggested that we get a Stories-mobile; the Volkswagen Kombi. Frankly, I was a little hesitant at first… I mean, that thing is huge, OLD and might be really hard to drive. Good thing I can actually drive a manual car! I was concerned that I might not reach my wedding shoot destination if I had a vehicle like this. I shrugged the idea off until Alex brought it up again a week or so later.

He started showing me photos of really beautifully done up kombis online. I was smitten. Slowly but surely, I became hooked to the idea. And that was how our search for the VW kombi started. We contacted some friends who were VW enthusiasts and they put us in touch with other enthusiasts.

And then one day, we found this:

And so, unintentionally, the date 11.11.11 became significant to us. It was the day we bought our new bus!

By the way, this photo was taken in front of SS2 Mall, our new office space! But that’s a completely different blog post altogether. Take note that I went the hippy route and dressed for the occasion.

The kombi is in really good shape (considering it’s like a few years older than me… did I mention that I am over 30 now?) The colour is perfect cause it’s what we wanted in the first place (our Stories theme colour is light blue and dark brown). Some even pointed out that the number plate is perfect for a photographer (CF, as in, compact flash cards). I felt as if God was giving us the green light to get this bus.

Our little kombi will be used for shoots, and will also be rented to bride and grooms who are interested in using it as a wedding car. So far, 2 brides have already contacted me about the kombi. Our aim is to get it spruced up even more, but good thing is that it already comes with air-conditioning!

Grace Tan In Life, Musings, Running a Business

Working Holiday

One of the greatest perks of my job is being able to travel to really beautiful destinations and call it work. I can’t help it, but the mention of a beach wedding totally excites me. I love feeling the sea breeze on my face, the sun on my back and the sand under my feet.

I am blessed to be living in South East Asia where there’s an abundance of scenic beaches, which boasts beautiful locations for weddings. Places like Langkawi, Redang, Penang, Kota Kinabalu, Bali, Phuket, Krabi are just a stone’s throw away. Combine that with cheap Air Asia flights… and destination weddings become affordable!

At every wedding, I shoot in a team with another photographer, and sometimes being the husband of the photographer has its perks too!

I am currently in Redang Island for a wedding shoot. The next few months will be really hectic for me, with shoots every weekend till December. So I am taking the opportunity to enjoy 2 extra days here at Redang. Work wise, there’s lots of things I still need to do (blog posts in the pipeline), but I guess that will have to wait just a wee bit longer…

Grace Tan In Musings, News, Running a Business

Internship position available

If you are keen on working with the Stories team, do send in your resume to us. We welcome students who are looking for an internship position. Requirements:

Time frame: Able to work min of 3 to max 5 days from our PJ office from the months of September – December 2011
Skills: Basic Lightroom or Photoshop skills, preferably familiar with a Mac platform, otherwise, we will train
Tasks: Photo editing, and album design
Perks: Get to hang out with cool people at Integricity, tag along for shoots (whenever possible)
Attitude: Willing to learn, humble, friendly, passionate about what you do!

Do note that this is not a full time position, though it may translate to one in the future. So do send in your resume or write to me at grace.tan[at]stories.my to say why you’d love to join us for these few months! Looking forward to hearing from you, and have a great weekend!