Tips + Ideas

Shan Szetho In Casual Portraits, Family + Children Portraits, Portraits, Tips + Ideas

How to Overcome Challenging Situations During a Shoot

When you book a photo or video shoot, you hope for a smooth and stress-free experience. However, unexpected challenges may arise, and it’s essential to know how to handle them effectively. As a customer, it can be overwhelming to deal with a crying child or feeling frazzled from a tough day. Here are some ways to overcome challenging situations during your shoot.

It’s Okay Not to Be Okay

It’s normal to feel a bit stressed or anxious during a photo or video shoot, especially if you have kids involved. Or, you might have been rushing into your shoot session from a hectic work day. Remember that the photographer or videographer you hired is there to help you capture beautiful moments and bring out your best version of yourself. Try to take a moment to settle yourself before going into your session and don’t feel ashamed to express your concerns and needs to your photographer or videographer.

Bring Distractions

If you have young children, bringing along their favourite toys or games can help keep them occupied and distracted during the shoot. This can help them relax and make the shoot more enjoyable for everyone involved.

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Grace Tan In At Home, Beautiful Everyday, Casual Portraits, Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Family + Children Portraits, Musings, Portraits, Tips + Ideas, Weddings

Printing your photos as a family heirloom

We’ve all been there: your phone is bursting at the seams with photos, yet it’s all disorganised. We take a gazillion photos daily (especially if you are a parent, you’ll understand what I mean!) but these images are lost in the digital world, somewhere between the phone, the computer or the cloud. That is why we really encourage couples and families to print their images. Prints have a longer lifespan than digital images. Due to changes in technology, digital files can get lost or corrupted over time, but printed photos can be kept in albums or frames and passed down from one generation to the next.

It’s a beautiful feeling to be able to display your photos on a canvas on the wall or in an album on your coffee table. They provide a physical connection to the past, allowing family members to see and touch images of their precious loved ones. Family photos serve as a visual history of a family’s past. It’s really heartwarming to hear stories of children looking at their parent’s wedding albums, and asking where they were when the photos were taken! It’s a way for the younger generation to connect with their family’s heritage and understand their place in the family tree.

Printed images can hold such a powerful emotional reminder of an exact moment in time. The memories associated with that event brings back so much happiness. It’s so tangible, and more powerful than viewing images on a computer screen or phone. Why don’t you consider printing some images for your home? I guarantee you that it will add life and make your home even more cosy.

Chi Yin Tan In Beautiful Everyday, Casual Portraits, Family + Children Portraits, Maternity, Newborn, Portraits, Studio, Tips + Ideas

Makeup tips for your photography session

We highly recommend putting on some makeup for a photoshoot. That way, you would look your best and wouldn’t have to worry about taking photos from different angles!

After speaking with our makeup artist, Charlyn Leong, she said that there are some things we might do on our own to prepare. For basic makeup, we can prepare mascara, eyebrow pencil, blush, lipstick, compact powder, and oil-absorbing paper. Let’s dive in a little deeper.

Mascara – This is a great tool for enhancing your eyes, and it’s quite easy to use. It only takes a few seconds, and our eyes look better, so why not?

Eyebrow pencil – It’s good to have tidy eyebrows. Before you do this, make sure you have plucked or shaved some hair outside of the eyebrow shape. And then, use an eyebrow pen to fill in the spots that are empty. Just apply it softly without putting on too much pressure to create a more natural eyebrow.

Bin Bin Tan In Casual Portraits, Family + Children Portraits, Life, Musings, Portraits, Tips + Ideas

Reflections on 1 Year of Motherhood

I recall writing about my journey toward parenting in one of my earliest Stories blog posts, just over a year ago. I can still remember how I was feeling back then—everything from anxiety to eagerness, but most of all, so much uncertainty. Becoming a mother is like applying for a job for which you have no experience and expecting to perform on day one.

Fast forward one year later, and I’ve survived! There’s no denying it: motherhood is HARD, and no book you read can adequately prepare you for it. But amidst the challenges and the exhaustion, you will also experience joy, unwavering love, and the realisation that you are more capable than you realised.

Here are some personal reflections on my journey since then, as well as some things I wish I could have told myself a year ago.

1. You Will Be So, So Tired (But You’ll Get Through It!)

Everyone warns you about the sleep deprivation, and while every mother knows it’s inevitable, it’s one thing to know about it and another to experience it. In the first few months, I wondered if I would ever sleep again. There would be days when I was in a literal daze of moving in between periods of being not really awake and not really asleep. A friend told me this: “It gets better.” And it will, whether it’s your body adjusting to the lack of sleep or your baby establishing a sleep schedule. Even if it initially seems nearly impossible, a day will come when you will sleep through the night once more.

2. Everyone’s Just Winging It

It may seem like you’re the only one who’s lost in figuring out how to be a mom, but trust me, everyone else is just figuring it out as they go along as well. No one is born knowing how to parent. And while there may be guidance books and “how-to” articles, no child is the same, and you are a unique individual with your own needs and ideals. The path you will walk on this journey is something you will carve out on your own. You can learn from others, but, like with lots of things in life, you can’t fully plan for it; you just have to figure it out for yourself—as you go.

Bin Bin Tan In Casual Portraits, Family + Children Portraits, Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits, Tips + Ideas

Alternative Ideas For Your Next Photoshoot

Having been in the lifestyle photography business for more than 15 years, you would think we would have grown bored of photographing families and couples in the same settings over and over again. Luckily our city is full of interesting spots and whether you’re looking for a family photoshoot or pre-wedding shoot, there are always new places to explore. While we do love shooting in our gorgeous studio, here’s a list of alternative ideas to consider for your next photo session.

1. On a City Walkabout

A city walkabout is a fun and less planned approach to doing a photoshoot for those who don’t like to pose too much. Typically, we’d just plan a path for you and your partner or family to explore while we follow to capture natural moments and interactions. There are many interesting and picturesque places in our city to discover, and this is also a great way to get out and about. Bonus is having photos of the excursion at the end of the day!

2. While Playing Tourist

As Malaysians we take our iconic landmarks for granted. I remember having lunch with a British friend at a lunch spot overlooking the Petronas Twin Towers and she was in constant awe of the sight throughout the meal. However, as locals, we often visit KLCC without a second glance at the towers or drive by iconic sights like Merdeka Square without much thought. Visitors come to our country and take Instagram worthy shots at these locations so why not showcase these national treasures at your next photoshoot?