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Casual Portraits

Grace Tan
In Casual Portraits, Life, Portraits

Some Family Portraits (of the other kind)

It’s very normal that certain members of the family get neglected when it comes to taking photos. It’s not easy when your family members don’t want to cooperate even when you offer a treat to them. I’d like to introduce a few extended members of my family but unfortunately, I don’t have many nice photos of them.

This is Tanya (or Tania). She greets me everyday when I go to work, or when I get back from work. She’s young, excitable and sometimes likes to jump on me and land her paws on my outfit, especially when it’s white. When I scream her name, “Tanya, stop it!” she does it again, looking rather proud at her scuff marks on my dress. Other times, she chews my slippers or shoes, and then gets a prompt beating from Alex. He lost the straps to his Crocs that way. Tanya belongs to my in-law’s and is supposed to be a guard dog, but so far, she has failed at her duties. Guests who come by are promptly greeted with a grin and a tail wag.

This is Chino. The photo was taken by my friend Eugene some time back. Chino used to live with me, but now he’s freeloading at my sister’s house (while my home is being renovated). Chino likes to run and attack if he thinks you’re fun to play with. Hands and feet are for biting, he says. Oh, and my claws are hurting you? Sorry but I can’t help myself.

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Grace Tan
In Casual Portraits, Portraits

It’s a MadWorld out there…

Life, as they say, is unpredictable. One day, you could be traveling to work, as usual, stopping by the local bakery to buy your favourite muffin, and the next day, a tragedy like 9-11 happens. In a world where catastrophe happens on an almost daily basis, how are we to make sense of it all? Have we become numb to the things that are going on out there?

Or do I only care about where I will be having dinner tonight… sushi or Italian? Whether to buy Coach or LV? Which movies to watch, what to do after work…?

I know that it’s impossible to lead a completely self-less life, but I am constantly challenged to do things that matter in life. Whether it is volunteering to take photos at a HIV institution, cleaning people’s homes after the tsunami, or just feeding an old lady in a home… I believe that every action counts.

And so, the message in MadWorld really resonates with my soul. This amazing dance & song choreography, performed by talented individuals is the joint production between two churches – SIBKL & DUMC. The production raises this long debated question… “What indeed is the worth of our souls?”

The energy and passion that is in this production is truly inspiring. I know for a fact that the performers have sacrificed hours and hours of their time practicing for this production, debuting this 3rd of December in DUMC. The event is open to all and entrance is free.

A month ago, the performers, creative team, band members and many others gathered in an abandoned house in KL for a photo shoot. It was a challenging shoot for me, as I had to evoke the right kind of emotion through the images, which would be used for all marketing materials and brochures. Check out the poster below for the performance times, or visit the official MadWorld website.

The singers

The dancers

The four main cast – Adam, Lucas, Pearly and Sinister

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Grace Tan
In Casual Portraits, Portraits

Terry + Mei Ling

It is always true that things happen when you are studying in college / university. Everything is new, life is exciting and you get to meet cool people. People like Mei Ling, of course. Sharing the same house, it was not long after that Terry and Mei Ling became an item. And so, a graphic designer weds a doctor.

The beach wedding reception is not till next year, but this is the day Terry and Mei Ling made their marriage official. The papers are signed, the vows are made, and they are married! So here’s a quick little post to wish them congratulations!!

Grace Tan
In Casual Portraits, Portraits

MadWorld photo shoot teasers

This has got to be one of my most challenging shoots creatively this year. And it’s all worth it. If you look at these teaser images, you would hardly think that these images are for a Christmas production. Where’s all the bells, smiley faces, red and green colour themes?

This year’s Christmas performance, produced by DUMC and SIB KL is definitely not your ordinary Christmas play. Titled MadWorld, it’s a combination of creative dance and beautiful singing, in a story centred around 4 main characters, Lucas, Adam, Pearly & Sinister.

This photo shoot is for MadWorld’s promotional materials – posters, program booklet, the works. I had 50 people to photograph in one day and in a stylistic way. The day before, my team who consists of Alex, Yih Wen & Weiming went to KL to source for broken or old looking furniture. The doors were brought in by them. So proud of my props and lighting team.

The make up & styling is  incredible too. After many discussions with various people, the look was finalized. Main make up person is Joy Chong, overall styling by Kenny Shim.

I have heaps of photos to share with everyone, but they will have to come later… here are a few to whet your appetite!

Grace Tan
In Boudoir, Casual Portraits, Portraits, Studio

Lights, Boudoir, Action!

I recently did another boudoir photography shoot, this time completely in the studio. It challenged my creativity because I had to constantly think of new poses for my client. You wouldn’t have thought that the background to this shot was anything but black in real life right? In fact, the background was grey. I used two flashes to create the look and to reduce all ambient light around my subject.

In the past, I used to shun away from using flash for my photography work. It is a scary thing that is hard to control. But once you begin to understand it, light is a fun thing to play around with. I am still learning and improving my skills over time. I know that there are flaws to this image, but overall, I am rather pleased with it.

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