Casual Portraits

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.

Grace Tan In Boudoir, Casual Portraits, Portraits

Boudoir Photography

Boudoir photography is really popular in the US, UK and Australia, but something relatively new in Malaysia. Boudoir is a french word, derived from the meaning, ‘to pout’, or bedroom. These women, portrayed in a glamourous, sensual way, use the photos as gifts for their husbands or boyfriends. What a wonderful way to celebrate the human form!

I have been fascinated with this form of photography, but never had the opportunity to shoot one till recently. I think I have an edge as a female photographer – my client felt comfortable in front of me. I am really excited to share with you a few shots from this recent boudoir shoot. I have lots of ideas for this style of photography, so if any of you are interested… drop me a line and we can talk about it!

Of course, sexy lingerie and make up is a must for this shoot! Accessories are cool too.

And if you have lovely looking heels like this one – it’s a plus point!

Most women feel that they don’t really have it in them to pose for these type of shots. We tend to feel self conscious of our body and how it is portrayed. “Tummy too flabby, arms too fat, etc”. But at the end of the day, getting great images is really a collaborative effort with your photographer. You don’t have to worry about the poses, because you will be directed on what to do. We will know how to focus on the areas that you like and hide the parts that you are uncomfortable about. The final result will surprise your husband, and I am sure it is worth it!

Grace Tan In Casual Portraits, International, Portraits

Krabi Honeymoon Shoot (of sorts!)

Candace said, “Grace, I’d like you to come with us to Krabi on our honeymoon as our photographer.”

Are you kidding? Of course I would!

Well, the trip wasn’t really a honeymoon trip, but a holiday with some of Ashley & Candace‘s closest friends. It was more of a pre-honeymoon trip, because after we left, Ash & Candace left Krabi for Phuket for the real honeymoon.

And so I traveled to Krabi with Alex to meet Ash & Candace and 6 of their friends there. It was a really fun trip, and since it was my first time to Krabi, I thought we might as well extend our trip. Isn’t Krabi amazing?

Blue skies, nice sandy beaches… ah….

When Alex and I visited Railey beach, we were like the minority. Seriously there were more Westerners there than Asians. And of course, being the typical Asian that we are, we sat on the beach, under the shade, when everyone was out there on the beach in the HOT sun. And it WAS hot!!!

Every morning, the sun would be blazing down on our backs, and then in the afternoon, it would rain. When Ash & Candace arrived in Krabi with their friends, it was pouring! This was taken after the rain subsided.

One of their purchases in Krabi. Ash & Candace, are you sure you want to wear this t-shirt on your honeymoon?

The next day, the 10 of us went on a organized tour around Krabi. The troop, getting ready for the day.

First stop: The famous James Bond island.

Saw this opportunity for a shot, and managed to convince Alex to scramble to the edge of the rock!

Next stop is a kayaking trip around one of the islands near Krabi.

Thanks to Clarence & Yen Mei, Alex and I got a photo of ourselves in action!

We did other things like visit caves…

And ride elephants.

I definitely enjoyed myself on the trip and getting to know everyone. Thanks, Ash & Candace for your hospitality, and for the opportunity to be a travel photographer on this trip!

Grace Tan In Casual Portraits, Portraits

Bali, Beautiful Bali!

During the Hari Raya holidays, a group of friends and I went away for a short trip to Bali. You can probably recognize some of these faces as I’ve blogged about a number of their weddings here on this blog! I am glad to have found such great friends such as these who are there to do every silly thing together with you. One of the things I suggested: A portrait shoot during our holiday! Since they LURRRVE to be photographed, everyone pretty much agreed to it! We even decided to colour coordinate our clothes.

This is my 2nd trip to Bali, and I hope that it won’t be the last one. I plan to go back one day for a pre-wedding shoot there some time. I have identified some really cool places to visit, and also made contacts with local Balinese there, so hopefully next year, I’ll be able to organize a pre-wedding shoot there. If you are interested in this idea, do leave a message here! In fact, the Wedding Story team would gladly fly to any part of the world to shoot your wedding. This year, we’ve had the privilege of shooting in Bangladesh and Holland.

Would like to share with you some of the many photos we took! Here’s my husband Alex and myself.