Ooi and Mei Leng visited my studio a year ago, when their older child was just 2 and Mei Leng was still pregnant with Jing Yu. I love to have this privilege of journeying alongside all the families I photograph, especially to see them grow. It was wonderful that I got to celebrate Jing Yu’s 1 year old birthday with a fun cake smash session in the studio. His brother was all too happy to participate in the session together!
Just like every other parent I know, there are some moments in life that are just etched in your mind forever. Like that first cry your child made at the hospital which made you cry too. That moment she took her first few steps, or when she babbled those semi-incoherent words that you swore meant something. Lately, I’ve been feeling a little emotional too, as my 5+ year old is now about to leave preschool and head on to her first year in primary.
First day at preschool
It felt like just a few blinks ago when she stepped into preschool, all scared and tiny. Being a December baby, she was just 2 years and 1 month when she joined the 3 year old class in January. She blossomed from a timid girl to a confident and intelligent child. In fact, going into year 1, she is not fearful at all, but really more excited than the nervous wreck I am!
Packing up on her last day at preschool, just after her Merdeka party
I just want to cuddle her close to me, never wanting this baby to grow up. But she has, and she will continue to do so…growing more and more independent as a person. It’s hard to verbalise this feeling, so bittersweet. So proud of her, and yet this tinge of sadness that her baby years are ending faster than I am willing to acknowledge. Soon, I’ll have a teenager with acne and boyfriend problems and then the day will come when her dad will have to walk her down the aisle to the man she loves.
But for now, I’ll just cherish these memories and be brought back through time with captured moments.
Gearing up for Year 1 on orientation day
Last year, we participated at the 9th Private International School Fair in Midvalley and met Yuki there at our booth. We had a great time just chatting and connecting and on that day itself, he booked a photography session with us. This really cute Japanese family loves Malaysia so much, they are considering making this their 2nd home under the Malaysian My Second Home program! It always amazes me when I meet expats who love Malaysia so much they want to make it their home. Despite the challenges our nation faces, I am still proud to be Malaysian. This is a place where many opportunities abound.
Here are some of my favourites from Yuki and Aki’s session.
We photographed Corina and Andrew a few times through the years – once for their pre-wedding, then family portraits after the little one was born, and a few months ago, Corina’s family! It was her sister, Samantha’s graduation and we were so elated that we got to celebrate an important moment with her. It is really our pleasure that we get to walk through life with our clients, taking photos of key moments in their lives.
Just this thought came to me the other day… through the years, we have actually accumulated Gigs and Gigs of data in our hard drives. Even though we photographed a client 12 years ago, we still have their wedding or family photos till today! Crazy, isn’t it… but these images are as precious to us as they are to our clients. If anyone loses their images, they can always contact us as we have 2 copies of their photos or video stored away for them! Growing up, after developing the photos from negatives, I always imagined it was my responsibility to keep these images safe. I don’t know if my clients think we are crazy, but yeah, we have records of hundreds of family photos, all archived safely for them.
It was a fun photo session for the ladies of the Yam family. Candy and her sister Ann decided that they wanted to capture some moments together with their mother in this session. Together with Ann’s daughter, the photo session brought together 3 generations of women in one shared experience. Ann was the mastermind behind the coordinated outfits which made it look like an editorial shoot for a magazine! With their long legs, they certainly could pass off as professional models. (By the way, having your hair and make up done professionally makes a huge difference to your images!) Thank you for bringing your family to our studio, Candy!
