Family + Children Portraits

Jamie Ang In Family + Children Portraits, Portraits

Family portraits: Brian, Marina and 3 boys

Brian and Marina warned us…both their 3 and 5 year old toddlers will not sit still for the camera. We’ve been told that their son James is shy and would definitely try to hide during the shoot! With this challenge in mind, Chi Yin and I headed over to Brian and Marina’s home for their family portrait. And hide he did! But that didn’t stop us from chasing them into the playroom for photos.

We even had to stop the shoot temporarily to play with them, so that the two toddlers James and Matthew would warm up to us. Chi Yin had the difficult task of luring them out of their really fun-looking playroom. We worked hard for every single image!

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Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Parties & Events, Portraits

Hari Raya with the Naza Family

I was honoured that an old friend had recommended me to Datuk Wira SM Faisal SM Nasimuddin, who was looking for a family portrait photographer during the Raya holidays. It was wonderful meeting the entire family behind the Naza Group of companies, including Marion Caunter. Donned in festive clothes too, I tried my best to look good setting up lights while wearing a kebaya. :)

Everyone looked really smart in their baju Raya and the kids were just too cute. Here’s the large family portrait that was set up in 5 minutes. As one of the siblings, Nadia mentioned on her Instagram account, “There’s a whole troop of nannies behind this shot”… and may I add, taking photos for the family with their mobile phones! I wish we had taken a behind the scene shot of that!

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Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Portraits

Kelvin, Jamie and a sleepy baby

In a family portrait session, everything rarely ever goes according to plan. Sometimes babies will bawl their heads out, refuse to smile (even when parents insist they are super smiley babies) or in the case of Kelvin and Jamie, their baby boy Tristan fell asleep halfway through the shoot! I guess we were kind of boring to him! Well, the shoot had to carry on, so awake or not, we took photos of the little sleepy head. Thankfully, after his 10 minute power nap, Tristan woke up all cheerful and ready to face the day.

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Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Portraits

Shichi-go-san celebration for a Japanese family: Yohei & Fumiko

Yohei and Fumiko have been living in Malaysia for the past 2 years ever since they moved here from Japan. In 2014, we photographed their family for the first time, and now, it’s really lovely to see their children all grown up!

Their son Shotaro is going to be 5 years old in May and the main purpose of the shoot is to celebrate his anniversary. According to Fumiko, Shichi-go-san, which means seven, five and three, is a Japanese annual event to celebrate healthy growth and the hope of longevity for three and seven-year-old daughters, and three and five-year-old sons. So Shotaro turning 5 is a special occasion for their family and they wish to remember this moment by having nice photos taken.

What a great idea!

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Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Life, Musings, Portraits, Relationships

Happy 4th Father’s Day

This morning, I woke up in bed, 73km away from home at a town called Port Dickson, body still sore from last night’s wedding shoot. I thought of my kids at home, being cared for by my Indonesian helper the night before as my husband is away in New Zealand, setting up the Integricity NZ office. I drove home, packed my kids to church single handedly and was reminded about how much Alex is missed this Father’s day.

I cannot imagine life as a working single parent, and I take my hats off to those moms who had to fill the role of a mother and father to their kids because of various circumstances, or vice versa. Having a father figure is so important to every child. I am so glad that Alex is the kind of man who takes time to do simple things with our children, whether it is baking a cake, painting some eggshells, reading books to my son so that he can potty train him at the same time or carrying them on his shoulders when they are tired.

He is the kind of man who would gladly step up and help a friend in need, one who is generous and a person who truly cares. I hope our children will catch these traits from their dad as they grow up. We miss you, dad this Father’s day. Come home soon.

20150404_KRYSTA_KYLE_313 Baking a cake