Newborn

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Life, Musings, Newborn, Portraits, Relationships, Studio, Tips + Ideas

Documenting the Different Phases of Life

How true it is that daily life filled with chores, workload and family concerns may seem long and tedious! However, when you look back at how fast the months and years go by you find yourself yearning for time to slow down. That baby you hold today will be a young man or woman in a blink of an eye. Here are some phases in life you’ll want to capture and cherish forever:

BABY STAGE

Whether it is a maternity, newborn or baby stage, it is usually a very special time for the parents. Documenting the natural glow and protruding tummy in the later stage of pregnancy can remind you of how you felt throughout the pregnancy. Capturing shots of your precious baby sleeping in her crib, breastfeeding her or those of a gurgling baby will remind you of the happy (and tough!) times as a parent in the early months. It is also a good opportunity to share the journey with your child when they are older!

TODDLER STAGE

This is the stage when your child starts to discover new things and experiences… like the joy of cooling off on a hot day with the water hose in the backyard, or doing hand-painting in playschool, maybe even digging in the garden with their plastic garden tools. Having keepsakes of them in the midst of these activities is what you’ll treasure later on when they have grown up a little.

PRE-SCHOOL STAGE

At this stage in life, your little one is developing in character and is capable of so much more. They’ll be selecting their own attire for the day, helping you make cookies, learning to cycle, going for piano or ballet lessons! The list is endless… and there’ll be so much to photograph.

PRIMARY SCHOOL & BEYOND

Time zooms by once they start school proper because life takes over and days are filled with ferrying them from one place to another. But don’t forget that even as they grow into teenagers, documenting moments like holidays and achievements will give you something to hold on to before they leave the nest to lead their own lives. As a parent, you’ll want to capture every milestone with your child. Sometimes, you may remember to whip out your handphone to snap a picture or two, but most times the moments just pass you by. It is a good idea to make it a point to get some proper shots of the family together, in various phases of life. You will not regret how it made you feel to be reliving those times again!

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Newborn, Portraits

Newborn family portraits: Nate

There is something beautiful about seeing a newborn nestling comfortably in his mother’s arms. Or how tiny his fingers look compared to yours. Oh how a child changes everything in your life! Definitely a milestone to remember. Nate was an easy baby to photograph… most of the time, he just slept and was oblivious to me clicking away! He must have gotten his easy going personality from his parents Owen and Ida. At the end of the session, we managed to even change him into a pilot’s outfit, suitable for a pilot’s son! That was just too adorable.

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Newborn, Portraits, Studio

Newborn Portraits: Marieke & Maarten

Remember Maarten and Marieke’s maternity portraits that Jamie shot some time ago? Well, they have now delivered an adorable baby girl and we had the pleasure of meeting her! She is just so gorgeous, perfectly formed with that cute button nose and beautiful lips. We love photographing newborn babies because they are just tiny once… (and remind you of the sleepless nights you experienced as a young mother). But once they get older, you will wish they were much lighter, and you start to miss all those little moments again… holding those tiny hands, the first time bitter sweet experience of breastfeeding your child or even worrying about why she can’t sleep at night or during the day.

This quote I read in Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project book resonates with me, and I am sure it will with you too.

“The days are long, but the years are short”

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Newborn, Portraits, Studio

Newborn Portraits: Ahmed & Balqish

Ahmed & Balqish’s baby is blessed to have two good-looking parents, of Saudi Arabian and Malaysian heritage. Perhaps one day, she might follow in the footsteps of her mom who is a traveller, a public personality and a youtuber. When the family came to the studio for their mini session, the little one kept exercising her lungs (By the way, that’s normal in most photo sessions involving babies!). Eventually, she calmed down, enough for Jennifer to get the shots she needed. Congratulations on the birth of your baby, Ahmed and Balqish Maarif!

20170310_AHMED_BALQISH_036 20170310_AHMED_BALQISH_057 Continue Reading

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Life, Maternity, Musings, Newborn, Portraits

Documenting Ethan’s Water Birth

I must admit that the thought of seeing a woman going through labour and finally delivering her baby scares me. A little. Even though I have 2 kids of my own… but I went through c-section and I never really experienced childbirth the way it was meant to be…. natural and painful. So I was a mix of emotions when Crystal hired me to document the birth of her baby Ethan last month. I was a tad bit worried that I might pass out when I saw blood.

The whole experience was new to me. About a year ago, I was also supposed to photograph another birth, but that didn’t quite happen the way we expected (pun not intended!). When Crystal’s delivery date drew near (18th May) and she started having contractions, I was a bit of a nervous wreck! I would check my phone frequently for updates, and was all charged to head out to the hospital when needed. On Thursday night, she checked into Pantai Hospital but by Friday evening, she was still far from delivering her baby!

That Friday night, I went to watch a movie, and even lugged my camera gear into the cinema, just in case! Crystal really suffered through hours of labour, and it was only on Sat night (11pm) that I was called into the hospital. I must say, she is one tough cookie. With no painkillers, she laboured and delivered beautiful baby Ethan at 3am on the 22nd of May. I could see how supportive her husband Wei Leong was through the entire process. Even though it was pretty back-breaking to help support Crystal in the tub, he did it over many hours with occasional stretches. I think Crystal was in the tub for a good 7 hours!

When Ethan came out, there was a sigh of relief and lots of happy smiles around.

Overall, I am just so amazed at this miracle called birth. How wonderful it is to witness a human being coming into the world. It is just so beautiful.

20160522-BIRTH_ETHAN_CHEW-060 20160522-BIRTH_ETHAN_CHEW-061 20160522-BIRTH_ETHAN_CHEW-071 Extra interesting notes:
1. Lighting was extremely difficult in the dim room, since they wanted to create a more relaxing and conducive environment. Flash photography wasn’t allowed and occasionally a spotlight would be turned on at times – so thank God for high ISO and experience shooting in low light!

2. The little floating duck is a thermometer! How cool is that. It was the first thing I spotted when I arrived.

3. The nurse and doula was in the room all the time, monitoring the contractions, keeping Crystal warm by pouring water on her. Dr Paul came in towards the end to receive the baby. I truly respect those in this profession, their personal lives are dictated by the lives of others!