Portraits

Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Nathan & Ayu: Berlulut

Photographers: Grace & Mark
Location: The Westin, Langkawi

This has got to be the wedding of the year! I have so many beautiful photos to show from this wedding that it has to span across 3 blog posts! This is the 2nd part to Nathan and Ayu’s wedding. After the akad nikah in KL, we headed for the sandy white beaches of Langkawi. Specifically, the Westin, Langkawi. When I first found out that Nathan and Ayu wanted a berlulut event, I wasn’t quite sure what it was! Later, I discovered that it just meant ‘changing of outfits’. In other words, we had a portrait session with beautiful costumes!

Ayu’s mother had requested that they did this, and boy, was I happy! Don’t you think The Westin at Langkawi made a gorgeous backdrop for these images? The image below was taken from the 5 bedroom villa (with its own private pool!).

We started off with the traditional Iban costume from East Malaysia. This is so apt for Ayu as she is from Kuching. Even though Ayu does not have an Iban heritage, she used to dance the traditional Iban dance when she was in school. By the way, I never realized how tough it was to make the headgear stay!

This is what happens when East meets West… it’s a dance of two cultures.

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Portraits

Ka Wai’s 5th Birthday

Jeannie tells me that she and her husband Eric makes it a point to take family portraits every year, especially since their son Ka Wai was born. I think it’s a superb idea, since it’s a great way to document your family history and see the physical progress of your child. This year, Ka Wai turned 5, and Jeannie was delighted when she found out that I was able to do the shoot on his birthday! Early that morning, we trooped over to the Taman Tun park and had a great time together. Jeannie, your son is getting bigger by the day, and I do hope that these images manage to capture the innocence of childhood! Ka Wai is great in front of the camera (from all that training you’ve been giving him from those shoots! haha). Love love love his expressions!

Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Portraits: Kelvin & Corvy

Photographer: Grace
Make Up & Hair: Charlie from Michelle Touche team
Location: KL Hilton & Lake Gardens

What do you get from you combine a hot mom, a cool dad and a really cute kid?

Amazing images!

Corvy has a presence that is just so magnetic; when she is in a room, you can’t help but look at her. She carries herself well, has amazing poise, grace and exudes charm. I am sure that was what attracted Kelvin to Corvy in the first place. Kelvin is a man with style as well. Corvy’s charm and Kelvin’s calm demeanour and soothing voice make them such an alluring couple. Meeting after meeting at the KL Hilton for drinks and long chats soon turned to romance.

This December, they will be having an intimate reception to celebrate their love. I love it that even after a pregnancy and childbirth, Kelvin and Corvy makes the time to shoot some portraits! And here are the photos from the shoot…

Grace Tan In Musings, Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits, Tips + Ideas

Why shoot a pre-wedding?

Some couples tell me that they are into candid shots and don’t really want to do a pre-wedding shoot. All they want are candid shots that show how people are having a great time in their wedding. While that is absolutely important, I do think that it’s equally important to shoot pre-wedding photos. Or post-wedding. Or set aside time on your wedding day, (if only for an hour!) for portraits.

Ok, I am not trying to sell you more of my services (though of course, I’d LOVE to shoot more pre-weddings!).

What’s my reasoning for portraits? Well, how often in your life, have you done a professional photo shoot? And what’s the best time for that than your wedding… when you have most probably slaved at the gym for months to be in your best shape, gone for beauty treatments and spent a thousand dollars or more on your gorgeous gown?

To be honest, I never had a pre-wedding shoot for my wedding, but I set aside some time on the wedding day for portraits. I did realize though that I was constantly chasing after time, (hurry, we gotta get from my house to your parent’s place, or we gotta head to the hotel like NOW!!). On hindsight, I think I would have enjoyed a pre-wedding shoot, done on another day, at a more leisurely pace. Sometimes, I still have crazy ideas like donning my wedding gown (which I haven’t tried on for 4 years, but still hangs in my cupboard, or is in a box?) and doing a post-wedding shoot!

Some of my clients come up with absolutely creative ideas for their pre-wedding shoot, and I love that. I think the first thing that people think of when wanting to shoot a pre-wedding is the question, “Where should we go?”. So here are some tips for brides and grooms who are planning on getting a pre-wedding shoot done.

1. What is your personality like?

Are you a bubbly person, an extrovert who loves to laugh a lot and chat nineteen to the dozen, or are you an introvert who prefers to sit with your books and enjoy quiet moments with just yourself and your hubby? Are you a hopeless romantic at heart? Your photos should reflect your personality. So if you’re a quirky, non-conforming kind of person, the type of location you choose would reflect that.

Simple and glamourous

Dramatic and moody

Classic

Just love to have fun!

Simple contentment

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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.