Portraits

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Portraits

Eugene, Audrey and Shane

Eugene not only shares the same office space as me, but is one of my lunch kakis at Integricity. He introduced really yummy bak kut teh to everyone in the office and we’re all hooked on it now. But that’s not the point of this blog post. Eugene, his wife Audrey and kid Shane trooped over to a park in PJ recently and I had a great time photographing their portraits. Actually, it was more like, Shane playing and me running after him. Shane is such a cheerful kid. He never stops smiling and laughing.

I am told that Shane loves shoes. His crocs look so well adorned!

The only thing that can wipe the smile off Shane’s face is when he gets dirt onto his hands. I can’t believe what a neat and tidy kid he is! He didn’t want to go near the sand or anything ‘dirty’. I don’t usually take photos of kids screaming, but Eugene said, “I don’t mind photos of him like that!” So here it is!

But it didn’t last very long. After a few seconds, Shane returned to his normal self.

Ooh and since I’m not that much of a web guru, I’m really excited to have created this animated gif in Photoshop. (Alex thinks I’m more of a geek than he is)

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to get to know your family better, Eugene. I truly enjoyed our time at the park.

Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

You’re my African Queen: Kenneth & Laura

When Kenneth gave me the song “African Queen” to be used in his photo slideshow piece, I thought how apt it was, as Laura is indeed his prized African Queen! They are a lovely couple to work with. Their romance story is indeed a unique one, both coming from 2 different cultures, falling in love and proving that God is the glue that holds all things together. Even though they hit some snags in the process of getting married (for example, Kenneth finding out that he needs to buy Laura’s family cows in order to wed her, and that each cow costs a couple of thousand RM), they overcame all obstacles and said their vows above the clouds at the KL Tower in January 09.

Congratulations to the both of you! Here are photos and video from their pre-wedding shoot at Bukit Tinggi end of 2008. Photos taken by Grace Tan, Video by Kee Sitt and Sharon.

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Grace Tan In International, Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Friendships in Egypt

In January, I took a 2 week break to visit Egypt, the land that has always captivated me since I was a child. I haven’t had a proper holiday since March 2008, so this was a much needed break from my hectic schedule. Egypt is a fascinating place, and the pyramids are definitely not a let down!

Alex and I enjoying ourselves in Egypt

One of the highlights of my trip is meeting interesting people along the way, especially since I went the backpacker route. I’ve made countless friends from various continents all over the world, forming the unlikeliest of friendships at times.

One such couple I met was George and Katy while we were enroute from Bahariyya to the White Desert. They are from Taiwan and they have been travelling for 6 months across the world! Wow, I can’t imagine what would happen if I took such a long holiday! The moment we started talking, we instantly clicked. We shared the same 4WD vehicle as we tumbled over sand dunes in the desert of Egypt. Beautiful landscapes captivated us.

The Black Desert before we approach the White Desert

Snow-like white rock in the White Desert

Along the way, my husband Alex found out that George and Katy are going to be married this year in 2009. With such amazing scenery before our eyes, how could we resist but offer to take a few ‘couple’ shots for them? Unfortunately we didn’t have a dramatic gown or 5-metre veil (darn, that would have been superb!!). Here are some of the photos that we took of George and Katy in the desert that evening as the sun sets. Congratulations on your upcoming marriage, and the 4 of us (Alex, Sarah, Kristin and myself) wish you the best in all your future endeavours.

George loves photography too!

Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Behind the Scenes: Pre-Wedding Shoot around Bukit Tinggi

About a month back, our team went to Bukit Tinggi for a pre-wedding shoot. This couple found us through the Wedding Story Pre-wedding promotion, and signed up for our services. However, I can’t put up their photos yet due to various reasons – so I’ll post the photos at a later date! For now, I’ll just show you some behind the scenes shots of us goofing around while waiting for the couple to arrive. For your info, if you are a photographer/client who plans to have portrait shoots within the Bukit Tinggi grounds, there is a fee that is chargeable. The rate is about RM300-400 for the usage of the space for each location. If you go as a tourist, you only pay the entrance fee of RM10. :)

The man that glows…

Pic above: Our wonderful assistant Yih Wen. She has been working on album designs and video editing in the office too. Below is our other assistant Luke who happens to be my neighbour. Howdy, neighbour! He was on school holiday break and decided to tag along.

Doesn’t Bukit Tinggi look like a page out of a kid’s fairy tale book? It’s just amazing. The colours – they are so blinding, I keep thinking of candy canes and stories from Enid Blyton.

The actual pre-wedding photos to come soon! :)

Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Behind the Scenes: Ken & Cynthia

Just to share some photos from Ken and Cynthia’s Pre-Wedding Shoot in Malacca some time back. There’s a lot of exciting possibilities when you look at a situation and turn it from dull to interesting by adding lighting and a different perspective. Remember this shot?