I am pretty sure every Asian parent would be envious of this little kid, with her huge, gorgeous blue eyes. She looks so much like a doll and her smile can turn any blue day into a sunny, happy one. It’s days and sessions like these that keep us energised and excited. We love candid moments like these too… they are all part of the fun, and make a session memorable.
I believe that we should celebrate all stages in life, whether big or small. It could be the 1st birthday of your little one, the graduation of your child from university, or even celebrating health like being cancer free. Five years ago, my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer and it was a difficult time for the family. The future felt uncertain. My siblings and I had discussions about whether to go ahead with chemotherapy and what the next course of action would be. I still remember praying for my sister before her operation and I felt so clearly in my spirit then that the removal of the tumour would be complete and everything bad would be removed from her. I felt the peace of God just wash over me then.
Life carried on. She adopted a healthier lifestyle and everything seemed to resume to normal. It was only recently as I pondered upon it, that I realised 5 years had passed since she was cancer free. FIVE amazing years!
When I came across a friend of mine who was hand-making some amazing Breast Cancer Awareness t-shirts, I just had to ask her if I could order one from her. She did an amazing job, and gifted my entire family with not just 1, but 5 t-shirts! Thank you, Tanya Pong for your beautiful handiwork that reminds us… every woman who has ever fought breast cancer (or any form of cancer, really!) is indeed, a Wonder woman.
I think celebrating successes like these are so important. In the past, we have photographed some post-chemo clients even while they are still bald. It was a reminder to themselves that while illness is a fact of life we all have to face one day, at least for today, we can still smile, surrounded by people we love and who love us.
PS: It is always challenging executing your own family shoot when you are not behind the camera and your daughter is on grouchy mode. Thank you, Nat for helping us take these photos!
Rune is from Denmark and Ranjini is Malaysian. 10 years ago, they met by chance at the now defunct Bar Savahn in Heritage Row. It so happened that he was standing at Ranjini’s spot at the bar when she returned from the washroom. That was the first time she saw him and spoke because she wanted her spot back. He was happy to move a bit but stayed to keep talking. It took Rune 6 months to woo Ranjini because she was not into younger men. Rune said that he was the Danish national salsa champion (not true), and yet 5 years later they got married with the most awesome wedding! Two years after that they had Noah, and another 2 years later, Luna. We were privileged to have met this amazing family in a fun filled photo session in Desa Park City.
I have to admit, I haven’t really made the time to prep many of the images that the team has shot for blog posts. As the key person who handles our social media postings, I need to buck up a bit more to get things going. Most of my time has been spent on meeting potential business partners / clients, shoots, replying emails, helping coordinate other shoots, going for my BNI meetings, and then being a mother. So now that I’ve prepped and sent my kid off to school, I have time before my next meeting for a blog post!
Nicolas & Cassandra were wed recently in August, and we are planning to share their images from their wedding on our blog soon. But I wanted to first share their casual 2 hour pre-wedding session that was photographed by Jennifer. It was a really easy going session as the shoot was held at the place where they met… Methodist College KL. I love how much laughter these 2 share between the both of them. You certainly need huge amounts of laughter and fun to carry you through life as a couple!
When 26 people get together for a large family portrait, there’s bound to be chaos! In fact, my studio looked like it was hosting a giant Chinese New Year eve family gathering. There were 3 generations in this family shoot, but interestingly, all the married grandchildren did not have children of their own yet. It would be even more challenging if babies were added to the equation!
I’ve known Timmy Lai from the good old days of when I was in DUMC, so it was nice to get to know his entire family. His brother Jacky coordinated this session for his grandmother’s 80th birthday. This is what he had to say…
“Our last family portrait was taken almost 23 years ago. Therefore, in conjunction with our grandmother’s 80th birthday, we would like to retake our family portrait once again. This is also to create a new memory for all of us, so that, someday, we will be able to look back and cherish the beautiful moments and memories that will definitely put a smile on our face.
Family unity is very important to my grandmother. Even till this day, she still worries about all her children and grandchildren. She is a typical Hakka Lady, the one that works super hard and relentlessly for her family especially during her younger days.
The family that we are today, is not really perfect, but with the countless sacrifices that she made with her blood and sweat in order to keep the family united as one! As a young mother, who was also the breadwinner of the family back in the old days, she would always make sure that there was food on the table and a roof over her children’s head. Today, I can say that she has passed down this great legacy to her children and also to us, her beloved grandchildren.
A lot of things had happened since our last photo-shot. There were plenty of ups and downs, joy and laughter, pains and regrets; but because of the strong foundation that my grandmother has built for us, we still stand united as one family. As we looked back at our previous family portrait, we noticed that our grandmother has definitely aged gracefully. Not forgetting her children, our parents, who have grown older with time too. The grandchildren will be moving on to their next stage of life where meeting each other would be rare. Therefore, seizing this opportunity while celebrating our grandmother’s birthday, it would be an amazing moment for us to cherish and look back our this coming family portrait in future.”
What a beautiful reason for a family portrait! We did something different this time for such a huge group. We tested out an idea we had of taking multiple shots of individual families and then compositing it into one large panoramic image below. What do you think of the result? The print looked really unique in my opinion!
