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Canon Family Portraiture Workshop

20140803_CANON_FAMILY_WORKSHOP_09In half a day, 25 participants were taught the basics of what makes a great family portrait even better and were even given the opportunity to photograph real families! Chaos reigned supreme during the shoot as with all normal family portrait sessions, and together, we perspired, jiggled rattles, played games, and simply had fun. It was my first workshop specifically on family portraiture, and though I had spoken at many workshops and seminars before, this one felt a little different.

I am thankful to Canon (yay, thanks Chris, Shing Eu and Kevin!) for being the main sponsor for this workshop, and for giving me the opportunity as to speak as their EOS Academy Instructor. We also got to test out the PIXMA Pro-10 printer which was great! I loved the prints that came out of it, so this one’s a keeper! We’ll definitely be printing more images and displaying it around our studio soon.

I’d also like to thank Diane, Jamie and Alex for assisting me on this day because no successful workshop can be done alone.

Here’s some photos from the workshop over the weekend, held at Tropicana Golf & Country Club.

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Expecting Number 2

Grace_6mths_KrystaPhoto taken by my talented hubby Alex.  

After going through pregnancy for the first time, the second round kind of feels a bit of a broken record. It’s terrible, I know, but somehow, you are not fully aware of what is really going on in your body (unless your morning sickness is worse compared to your first pregnancy!). I remember when I was pregnant with Krysta, I diligently followed the Baby Centre app, telling me which week she had developed fingers and what stage she was at. Now, I have to think twice when someone asks me how far along I am. (By the way, I am approaching my 7 month of pregnancy!)

But even though I may be ‘breezing’ through this pregnancy, the challenges of shooting while you are pregnant is still very real. I have more backaches than usual (I think it also has to do with carrying a 10kg toddler!) and squatting for even 2 minutes feels like a massive ordeal. Not to mention, I have to be more careful as I almost tripped over stones or cracks on the ground due to my heavy front load!

Maybe I am ambitious, but I still have 3 full day weddings and countless portrait sessions to shoot, before I stop early October. And I hope to take 1 month off and then I am back again end November for our peak season in December. Not too sure how I can accomplish all of these things, but I am trusting God that with His strength, I will be able to give my 110%.

I thank God for Alex who has been extremely supportive as usual, and for my staff who are efficient, dependable and able to work independently so that I can have an ‘almost’ stress-free lifestyle. Without all of you, I would absolutely cave under the amount of work and pressure that running a business entails.

As I head into my 3rd trimester, I look forward to meeting my new little baby this November.

We are still taking bookings for shoots this 2014, so even though I will be out of action for 2 months, rest assured that you’re in the good hands of the Stories team.

The Lego & Travel Themed Wedding of Derek & Rachel

If you are not a Lego fan, you’ll definitely be one after you see the images from this wedding! I love how Derek and Rachel personalised their love story through little Lego sets. Of course, Derek painstakingly (or should I say, happily?) assembled all the pieces together for the wedding. Everything from the corsages to the ring pillow, to the decorations at the dinner reception… everything had bits of Lego thrown in. Add to that, an element of travel – one of Rachel’s favourite activity… and there you have it… a Lego and Travel themed wedding. Oh, did I mention that a few super heroes made their appearance at the wedding too?

20140614_WEDDING_DEREK_RACHEL_0491This is the cute but delicate ring pillow made of Lego!

20140614_WEDDING_DEREK_RACHEL_0215Their Love Story (as written by Derek)

We first met years ago as kids who attended the same church with our families (Trinity Methodist Church PJ) and participated in the same youth fellowship and activities. It was so long ago that we can’t really remember the exact time we both first met, but our earliest memory of interacting with each other is when we attended a camping trip in Kuala Selangor in 2000.

20140614_WEDDING_DEREK_RACHEL_0627It was there that I first had a crush on her, even with her nerdy glasses and Chinese school haircut. Her parents had a rule at the time that she could not have a boyfriend until she turned 18; which was fine by me since I only had to wait 6 years (*note the sarcasm). But in hindsight that was a blessing in disguise since I would have been too scared to ask her out properly anyway (in my defence, I was really young and awkward around girls!) and it allowed us to get to know each other as friends first. So over the next few years, we grew closer as friends, but we both knew there was a mutual attraction that we weren’t allowed to act upon so there was never anything “official”.

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Beach Wedding at Andaman, Langkawi: Simon & Lisa

“Grace and Nigel were fantastic, both very professional, creative and great to be around on the day whilst not getting in people’s faces – as someone who hates having his picture taken, they were a pleasure to be around.” – Simon

I have traveled to Langkawi many times over the past few years, but every time we head there, it is a different experience. I loved Simon and Lisa’s wedding for a few different reasons… they were a great laid-back couple to work with (despite the fact that Simon hates posing for the camera!), there were lots of cute kids at this wedding which totally made my day, and the guests were just so friendly to Nigel and I. Langkawi is really popular wedding destination location especially for couples from Australia. The only drawback is the humidity, so hugging people at the end of the night can be a very sticky affair!

Simon works in the construction line, so he said being all ‘soft’ and romantic during the wedding was something completely different to what he’s used to! But looking at the way he shed his tears as Lisa walked down the aisle made me think otherwise. I think you have a really soft side to you, Simon!

I hope these images will remind you of your love for each other years down the road when the going gets tough. Come back again to Malaysia for another holiday sometime soon, or perhaps one day, we will meet again, when you celebrate your anniversary, maybe?

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Happy Birthday, dearest!

20140705_ALEX_BDAY_01aEight years of marriage, 1 kid and a half (coming this 1st November!) later… I can still say that I am a happy and contented woman. Marriage has its ups and downs but I think we have worked through it with gusto and with a priority to always think of each other first with God in the centre.

Happiness to me is not having everything in this world, but to have meaningful, quality relationships with the people I love. I am truly appreciative of the time I have on earth now with the health that I enjoy. Just doing little things like playing peek-a-boo with my daughter Krysta makes me grin like a silly woman. Alex is a great hands-on father and has been my support through the years. I really do love him with all my heart.

Thanks for putting up with all my antics, especially the bits that annoy you the most. :P Let’s continue going on dates till we’re old and grey, ok?

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