Ok, we didn’t really get wet for this wedding. In fact, we were totally dry. But what was cool was the fact that the underwater world was brought to us instead, in the form of flowery seahorses, shells, treasure troves, starfish and more! Seng Yong and Adeline are avid divers and they love the sea. Together, they’ve ventured underwater to many locations within Malaysia, Fiji and Bali. So their underwater themed wedding was their way of sharing their love of the sea to the hundreds of guests that attended their wedding dinner. Natasha Khoo’s team from The Peak Xperience did an amazing job at decorating the hallway.
Since our last Bloom Workshops with Panasonic as our main sponsor, we’ve been doing a few things together. I’ve conducted a portrait photography workshop for their Lumix users, and yesterday, I was involved in the launch of 5 of their latest Lumix cameras. Together with host Julie Woon and fellow photographer Szetoo Weiwen, we shared with the press our experience using their cameras, and for me specifically, it was the GH3. I had heard the GH series is great for videography, so I had to put it to the test. I contacted Johan one day, and asked him to arrange for a small capoeira outing. We had a blast that morning with Mia and San, who were awesome in front of the camera.
I shot the video mostly in full HD at 50p and did the slow motion in post production by tweaking the frame rate to 25 frames per second. It was shot on the Panasonic Lumix GH3 with only 2 lenses – the 7-14mm f4.0 and the new 35-100mm f2.8. I love the effect of the telephoto lens… very sharp with creamy bokeh (photographers would know what I mean!).
Julie was impressed when she found out that I shot this video while I was pregnant (I think I was into my 7th month then?), squatting on the ground etc…and all within 1.5 hours. My hope is that I’ll have an easy delivery, cause everyone tells me that you’ll have a good labour if you’ve been active through out your pregnancy! (fingers crossed)
Hope you’ll like the video (by the way, I was told that it’s never too late to learn capoeira! As for me, that’s one activity I think I’ll skip)
Music credits:
Song name : ‘Focas da Aguas’
Artist : Mestre Acordeon
Album : Capoeira Voices Vol.III
Recently, we got commissioned for a different type of photo shoot – a lifestyle shoot for a new kid’s fashion brand, called Goodies Garment. Their website and business is still in the process of being finalized, but I would like to share some of our personal favourites from this shoot. On the day of the shoot, it was drizzling, but despite the weather, the kids followed instructions really well, and I am really pleased with the results. What do you think?
We’re looking to expand our Stories family yet again! This time, we’re looking for a contract / full time videographer & editor to join our team. You do not need to have years and years of experience, but we do require someone who is familiar shooting with a Canon DSLR, has video editing skills on a mac platform, and a willing heart to learn. If you are able to create basic 2D animation using software like After Effects, that’s a plus point for us! You must obviously love the wedding industry and have a personable attitude.
Do send your resume and portfolio to me at grace.tan[at]stories.my stating why you’d be a great contribution to the team. We look forward to hearing from you!
Just because every post looks better with an image, I’ll put this one up – of our 2 fun-loving photographers, Johan and Weiming! Yup, we’re multi-talented people! (and no, you don’t need to know how to do a handstand before you can join us!)
I don’t know about you, but I have a love-hate relationship with camera-gear talk. As much as I love gathering information about lenses and camera bodies, I also detest the thought that my gear is not good enough, even after spending a whole lot of money. It makes me and my bank account very sad. :(
While good camera gear helps add magic to photos, it only represents half the challenge (I mean, you don’t see us bringing little point-and-shoot cameras to our clients’ events!). Having an idea on how to compose a good image is key to a great shot, no matter the gear.
Since the year-end holidays are near and you will probably be traveling, I will show you some basic composition rules to help make your holiday shots better!
1. Rule of thirds
No, we’re not playing tic tac toe. :P
You’ve probably seen this grid in your smart-phone cameras. This is one of the most useful feature that you can have as it helps you align your horizon.
The other use for this is as a guide to place your subject at the points of interest, which are the points where the lines cross. Our eyes are drawn to these points, creating a pleasing photo.
