It’s the season again where your family members are back from afar, and gatherings and dinners are scheduled to guarantee a good time. Good times like these need to be documented, and there you are armed with your camera but you’re just not too sure how to get a good shot of your family. Worry no more! In conjunction with the Chinese New Year season, we at Stories would like to offer you a few tips on how to photograph good group photos!
You will need:
A camera. (Any kind of camera will work, really! Doesn’t have to be an expensive and bulky DSLR. Your point-and-shoot will work well!)
Your group of happy relatives.
Tip #1:
Leave no gaps, unless it’s intentional.
As you can see the picture above, the gap has created a kind of awkwardness. As if Weiming (right) does not want to have anything to do with the group. So remember to ask your subjects to go closer.
Sometimes life gives you a few interesting surprises along the way. Chance encounters that were fated. Especially when you’ve communicated with the person in the first place, but never met each other.
In 2005, Eng Wah’s company had a job vacancy. Penny’s housemate was his ex-colleague, so she got in touch with Eng Wah through MSN and sent him a resume. Unfortunately she did not get called in for an interview and as luck would have it, she never got to meet Eng Wah.
Two years later, they met each other in an IT event. She came with her colleague and he was there with his housemate. They sat together, had lunch but did not talk to each other.
Fast forward to 2009. Somehow his contact was still in Penny’s MSN list, so one day, she noticed his status had changed to include an IQ test. Penny answered and it was right. That was the first time they started a conversation online. Everyday, Penny and Eng Wah looked forward to their online chats. “Good morning” was the keyword to trigger the conversation of the day. Gradually, they found their similarities… same college, favorite restaurant, favorite food, favorite song, pasar malam, travelling…
Eventually, they started going out for dinner, movies, pasar malam every Wednesday…
When Eng Wah cooks, she tests his food. When Penny goes out for photo shoots, Eng Wah becomes her model (which is unusual, as most girls tend to be the model instead!). Their friendship grew, until one day, he finally mustered the courage to hold her hand while shopping at Isetan.
Which led to… 2011.
One day, Eng Wah picked Penny up from a company event and they went home together. When she arrived home, she found that he had used her color pencils to write “I LOVE YOU” on the ground. On top of that, there was a delicious looking jelly inside the fridge with the words “Would you marry me?”on top. And she said yes!
There are days when you see a cute baby and think… gosh, I think I am ready for kids, like now! Aaron is one such kid. He’s got such a great personality and a beautiful smile. A smile that can melt your heart instantaneously. I kid you not. James and Dea live overseas and I am glad I managed to meet their tight schedule for a little photo shoot in KL. Thanks Anna for recommending them to me!
Does it matter? I’ve had both, and to me, I’d say, “No It Doesn’t Matter At All”.
What matters most is that I get to know the brides and grooms that I photograph. I want to know what kind of people they are. I want to know what they like and what they dislike. Do they like to pose or do they prefer candids? Out the many many weddings I’ve photographed, in my entire wedding photography career, I’ve only been asked twice “Do you shoot with Nikon or Canon?”. And both conversations ended up being a fun conversation anyway. Hehe.
I love Nikon and I love Canon in different ways. But when the tyres hit the road, my aim is to have a great time capturing your wedding no matter what the camera tool you put in my hand. It’s my job to figure out which tool works better in which situation and it’s my bride and groom’s job to have fun and have an amazing wedding day. That’s really all there is to it.
Here is a list of things that will help us get to know you better:-
1) We’d like to meet you over a quick coffee a week or two before your wedding day
2) Do tell us what are the important details that you want photographed eg you’ve stuck “I Do” stickers under both your shoes, etc
3) Keep us updated if there are any last minute changes to the flow of events
(and if a longer checklist makes you more comfortable, just ask us and we’d only be too glad to furnish you with one) Hehe.
Explore and Enjoy!
Johan Sopiee
A great moment captured by Johan! PS: Without looking at the exif data, can you tell which image was taken with a Nikon or Canon?
Happy New Year to all our blog readers! I do apologize for the lack of updates lately. One week without a post feels like an eternity of silence! Truth is, we’re really swamped with year-end shoots and edits. It’s been really tough juggling so much work, but we’re moving along! Every year, I try to make and keep my new year resolutions, but at the moment, my new year resolutions look a little like this:
* What the Duck is one of my favourite comic strips!
So yeah… part of my new year resolution is to not be overly nerdy, keep a good work life balance, and to be more up to date with my blogging! There are many weddings which are still sitting patiently in my hard drive, waiting to be blogged.
Here’s one that I absolutely have to share with you. Top 3 reasons why I love this wedding:
1. It’s a fun fun fun wedding! It all started when I read their wedding invitation card…
Seven years ago, in the faraway land of Cyberjaya, Ian met Joanne at a Christian Fellowship gathering and was smitten ever since. Thankfully, Mr & Mrs Lee Kah Meng and Mr & Mrs Chow Cheng Hock approved of their relationship and they didn’t have to elope. So come and witness the union of these two souls on 5 November 2011. They will profess their love and commitment to each other at Good Shepherd Church at 11am, and share the rest of their story with you over food and drinks at The Bankers Club from 6pm onwards.
2. The groom uh, looks a little unconventional.
3. The bridal party were dressed in our Stories’ theme colour! (light blue & brown!) Hip hip hurray!
