Malaysia Lifestyle Photographer And Videographer: Stories.my

Grace Tan In Casual Portraits, Portraits

Shooting Tun Mahathir’s Portraits

What an exciting assignment to be photographing our country’s former Prime Minister! I was called to photograph portraits for Tun Mahathir and his family, and other behind the scenes shots of the video crew at work. Red Communications is creating a video biography on Tun Mahathir for the History Channel, and the video will be ready some time this year (UPDATED: November 2009). The photos I have taken will be used as publicity stills and for press release. Unfortunately I cannot really post up the portraits yet until the program has gone on air. But here are a few shots of myself at the location taken by Mark, who was there with me that day. Photos were taken at Tun Mahathir’s residence. Mark was really happy to get his 21 Mega pixel photo of himself with Tun Mahathir. I told him that he could get it printed and framed as a large poster if he wanted to!!

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Haha Mark caught me chimping in front of Tun Mahathir. Oops!

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Here are some behind the scenes shots that I have taken.

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Proof that Mark was there. :)

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And lastly, since everyone was busy taking photos with Tun Mahathir at the end of the day, I became kiasu too and took a shot!

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Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Portraits

Zachary’s Baby Shower

If you met Priscilla’s mom, and then Priscilla herself, you would have thought that they were a little young-looking to be a grandmother and mother. They radiate youthfulness. I just don’t know how they do it! (great health regime, skin care, enough sleep perhaps? Things I don’t really practice right now!). We celebrated Zachary’s full moon luncheon at Putrajaya Shangri-La where family members and friends of John and Priscilla gathered. The food not only looked good, it tasted great too! After the scrumptious meal, we had a quick portrait session on the grounds of Shangri-La.

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Priscilla’s mom on the left, and Priscilla and John on the right.

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The other baby in the house… this one belongs to Stephanie.

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Look at how cute Zachary’s cake is!

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Unfortunately most of the time, he’s asleep, oblivious to the attention he’s getting!

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Finally, a group photo.

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Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Portraits

The Hashim Family Portraits

I met the Hashims through Jek. The moment I met them, I instantly liked them. They are such an easy going family with really good looking children! It was a challenge avoiding the crowds of people at the park, but we managed to find some little corners to shoot in. After a number of outdoor family shoots with children below 3, I have collected a few tips for families who intend to have their outdoor portraits taken.

1. It’s a good idea to dress in similar or complementary colours for the photo shoot. Your family unit will look coordinated and united.

2. Bring a spare change of clothes, especially for the children. They might get dirty or wet as they run around, rolling on the grass.

3. Make sure there’s drinks and some snacks prepared, especially if they start to get a little cranky.

4. It’s also a great idea to bring along a favourite toy.

5. If the child refuses to smile for the camera or pose, don’t worry! If you feel stressed or start yelling, it will show in the photos. You can try to speak in a stern tone for a while, but if the child still wants to do his/her own thing, let them do it. It’s a great time for candid shots.

6. If the child starts to cry, take a little break.

7. Playing little games with the child helps. Make them think that the photo shoot is a fun activity! At the end of the day, treat it like a fun family outing instead of a stressful ‘let’s aim to get my child to behave session’ and everyone will have a good time!

Hope these tips are helpful!

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Portraits

Family Portraits: Ben & Joanne

I seem to be photographing a lot of 2-3 year old boys lately. Little boys at this age are really cute, but the one thing that is difficult to do, is to keep them still! I haven’t done a shoot with little girls that age. I thought there were more girls in this world than boys? Well a friend of mine said that girls are easier to photograph, so probably the ones who have boys look for professional photographers cause they just can’t get a good pic of them through their compact cameras. Perhaps there is an element of truth there.

Recently, I met up with Ben and Joanne for a family portrait shoot with their two lovely boys, Zach & Jaden. We went to FRIM, and since I haven’t been there in a while, I actually missed the turning from the highway on the way there. Luckily I started out early, and after a couple of turnings and guidance from Chui who was my helper for the day… I finally got there. Here are a selection of images from the shoot.

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I love his little chair! So cute.

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Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Portraits: Albert & Michelle

I’ve known Michelle since I started working in KL and attending Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC). She was the person who brought me to cell group, who did an amazing job decorating my wedding venue, and has been a true friend through the years. Some time back, Alex and I started a social group called Rendezvous where single Christians can meet, mingle and get to know different people through various activities. Together with a few other friends, we organized a fun treasure hunt, and encouraged Michelle (then single!) to join in. She did, and that’s where she met Albert… who was in the same ‘group’ as her. After a few other outings on their own accord, they discovered that they kinda clicked, and soon after, started dating.

And now I am so excited to have been given the opportunity to take their portraits and also their wedding in August! Michelle and Albert love taking photos. They are natural at posing, and Michelle looks absolutely stunning in these photos. Part of Michelle’s interest is coordinating weddings, and she makes a great wedding planner! She has coordinated quite a number of weddings and I must say, is a really organized person. It’s no surprise then that she and Albert started planning their wedding waaaay ahead of time and by now, she has sorted out her venue, photographer, deco, cards, guest list, phew… Albert is really supportive of Michelle as she runs around coordinating not only her own wedding but others.

I really had a good time with the both of you, looking forward to August!!

This wasn’t the only portrait shoot we had… here’s another set of images, taken much earlier. You’ve seen the elegant side of Michelle, now you get to see her fun side! And of course, Albert’s pretty fun as well! ;)