What do you get when you have a pregnant dancer and an enthusiastic partner? These gorgeous maternity shots of course! Jacques and Pei Shing were expecting their first child together – the youngest of siblings from this beautiful blended family. This photoshoot, like so many others, was special in its own way. For them, this marriage they now have together was like a second chance after going through many challenging life lessons from the past.
It was Jacques’ idea to have the photoshoot, and to be included in it as well. More photos below!
Imagine if we could only use colours, textures, and fashion styles to express who we truly are – no words allowed. What would that look like? What would YOU wear? ⠀
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I have never done a Harajuku-inspired shoot before. So when our friend and bridal make up artist Cindy, suggested the idea of doing one as a creative exercise, we jumped at the opportunity. She roped in Yon Lynn, an artist who fronts Raijin, a Japanese pop rock cover band in KL. Lynn thinks that the Japanese are very expressive and these costumes are a way for her to express herself in a bold and creative way. ⠀
We spent almost five hours on the shoot with breaks in between. Each ‘look’ took about an hour for hair, make up, and styling to be done, but it was all smiles as we could do all the prep work in the comfort of our room at Four Points by Sheraton, Chinatown. We took photos at the hotel and around the premises, including the newly restored back lane – Kwai Chai Hong.
It was a very interesting experience for me and the team. Once the costumes are on, it feels as if a different person emerges, but in reality, it is a true representation of who they are. To me, the shoot represents boldness. Just like the people on Harajuku Street whose individuality and boldness soon came to define a significant part of a nation’s cultural identity. It takes boldness to be different, to stand out in the crowd, and be unique.
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Big thanks to everyone for making this happen. It feels so good to keep our creative juices flowing with opportunities like this! More photos below with some interesting facts about each Harajuku style.
I was recently invited to conduct a session on Photography: The Art Storytelling & Branding at Women Photographers Malaysia’s first-ever workshop! It was hosted at Citizen M Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, gathering about 20 of us from different backgrounds – the organisers, participants, our talents, and fellow photographers – all who shared one common interest: a love for this art.
It felt good to be connected with these photographers – some were already full time photographers, others were considering on making it as their career, or were hobbyists and even students who want to learn more.
When I was planning the workshop, I knew I wanted to run it in a way that was more than just a theoretical session. For me, it was important that participants could go back with real thoughts that would challenge them where they are, at whatever stage they might be at.
So I was really glad when many came up to me after the workshop to tell me what they experienced and learned in just three hours. Here are some other feedback message I received:
The Chews are a family of four who love travelling, gardening, cooking, and of course… watching TV together! Which family past time doesn’t include that? ;P This shoot was gifted to them by their good friend Tina for Keong and Tracey’s 30th wedding anniversary. The special thing about it was that Tina did the same thing 12 years ago! Super thoughtful. At that time, the Chews had just moved into their home in KL and their daughters Lauren and Sara were only age 13 and age 10. Our company Stories.my was also fairly new and Grace had captured a few precious family moments in and around the house.
Fast forward to just last week. Chi Yin popped over and spent the morning with Keong and Tracey, and this time with their two grown up young ladies! They did a few new family portraits, and then had some fun flipping through the old photo album together before re-enacting some shots. It gives us warm fuzzies to be able to journey with families through the years like this.
