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Suzyana Ong
In Misc, Running a Business, Tips + Ideas

Retouching: What kind of editing do we do?

If you’ve ever wondered why photographers can’t send your photos instantly right after the shoot, this is because the photos need to go through a few processes before reaching their final result! When we shoot, we shoot in a format called RAW, which is not suitable for general use. So first, after the photo shoot is completed, our photographer will transfer the photos to the computer and select the best ones. Next, it gets transferred to an editing software, where our editor would do a basic colour correction on every photo and then export it in JPEG format. We often have clients ask, What do we mean by basic colour correction? Does it include removing pimples, wrinkles, eyebags, etc… Unfortunately, these requests fall under extra editing requests, as they require a longer time and effort to edit. If we do this for every photo, you may not receive your photos within the promised timeline!

Basic Colour Correction

Colours in RAW format are usually lifeless-looking, but it is still the best format to further process in post production. So it’s absolutely a must that we bring some life to the photos! A basic colour correction is essentially adding and balancing out the brightness, colours (saturation), colour temperature, highlights, and shadows of the photos as well as cropping out excessive backgrounds to make the images look more centred. A few toggles here and there will instantly make your photos look more vibrant and captivating!

Have a look at the before (left) and after (right) samples here!

Extra Editing

We do offer extra editing services for those who wish to have a “picture-perfect” photograph. This service usually comes FOC when you order framed prints and albums with us. Alternatively, you can add on this service for your favourite selection of images at a minimal additional fee.

Extra editing includes:

  • Skin smoothening
  • Removing skin blemishes
  • Minimizing eyebags/dark circles
  • Minimizing wrinkles
  • Removing flyaway hair
  • Removing any background distractions
  • Removing any scars/wounds
  • Face/Body slimming
  • Minimizing double chins
  • Whitening teeth
  • Make-up retouch (add blush, lipstick, etc)
  • Minimizing creases on clothes

We hope this helps to clarify our editing services. Feel free to reach out to us if you have any more questions!

 

 

Grace Tan
In Casual Portraits, Family + Children Portraits, Portraits

Family Portraits at Perdana Botanical Gardens

The Perdana Botanical Garden is quickly becoming the go-to-park for our clients! It’s situated in KL City with quite a few of parking spaces available which makes it convenient. It is a really beautiful and family-friendly park that’s perfect for cycling, running, exploring and simply just enjoying the surrounding nature. We have been here hundreds of times, and we never get tired of this beautiful park! There’s also plenty of other parks around the Klang Valley that we have photographed, in case you’re looking for a park that’s closest to where you live.

Josiah chose this park for his family photo shoot. After all, being a three-time Olympian cyclist, he loves being outdoors and doing fun, active things with his family. I had such a fun time with Josiah and Nattha. I am so glad that they love candid shots focusing on play. When you remove expectations for a family portrait to be so posed, perfect, and flawless, you’ll get more natural images that are filled with warmth and connection.

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Shan Szetho
In Parties & Events, Portraits, Tips + Ideas

Unique Places to Throw Your Kid’s Birthday Party

As a mother of two, I love planning themed birthday parties for my kids and finding unique ideas to execute to make their birthdays extra special. In fact, when my daughter was 4 years old, we came up with a list of fun party themes we could do in the coming years. But I find that as the years go by, we start to slowly run out of ideas. So, I thought what better way than to compile a list of unique places to hold a party for parents who are struggling to think of fun things to do around KL and PJ. From a whimsical kids spa to rolling fun and exciting outdoor adventures, these unique kids’ party ideas will turn the special day into an unforgettable experience.

Jac & Ivy

Get a pampering kids nail spa experience at Jac and Ivy. Kids get wrapped in luscious mini-sized ropes (yes, they have one for both girls and boys) and sip drinks while getting kid-friendly face masks and water-based manicures and pedicures. The spa uses Puttisu products from Korea, which have 100% kid-friendly and non-toxic ingredients which are suitable for children ages 3 and up. Kids get their own little corner for their pamper session on mini chairs, while parents can also relax and indulge in a nail session of their own. Jac and Ivy also create a special birthday tea party with mini treats, decorations, and they can even get a photography session on the spot with Stories.

For more information visit: https://www.jacandivy.com/kidz-spa

Rollerwa

Get the party rollin’ with roller skates! Roller skating is making a big comeback and what better way to do it with a cool laser-light ambience filled with the latest k-pop songs? At Rollerwa, there are plenty of Instagram-worthy places to take photos and places to rest if your feet get tired. If you are new to skating, fear not! They offer walkers on wheels for beginner skaters on weekdays, and there are places at the side with less slippery mats and hand-holding bars for you to practice your skating skills. If your kid is an avid skater, they are allowed to even bring their own quad roller skates (no rollerblades). They provide both skates and safety gear so you just need to show up. For birthday events, Rollerwa has a private party room set aside, which allows you to bring your own food and drinks for the special occasion.

For more information visit: https://www.facebook.com/rollerwaMalaysia

Photo credit: Discover KL

MAD about Education

If your kids love the outdoors, this is the party for them. Explore outdoor nature adventures through activities that are not only fun, but educational as well. MAD about Education uses nature environments such as forests, lakes, parks and even beaches to curate a special, exciting birthday party for your kids following their interests. Kids get to explore mangroves, dig for sea creatures, and go on a wonderful picnic.

For more information visit: https://madabouteducation.com/birthday-party /


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Suzyana Ong
In Misc, News, Promotions, Tips + Ideas

A Christmas Gift Guide

In recent years, Christmas has become a festivity celebrated by many (doesn’t matter what race or religion you are). I mean, who doesn’t love gifts? It’s the season of gifting! But gift shopping can be stressful (we know), and most of us don’t have the luxury of time to go out and shop for them. Fret not, we live in a digital world where everything, including gift shopping, can be at your fingertips. So here’s a list of Christmas gift ideas for young families that we’ve compiled for you busy bees, which you can get by heading to their website or dropping them a quick message. These are all Malaysian-owned brands, so you’ll be supporting another family or small business by buying from them!

The Kraft Store

The Kraft Store offers beautiful and essential handpicked goods such as bath towels, toys, feeding accessories, and books for your little ones. They have a good selection to choose from, so go check out their website to place your order.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekraftstoremy/

Link to purchase: https://thekraftstoremy.cococart.co/

The Flight of Imagination

Together with makchic, we have created an endearing photo storybook experience that combines professional photos of your family taken by Stories, whimsical illustrations by Munsya Rahman, and a heartwarming story by makchic’s Kimberly Lee about the power of creativity and the joy of creating moments and memories. Created for children between the ages 3-8, this book will become a family heirloom worth treasuring. Don’t miss out on our current promotion we’re running for this (ends 31st December 2023).

Link to find out more: https://stories.my/flight-of-imagination/

Dough Little

Dough Little playdough kits are safe to play by children starting the age of 1. Their playdough boxes and kits are based on open-ended play concepts, whereby there aren’t definitive instructions and expectations while the child is at play. Children are encouraged to explore each box and create something amazing within the given theme (examples: create habitats, food, characters, vehicles etc).


Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dough.little.playdough/

Website: https://www.doughlittle.com/

Mils and Key x Stories Newborn Gift Pack

Malaysian owned, Mils & Key’s mission is to curate and create safe, functional, sustainable, and stylish modern baby products. Coupled with a photoshoot that can be used for a maternity, newborn or family session, these gift packs that include Mils & Keys aesthetic looking yet functional products are a great gift for the expecting mom. ⁠

Link to find out more: https://stories.my/product/mils-key-gift-pack/

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Bin Bin Tan
In Misc, News, Parties & Events, Running a Business

2023 Year End Reflections

We don’t remember days, we remember moments.

This quote is at the forefront of our Stories’ Lifestyle website and is one that speaks deeply to our team. At the core of it, our job has been to immortalise your happy moments through photographs and videos. This year we went beyond that by engaging with community and creating experiences for families to make new and unique memories together.

Here’s some of the moments we remember from this year!

Engaging with community at the Ibu and Makchic Events

We were happy to be invited to both events held by Ibu and Makchic this year, two organisations whose work we love dearly. At the events we created a mobile studio setup and took complimentary family photos. It was really nice to be able to give the event goers a little momento to bring home with them and to give some families who may not have stepped into a studio a chance for a professionally taken family photo!

Father’s Day Beach Adventure

We worked with educational program organiser Mad About Education (“MAE”) to create a unique Father’s Day experience where families spent a morning in Pantai Kelanang where we engaged in some play activities, explored mangroves and of course, took family photos! The event was such a success we got requests for similar experiences immediately. (Psst.. we’re in the midst of planning more of these, so stay tuned!)



The Flight of Imagination

And finally.. our proudest creation of the year! I’m sure you’ve heard of personalised children’s book where the text is changed to reflect the child’s name. Together with the team at Makchic, author Kimberly Lee and illustrator Munsya Rahman, we created a one of its kind personalised photo storybook experience where not only are the names personalised, so are the pictures in the book – replaced with photos of your own family. The process in taking the photos and having them be a part of a book, not to mentioned to actual unboxing and seeing your images will be an experience your family will treasure forever!

Looking back, we are so proud to have all of you along for the ride as we continue to create memories worth making. We look forward to seeing all of you again in 2024!

Oh! Don’t miss out on the promotion we’re running for The Flight of Imagination Book Experience! Click on the button below to find out more.

Take me to The Flight of Imagination

Our founder, Grace Tan, has also written a year-end reflection on our business website. Do check it out here!

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