children

Grace Tan In Beautiful Everyday, Family + Children Portraits, Life, Musings, Portraits, Relationships

Raising Children of Character

You have heard of the phrase, it takes a village to raise a child. We were raised by our parents the best way they knew how to. Most likely with a rotan in one hand and with their favourite word, “No”. However, in this day and age, I feel that parenting challenges are even greater in this generation. My husband recently wrote and shared this message with some of our family members regarding the upbringing of our kids. In our culture of over-indulging our children, it’s so easy for their generation to grow up inappropriately without us realising it. Some of our friends saw what we wrote and asked if they could share this content with their family members too. Please feel free to do so.

Dearest Grandma, Yeh Yeh, Uncle & Aunts of our kids,
Grace and I would like to really take time to appreciate you for playing such a crucial role in bringing up our children. With your presence, their lives (and ours!) are greatly enriched.

With the changing landscape of culture and life, bringing up kids today as compared to yesteryear differs greatly in so many, many ways. We as parents are constantly grappling with how we should remain relevant with the times and balance what to accept from today versus what should be maintained based on the fantastic values that you sowed into our lives.

Here are some thoughts we’ve put together about a few topics, that we’d love to hear your feedback about. Continue Reading

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Parties & Events, Portraits

Korean Birthday Boy & Family Portraits: Vincent & Hanna

Now, isn’t this just the cutest Korean boy? Traditionally, a Korean boy who celebrates his first birthday (doljanchi) will wear the hood but this cutie pie kept insisting on taking it off! One part of the celebration is the toljabee ceremony, where various objects are placed before the child for him or her to pick. This could be food items, books, money, etc. Depending on what the child reached out for, these items would represent his future! For example, if he picked up a book, he would be a good scholar; if it was money, he would be wealthy.

For Hanna’s child, he picked a ball, though I wonder whether that meant he would be a good sportsman in the future! It was my first time witnessing Korean traditions for a child’s 1st birthday. Thank you for giving me the opportunity, Vincent and Hanna!

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Portraits

Family Portraits in KL: Michael & Dejha

Michael and Dejha wanted to remember their time in Malaysia as an expat family with some beautiful casual family portraits at the park. We met their son who was 3 at the time of the shoot, and he was such a handsome chap! That headful of golden hair really captivated us! It was a rather hot and humid day but you can hardly tell from these photos. Thank you for the opportunity to meet your lovely family and for the time together in KL. All the best to you for the next stage of life!

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Portraits

Leaving on a Jet Plane: Samuel & Griselda

We have photographed a number of expat families in Malaysia, which is really special, because we feel as if we are part of this transitionary stage of their lives. For expats, the experience of moving to a new country, settling in, finding new friends and then, finally uprooting again is one filled with emotions and nostalgia. Between these seasons, it’s wonderful to remember the place you called home for a few years. It’s quite common for us to have sessions in homes before the big move happens, just like what Samuel and Griselda did.

We are so honoured that they chose us to photograph their family twice in the time they were living in Malaysia. We’re glad that we are part of their special memories.

If you are an expat thinking of how to document your journey visually, have a look at this beautifully written article by a diplomat’s wife, and be inspired.

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Musings, Portraits, Tips + Ideas

Photographing Children With Autism

We rarely photograph families with children with special needs like autism, and we wondered if it was because parents were simply too intimidated by the whole process. We decided to work with the nice folks from Early Autism Project Malaysia to equip ourselves as well as make a video to provide some tips on how to manage a family photo shoot session with a child with autism.

We started off with an interview with Jochebed Isaacs from EAP Malaysia who gave us some insights into the specialised therapy offered at their centre for children with autism. We were later introduced to Juan and Nancy, who welcomed us into their home for a photo shoot session with their sons Danny and Tommy. The experience proved to be quite tough but we soldiered on and even received hugs from Danny at the end!

Here are some of the pointers we picked up through this experience:

1. It is important to communicate with the child
Prepare in advance before the session. Communicate clearly what is to happen and what is expected of him. The use of visuals like schedules, social stories and role-plays help to familiarise the child to the event and venue, the people involved (especially if they are unfamiliar to the child), the flow of events and the special equipment used (like the camera!). It should also spell out the rules and expectations.
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