day in the life

Grace Tan In At Home, Family + Children Portraits, Portraits

Family Portraits: Dr Nick Boden & Elaine Daly

We’re glad to have the opportunity to meet Elaine Daly, actress, TV host, former beauty queen and National director of Miss Universe Malaysia Organization together with her husband, Dr Nick Boden, who is an accomplished chiropractor, originally from South Africa. As a family, they were both warm and welcoming as the team headed over to their home for some family portraits. We were pleased to be acquainted with Eva and Mia, their adorable daughters. Not to mention, their lovely dog who happily sat there for some photos (though refused to be in the group shots).

Although it was a drizzly day, we managed to sneak some photos out in their backyard, making images in corners they said they hardly visited. Thank you for your being so accommodating and we hope you enjoyed the session as much as we did!

Nick and Elaine are supporting our fund raising campaign for Make-A-Wish Malaysia. We aim to raise a minimum of RM5,000 to donate towards critically ill children so that they have the courage to face the future. To find out more about this fund raising campaign, and how you can help by booking a photography session with us, please visit www.stories.my/make-a-wish.

Grace Tan In Life, Musings, Relationships, Tips + Ideas

Everyday photos that you need to take

As a photographer, I have this innate desire and need to document my life. There are some important people, places or events that encompasses an essential part of who I am and the life I live. I believe that this process of documenting life is really important and I encourage you to think about your own life and how you can capture these moments because they become little windows into a memory that you once held dear.

1. Your house

It may seem trivial to take a photo of your house from the outside. But when you move and settle into a new home, you might find it hard to remember if there was a rose bush by the old gate or if your door was wooden or glass because those memories will fade. Just by looking at a picture of your old house on the outside can actually bring a flood of memories to mind of the times you spent pruning that rose bush and the barbeques you had on the porch.

My family home in Malacca where I spent my growing up years. This was the final goodbye as we packed the house to sell it in 2011.

2. The inside of your home

Just like the outside, you’ll want to remember the interior of the place you called home. Maybe one day your kids will want to see their old room, or the doorframe where you had their height measured every six months; and maybe even have a laugh at the type of furniture you had. They might even remember the time they spilled juice all over that carpet! They will be images that have far more sentimental value than you’d expect. This is one of the reasons I love photographing families in their own home, mess and all.

Grace Tan In Casual Portraits, Family + Children Portraits, Life, Musings, Portraits, Relationships

A new phase of life for my firstborn

Just like every other parent I know, there are some moments in life that are just etched in your mind forever. Like that first cry your child made at the hospital which made you cry too. That moment she took her first few steps, or when she babbled those semi-incoherent words that you swore meant something. Lately, I’ve been feeling a little emotional too, as my 5+ year old is now about to leave preschool and head on to her first year in primary.

First day at preschool

It felt like just a few blinks ago when she stepped into preschool, all scared and tiny. Being a December baby, she was just 2 years and 1 month when she joined the 3 year old class in January. She blossomed from a timid girl to a confident and intelligent child. In fact, going into year 1, she is not fearful at all, but really more excited than the nervous wreck I am!

Packing up on her last day at preschool, just after her Merdeka party

I just want to cuddle her close to me, never wanting this baby to grow up. But she has, and she will continue to do so…growing more and more independent as a person. It’s hard to verbalise this feeling, so bittersweet. So proud of her, and yet this tinge of sadness that her baby years are ending faster than I am willing to acknowledge. Soon, I’ll have a teenager with acne and boyfriend problems and then the day will come when her dad will have to walk her down the aisle to the man she loves.

But for now, I’ll just cherish these memories and be brought back through time with captured moments.

Gearing up for Year 1 on orientation day

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Portraits

Family Portraits in Melbourne, Australia: Lawrence & Grace

When Grace spoke to me about taking their family portraits in her daughter’s school and their house backyard, I thought it was a great idea! Naturally, Australian schools look much more interesting than Malaysian schools! These locations hold so much sentimental value for this family especially for Amber. Their backyard has a gorgeous, colourful cubby house assembled by Amber’s dad. When I showed the photo of this cubby house to my daughter Krysta, she immediately asked for one too! (Over to you, Alex).

Lawrence and Grace are going to be renovating this house in Melbourne sometime soon, so this photo session marks a season in their life. One day, they will look back at these images and remember how much fun they had together as a family in this backyard. Continue Reading

Jamie Ang In Family + Children Portraits, Portraits

Family portraits: Brian, Marina and 3 boys

Brian and Marina warned us…both their 3 and 5 year old toddlers will not sit still for the camera. We’ve been told that their son James is shy and would definitely try to hide during the shoot! With this challenge in mind, Chi Yin and I headed over to Brian and Marina’s home for their family portrait. And hide he did! But that didn’t stop us from chasing them into the playroom for photos.

We even had to stop the shoot temporarily to play with them, so that the two toddlers James and Matthew would warm up to us. Chi Yin had the difficult task of luring them out of their really fun-looking playroom. We worked hard for every single image!

20160703_FAMILY_BRIAN_MARINA_01 Continue Reading