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maternity

Grace Tan
In Life, Musings, Relationships, Running a Business

Expecting Number 2

Grace_6mths_KrystaPhoto taken by my talented hubby Alex.  

After going through pregnancy for the first time, the second round kind of feels a bit of a broken record. It’s terrible, I know, but somehow, you are not fully aware of what is really going on in your body (unless your morning sickness is worse compared to your first pregnancy!). I remember when I was pregnant with Krysta, I diligently followed the Baby Centre app, telling me which week she had developed fingers and what stage she was at. Now, I have to think twice when someone asks me how far along I am. (By the way, I am approaching my 7 month of pregnancy!)

But even though I may be ‘breezing’ through this pregnancy, the challenges of shooting while you are pregnant is still very real. I have more backaches than usual (I think it also has to do with carrying a 10kg toddler!) and squatting for even 2 minutes feels like a massive ordeal. Not to mention, I have to be more careful as I almost tripped over stones or cracks on the ground due to my heavy front load!

Maybe I am ambitious, but I still have 3 full day weddings and countless portrait sessions to shoot, before I stop early October. And I hope to take 1 month off and then I am back again end November for our peak season in December. Not too sure how I can accomplish all of these things, but I am trusting God that with His strength, I will be able to give my 110%.

I thank God for Alex who has been extremely supportive as usual, and for my staff who are efficient, dependable and able to work independently so that I can have an ‘almost’ stress-free lifestyle. Without all of you, I would absolutely cave under the amount of work and pressure that running a business entails.

As I head into my 3rd trimester, I look forward to meeting my new little baby this November.

We are still taking bookings for shoots this 2014, so even though I will be out of action for 2 months, rest assured that you’re in the good hands of the Stories team.

Grace Tan
In Family + Children Portraits, Maternity, Portraits

Maternity & Family Portraits: Chee Seng, Sze Min & Katelynn

Chee Seng & Sze Min and Alex & I have a lot in common, really. We have individually conquered Mt Kinabalu before, are certified divers, have 2 daughters that are the same age (1.5 years) and are expecting our 2nd child in the same year! Oh, and we live in PJ too, just 10 minutes apart!

The difference is that they dated for 10 years and were married in 2011. Alex and I dated for 2 years and married in 2006. :)

It was great getting to know this little family early one weekday morning at their apartment in PJ. Our main purpose was really to just capture moments together that are classic, timeless and real. Honestly, Sze Min and I share the same values when it comes to photographing our children. We feel that time flies so quickly and everyday is a new learning experience with the child. It sounds cliched, but it is true… they DO grow up way too quickly! And part of being a kiasu parent is the feeling that we don’t want to miss a single experience in their childhood years.

Even when I look back at the photos of my daughter just a few months ago, I notice her facial features have changed somewhat. I am really glad that it is relatively cheaper nowadays to photograph our families as compared to the days of our parent’s time! Developing film was pricey (and 1 roll was only 36 shots!)! There were no such thing as lifestyle portrait shoots (If you wanted a family portrait, you’d just get one done at the studio, and you only get 1 image!). Now we can shoot in burst mode even on our phones and seriously not think about it.

The downside is that most of us don’t even print most of these images, and the value of photos as it is, goes down when you have an overabundance of images all stored… somewhere.

But a well taken family portrait will be cherished for years and years to come.

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Grace Tan
In Casual Portraits, Family + Children Portraits, Maternity, Portraits, Promotions, Studio

IBU Family Promotion: June 2014

201406_Ibupromo If you are an IBU family member, you can get a 15% discount off all our lifestyle photography packages this June 2014. Contact us for our rate card (starts from RM550). Here are the terms of the promo:

1. You can make a booking in June 2014 and select a shoot date before November 2014. Do quote your IBU membership number and bring along your card for verification on the shoot date.
2. 100% payment is required upon confirmation. You will also be required to fill up a booking confirmation form which needs to be emailed back to us. We look forward to hearing from you this June!

Grace Tan
In Family + Children Portraits, Maternity, Newborn, Portraits

Newborn Twins: Akash & Isha

It was a huge milestone in her life. She turned 40, was pregnant with twins and about to embark on the wonderful journey called parenthood. When Akash and Isha were born, Li-Hsian left her high-flying job in corporate communications to be a full-time mum. I personally think a full-time mum’s role is even more challenging than any corporate job out there! (especially when you have twins!). Li-Hsian now writes for this really cool online mother’s portal for urban Malaysian mothers called Makchic. Here’s one of her articles on how to survive breastfeeding twins!

I was privileged to record two very important moments in Li-Hsian’s journey of life… her maternity images and family photos after the twins were born. They are now about 3 months old and are developing really well (I love how they’ve filled up with chubby cheeks!). Li-Hsian and Srihari, thank you for sharing your life with me. I hope we’ll be able to do more photos with the twins when they are a little older!

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Isha and Akash about a week after they were born. Babies change so quickly, it’s so easy to forget how they looked like when they were born. Akash says, “What’s up, sistah!”

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Grace Tan
In Maternity, Portraits, Studio

Studio Maternity Portraits: Melanie

“You’re beautiful when you’re pregnant.”

Forget the swollen legs, water retention and the fact that your walking sometimes resembles a cute penguin. Pregnancy does make you beautiful, and it’s not just the glow on your face or the lucious thick hair that you’ll experience for those few months. Perhaps it’s the thought that a small little person is being formed inside your womb right this very instance. That soon, those tiny little fingers will grab yours, fully trusting and loving you. That this new life will be totally dependent on you, her mother.

Melanie and Steven, I wish you all the best as you embark on this amazing journey called parenthood! Coming from a 6 month old mom, I can tell you that this is probably one of the most amazing things that you can experience in life.

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