Photography

Diane In Family + Children Portraits, Portraits, Studio

Studio Family Portrait: Glen & Nikola

It’s one of those Sundays where my head was perhaps up in the clouds. You know, where somehow things just don’t start out right? So on the day of the Upson family shoot, I accidentally locked myself out of the empty office with no phone, no key, no door pass… just before the family arrived! In my panic I went to our next unit where Jack, our contractor was working and used his phone to call for help.

Long story short, I technically made our contractor climb dangerously to our unit though the ceiling, ropes and all, to open the door and let me in. In Jack’s words, he felt like he committed an act of thievery by “breaking in” like that. Yea, I know, I felt awful!

So yes, I had to stay focused on the shoot after the blunder, which wasn’t hard to do because the family was such a great sport! Baby Hugo came in cheerful and well-rested, so I started with some photos of him first.

20150621_Family_Portraits_Glenn_Nikola_Jayden_Hugo_042 What a cutie, don’t you think? GAAAH.

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Portraits

Tenth Anniversary Family Portraits: Paul & Yin Huei

It’s been months since I took these photos of Paul, Yin Huei and their cute little family as a celebration for their 10th wedding anniversary. The children have grown but I thought it’d still be nice to share the images from our session together at Lake Gardens. Yin Huei, being creative, brought along a mirror for me to come up with different types of shots! She was also very comfortable in climbing trees like the one below, including reading old love letters from Paul! I thought it was really sweet of her.

Here’s what Yin Huei had to say about the shoot:

I wanted this photo shoot to mark this important milestone in our lives. We have come so far in this journey together, grown stronger together and been blessed by the most amazing children. I want us to be able to reflect on this moment many many years ahead and be warmed by this beautiful memory.

And I want to dedicate this to my husband and my children:
“I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride
So I love you because I know no other way.”

Pablo Neruda (Sonnet XVII)

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Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, For Photographers, Maternity, Musings, Portraits, Studio, Tips + Ideas

Photographing Families: Tips & Tricks

So we’ve put together a little video with tips and tricks on how to photograph families. You can see from this video too that temper tantrums in kids are completely normal! I hope you’ll benefit from this behind the scenes video. Do leave a comment if you have any other tips to share!

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Wedding Films & Videos, Weddings

Catholic wedding at Church of Divine Mercy: Lionel & Rebecca

Lionel_Rebecca_001 “I had to level up my charm in order to convince her to change her mind…”

Lionel and Rebecca met back in 2006 when they were studying for their Certificate in Legal Practice at the Brickfields Asia College. Unfortunately for Lionel, Rebecca didn’t quite notice him until he made extra effort in charming her with his good looks, intelligence and persistence!

Rebecca: We clicked well but I never thought much of him back then. Not long after, he started to appear at my doorstep unannounced to surprise me. It started with one of our usual MSN conversations and I mentioned that I was craving for an Oreo Mcflurry. About an hour or so later and around 11pm, my doorbell rang – the boy had gone to the nearest McDonalds to get that Oreo Mcflurry and rushed to my place just so that I could have my ice-cream.

I remember being stunned and I felt compelled to invite him in and to share the ice-cream with him since he had come all the way. I also remember being embarrassed because I was dressed in ‘home clothes’ and totally unprepared for visitors at that hour! From then on, Lionel started to surprise me more and did nice things for me. Just before the exam, he bought a whole box of brands essence of chicken to keep me going. Picked me up and gave me a lift to class when I was not feeling well. Even changing seats in class just so he could sit next to me (and ignoring the teasing in the process).

Lionel is a pretty shy and quiet person but clearly, he was not shy in showing that he was interested! Eventually, he expressed his interest with a bouquet of flowers. I was not sure if I was interested at that time but some time later, I decided to give it a go and I’m glad I did.

Throughout our 7 year relationship, we have had way more ups and downs. Lionel is incredibly calm, patient, supportive and kind. He balances the impatient side of me and accepts me for who I am including my faults. He gives the warmest hugs and makes me feel safe. He tells me I’m beautiful even when I’m not looking or feeling it. He tells me “its okay” when I’ve been silly. He makes me laugh. He enjoys going shopping with me. He shows me the respect every girl wants. I cannot get any luckier than that.

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Grace Tan In For Photographers, Musings, News, Tips + Ideas

Getting It Right: A Basic Photography Workshop by Stories

It’s been a while since I conducted a photography class / workshop. So here I am kick-starting it off again this 18th June. If you are new into photography and are struggling to understand how to get the right exposure, this workshop is for you. Other than personalised attention, you’ll also get great coffee, so do sign up and I hope to see you there!

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