Photography

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

My First Mother’s Day!

What a thrill it is to celebrate my first Mother’s Day! I know now what it feels like to have a child of my own. Everyday, I give thanks to God for this little miracle of life that He has given to me. Everything about Krysta seems perfect to me… from her amazing hairdo that everyone talks about to her cute pudgy little legs… she is priceless. Deep down, I know that I’ll be willing to sacrifice anything for my little girl. Before I became a mum, I used to think that most mothers can be a little ‘overbearing’ and obsessed when it comes to their kids.

But now that I am one…

Yes, I have a confession to make. I am now an overbearing and obsessed mum! Especially when it comes to recording moments of her life as she grows. And wow, they grow so quickly! Tomorrow, Krysta turns 5 months old and I look forward to many more years as her mum. I hope I can be the kind of mum that she thinks is cool to hang out with, and one that she can share everything with.

Krysta, I love you to bits. Just cuddling you in my arms as you lay your head to rest makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Let’s go through life’s many adventures together with your dad, and future siblings! There’s so much of the world to see!

xoxo,
Mum

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*Krysta as a newborn – photo by Asther Lau

Krysta_4months

* Krysta as a 4 month old. By the way, I realize I have a new skill now as a mum-photographer – I can juggle from looking at the camera’s viewfinder, to giving eye contact over the lens!

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Grace Tan In Casual Portraits, Family + Children Portraits, International, Maternity, Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits, Promotions

Portraits in Spain and Morocco!

Barcelona

This October, I will be traveling to Barcelona, Marrakesh and also Madrid for a short family holiday…celebrating my brother’s 50th birthday! It’ll be the first time I’m traveling such a long distance with my daughter Krysta so I hope that she won’t be fussy through out the trip. But I have awesome family members around me whom I can count on to babysit Krysta when necessary.

So… let’s take this opportunity to do some portraits, shall we? It can be a family shoot, a casual engagement shoot or a full on pre-wedding shoot with a beautiful white gown. If you are staying in Malaysia, I know that MAS and BA has a promotion right now (it lasts for a week from this date!). I booked my return flight for only RM2,700 through my travel agent. Perhaps you might be staying in London… it’s not that far a distance to Spain, right? *grin*

Do contact us for more details on our packages. Hope to see you there!

Grace Tan In International, Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Pre-Wedding: Nicholas and Lina in Krabi, Thailand

When I told Lina that she had to wade through sea water while wearing her gown in order to climb onto a long tail boat for our shoot, she balked. A little. But I thank God that she trusted me enough to just go with the flow. I must say that this pre-wedding shoot was a little challenging for me. Coordinating 2 boats in the open sea without a loud hailer (and with no Thai language under my belt) made me look a bit like a silly girl trying to play the charades with herself. Lots of sign language, yelling over the water, and patience was required.

Thank God I was pleased with the end results!

This was my 2nd time to Krabi, Thailand but my first time shooting at the surrounding islands off Krabi. I think being out of your comfort zone every now and then is a good thing. I seriously didn’t quite know what to expect because I had never been to these islands before. I had only seen those picture perfect postcard shots in all those tourist shops… but of course, those were just postcards… right?

So all I could do was trust the boatmen whom I spoke to, and believe somehow that we made the right choice to go to Hong Island.

The other part of the shoot was done at the Sheraton Krabi Beach Resort, so no climbing into boats there!

Nic and Lina, I hope you enjoyed our little adventure in Krabi (not to the mention the delicious Thai seafood!). Diane and I had a blast, and this shoot will definitely sit in my mind as one of the most memorable for the year! It was also little Krysta’s first ever overseas trip at age 2 months! Couldn’t have done it if it wasn’t for Alex who willingly became my nanny during the shoot. I have an amazing husband!

Enjoy the photos… :)

Grace Tan In For Photographers, Musings, Running a Business, Tips + Ideas

Our First Wedding Fair at Westin, KL

Last Sunday, almost our entire Stories family trooped over to the Westin, KL for their Capturing Memories Fair. It was the very first bridal fair that we’ve ever participated in. To make it more exciting, 15 other photographers were featured at the same fair. Since the industry is pretty small, it was really nice to meet old friends again and to just catch up between talking to potential clients who visited us that day.

We decided prior to the fair, to go all out for it…meaning, we would cart furniture and decorations from our studio to The Westin for the event. We had heaps of fun doing up our little space, and it certainly attracted a lot of attention from the couples! Here are some photos of our little booth that day.

Diane In Casual Portraits, Family + Children Portraits, Portraits, Studio

Studio Portraits: Li-Ann

Li-Ann has big dreams and she is determined to make it happen. With the support of her mom, Lani and aunt, Zena, she’s embarking on a new and exciting journey to become a model.

When they came to us, of course we’re more than happy to help her fullfil this dream. She needed professional photos to create a comp card for a competition that she was going to be part of in the States, so I know I needed it to be perfect for her.

Shooting this set was a little out of my comfort zone – I am very used to the happy and fun kind of family portraits. This shoot required me to tell a story of her personality and at the same time, project her ability to adapt to the demands of the modeling world.