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Photography

A funky pre-wedding in KLPAC: Kenny & Grace

The 3 of us have something in common. Kenny, Grace and I. Of course, the fact that Grace’s name is Grace, scores like, 100 points with me.  All Graces are cool. :)

But no, Kenny’s middle name is not Grace. The common ground we all share is the fact that each of us worked at the same place at one point in our lives. Many years ago, when I was a freelance video editor, I was based in a company called Edit House, and that was where I met Kenny for the first time. My first impression of him was that he was a really friendly and chatty guy. After my 2 month job ended, I left and we didn’t really keep in touch after that. Some time later, Grace joined the same company and that’s where they both met.

Sometime this year, I got a call from Kenny, and surprisingly I still had his number stored there! We chatted and he told me about his wedding and wanting to do a pre-wedding photo shoot – sorta gothic style, sorta street grungy and yet silly. When I met Grace for the first time, I thought…wow, they seem sooooo different! She came across as this sweet, gentle girl who spoke softly. Opposites attract?

But then again, as the shoot progressed, I realized she also had this funky and silly streak in her that matched Kenny’s. :)

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A Star Wars themed wedding: Kell Jay & Siau-Wei

It’s not everyday you get to see Jedi knights, Darth Maul, and Darth Vader in a wedding (even if he’s a cake topper). We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived at Kell Jay’s and Siau-Wei’s wedding, to see all the groomsmen dressed up in costumes, ready to rescue the princess, Siau-Wei. We had heaps of fun at this wedding with lots of unexpected twists and turns as the day unfolded. Kell Jay and Siau-Wei wow-ed us during the evening dinner reception as they danced into the ballroom (and by dance, I mean, professional standards, as Kell Jay is a professional dancer!). Their first dance was nothing I had seen before, and for the first 10 seconds of them dancing, I almost forgot to click the shutter. I totally enjoyed it. Loved the fact too that their wedding dinner reception was really personalized with Siau-Wei’s sisters giving a song performance, and lots more!

You’ll see more in their wedding video highlight which we’ll post later, but today, here are some of my favourites from their wedding. Don’t forget to view their same day video and photo slideshow at the end of this post for more images.

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Bokeh Fun!

Don’t you just love the creamy background blur that Grace and the team get on our pictures? :)

I remember one of the deciding factors that drove me to purchase my first DSLR is the ability to produce bokeh. The word “bokeh” is essentially a Japanese word for blur. In photography, bokeh is used to describe the blur that is behind the focused subject. It is typically produced when one shoots with a large aperture, like f2.8 and below. Therefore, prime leses, such as the 50mm f1.8, 85mm f1.2, 35mm f1.4 and others will give you pretty bokeh.

Normally bokeh is round, sometimes it’s hexagon, according to  the shape of your aperture opening. Well, they are great, but boring. (Yawns) So I am going to show you how to change the shape of your bokeh to look like this:

You will need:

1. Cardboard. Go green, don’t have to purposefully purchase it. Use your unwanted cereal box. They work great!

2. Your DSLR with a prime lens. (the nifty 50mm f1.8 will do!)

3. Pen, marker, scissors, pen knife and clear tape.

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Studio maternity portraits: Amanda & Ivan

Now that we have our own little convertible natural light + artificial light studio, I am really quite excited to do shoots here. It is definitely a challenge when you only have 4 walls to play with. Shooting in a studio gives you flexibility in the sense that it can be pouring outside but the shoot still carries on. It’s air-conditioned and comfortable. Tomorrow, I’ll be shooting my first boudoir studio shoot and I am looking forward to it!

Amanda and Ivan are no strangers to this blog… you might have seen her family photos here some time back. She’s a good friend of mine, and I was really pleased to do a portrait shoot for her. It’s been quite a while since I posted some maternity photos here. Incredibly, I know so many people who are pregnant this year and targeting to have a ‘dragon’ baby. So, in accordance to that theme, I’ll try to post a few more maternity shoots in this blog soon!

Amanda has since delivered a healthy and gorgeous baby girl that I have yet to meet. :) Congratulations to the both of you and enjoy parenthood!

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Pre-Wedding: Chee Onn & Debbie

Everyone claims that they are not good in front of the camera. I don’t blame them, because most people would not have taken professional photos of themselves prior to their wedding day. Studio photos of you blowing your 1-year-old birthday cake candle doesn’t really count!

It’s the job of the photographer to make you feel comfortable in front of the camera. To make everything look natural and not posed (even though it was!). To make it seem as if the photographer was non-existent, because the image should be about the couple and the moment they are sharing, not drawing attention to the person behind the camera. There are times when I ask the couple to look at the camera, but most of the time, their eyes are on each other. Just as it should be…

I totally enjoy photographing couples in love. Connection is something that cannot be forced. Of course, living in an Asian country, where most people have some ‘issue’ with public displays of affection, it’s normal to feel awkward initially kissing in front of a photographer! In every pre-wedding or engagement session, I tell my couples that it takes a bit of time to warm up, but once they do… they end up having a great time!

Debbie & Chee Onn:

Debbie didn’t really sleep the night before the shoot because she was really excited! It was kinda awkward at the very start because we are both not really the photo taking type. Grace, it was good that you were around to get us warmed up! We did not know what to expect on that day so we were just following your lead which was very good. After the shoot, we were pretty anxious about the pictures. We were afraid that we didn’t prepare enough for the shoot.

But after seeing the pictures, all worries were gone because it was good and you captured the right moments! We loved the black and white photos too, cause it gave a very retro feel to the pictures which we like a lot.

Thanks once again, for making the shoot memorable for us. :)

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