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Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Pre-Wedding Portraits: Amri & Daphne

He was the Malaysian club president in university. She was the secretary. Apparently they attended the same high school and college in Malaysia but funnily enough, they only got to know each other during university in the UK. One of her first thoughts of him was “Isn’t he my senior from highschool? What is he doing here in the same university?!” whereas his thoughts were “She’s quite a cute secretary. Must try to have some personal meetings with her to discuss about ‘work’! ” After numerous encounters, they discovered a spark for each other. And then they started dating. Now, 6 years later, Amri and Daphne have jumped through many hurdles and have finally tied the knot!

Here are some photos from their pre-wedding session. The akad nikah shots will be coming up soon in another post!!

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Amri is so cute. He loves making faces at Daphne and she keeps telling him to “stop it!”

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I love the Malay / Chinese elements in the next few photos. So representative of their relationship. :)

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Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Jack & LeAnne – Pre-Wedding at Putrajaya

I’ve been to Putrajaya a number of times but all this while, I’ve never shot there before. So when Jack and LeAnne requested for a pre-wedding shoot in Putrajaya, I thought, ok where to start!? There’s just too many buildings and too many choices. The best thing about Putrajaya as I discovered was the lalang. Plentiful of good lalang to take shots in! :) We started our shoot in the afternoon and carried on till after sunset. I love how Putrajaya looks at night, it’s just a completely different feeling to the day shots.

Jack and LeAnne seem quite at ease in front of the camera. Jack is into photography as well, so Leanne’s pretty good at posing in front of the camera. She has had practice. :) It’s easy to make her look good on camera because she is super photogenic. I’ll be shooting their wedding in Ipoh this coming week, so am looking forward to that!

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Don’t they look gorgeous together? Her laughter is so infectious.

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Her gorgeous gown is from our vendor partner That Special Occasion. You can choose from a variety of gowns when you book a pre-wedding session with us.

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I don’t usually shoot pre-weddings on my own because it’s a lot easier when you have someone holding a flash or light for you! This time round, I had 2 with me – Nigel Sia who recently joined the Wedding Story team and Hafiz Ismail who tagged along that day. Thanks Hafiz for pointing the way to good lalang. :) Here’s a funny shot of the both of them clowning around!

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The sunset in Putrajaya that day was absolutely stunning! I haven’t seen such a good sunset within 50 km radius of KL for quite some time.

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Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Portraits

The Hashim Family Portraits

I met the Hashims through Jek. The moment I met them, I instantly liked them. They are such an easy going family with really good looking children! It was a challenge avoiding the crowds of people at the park, but we managed to find some little corners to shoot in. After a number of outdoor family shoots with children below 3, I have collected a few tips for families who intend to have their outdoor portraits taken.

1. It’s a good idea to dress in similar or complementary colours for the photo shoot. Your family unit will look coordinated and united.

2. Bring a spare change of clothes, especially for the children. They might get dirty or wet as they run around, rolling on the grass.

3. Make sure there’s drinks and some snacks prepared, especially if they start to get a little cranky.

4. It’s also a great idea to bring along a favourite toy.

5. If the child refuses to smile for the camera or pose, don’t worry! If you feel stressed or start yelling, it will show in the photos. You can try to speak in a stern tone for a while, but if the child still wants to do his/her own thing, let them do it. It’s a great time for candid shots.

6. If the child starts to cry, take a little break.

7. Playing little games with the child helps. Make them think that the photo shoot is a fun activity! At the end of the day, treat it like a fun family outing instead of a stressful ‘let’s aim to get my child to behave session’ and everyone will have a good time!

Hope these tips are helpful!

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Maternity, Portraits

Family Portraits: Kay Yeow, Rachael, Katelyn, Kristen and Milo!

In 2006, I had the honour of filming Kay Yeow and Rachael’s wedding. It was the very first wedding video I had ever done! Even though the edited video was only about 10 minutes long, they loved it. Rachael was also the wedding coordinator for my wedding and Kay Yeow led the worship and was the emcee at our wedding dinner. What a long way we have all traveled since then! Well, now they are a tight little family of 5! (Rachael recently gave birth, so I caught these photos at the tail end of her pregnancy!). Thank you for your friendship and though we don’t get the chance to hang out very much, Alex and I do think of the both of you. Will come visit soon!

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Isn’t Katelyn cute?

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Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Portraits

Jek & Alice’s Adorable Twins

Jek has been Alex’s school friend, colleague and then now business partner for many years. And so it gives me much joy to be able to photograph his new-born twins (now a few months old already!) at his parent’s home in KL. And of course, the parents joined in too! The location was just so beautiful, I didn’t think I was in Malaysia at all! These are a few of my favourite shots. Jek is a photographer too, slowly getting sucked into this whole money grabbing hobby! I really had a great time that day, Jek! Your girls (all 3 of them!) are really beautiful. Hope you like the photos.