Portraits

Grace Tan In Boudoir, Maternity, Portraits

Boudoir & Lifestyle Maternity Portraits: Steph

Steph is an established lifestyle and portrait photographer based in Singapore, a dedicated mother and a friend. I got to know her years ago, and though we only connected over 2 or 3 face to face conversations, she is the kind of person that makes you feel as if you’ve known her for years. In those short moments together, we chatted about life, the challenges about running a photography business and being a mom at the same time. I feel as if I have found a kindred spirit in her.

Steph is now pregnant with her 3rd child, and I am so pleased to have the honour of photographing her maternity portraits. It was such a pleasure meeting Martin too, who has such a warm and easy going personality. Looking forward to seeing the little one’s photos soon! Lots of love from Malaysia.

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Parties & Events, Portraits

Korean Birthday Boy & Family Portraits: Vincent & Hanna

Now, isn’t this just the cutest Korean boy? Traditionally, a Korean boy who celebrates his first birthday (doljanchi) will wear the hood but this cutie pie kept insisting on taking it off! One part of the celebration is the toljabee ceremony, where various objects are placed before the child for him or her to pick. This could be food items, books, money, etc. Depending on what the child reached out for, these items would represent his future! For example, if he picked up a book, he would be a good scholar; if it was money, he would be wealthy.

For Hanna’s child, he picked a ball, though I wonder whether that meant he would be a good sportsman in the future! It was my first time witnessing Korean traditions for a child’s 1st birthday. Thank you for giving me the opportunity, Vincent and Hanna!

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Portraits, Studio

Family Portraits at the studio: Qhairyl & Izyanti

I met Lily for the first time within days of her arrival at the hospital. She was this tiny little cutie pie, immediately capturing the hearts of those who laid eyes on her. Lily’s mom Izyanti (or more fondly known as Emy to some of us) and I started our friendship in 2015 when we were working on a joint venture photographing babies in hospitals back then. Soon after, Emy joined us at Integricity, working on various marketing projects with the team. She’s now moved on to a new season of life, and we miss her cheerful smiles at the office. Photos were taken at our studio by Jennifer and Chi Yin.

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Musings, Portraits, Tips + Ideas

Photographing Children With Autism

We rarely photograph families with children with special needs like autism, and we wondered if it was because parents were simply too intimidated by the whole process. We decided to work with the nice folks from Early Autism Project Malaysia to equip ourselves as well as make a video to provide some tips on how to manage a family photo shoot session with a child with autism.

We started off with an interview with Jochebed Isaacs from EAP Malaysia who gave us some insights into the specialised therapy offered at their centre for children with autism. We were later introduced to Juan and Nancy, who welcomed us into their home for a photo shoot session with their sons Danny and Tommy. The experience proved to be quite tough but we soldiered on and even received hugs from Danny at the end!

Here are some of the pointers we picked up through this experience:

1. It is important to communicate with the child
Prepare in advance before the session. Communicate clearly what is to happen and what is expected of him. The use of visuals like schedules, social stories and role-plays help to familiarise the child to the event and venue, the people involved (especially if they are unfamiliar to the child), the flow of events and the special equipment used (like the camera!). It should also spell out the rules and expectations.
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Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Portraits, Studio

Extended Family Portraits: The Hengs

When we first received the enquiry from Ming Li for a family portrait session, we freaked out just a little bit. It wasn’t because she had weird family members or queer requests… it was because the photo shoot was for 27 persons and they wanted it in our humble little studio! After some discussion, the team decided to take up the challenge and even held a mock shoot with as many people from the office as we could gather to ensure we could fit everyone in comfortably for the group shot.