I had a laugh when I saw this picture. Once awhile, we’re allowed to be dissatisfied with how things are going at a shoot. Lighting’s off, angle’s off, things are not working as I’ve envisioned it. And so on and so forth. Liz took a picture of me at this particular instance when I felt that. I like this portrait..it’s emotional. Deep in thought and sulking a bit, I looked straight into the camera looking for answers and she took this picture. What was not working was the tight angle at this spa and beauty center, which had a lot of reflective surfaces where my lights could be seen everywhere.
The place was beautiful, so I wanted to bring out the character and the intrinsic designs so thoughtfully incorporated here. We were shooting a series of portraits of four employees for an advertisement. So in this place, the employee would pose with the different chemicals that are mixed for each customer. Pretty neat stuff considering it’s open for everyone to see and admire. In this shot, I used one key light to camera right, with a softbox, and one highlight to camera right also but behind the subject. Of course it didn’t work out. In the final shot, the highlight was left outside the room shooting through the glass. The final shot really worked.
We had a few rooms to shoot the portraits and one of them was a room designed to serve the guests tea. Liz was of course the lighting model of the day and here’s the test shot. One key light in a softbox and one highlight behind shooting through and umbrella, and making sure the vertical strips of wood had enough light to differentiate it from the back while throwing a bit of light on her. The final image was from a slightly different angle but an even stronger image.
What’s that blurry thing in front? This is what it looks like under the same lighting, taken by Liz
Image taken by Liz
Will post the images after the ad is released.
Amidst curious stares from the local bovine population indignant at our intrusion during breakfast, we waited for the sun to rise at the Botanic Gardens in Penang. I first saw the potential when I was scouting for Chris and Zinee’s shoot but unfortunately it rained that day. And I’ve been waiting for the chance to shoot here in the warm glow of the morning sun. Well, we got our break yesterday!
Before sunrise....boring
The variety if images we had were a bit limited coz it took time to setup each shot, instead of moving freely and working with the light. But we’re happy with what we got.
Continue reading 'DIY* DAY 2'»
Ok, it’s really not as simple as it sounds in theory but it’s heck of a lot of fun. I like to entertain the couple I’m shooting normally, so I ended up entertaining ourselves. Today’s shoot lasted less than 20 minutes, in between shopping at Queensbay Mall and dinner at Hammer Bay (I kid you not, that’s the name). Dinner was grilled stingray or ikan pari bakar. If you ever come here, try the satay too. It’s from this nondescript stall just by the entrance. The ‘makcik’ is very generous with the chicken…chunks of well-marinated meat.
The light changes really fast after sunset and that explains the 20 min shoot. Interestingly, the lights from the makan place served as a giant light source and I was happily using it. The Penang Bridge is in the background but barely visible due to the large aperture I was using. f1.4 to f1.8 most of the time. But I wanted just the lights visible only so that worked out quite well.
Here are a few pics from today’s shoot:
Continue reading 'DIY* DAY 1'»
Help me spread the word! For a limited time only, I’m offering a 10% discount on Family and Kids Portrait Photography. Plus you’ll have more high resolution processed softcopies. You have a choice of having it done indoors or outdoors or even both, if you can manage it within 2 hours. No limits to the change of attire, feel free to wear your entire wardrobe. Pets welcomed and loved 
Continue reading 'FAMILY AND KIDS PHOTOGRAPHY'»
Had a great shoot last Sat with a beautiful family. Dylan’s a 17-month old Elmo lover and loves to dance to Elmo’s songs too. Oh did I mention he loves ice? So Elmo and ice were his main companion throughout the shoot. With such a combination, he provided plenty of laughter for all. We did the shoot in the house and then proceeded to Botanic gardens in the evening. The house was very tastefully decorated and there were plenty of areas to shoot in. I just love the little courtyard in the middle of the house. A very nice touch indeed!
Botanic Gardens never fails to deliver when it comes to providing a backdrop of lush beautiful greenery. We were also blessed with good warm lighting which gave a golden touch to the pictures. It was a bit crowded but there were pockets of space to give the privacy and the backdrop.
Here are a few pictures from the shoot:
Dylan
Thomas, May and Dylan
Continue reading 'THOMAS, MAY AND DYLAN'»
Oh what a hilarious time I had with this family. Fun-loving and spontaneous would best describe them and that made it a very enjoyable shoot last weekend. The shoot was at their house and I set up two lights, after rearranging furniture. Midway through the shoot, we gave it a different feel by using a black backdrop. Here are a few images from the shoot:
This is how you do it
So what's next?
Nope, not right
The girls' version of Charlie's Angels
The whole family
The whole family, not so serious after all
More of family photography images can be found in the Family Photography category of this blog.
The 2nd day of the YOG shoot brought us to this row of warehouses housing the Singapore Weightlifting Federation, opposite the National Stadium (the same one that was supposed to be demolished but never got to meet its fate after all this while). It’s a beautiful quiet area facing the Tanjung Rhu condos. So this is where the weightlifters train. Liz and I got there early to setup the black backdrop and lights. I was shooting tethered since I didn’t have to move around a lot. This series of images were different from the gymnastic images since they are more static and no one’s flying around from one end to another.
The space was a huge relief. No problems with power points, positioning lights, camera and notebook. Wouldn’t it be nice if the remaining shoots were like that….
Setting up the camera and notebook. Image from my iPhone.
Test Shot
The star of the day was Darius. It was his birthday and what better way to celebrate than to have portraits taken with family. Darius is also Desiree’s brother. We originally planned the shoot outdoors but changed venue to their house, since it was easier to celebrate his birthday after the shoot. Good thing too since the weather turned bad in the evening. I brought along my lights and decided to use a white wall in the house as a backdrop. I started shooting with a ladder/chair as a prop. Little did I know that sitting there unaided was the first time for Darius and I must say he handled himself very well. Desiree had a go after seeing her brother enjoy himself.
It was playtime towards the end and as the whole family gathered in the playroom, I pulled over one of my lights and started firing away. Totally unplanned but I learned to expect the unexpected when dealing with kids at Darius’ and Desiree’s age. Makes the whole shoot so enjoyable by keeping the photographer on his toes
The first time for Darius. Well done!
Desiree and her 'Bear-siree'
Continue reading 'DARIUS AND FAMILY'»
I’m a big believer of social media. You know those Facebook, Twitter, Linked-in stuff. Oh how social networking and businesses have changed with the arrival of Facebook. Email is so passe in keeping touch. We’re always online when on the move. On my iPhone I have Whatsapp, Ping!, BeejiveIM, TweetDeck, Facebook and of course the ubiquitous SMS. All in the spirit of getting connected to everyone. Sure, there’s always information overload…no, I don’t really care what you had for lunch but if it’s mindblowing awesomely cheap and good, let me know!
From a business perspective, there’s more interaction between businesses and consumers. Big brands are taking notice of social media to engage consumers. It tears down the walls of communication, no longer can the big brands remain aloof, indifferent to feedback and opinions. It forces them to be on their toes since bad press can easily spread like wildfire. That’s the downside for them….but not for the consumers.
Small businesses depend on it for advertising. It’s like one big referral business avenue. I get a lot referrals especially for my wedding and family photography business and I love social media because I’m closer to people. It allows me to share my thoughts and ideas easily. You will feel that you know quite a bit about your photographer even before meeting him. Often when I meet people the first time, they’ll ask me about the stuff I blogged about. And the connection is instantly made. Is this important in engaging a photographer? I think so! Especially in a wedding, I’m sure getting to know your photographer is important. I’d much rather have someone I know and trust cover my wedding, instead of a total stranger whom I have difficulty communicating with.
Also, social media is a great platform to communicate updates like promotions, recent work, etc. Previously, emails were the most used and abused methods. Spamming was getting out of hand. With social media, we get around all this.
I must admit I have been updating my blog so much I kind of neglected my website. So yesterday I included buttons to link to my blog, facebook, twitter and linked-in profile. Although I’m not totally sure how I can directly get into my linked-in profile. Let me know if you know how. Currently you’d have to do a search for my name. So here it is, the updated portion of my homepage:
Social media links
Follow me on facebook and twitter and keep updated with what’s happening!
Goodbye 2009. Hello 2010! After a season of festivities, everyone’s back to work with, I hope, a fresh perspective to work, life and perhaps a zest, zeal and enthusiasm to make this year count. But take a moment to have some reflection on the past year, and use that as a guide for this.
For myself, this blog was started as a kind of social experiment and i must say I am hooked on it. I started in May 2009, after many years of deliberation and fears that I will not get pass my first post. I eventually discovered a love for writing. I can’t say I’m very good at it but at last I don’t dread it. So my first post was on packing for an overseas shoot in a reply to curious questions on what I always bring on my shoot. At that point of time I was already overseas and that was the perfect moment to talk about it. From then my blogging went on to discuss techniques, equipment, workshops, current work, book reviews and now with my new iPhone, a bit on apps and its camera. After the first post, ideas start popping up and since then, I’ve logged 140 posts! I try to go for higher value content and not just one-liners so I think I’ve done decently looking at my workload.
Continue reading 'A YEAR IN RETROSPECT'»
Baby Photography, Event, Family Photography, Kids Photography, Musings, Overseas shoot, Personal, Portrait Photography, Pre-Wedding Photography, Pregnancy Photography, Product Photography, ROM Photography, Sports Photography, Tips, Understanding, Wedding Photography
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book review, camera, iPhone, Kids Photography, learning, Photography, Portrait, Pre-Wedding Photography, product, studio, technique, travel, Wedding Photography, workshop
Oohhh, this shoot was so fun. Nadine was able to walk assisted now and she didn’t waste much time putting her skills to use throughout the shoot. Challenging for the photographer but this photographer really enjoyed playing with her. She was so active that even though she was in her crib, she just paced to and fro, never tiring, giving us the best smiles she’s got.
Sharon and James wanted to do the shoot in the the house. Simple uncomplicated but the challenge was the lighting since it was a cloudy day and lighting was poor. So I got the 2 Elinchroms, and used them bare bulb. Half of the shoot was done with the modeling lamps to work with the existing lighting and to make sure I could shoot wide open. And of course to prepare for the unexpected, dealing with a hyper-active girl.
Here’re a few pictures from the shoot.
Check out the colours!
Sharon and Nadine. My favourite mum and daughter shot
It was Desiree’s birthday yesterday and we had some chill out time before we celebrated her birthday. So we found ourselves in the playground downstairs with Michael, who very wisely brought along those bubble-blowing thingy. Jeesh, I don’t even know what they’re called. Ok, I’m out of touch. Can’t go wrong with those things….never fails in putting a smile on kids, and that’s the key to the pictures.
Before that, Desiree went completely mad around the playground climbing up and down the slide for the umpteenth time, expanding a lot of the youthful energy she had. Grabbed a couple of shots and then headed back for the indoor family shots.
Happy Birthday Desiree!
Desiree and grandparents
For the indoor shots, I fired 2 580EX flashes mounted on stands: one on camera left a bit slightly behind them, set at Manual at lowest setting 1/128, just to provide some accent light. Main light was on camera right, pointing at the ceiling for bounce and set at Manual, at 1/8 setting. With these two lights, I could use a smaller aperture for maximum sharpness and with a reasonable shutter speed. There was almost no ambient light in the picture. I left the colour temperature to a bit warmer since the place had warm lighting. But had I depended solely on the ambient light for lighting, it’ll be hard to get the direction and quality of light you see.
More of such images can be found in the Family Photography category.
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