Author: Stephen

Mark & Amelia – 15 August 2009

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I love my job.  So how do I know it? At the end of the day, you’re tired, but you just want to look forward to working on the images. 

Well initially, they were supposed to get married on Oct 17 this year, and it being a very popular date, I’ve lost count of how many couples I’ve turned down so I referred some of the other photographers to her.  Amelia was one of the couples who expressed their disappointment that the date wasn’t available in my comments page here.

Guess what?  Few weeks later, I received a call from Amelia asking me which are the available dates in August 2009, and that she will try to book the hotel accordingly.  Some photographers probably find it hard to believe this because most of the couples’ wedding dates are determined largely by the availability of the hotel (i.e the banquet venue). This couple is definitely very different from the rest.

Mark & Amelia, if you’re reading this now on a plane or at the airport, thank you once again.  We all had a great time yesterday and do enjoy your honeymoon!

Shot yesterday on the eve of my birthday (and now that the kiddos are asleep I’ve picked up some of my favs from the series)… Sneak peaks only 🙂

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Oh yes, the importance of the photographer to the wedding couple on their big day is another reason why I love this job and  Mark & Amelia has reaffirmed that 🙂

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John & Jo

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Last month was really mad mad mad, out of the 5 assignments, 3 of them were postponed from June all thanks to H1N1 flu.

This is the 2nd shoot for the month of July, I met John and Jo when I was covering the wedding for one of their friend’s wedding back in December 2008.  It’s always good to know that your previous clients have been referring their friends to you, more than just another job opportunity, it’s a sign that the couple is happy with your work.  And no, I don’t have commission system in place, so I’m always very happy when clients refer their friends to me 🙂

Despite the rain, we had a very fruitful session. Plus, John and Jo are both very confident individuals (if you know what they work as, you’ll understand why) which made the photoshoot a blast.

Some favorites 🙂

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One of the entries for the MPA Master Photographer Award

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After working on the images for the annual MPA Master Photographer Award, life is slightly more normal now. Preparing for print competition is tedious, and doesn’t help that I procrastinate a lot when it comes to selection of images (entry fee is one, the printing cost is another thing altogether), and spending hours with the print guru to get the right print, and reprinting thanks the perfectionist nature of such competitions.

One of the FAQs when I discuss photoshoot venues with the couples is “Which is your favourite place in Singapore?” . Actually, there are no favourites, and as mentioned in my previous post, all venues are determined by my couples.  Just that some venues tend to be the choice for many of my couples.

I must have visited this site more than ten times within the first half of 2009, and I make it a point never to repeat any shots or produce similar looking photos.  After all, no one will pay big money for photographs that are easily replicated 😉

This is one that I really like, a lot.

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Joy & Beng Seng

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Ok, this is really to make up for the past month of inactivity…

Another cute series, I happened to know the both of them way back in my previous job, and until recently did I get to know that they were dating 🙂

I’m really glad that they have decided to tie the knot, and here’s my take on their wedding portraits.

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Sylvia & Dongmin (Part II)

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To continue the Sylvia & Dongmin’s series (the couple based in Los Angeles, California) that I posted recently, here are some of the my favourite portraits that we’ve shoot.

Like all my photoshoots, locations are all decided by the couples simply because:

1) I try to involve the couple as much as possible in the planning and creative process.

2) Giving the couple a sense of ownership.  Speak to my couples whose bridal portraits have received awards, it’s their achievement as much as mine.

My role is the artistic director and advisor. What works? What’s too overdone / cliche?  High value works is a continual quest for novel ideas, at the same time balancing it with the consumable photos.  Now that’s lots of hard work!

Here are some from Sylvia & Dongmin’s series:

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Looking back, we sure did have lots of fun! 🙂

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Overseas shoot for 2009 / 2010

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Now that the H1N1 saga has simmered down, there have been many enquiries about overseas photoshoot.  I’m pleased to announced that we have currently planned trips for the following cities for 2009 and 2010 🙂

Mid September 2009 – Melbourne (1 more slot)

Late October 2009 – Melbourne / Adelaide  (2 more slots)

Mid Nov 2009 – Kyoto (1 more slot)

April 2010 /Aug 2010 – Paris / Venice  (3 more slots)

March 2010 – Los Angeles and San Francisco (2 more slots)

For more info, please email me at stephen@lyricalmoments.net .  All our overseas shoot have limited slots, so do book early! 🙂

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Back to teaching

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Ok, better late than never.

Received an invitation recently to conduct a talk cum workshop for Clubsnap Live @SAM event that was held over the last weekend, and it was an opportunity to share with the participants, which consists of hobbyists to semi-professionals to professionals, my thoughts about the wedding photography industry. This was followed by a hands-on workshop for the participants, about 15-20 of them, a chance to direct and photography a model couple.

Conducting a talk and workshop is easy, after all, teaching is second nature to me… so I accepted the invitation.  However, the most difficult part that took me days to ponder over, is how to connect the talk component with the workshop component.

This question haunted for a few days, in my sleep and even in the bathroom.  What’s there to talk about the wedding industry that can be connected to the photoshoot demonstration?  I finally had some breakthrough and came out with a topic that has been pretty closed to my heart, and hopefully be able to reach out to the varied levels of the participants.

My topic: Evolving from Cameraman to Artist

(Photo credits to Alex Ortega and Simon Goh)

Overwhelming response, Singapore Art Museum auditorium was fully packed!

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About 12 of my works were exhibited.  The photo on the right is the one that won me two 1st placing last year in the international competitions. Photo on the projector screen should be familiar to most of the readers 😛

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Outdoor hands-on session on day 2, another overwhelming response

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Simply irreverent topic, simply me 😛  Hopefully this session will pave the way for the participants to move towards the high-end wedding photography market.  Basically, I spoke about the high end wedding photography market and what it takes to get there. These are certainly things you can’t find in the textbooks and I was sharing with the participants the real concerns and methods that are tried and tested.  The response was overwhelming and many questions were raised, and some participants even shared their woes about wedding photography, which is a good indication that there’s hope for the wedding photography market to flourish.  The workshop/demo part came later, and I was showing the participants how to take charge and direct a scene, how to “artsify” their images through playing with light, as well as making them aware that the energy level of the couple/subject is dependent largely on the photographer.

These are some of the images that I taught the participant how to create.  It’s no secret really, cos ultimately, who directs the scene is going to make a difference…trust me, the difference is huge.

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Am so glad that the event was a success. Thanks once again to the organisers and sponsors who have made this event possible!

Ok, back to clearing my backlogs….

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Johannes & Olinda

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I had the privilege to photograph Johannes & Olinda, a really fun and lovely couple who have come a long way from a distant relationship.  Kudos to both of you as I always have a lot of admiration for couples who are able to sustain long distance relationship , because it’s not easy at all.

Yesterday’s photo session was really challenging in the sense that we encountered many, and I really mean many resistance throughout the course of the day. I think we were stopped at least 4 times for taking photos, and sometimes, it’s just not worth my time and energy to argue with the relevant authorities because at the end of the day, I have look at the picture and put the photoshoot as the main priority.  I’m beginning to start asking for their supervisors’ contact because I would love to speak directly to them to have an understanding why photography is not allowed even though it is a public place.

Some highlights and sneak preview from the series:

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Sylvia & Dongmin – 5 June 2009 (part 1)

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About 80% of Lyrical Moments’ couples are from overseas or Singaporeans who are working abroad.  I had the privilege of photographing a Singaporean girl who married an American Korean just a few weeks back and here are some of the highlights from their series. And by the way, the wedding was almost postponed because the couple is from Los Angeles, California and all thanks to the H1N1 flu virus that is causing all the panic and hysteria.  The couple shared with me their little adventure when they had to be escorted to Tan Tock Seng hospital for H1N1 tests and all (Yes Sylvia, your country loves you!) and looking back, I’m so glad that everything turned out fine.

Here are some of my favourites, will be updating with more wedding portraits 🙂

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Twos

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2 kids, one just turned 2, the other 2 years older, both celebrated their birthdays on their 2nd trip to Australia.

Alright, enough of tackiness. Just got back from Australia with my family and man, I’m having some problems adjusting to the sweltering heat here in Singapore.

Kyan had a little problem checking in on his way back as he traveled as an infant on his way there (below 2 years of age) but considered a child w/o bassinet seat on his way back.  Had quite a bit of adventure, but am glad that everything went well, and more importantly, no one fell sick this time round, unlike their first trip last year.

When it comes to birthday cakes, there’s only 1 type that they like – chocolate brown cake 😀

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I just love Kyan’s expression, first year being able to “blow cake”.

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Kyan probably swallowed more dandelions than blowing them…

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Tristan loves doing gardening in Granny’s backyard.

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Energy in abundance. Something that drives parents and grand parents mad, sometimes.

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