Siblings make the best of friends
With a love for all things barbie, fashion and bubbles, five year old A was such a sweetheart. She took directions quickly and easily. Her little 10-month-old brother, M, on the other hand was all sorts of cool. But when he started chuckling, his laughter and smiles can melt your heart.
And now abide faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of this is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13
It wasn't too long after I first photographed the cute-as-a-button little Miss C, that I had the honour of photographing her beautiful extended family. Even though we began on a very early Saturday morning, the Ho family was all smiley warmth and ever so joyful.
They were teasing, pulling faces and making each other laugh, which made it so easy photographing them. I'm definitely looking forward to photographing them again.
For where your treasure is
there your heart will be also.
- Luke 12:34
The year of the Monkey is an especially special one, as it is the year my awesome daddy turns the big 60! The family man who is funny and finds most joy in ensuring our family has the best in life; the man who prays and spends every night doing Quiet Time with us, when we were little kids. He is living such a very full life!
This is also the year, the youngest in our family, my brother, takes his first flight out of the nest, heading to pursue his degree at the University of Queensland.
So to celebrate, dad requested that we did a proper family portrait session on the first morning of the Lunar New Year.
Photographing your family and getting everybody in order was no easy task! Instead of beginning at 8am (like I wanted to, cause the sun hits directly into 80% of our garden), we only began our session a full hour later.
With that being said, out of the many photos I've taken over the last year, these images (taken in that tiny shaded patch) are definitely my favourites.
I also know now how my clients feel, while prepping for a session. And I truly appreciate them for making an effort to get ready for the camera, and get to the venue on time. If you are planning for a session, here are some tips to help you.
1) Plan your outfits in advance
It's a good idea to sort out your outfit choices at least the day before the session. That way you have ample time to make adjustments in colour. You wouldn't want to arrive at the session venue, only to discover the little boy in fire-engine red, and dad in neon green. You may not need everyone to wear the exact same shade, but choose complementary colours, and clothes which are comfy and easy to move around in.
For parents with little children and babies, it is good to bring a change of clothes (just in case).
2) Get well-rested and energised
The best time to have photos taken is from 7.30am to 9.30am in the mornings and late evenings from 5pm-7pm. My sessions are usually structured within these time frames. I find that children are at their best and most affable in the morning - when it's breezy and there are less mosquitoes. It is important to sleep early the night before and set your alarm, to ensure enough prep time is allocated, before the session. With enough sleep and a little food, the little ones (and big ones too) will definitely be a lot happier.
3) Plan an activity which you enjoy doing
One of the things I enjoy most is photographing families at their most natural. You can think of an activity you like doing together, like reading, kicking a ball, having a lego-building competition, or even playing boardgames or chase. For my family, we love spending time with each other, drinking coffee and laughing at the antics of the 3 family cats.
Looking at the camera is not entirely necessary. Sure, we will have a few of those, but most of the time, I want to photograph the love connection and what makes your family unique. That happens in the unscripted moments.
The most important thing is to have fun together! Don't be afraid to let your normal beautiful self shine through.
A large family makes you feel protected - you have friends and allies.
The Chew family was such an amazingly photogenic, down-to-earth and warm bunch. Within the first few minutes of saying hello, they had already offered me a drink and we were already chatting away like old friends. At that time (some-time mid 2015, they were also one of the biggest families I have photographed - with 8 adults, a kid and a baby.)
Never go on trips with anyone you do not love.
Ernest Hemingway
Australia, Thailand, Singapore and various parts of Malaysia - the inquisitive and smiley little J is one of the most well travelled almost-two-year-olds I know. It was serendipitous when Lareina contacted me to have their family portraits taken. It turned out that their Melbourne trip coincided with mine!
Melbourne was heading into Summer, but unlike Perth (where it can get sweltering hot), the morning at the Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens, gave the most ideal temperature for a family session.
It was such a joy to see little J humming, running, reading, chasing bubbles and getting chummy with the ducks in the park - all these without even breaking a sweat.
Little girls are angels with invisible wings.
Pink tutus, a pink cake, a bunny softie and lots of smiles. This little one had a very sweet and sunny disposition. One of her favourite games is definitely peek-a-boo! There wasn't a lack in laughter during our session, as she gamely entertained us with her cute antics.
At that time, mummy had planned for the just-turned one-year-old to do a cake smash. It took a while for her to get into it, but once she had a taste of the cake, she showed off the biggest grin.
Location: Bukit Jalil Recreation Park
Set Styled by: Pretty Little Things
2015 has been a year filled with so many moments, lots of laughter, and so much love. When the year first started, I was just recuperating (from my first EVER surgery!). All I had written down was this:
I knew I wanted to move from weddings into photographing families. But apart from wanting to revamp my very dated website, launch a new logo, and possibly set up a social media presence, I had absolutely no clue on how and where I'm going to get my clients!
Sure I've photographed weddings (together with the awesome team from MTP) for the last couple of years, and have been asked to photograph the occasional family portrait for family and friends (thanks Ben & Jan!) , but to strike out on my own, was and still is, something very scary. Finally, after long talks (too many to count) with my husband, and a whole lot of emails and skype conversations with my best friend, Kim (the dangerlam) - who was also the awesome illustrator behind my logo and portrait - the revamp of my site was launched on April 26. And on July 1, I staked my presence on facebook.
Throughout this year, I've had so many doubts - if my photos were good enough, if I would have clients outside my friends circle, if people are actually willing to pay me for photos - if so how much? When I wasn't working at my full-time job, minutes and hours were spent thinking about how to get myself out there. There were just so many things to do, so little time... and I didn't know where to start. Just when I thought I was making good progress, something sets me back, and throws me for a loop. I've lost count of the many times when I just messaged friends (out of the blue, especially for some I've not spoken to in decades), to ask if they would like to have portraits taken. #ihadtogrowathickskin. And I'm so thankful for those who took me on, and others who encouraged me.
Looking back on 2015, I've celebrated love together with 70 different families, and have had the opportunity to travel three times to Australia (Perth & Melbourne) and once to Singapore, to do what I love - photography! Who knew that God had such big plans for me? He took my 5 small 'loaves' of goals, and turned them into so much more. For this, I'm immensely thankful, and I cannot wait to see what's going to happen in 2016! My cup overflows.
To all my clients - new and old, who have entrusted me to share in and capture your love; to the ones who've just been so encouraging, you've no idea how those little messages and whatsapp conversations mean to me. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU and have an amazeball 2016!
Speed.
Faster than fast,
Quicker than quick,
I'm Lightning!
Lightning McQueen, Cars
A love for all things Cars, this cute speedster and I go way back! He is now all grown up and at 2, he can talk and walk really fast, just like his favourite character, Lightning McQueen. I've also never met a toddler who loved my bubble machine so much, that he would run smack into the bubbles and laugh himself silly. What a little ray of sunshine.
Children reinvent your world - Susan Sarandon
One of the shyest babies I know, this just turned one-year old little girl has the cutest smile, once she came out of her shell. When she sees a stranger, her eyes would well, as her nose turns a shiny red. She was most comfortable with her parents and big brother. I was very glad that after a while, she warmed up to me and rewarded me with the most beautiful laughter.
When her very creative full-time working mommy baked her a beautiful cake for a cake smash session, she was curious, yet reserved. Dad and big brother, on the other hand, had no qualms as they decided to have a bit of fun too.
'I can conquer the world, with just one hand... as long as you are holding the other.'
I first met John and Chu at Kim and Jase's wedding at Abbotsford Convent in 2012. Chu is Kim's younger sister. The one thing that immediately attracted me to her was her beautiful ready smile. John and Chu are people that you naturally would want to be friends with. Within minutes of meeting them, they can put you completely at ease, and make you feel as if you've been friends for a very long time.
When I learned they got engaged early this year, I was so very elated as they are both such amazing people with big hearts. They also make a very gorgeous couple! These images captured in The Substation (where they are getting married), the University of Melbourne (where they both studied), and around the city tells their story.
They also have a very cute story on how they met.
Even though they had a lot of mutual friends, John and Chu have never met. That was until Chu's 18th birthday party.
John: Most of my friends were attending a birthday party and were talking about it. Someone asked me if I was going, I said no. I wasn’t invited and I didn’t know who’s party it was. My friend thought it would be fun if I attended, to hang out and he assured me the birthday girl would be more than happy to have me there. Chu and I ended up chatting on MSN and she was happy with me coming to her party, as long as I said hi to her on the night.
So I tried to find her that night, to say hi. But she wasn’t anywhere to be found. I sat down some time after, and noticed the cutest girl with the most beautiful smile. My friend turned to me and saw me looking at her and said, "Hey mate, what you looking at, that’s Chu, lets go." We both went over and I awkwardly said Hi. That’s my first memory of meeting Chu.
Thank you for being such good sports and for your warm hospitality. Brunch was so awesome! So much love for the both of you.
I will be in Melbourne again (Nov 21 to Nov 24). If you are interested in having portraits in Springtime Melbourne, I still have one more session available. Click for more information.
John
Seeing her happy gives me a feeling that I always want to have. She makes me feel special and loved. She is kind and generous.
Chu
We are on the same wavelength and have similar values. We complement each other with our strengths. He's motivated and this motivates/supports me. It's also a bonus that he can cook and clean. ;)
