Love at Standstill

Once in a while, I get to shoot a very low-key, relatively quiet, but no less beautiful and emotional wedding. It stretches my documentary repertoire because I cannot always apply the same approach to shooting such a wedding.

I think to be able to adapt myself to shoot various types of weddings is also a form a style, as opposed to imposing a distinctive signature on all weddings. Ha ha! Am I playing with words and finding excuses for myself?

Anyway, I have to thank Yang for introducing a great piece of music to me. Very romantic, and suits this wedding and couple, Gregory and Elizabeth, to a tee.

Venues: Church of the Holy Family, Rasa Sentosa





Click for full slideshow

Shooting Styles

Hooked up with Yang of Substance Films to shoot Noel & Camille's wedding last Friday.

Well, had a casual "professional" discussion with him on shooting styles and approaches to weddings. He was telling me that he might want to be more interactive with couples in future, to make them and the people at the weddings feel more comfortable in the presence of cameras. Some photographers do that, by being very friendly and talkative on the actual day.

This approach has its merits. Of course, the couple and all those involved in the weddings will be familiar with the photographer/videographer if there is a lot of friendly banter between them, and they might look happier in front of cameras. It makes for better PR as well because by doing this, people will remember "Oh! That photographer? I remember. He's very funny!"

For me, I will engage them in simple conversation, always wear a smile, as my way to get them relaxed. Not only because I am not good at telling jokes, but I feel that by engaging too much, I might be too involved in the events unfolding, and in a way might alter their outcome and people's behaviour. That is not very documentary to me.
Unless it's some group/posed shots when I will do a bit more directing, I prefer to record faithfully the story unfolding before my eyes and camera. That's my version of wedding photojournalism.

Anyway, here are some wedding pictures of Noel & Camille to share:












Venue: Conrad Hotel

Rain, rain, go away

It's the rainy season again!
Last Sunday, the heavy thunderstorm wreaked havoc in several parts of Singapore. I wonder how many weddings it ruined that day, my heart goes out to those whose wedding plans were altered by the force of nature.

On the day of Dinesh and Karan's pre-wedding shoot, it was also raining. Fortunately, it stopped fo a couple of hours, providing a small window of opportunity for us to have images like these....

Another amazing story from the behemoth of a country called China.

I read the Chinese papers about this pair of farmers who wanted a baby boy. So they went to a "seller" and upon checking the baby's genitals and confirmed the gender of the baby, they happily brought the baby home.

Of course, the first thing the couple did was to give the baby a fresh start, by bathing him. Alas, when the baby was in the water, they discovered that, to their horror, the baby's reproductive organ fell off!

It's only at this point they realised they have been duped because what originally looked like the baby boy's reproductive organ was actually a "replica" made of clay!

Now next time you go to China, make sure you triple check everything.

Aaah...China, it's a love-hate relationship, isn't it?

Weddings are stressful, for the couples, for the vendors, and of course photographers included. Things are hardly perfect, and Murphy's Law is absolutely highly applicable when it comes to weddigs.

Remember I wrote in an earlier post that due to some miscommunication, I was available for 17 November? Well, Van is the bride who arrived in her shimmering white gown and saved me from obilivion. Lucky for her, I would have spent a queer Saturday afternoon at home when almost half the population are either getting married or attending weddings.

Van & Jeff had their short, sweet and emotional wedding ceremony on Saturday. Well, things didn't go as planned, and (like all weddings) things have a litte hiccups, but Van is one of the most jovial brides around. She brushed off the mishaps and simply enjoyed her big day to the fullest. I think that's how brides should be. Don't fuss the little things. Look at the big picture. Look at the wedding pictures, ha!


Notice the shoes. The right shoe has got a "strap" missing, after Van nearly tripped on something. But what the heck....


There was a miscommunication: the bride wasn't ready, the groom was still attending to a guest at the cocktail area, but the MC had already started playing a photo slideshow (meant as a surprise for Jeff). Afterwards, the bride still wasn't ready yet and there at the table sat the witnesses, JP and the groom, and an awkward silence descent upon the ballroom.... But what the heck!



All's well that ends well.

It's been a while since I shot at Raffles Town Club. I think it was almost 3 years ago when I went there to shoot one of my best pals' wedding.

To be honest, sometimes, a short and simple tea reception is not easy to shoot, because there isn't enough content since there's no wedding ceremony, no spectacular backdrops, no perfect sunset and no elaborate details.

How do I go round this challenge? I always tell myself to go back to the basics: what am I good at? Focus on the emotions, the expressions, the people! Ultimately, they are the ones who make or break a wedding! I hope my pictures can convey the great fun and camaraderie that I felt at Robin & Lynette's tea reception.

I've always loved those fleeting moments that show two people in love and totally lost in their own world. Not posed, pure natural. I am lucky I am there to mortalise it in "pixels".


Venue: Shangri La, Orange Grove Road

Some of you might have seen the slideshow of Betty & CK in the previous post. That was the express slideshow that I did for them, to be screened at the banquet. So,many times , the dinner pictures are absent. So, as a continuation, here are some evening pictures taken at Shangri la.


They look like they just stepped out of the sauna.




I always look forward to the best man's speech, because they usually crack me, of course the whole ballroom, up. In this case, "tonight the bride is not the happiest woman because she didn't marry the best man".

Wedding Slideshow of Betty & CK

{Luigi & Alicia}
Both of them live in London and got married in Rome last month. Unfortunately I wasn't available for that day, otherwise I would have sponsored myself to shoot in the Eternal City. Nonetheless, I get to do the next best thing by shooting their tea ceremony and dinner held in Singapore (Goodwood Park) two weeks after their Italian ceremony.