Trails of Life

Bad weather, but still can be done! (Randy & Huiming -Wedding @ Koh Samui)

2010-06-22T16:31:00.002+08:00

Here's a overseas shoot I did earlier this year :-)

Stopped shooting weddings?

2009-04-24T15:28:00.002+08:00

Not really lah...ha ha. since october last year, i decided to cover weddings for another studio. Reason being, the cash is faster and less after sales service and less album making for me. Seems to be a good idea for me, since I am not really a business oriented person.

I just realised today that I forgottened about this blog! I'm still pretty busy shooting weddings. But I can't post those I shoot for the bridal studio I'm working with because they owns the rights to the pics.

Not really a problem for me, I still have some of my own jobs this year. Will update with pics when I find time. Cheers!~

How much to charge...

2008-09-02T22:48:00.006+08:00

Finally! Lunar 7th month is over, I can get back to action! Have not been doing much last month, I am dying to cover a wedding. Some may find it funny that I love my job so much, but I've never treat it as a job, its playtime for me..ha ha. I guess that how I survive so long even though I get pay less than flipping burgers in fastfood restaurant!

Just read a thread in a local forum about wedding photography business, I think some newbie is trying to find out how to charge customers. Alot of the forumers shared their success stories, very inspiring post, but they didn't talk about those that are still struggling like me. I don't charge $4-6000 like them, my basic package is only $1.5k :) but I think its ok, I am happy with the current service rates. Like an old saying, "some sees the glass half empty, while other sees it half full". My package rates is enough to feed me and not too much that it'll tear a big hole on my customers' pocket. :)

I am shooting a wedding this weekend! WoooHooo!

Here's the ROM of the couple I posted earlier, enjoy!

With more power, comes great responsibility...

2008-08-28T17:58:00.009+08:00

I recently resigned my moderator position from a popular local photography forum. I decided to just be a member and use my membership there purely to promote my photography and be less involve in all the administrative stuff and all the "fights". Not that I've involved in any, but being a moderator, I feel I need to do something. You know "with more power, comes great responsibility". ;)

I also felt after becoming a moderator, forum members seems to distance themselves from me, they don't comment on my post like they use to in the wedding photography forum(I think). I hope, being just a member, can make me less intimidating, and more people will "dare" to comment on my post! lol

Oh! I also changed my nick in that forum to...you guess it, Trailsoflife! :)

Here's some pics from a shoot I did this month:

how to write blog...

2008-08-15T15:21:00.006+08:00

I think I sucked at blogging, so I went to Xiaxue's blog to check out why her blog is so popular. I must say its actually very interesting! The way Xiaxue describe her boyfriend, her declaration of her 'lian-ness', plus, there's alot of babe's pics in the blog!

A lot of it is about Xiaxue's day-to-day life, her joy, happiness, mood swings and sometimes, her angst. I think what makes Xiaxue's blog interesting is the different emotions she had in almost every post, sometimes, she's like a sweet little cutie pie, sometimes she just explodes and roar like a tigress, its actually quite entertaining! Apart of the slight vulgarity, I kinda admire Xiaxue's guts for able to pump out whatever she felt. I think she's kinda cool.

I'll never be able to blog like Xiaxue, but this is a wedding photography blog anyway. Just hoping one day, maybe I can get to cover her wedding, that'll make me famous? ha ha!

Wish Xiaxue all the best lah, Blog Queen of Singapore!

Anyway, here's the 2nd part of the wedding photography selection I featured in "Spring cleaning...". Enjoy ;)

Spring cleaning...

2008-08-13T18:31:00.003+08:00

Since its the Hungry Ghost Festival now, I decided to do some "spring cleaning" for my computers and my desk. I think I had enough rest already although, its only the second week of the month, ha ha, can't stay lazy for too long.

I found this couple's wedding photos hiding in one of my folder cleaning up my Mac. Almost fogotten about them because both went back to Australia after the wedding. Lost contact with them, they must be busy. I remember rushing their album out within a month, just to deliver to them one day before they leave!

Here's some of my favourite to share!

Lunar 7th month...

2008-07-30T15:10:00.003+08:00

Its almost lunar seventh month soon, that means no wedding shoots when the hell gate opens! FYI, for those who don't know, lunar seventh month is also known as Hungry Ghost festival, this whole month is like a summer holiday for the spirits from hell, They will roam our world like tourist for a month! So normally, there's no wedding during this month. However, I still have to do some design and layout of album for 1 couple. Not a problem, at least I can rest abit.

Speaking of album, I finally completed my "longest-waiting-for-selection" couple's album! This couple hired me to cover their wedding last year November(I think), after the wedding, they requested for the raw images and left for japan to work, its was very rush! I think the groom need to start his work on the same week... 6 months later, they finally got back to me with their image selection... ha ha. I almost forgotten about them.

Anyway, managed to complete everything in time, when they come back last week for holiday.

Here's some of their wedding pics, and the presents they got me from Japan :)

June already...

2008-06-23T23:52:00.002+08:00

So far so good for the first half of this year, let me do a little summary. Managed to keep myself busy although business seems to slowed down quite abit. Maybe its time to do some print advertisment in bridal magazines? I'm not sure... What I charged barely feed me...:(

I also managed to set up a invoice filing system to keep a record of what I've done and earned...or loss! I'm not trained in this field, so it took me awhile to figure out what to do. Really proud of myself for doing this invoice thing, ha ha.

Anyway, I really liked what I shot this first half of the year, really focussed on getting out good pictures, not the $$ bit. But I am also lucky enough to get customers who really appreciate and respect me for what I do. Only 1 bargain so much that I reject the job!

I hope I can get more genuine customers and enjoy the rest of the years...:(

Left hand! Its left hand!

2008-05-30T23:30:00.003+08:00

Recently, one of my customer asked me which hand should his wedding band be worn? ...Anyone? Ha ha, me too! I don't know! I can't believe after so many weddings, I've never notice which hand was wedding ring worn! I was so embarassed... when he asked me this question and everyone around me(a bunch of guest) just stared at me...lol

From now on, I must memorise this. Left hand, always left hand!!

Business seems to slowed down lately, my calendar is not filled up yet for this year. There alot of emails asking for quotations but I guess everyone is tightening their belt due to bad economy. I'm ok with that, what I offer is quality and creativity at the most reasonable rates for my photography standard. To date, I've not had any unsatisfied customer "Touchwood", something I'm very proud of! He he!

Not going to start a price war with the newbies. I believe, 'if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys'. sigh... ;p

Here's another wedding showcase to share :) Cheers!

Its them, they made my photos beautiful...Part 2

2008-04-10T22:31:00.004+08:00

I fell sick last week! Its been a while since I fell sick, 1 or 2 years ago, I think. Thank God, there's no shoots last week! But I still need to do editing and compiling albums, plus do my accounts, file my tax, while having a fever, running nose and a horrible headache! This is my life, it sucked but I love it! :(

Ha ha, please enjoy this selection:

Its them, they made my photos beautiful...

2008-04-02T00:39:00.002+08:00

This is a job I did recently, its a very simple wedding, but somehow I'm really happy with the result of this shoot. Maybe you can tell me why, check it out!

Back on track...almost...

2008-03-21T22:50:00.004+08:00

Totally didn't have the chance to update this blog in Feb. Felt so guilty :p I've finally clearing my last years jobs(almost..afew jobs still awaiting amendments). Can say, now i am back on track, ready for new jobs, YEAH! Been thinking about how to further improve and simplify my workflow, think I've found the solution(secret..ha ha), will try it out first.

I've compiled a selection from a job i did last year. What I like about this wedding is the surprise I gotten from it. When I met this couple, I thought its gonna be a slow, upmarket kinda wedding. But it turned out to be a high-speed, full of fun and laughter kinda wedding. Both bride and groom are so funny, we had alot of laughter and alot of great shots throughout the day! Now, this is the kind of chemistry i always look for when I shoot.

Check it out!

Tired...

2008-01-28T16:02:00.000+08:00

I think I'm gonna work through this Chinese New Year...sigh :( I'm still stuck with quite afew albums from last year to clear, so my customers can get them and share with their friends and relatives during the holiday...hopefully I can meet this deadline...

Feel like I'm back in my advertising days, meeting deadlines, rushing for festive seasons and holidays...ha ha, looks like I can't really get out of this kind of mad rush afterall.

This pix I'm showing here is my favourite pix picked from all my jobs last year. Its not an arty farty photo, but the expressions of the girls will just put a smile on anyone's face. I think that's what matters most.

A family reunion...

2008-01-24T13:44:00.000+08:00

This is actually the 2nd part of the last wedding I posted afew days ago. What I liked about this wedding banquet, is I can see how closely knitted this family is. I can see them chatting from tables to tables, laughing out loud about old times and really enjoying this get-together instead of being rooted to their seats & just eating whats served quietly like most wedding banquet I've seen. This is really more of a family reunion, than a wedding banquet. The warmth ambience makes the pictures beautiful! Here's some of the photos, check it out!

New year...new rates?...

2008-01-23T01:52:00.000+08:00

Went to a general meeting organised by the studio I freelanced for. These are a group of photographer that I feel are the best in Singapore, not because of how much they charge or how grand their studios are (although one of them is the highest paid wedding photographer in Singapore), but how dedicated they are to the business. I always enjoy going to these meetings.

This meeting is more of a catch up of how everyone is doing and problems they encountered that maybe we can help solve. And, of course, alittle bit of 'tech geeks' talk on equipments...ha ha.

Things are getting more complicated now for me, overseas enquiries seems to keep pouring in and there're more enquiries on studio/outdoor shoots. Should I raise my rates now? Those guys at the meeting felt I should have done that long time ago! Ha ha... I don't know

For now, I just want to keep my business simple. Just make enough to feed myself, although I still can't afford to buy a new camera... :( Anyway, whats more important now, is my customers' satisfaction(fingers crossed ;p).

Here's a wedding day shoot I did in december last year, a simple yet beautiful wedding. The wedding banquet pictures will follow shortly. Cheers! :)

Wedding Lunch Reception...New Trend Pt. 2

2008-01-07T01:31:00.000+08:00

Continuing from the previous post, here's the pictures from the lunch reception, enjoy!:)

Wedding Lunch Reception...New Trend

2008-01-01T22:33:00.000+08:00

Its already January 08! I've failed to update my blog 3 times every month, my apology to those who followed. Last year has been a great year, I've learnt alot regarding this business. I learnt about my speed in editing(really slow...:p) and how much jobs I should take every month to be comfortable and yet survive.

I also realised a new trend in wedding functions. I think the new generation of wedding couples are trying to do away with the traditional wedding dinner. Most had replace the dinner with lunch or just a simple reception or buffet after their wedding ceremony.

There's pros and cons to this trend. The pros will be, the day will be shorter, normally it'll finish off at early evening. The cons will be... NO REST TIME! Photographers will have to shoot all the way until the event ends! Very tiring!

But I kinda like this new trend, I always like to shoot in the day, less flash and more daylight makes the pictures nicer. The usual dinner shoot is alot harder and more flash used. It always makes the lighting very artificial, losing the mood and ambience of the day.

Here's a prelude to a lunch reception I did last year November. Will post the lunch reception soon! For the time being, enjoy! ;)

High Speed Wedding (KL)...

2007-12-10T01:56:00.000+08:00

This is quite a memorable job because everything happened so fast. We(me & friend) moved out on Saturday morning to KL. I started working about 1hr after I reached KL, shoot all the way until about 11pm+, about midnight. And then, about 4hrs later(4 in the morning), I took a ride to the bride's house to carry on with the day event until about 5pm and head back to Singapore after that!

I find weddings nowadays are amazing! They are getting more high-speed and more complex in planning, kowtow to the couple who planned this wedding. Well-executed, no time wasted! But I was totally beaten...fell sick the next day, ha ha...

Here's some of the pix I like, enjoy!

Floral Enquiries...

2007-10-26T12:47:00.000+08:00

Advertorial:

Flowers are one of the most important props in weddings. Getting a creative florist is very important, they can make or break your wedding. Here's someone I'll like to recommend, Floral Recipes, they are made up of 3 very creative women, who used to worked in advertising agencies. I personally like their creativity, they don't just bunch up flowers. They'll brainstorm within themselves, do pre and post production, as if they are a design house!

I've worked with them in a few weddings, and are very impressed with their works. Check out their website,Floral Recipes.com. Some of the pictures are shot by me ;)

Less posts, less pictures...

2007-10-26T12:43:00.000+08:00

Have not been updating much lately, so sorry. I've been busy with shoots & editing. So from now til end of the year, there'll be less postings since its wedding season now, and I'm booked almost every weekend.

I'll try to post more pictures when I can find time...

Cheers
Max Yeo
www.trailsoflife.com

How to choose a wedding photographer...

2007-10-17T16:17:00.000+08:00

This question always pass my mind even though I am a photographer. What makes a couple choose me? How will I choose a photographer?

Kinda figure out the answer recently. I think if I were to choose my photographer, it shouldn't be about how well known he is, or how cool are his equipment. Here's a few pointers:

1. Meet up with the photographer, try to feel how passionate he/she is. I know its difficult, but I'm sure you can feel it when you all talk. The reason is, if he/she is always talking about good deals, $$$ etc. Most likely he/she is just a business person. Just want to milk money from you. This kinda photographer will not perform well during your wedding day, he/she just want to get the job done and leave.

2. Don't be bother by the equipment he/she use. Just look at his works and see how comfortable he/she is with his camera. Photographer's work reflects how good is he with his skill and equipments. Even if he's using a 5 years old camera. As long as he/she can deliver, that's more important.

3. This one is just my own observation;p Normally an artistic person don't speak very well, or feel comfortable with people. Because they are more focus on creativity. I kinda found out about this through a documentary about artists and genius, I watched before..ha ha

4. Make sure the photographer have the kinda service, album, or package you wanted before making a wasted trip to meetup. Don't forget the packages or service must meet your budget.

5. Don't bargain. This makes photographer sub-consiously want to perform less during your day. Yes, sub-consiously! Even if he/she says discount is ok. He/she will not go an extra mile to get that perfect moment for you. Trust me!

Hope this will help you guys choose your photographer. I'll add in more if I can figure out more theory...Cheers!

Something for your guest to keep...

2007-09-28T22:22:00.000+08:00

Advertorial:
A customer of mine got their friends to go around with polaroid cameras to take group shots for their guest. These polaroids were then compiled into a guest book at the reception table for their guest to sign in. Some guest asked for an extra shot for them to keep, since they are all dressed up nicely for the evening.

Pretty neat idea, I thought! Its cheaper what some studios are offering now, using Wifi to connect their cameras to a computer, printing shots off a inkjet printer. Those inkjet prints cost more (market price is about $800 onwards) due to the setup for Wifi, computer, inkjet & paper etc. And they are tiny card size inkjet prints. Most of them is not gonna last more than 3 years! The worst thing is, they are not really instant, you'll have to wait for the prints for about 15-20mins! Inkjets are really slow and sometimes pretty noisy..ha ha. Some of guest forgot to collect the prints and the studio still charge you for it! Frankly speaking, inkjets prints won't look as good as a real photo:p

Polaroids, on the other hand, cost less and its instant! Just snap and give the polaroids to your guest! That simple! 1 twinpack(20 shots) of polaroid film cost about $30+. Normally, you only need about 5-6packs for about 120 guest which cost only about $150-$200 max.

So Polaroid4Rent.com is bornt! Since I have quite afew polaroid cameras lying around ;-) I rent out polaroid cameras at cheap rates to make wedding receptions more interesting! Check out what I can offer:

For more info, check out this website: Polaroid4rent.com
Note: Films not provided ;-)

Bridal Portraits...

2007-09-26T00:19:00.000+08:00

I've not venture into bridal portraits yet although I've been receiving alot of enquiries regarding it. Bridal portrait album is a norm here in Singapore, it covers some studio portraits and about 2-3 outdoor locations shoot outs. The session usually takes up about half a day(5-6 hours), about 2-3 hours in studio and 3-4 hours outdoors including travelling time. After that the couple will select about 20-30 pictures from the shoot session and the studio will compile them into an album for them. These albums are usually displayed during the wedding reception for the guest to flip through.

I try to practice bridal portraits whenever there a chance, although I'm more a wedding day photographer by heart. During a wedding day, there's always some intervals or free time. I always ask my customers if they want to go for a short shoot out in between breaks during their wedding day. These opportunities benefits both ways, I get to practice and my customers get some nice portraits done for free. Here's some to share;-)

Wedding planning...

2007-09-22T14:53:00.000+08:00

Advertorial:
Planning a wedding can be a very tedious job, so tedious that you can see a sign of relief on the couples' faces at the end of the wedding banquets or receptions. I'll normally recommend a wedding planner to do the job, so the couple can really enjoy the day. And I can take nice pictures of couples having fun, mingling with their guests. Not nervous or angry expressions of grooms or brides talking to groomsmen, bridesmaids or banquet managers when something screwed up.

I met Gordon, of Wedding Matters.com, at a ex-colleague's wedding years ago when he first started out. My initial impression, like most people, is how good can this guy be at a gal's job? Ha ha... But Gordon surprised me with his capability. He did a pretty good job for my ex-colleague.

I've worked with Gordon on a few jobs already since then, and even covered his wedding which he planned and executed all by himself! What I like about Gordon is his passion for his job, He'll make weddings not only on-schedule, but fun too. All the couple need to do is enjoy their wedding day.

Check out his website for more details: www.weddingmatters.com.sg

Here's some pix from Gordon's wedding last year:

Some whining...and daydreaming

2007-09-19T21:07:00.000+08:00

Trying to re-organise my working system lately, and I AM FUSTRATED! Its difficult to work alone. Anyway, I've kinda work out what to do when a job comes in, how to bill etc. I've added a summary form to summarise a job when its done before filing it up in a job closed folder. What I need to do now is to design all the forms, bills etc. ALL this planning and design have to be done in the midst of real works, like image editing, designing of albums, going to 2-3 suppliers to place orders and collect stuff, I am burnt out already! Wished I can have a partner or two to take care of some of my work:( but its difficult to find a person that is passionate about this industry, not just for the cash(not that it pays well).

I really hope I can expand this brand(trailsoflife) into a kind of bridal design house instead of those money-milking bouquets and studios here. All this people care about is how much can they milk out from the wedding couple. Its disgusting!

My ideal shop will be like a bridal event design house where we(trailsoflife) will assist wedding couples in planning and executing a perfect wedding of their dream. The best team will be a creative photographer(me lah;p), a very solid planner, a award-winning gown designer & a design-savvy floral designer. We'll work as partners, no employee, all partners! Every job will be like a mission, we'll execute each mission with our own specialties, like a commando squad! We'll have our own bridal/wedding-related merchandise with our own brand, maybe even our own bridal magazine! The most important thing is we must all be passionate about our missions and work towards executing the most dream-like wedding. Be a bunch of unsung heroes behind a perfect wedding, like the people behind this couple in this picture ;-)

But this is just a dream lah, no harm right. Ha ha ha!

Children, grandparents & weddings...

2007-08-31T23:47:00.001+08:00

While the bride and groom are busy or doesn't need me during the day, I sometimes shift my focus to the kids or their grandparents in the room. I feel they share the same innocence in them although they are decades apart in their age. Their emotions just surfaced on their faces. Granny's happy, maybe because they saw their grandchildren grew up right before their eyes or maybe thinking about her great grandchildren in years to come. For the children...well, I think weddings just give them another great excuse to be away from homeworks, like New Year or Christmas, just play all day! lol

Here's a collection kids and grandparents from some of my previous weddings. Enjoy! ;-)

Wet weather weddings...Part 2

2007-08-29T15:55:00.001+08:00

The same couple in the earlier post hired me for their wedding day in April this year, and guess what... It's RAINING! Ha ha... But nothing stopped us from having fun that day. And the groom gave me a pretty generous Ang Bao! Guess the myth is not true..lol

Check it out!

Wet weather weddings...

2007-08-26T01:43:00.000+08:00

The peak season for wedding in Singapore is December, which is also the monsoon season. So almost every few days, you'll get rain, sometimes a few days in a roll! Some chinese believes if it rains on your wedding day, it means the groom is a stingy person...lol. Well, I'm happy to say most I've met so far are pretty generous when it comes to the bill...touchwood!

Here's a solemnisation party I shoot last year in December. And as usual, its raining, but the show must go on...

Enjoy! ;-)

Phuket - Part 2

2007-08-17T00:41:00.000+08:00

This is the wedding day of the couple in the ealier post. ;-)Seaside, Dance, Fireworks! Loved this job!

Overseas wedding...

2007-08-10T21:33:00.000+08:00

I like oversea weddings, maybe because I'm in a foreign land, I feel very inspired by the surrounding, and creative too! The results I get are always kinda dreamy with a foreign kinda feeling. Here's a preview of a wedding I did in Phuket awhile ago. Lovely couple...and the groom is a vivid photographer too.

Experimenting...

2007-07-18T16:08:00.000+08:00

This is my first pre wedding shoot. Its very different because the bride is a very cutting-edge person. She had alot of crazy ideas and she didn't want the usual lovey dovey album. So I did a series of "Til time ends" collection for them. Inspired by U2's song, ha ha. Very unusual...the whole ambient is very cold, but the their emotions is hot! Not many people appreciate the album but the couple loved them! So did I! This is one of those album you do purely for satisfaction.

Making a difference...

2007-07-13T02:35:00.000+08:00

Been busy editing thousands of images since beginning of this year. Digitally enhancing images are one of the more important stage in post production.

In this digital age, images shot by 2 same cameras under the same lighting condition and angle will look the same because sensors in the cameras are the same. Other than shooting style, digitally enhancing images is how many passionate photographers differentiate themselves from one another.

During editing, I always make my images as film-like as possible, so my images look more timeless. Some customers prefers vivid colours, but most like the way I treated the colours. Whenever I delivered my albums to my customers, there's always the same question asked, "I love the colours! How did you do that?"...

My answer is always the same,"trade secret..." ;-)

Below are a collection digitally enhanced by myself. Cheers! ;-)

07/07/07 @ 7am

2007-07-09T15:36:00.000+08:00

7th of July was the hottest day for wedding this year. I, too was booked about 1 year ago by another photographer, Nic. Phone calls enquiring for this date didn't stop, I received a total of 16 calls! But I opted to be a second photographer for Nic because I know I'll enjoy the shoot. Covering a wedding as a second photographer is a great way to exercise creativity. Of course, there's pressure too, because the second photographer will have to deliver shots that's more creative. But I loved this kind of pressure...:p I get more satisfaction this way.

7th of July also saw the biggest global warming awareness concert held all over the world. Everyone is encouraged to wear green to show support for this awareness action. I also showed my support by wearing green the whole day while covering the wedding.;-)To my surprise, the groom, his groomsmen and the bridesmaids all wore something green! The bridesmaids wore pastel green dresses and all the guys wore green ties. What a fun group!

I really enjoyed covering this wedding, had quite a lot of shots I really liked. Here's some to share with everyone. Enjoy! ;-)

Friends...

2007-07-05T14:57:00.000+08:00

Friendship and business don't really blend, I actually hate to talk business with friends. Money will just ruin the bond we had nurtured for years. Now that I'm working as a wedding photographer, I sometimes rather be a guest than to work at friends' weddings. Sometimes, I'll just shoot for free and treat my photography like a blessing or gift to them. This way, I feel our friendship is strengthened by the photos I've taken.

Here's a simple wedding I covered for my friend before she leaves for Japan. Enjoy ;-)

How it begins...

2007-07-04T22:51:00.001+08:00

Never thought I would venture into the wedding photography business, I was an art director before, working long stressful hours everyday, looking forward to weekends where I can spend time with my cameras, exploring fasinating sceneries and details through a viewfinder. Photography had only been a hobby that time. Until one day, one of my colleague invited me to shoot at her wedding, although she hired a wedding photographer. This gave me an opportunity to try to shoot at a different perspective(since the wedding photographer is covering the record and group shots). I realised there's more to wedding photography!

From then on I decided to pursue this art of photojournalism in wedding until today.