tommy photo diary

Carol and Sebastien picked this very special and easy to remember date for their wedding.
It was indeed a memorable time.
Carol is abit camera shy, but it doesn’t show in the pictures at all.

Small and cozy wedding at the Marriott Grill Pool restaurant. It holds maximum of 60 guest.
Food is absolutely fabulous and service is outstanding ………..I know, because the couple invited me to dinner too.

Thanks Carol and Sebastien. I really enjoyed your wedding.

I got this from a couple recently , and it has been a blessing to me.
I hope you will be blessed today with this…………..
Have a change today

Attitude is more Important than facts.
It is more important than the past,
than education,
than money,
than circumstances,
than failfures,
than success,
than what other people think
or say or do.
It is more important than appearance,
giftedness or skill.

We cannot change our Past.

We cannot change the fact that people
will act in a certain way.

We cannot change the inevitable.

The only thing we can do is play on the string we have,
and that is our attitude……….

Life is 10% of what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.

We have a choice - EVERYDAY - regarding our attitude we will embrace for that day

Creative Lab would have sold a lot more products if this guy is in-charge of product development

Asian drums

This must be the most relaxed couple I ever did for ROM ( Registration of Marriage ) service.

The minute they enter the chamber, they started chatting with the justice of peace ( see her expression in the video ) and created an almost homely atmosphere…..to such a point that even I got distracted…..I was wondering have we started or are we rehearsing…..? I have done countless ROM, but have never got distracted in the chamber before. This is absolutely the first

They are really fun to be with, I enjoyed shooting them.

Oh Yes, I seem to be having some well-to-do clients lately…..

Clink on the picture to see the DVD photo movie.

Got this from a website
and I think it is very apt to share it here

LOVE vs INFATUATION

Young people are often confused and unable to discern the frustrating flush of the magical experience of “falling in love”.

Infatuation is the initial, instant attraction and intense desire for a person of the opposite sex.

Love is a friendship that has caught fire. It takes root, develops and grows one day at a time. The process is slow.

Infatuation lacks confidence. When he/she is away you wonder if he/she is cheating you. Sometimes you check perhaps even discreetly.

Love means trust. You are calm, secure and unthreatened. Your beloved feels the same also and this makes both even more trustworthy.

Infatuation is marked by a feeling of insecurity. You are excited and eager, but not genuinely happy. There are nagging doubts, unanswered questions or some unclear actions about your beloved that you would not like to examine too closely. It might spoil the dream.

Love is quiet understanding and mature acceptance of imperfection. It is real. It gives you strength and grows beyond you to bolster your beloved. You are warmed by his/her presence even when he/she is away. Miles of distance do not separate you. You want him/her nearer, but near or far, you know he/she is yours and you can wait.

Infatuation has an element of sexual excitement. If you are honest, you can admit it is difficult to be in one another’s company, for the underlying fear that it will end in intimacy.

Love is the maturation of friendship. You are confident that you must be friends before you can be lovers.

Infatuation is usually temporary and eventually fades. It, however, might lead you to do things you will regret later, but love never will.

Love is an upper. It makes you look up. Love usually lasts longer and goes deeper than strong sexual Feelings. It makes you think up and makes you a better person.

Infatuation makes you feel anxious, nervous and jealous. You feel convinced that you can’t live without the other person. You are unable to see the person for who they really are because he/she is perfect in your eyes.

Love makes you feel excited. You are willing to respect the other person’s opinions and accept the good or bad qualities. You share similar values and beliefs and you see the person for who they really are.

Infatuation says, “We must get married right away! I can’t risk losing you!”

Love says, “Be patient. Do not panic. Plan your future with confidence. There are rewards in waiting.”

Here’s a sample of hilarious letters written to God by kids……..

See more at this website

Hi, I am Kai Keong ( Jocelyn & KK ) and I have been invited to share my experience as a guest contributor.

If you’ve got something to show off, why cover it up?
When we are all dressed up on the wedding day, why cover it all up in a regular car ?
Why not choose an opened top car so the couple can be seen in their full glory ? This is an emerging trend as more couples are going topless! I was not spared too… My wife wanted something special so I made the choice of Porsche.

There are some Chinese customs that are still being practiced and the wedding sedan is one of them.
So I have to find my own wedding car. I wanted something special , something unique.
Incidentally, my bridal package does not include a wedding car. The Bridal studio was not very helpful and gave very little suggestions. Basically they just want to offer us their standard package.

Somehow my very resourceful wife managed to find a contact from the Expatriate Online Forums about this exotic car rental that seems to have quite a range of cars we are looking for.

I always like the branding of Porsche. I owned a Porsche designed digital still camera by Fujifilm. It is one of the best in terms of aesthetic design and performance quality I ever owned. As my wife and I wanted something modern, we looked at Lamborghini, Lotus, Ferrari but found them not “bride-friendly”. The seats were wrong, cramped and worse, some had no open top option.
Then there is a Porsche Boxster.
Its one of the hottest item in the car rental business. It satisfies most of our criteria. Open top, Can sit upright with the gown on, Modern, Fast and a good quality product. The point to note is that there is no Chauffeur and I, the groom have to get familiarized with it in a short time.

Further to choosing an opened top car, there are several boons and banes that come along with it. Such exotic cars may pose some challenges for the photographer. Although there would be more daylight into the car giving good exposures to shots, where the angle he is coming from may be limited by height, distance, and places where the car can be maneuvered. We talked about it before the actual day with our photographers, both the pre-wedding and the actual day,
It’s like a consultation, and this is what couples should talk about when meeting up with photographers, videographers, bridal shop, or wedding planner. Otherwise, I believe the couple would usually take whatever that was first suggested. Nobody like surprises and the reason why we want to plan properly and ahead of time is to give everyone ample space for their role in the whole show.

I know many of us couples are “talked” into marriage or wedding by our parents, siblings, relatives, friends, and colleagues without knowing why sometimes. It may not necessary be that they want a specific kind of wedding photography, or a specific kind of wedding car.

Mostly, it’s a top-down approach. Some may just want to do it for the sake of others and get over with it quick. My wife would give me that stern look and says: “So you are not sincere to get married with me!” So I have to show my sincerity as well. Instead of choosing from the standard packages offered, where there are the high end and low ends, and that should not be how sincerity are to be measured. Unfortunately, the shallow majority believes so. I decided to customise the Wedding Car to something that compliments both of us most. It actually is a joint effort as I could not find any other car rentals for wedding with Porsche, if not for my wife’s effort to look further. This is also like a project work where we get to know each other better, solving a problem together. Both of us passed the sincerity test.

Making the decision is not that easy, we have to take own action to look for the Porsche, and then uphold the idea all the way no matter what happens! My mother objected to the use of a self-driven sports car for a wedding, because it is too fast and dangerous, and it seems like the “sedan” has to be carried by groom. She nagged about it before the wedding, during the wedding, and even after the wedding. She was wondering why we can’t have a normal Mercedes Benz with Chauffeur like what everyone else does. Supposedly, the groom’s father and mother are supposed to be the organiser of the wedding in the Chinese tradition but it has evolved to a stage where the bride and groom is the organiser in current era. So we can still proceed with our plans at the same time explain the reasons to them as and when, even if they continue to object or nag. Most importantly is to keep the communication going.

Heaven is fair to everyone. My Porsche’s wheel was punctured a few hours before the Actual Day event starts. Some good friends of mine scrambled to help and we managed to changed the car on time, to a combination of both “conventional Singapore wedding car” and a “opened top car ”……Mercedes CLK 200. It is now the best of both worlds. After we have prepared Tommy to photograph us with a Porsche, he has to switch his mindset to a Mercedes suddenly. The Mercedes CLK 200 is also an opened top car with 2 doors but 4 seats. We still went topless with our wedding car! It is not an easy to make decision.

Note: To find out more about what happened to my rented Porsche, read my 10 chapter story “A Wedding Adventure” in my blog. http://kaikeong.com/BLOG/?p=23

I had an interview recently and thought it a good idea to post it here since it has some good advice for wedding couples

Here is the email interview:

1) Can you give me an introduction of yourself, when and how did you start out and what is your wedding site about?

I am a wedding photographer who feels wedding photography is about the process and preparations of getting married.

Not just the wedding ceremony itself.

In the past , we see only the ceremony itself and very little of what happens before and after the ceremony. Today,
photojournalism is about the whole event and we cover it as if it is a whole story.
To tell that story, we need to string together key events, not just random pictures.

2) I understand you have been in the wedding-related field for quite some time and is now successful. What do you think is the key factor to your success?

To be successful, I feel this string of pictures need to be done both artistically and documentary.
Artistic means there is a certain neatness or unique angle to the picture.ie, the composition, the lighting , the mood, etc Documentary means some shots are needed although it may not be very artistic.
The sucessful combination of these 2 give rise to a GOOD story, a feeling of being at the wedding, of hearing the sounds, of catching the people in their moments etc.

3) When you are working with couples, what is it that you are most proud of?

When couples and I reach a certain level of comfort and confidence with one another…., where in their intimate moments, I become like a cat in the house, you know I am there but you aren’t bothered by me…that kind of feeling is GOLDEN.

4) What is the greatest challenge that you have faced while growing your career?

The challenge I face at each wedding is how I can outdo myself from the last wedding, how I can beat my past work.
So each wedding I do, I am very excited and sometimes a bit nervous. Because there is always the element of the unexpected….and each time, I wonder how I will respond. It isn’t a premeditated response. I find I can’t quite control that, it’s just very spontaneous.

5) Currently, what is the one wedding tip you want to give to soon-to-wed couples?

And because things are so spontaneous and sometimes so uncontrolled, couples shouldn’t TRY to control everything but just let things flow…….if you have done your homework, if you have made all the arrangement and delegated everything away from you on that day…..then, you have done YOUR BEST. Leave the rest to God…….

Its when couple fight against this and try to control everything, they end up very frustrated.
That spoils the mood and the pictures……

6) What are some of the areas do you think wedding couples always overlook when planning their own weddings? (can be pertaining to your own field - in this case photography)

One advice I would offer couples is that they DELEGATE everything to people they trust.And then, TRUST these people and back them up whatever decision these people helped you to make…..

7) Your final thought and advice for my wedding blog readers?

Final thoughts for all couples is this :

Wedding is an event, it is over in a day or two.

Marriage is a process, it doesn’t end.