Diana Khir: Portraits

Diana is one of those models who got in touch with me years ago but never got down to collaborate. Yes, it all sounds so familiar (for those who have worked with me before), but well, I don't have all the time in the world.

So, when I made contact with her this month, she requested for - in her own words - "angelic" kind of shots you take, wind in the hair, very bright background. Chiffon, soft flowy dresses.


And that's what we did. Thanks to Mother Nature Wind for styling her gorgeous hair during the shoot.

Location: Punggol Promenade (Punggol Rd End)

More photos at my Facebook page at http://facebook.com/chesterphoto

Rebecca: Portraiture

After a long hiatus from portraiture photography, I collaborated with Lynette for a portrait shoot on Rebecca. 

Click for larger image

With a little coaxing and directions, I managed to catch her in various moods and looks.

Read Lynette's blog entry about the shoot here.

If you like my photography, visit my Facebook page for more photos.

Oh, Mandy

As usual, I spent some quality time discussing with Mandy on the shoot concept before getting down to do the shoot, even if it means waiting for months (I'm a patient man). Our original idea was a gloomy windy beach shoot look. Alas, the weather turned out to be too glorious to exude any emo-ness. So it's back to shooting Mandy the Sweet. And I must say that Mandy is such a veteran model that she's got all the poses and the looks right.

Join my facebook page for more images.

Gwen

Gwen and I have been in discussion for months on shoot themes. Then I happened to have a free time slot last week but we have yet to decide on which concept to do. So I proposed doing beauty shots at her house and she accepted.

After shooting several dozen frames using strobes, I switched to using ambient light. And then we got our favourite shot.

We also went to a nearby location to grab some green scenery. Lots of bugs and red crawlies, so we only did standing shots and stayed away from the woods.

More photos on my Facebook page.

Jessie

Jessie stayed near the East Coast, so I arranged to do a shoot there.

Jessie is a sweet girl and already has numerous previous photoshoots that shows her youthfulness. So I guided her to deliver a more alluring, confident, determined expression.

More photos in my Facebook page.

Amanda Low - Bridal

The shoot with Amanda was laden with challenges one after another. It took a few good months from our first email discussion before we actually settled on a shoot date. And even that date was close to being postponed 4 days before. And on the day itself, rain poured and limited our outdoor location options. But ultimately, we pulled it through.

Make-up by Lynette Pang.

Morning Ivy

Apart from wedding day shoot, this session is my earliest hour portraiture photoshoot I've ever done. Ivy reached the shoot location at 7.30am and I appeared shortly after. The location is just a grass field in the midst of the HDB estate, rather uninspiring I would say. But well, you won't be able to tell from the photos anyway. It's all about framing.

Shooting in the morning allows me to get the sun and flares in the photos without feeling too hot. Due to sleep needs (photographers and models alike), most of the casual outdoor photoshoots tend to happen after 9am. By then, the sun would be too high up, too strong and too hot.

I am fortunate to have Ivy waking up extra early and traveling a long distance from her house to the location. She was one of the models who expressed her interest to collaborate a shoot with me months back, but most importantly, responded to my replies promptly when I told her of my morning shoot idea.

For this shoot, I aim to achieve that hazy look typical of what happened when light hits the lenses. Again, inspired by lomography. It's very challenging to shoot against the sunlight. I wasn't able to keep looking at the viewfinder all the time, and the camera is unable to focus properly.

 

After the session, we reviewed the photos at the void deck of the HDB flat. And then it started to get breezy and Ivy's hair was flying around. I liked what I saw and told her to keep it that way while I took a few shots, which turned out to be my absolute favourites for the session.

For more images, visit http://facebook.com/chesterphoto or http://www.flickr.com/photos/chestertan/sets/72157623508675487/

Anna L: Portfolio

After the previous outdoor casual shoot, Anna and I did a studio session at my house. Every model must have a few of such photos in their portfolio when going for casting. And there should be minimal photoshopping (save to remove pimples or eye bags), as it is rather misleading if the real person turns out to look different from the photo.

Makeup and hairstyling by Lynette Pang, who also did a great haircut job for the shoot.






Apart from doing Anna's portfolio shoot over the weekend, I also did a pre-wedding photoshoot with Pierre and Jane. They are both avid scuba divers, and naturally, the photos revolve around the waters. I'll be ploughing through the thousand-plus images I shot in the 2-day shoot, but here's a preview shot:

Emelind C: Portfolio

I finally did a formal portfolio shoot with Emelind. Remember the previous shoot with her at Orchard Central was meant as a test shoot. This time, Emelind got her Japanese makeup artist friend, Emiri, and you can see from the photos that she certainly did a magical job in transforming Emelind into a gorgeous looker.





More photos at my facebook page or Flickr Set