It was on the morning of my 37th birthday when I received the great news that we’ve won our 7th Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) award. This time first place with “Peace” in the Individual category. This is the sixth time we took part in this prestigious competition and we are happy to come away with a first place award.

“Peace” was taken in Hanoi while Jasmine and I had a short break and decided to do a shoot for our own portfolio. I entered two pictures that I titled “Peace”…so I am not 100% sure if this is the winning picture until I see WPPI publish all the winners on their website. But I have a strong feeling this is the one…maybe because I personally feel that it is a stronger picture.

Congrats also goes to my good friends CM Leung who bagged five awards this round, Kenneth Tan three, Edmund Tham & Shen Yeo both with 2nd place award. A big chunk of the winners are coming from Asia. Bravo!

When I was a kid, I looked forward to my birthdays because of the presents I expected to receive. While I am still happy to get presents, I spend far more time reflecting on how I’ve spent the last one year. Birthdays are like giant road signs that remind me to take stock of my life. Growing old is automatic; growing up is optional.

So I spend a fair bit of time thinking about my failures and successes. The many key decisions that I made, did I call the right shots? Did I grow as a person? Am I happy? And do I bring happiness to people around me?

There are more responsibilities on my shoulder. The monthly programming of WedShooter.TV, maintaining two blogs, teaching regularly and finding new inspirations for each shoot puts more demand on my time. From a husband-and-wife team of two we have grown to a team of 5 full-time staff. So now, I am responsible for our clients, five employees and all our subscribers from around the world.
 More than ever, foresight, good leadership and focus are required to captain the ships of Louis Pang Studio and WedShooter.TV. I am really excited with what we are and will be doing. Thank you very much for all the birthday wishes.

Spent this year’s birthday in Perth as Jasmine and I ran a workshop and took care of 4 shoots. Here are sneak peeks from the shoots in Perth…

Is the improved high ISO performance of D3S fact or hype?
Is 70-200VR II worth the upgrade price tag?
To answer these questions and more check out this review.

Ranked right up there with the engagement rings, wedding bands and photography is gowns. I have known brides who spent months searching for the perfect gown, altering their bodies and the gowns so that they get a perfect match. There is a special emotional bond between brides and their gowns. As a man, I wouldn’t profess that I fully understand this, but from the eyes of the brides I photograph, I can tell their gowns mean the world to them.

So I am truly thrilled to see Pretty in White’s Celestial Collection being showcased at Malaysia International Fashion Week this weekend…now Malaysian brides have another fantastic brand to add to their shopping list. I had the honour of being the first photographer to photograph the Celestial Collection several weeks back. It is inspiring to work with fantastic designs. The PIW team has certainly taken their work to a new level. We can’t wait to bring the Celestial Collection to our clients.

Back to the photo shoot we did with the Celestial Collection, we wanted to pursue a direction that is bold and beautiful with the Heritage Hotel as the backdrop & glamorous Lee Kuen providing the makeup and styling. Our objective for the photo shoot is to show what is possible when outstanding design meets fine art photography…here is a selection of photographs we did with the Celestial Collection several weeks back. If you are in Kuala Lumpur this weekend, swing by Pavilion and check out the Celestial Collection at MIFA.