Children are not just tiny adults or “accessories” to a wedding, along with the props, decors, flowers & favours. Sure kiddie antics make us laugh. Sure they carry the rings, pillows and tiny baskets. However they are not there merely to beautify the wedding. They are there as individuals who deserve our respect.

For that reason, I love photographing children. They are the most transparent people at a wedding. I always talk to kids as I would an adult. Kids hate to be patronized. So don’t try to talk to them as if they are mentally disabled. Also, I try to catch them when they are not aware of me…so there is no “Look at the camera & smile” kinda instructions from me.

Here are some beautiful kids moment I photographed last weekend. I hope you can see why I LOVE photographing children.

Many people think “keeping their options open” is a sound thing to do. It is not always true. Many flirt with the idea of being a professional but few are willing to make the commitment.

“I’ll do it seriously when Nat Geo comes knocking on my door. For now, I’ll just do the bare minimum until the REAL opportunity comes my way.”

Sorry pal, it doesn’t work that way. If we cannot make it in a little district publication, get to work on time, or meet deadlines, why should we think that we can make it in the big league?

The opposite of “keeping our options open” is “full commitment”. I had several jobs before I became a full time wedding photographer. I worked my heart out in every one of them. A wise man taught me, “Ask not what your boss can do for you. Ask what you can do for your boss.” I know that if I do outstanding work, my boss will notice. If he doesn’t, someone else’ boss will.

Sure, not everything I put my heart into worked out. Yet I always had fun and learned tons of things because I gave every ounce of energy into it. I feel sorry for people who just wanna roll up the sleeves, fold their arms, do the minimum until their ultimate dream job arrives. When it arrives, we won’t be able to hold on to it because we have never done any real work our entire lives.

So folks, eliminate your options and commit to a cause. If you sit on the fence for too long, you’ll get a sore bum.

This was one fun & beautiful wedding. From the little decors, gifts and details to the beautiful couple and their fun bunch of friends, I enjoyed the entire coverage of this wedding. There was never a dull moment!!!

Hayley and Mark, together with over 40 friends and family members, made their way to Kota Kinabalu to celebrate their holy matrimony at Shangri-la Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa. Check out these photos and see how much fun we had!

Love these socks

Love this top too…

She almost stole the show

…but Hayley is just too hot

This boy is thirsty!

The girls are having fun

My favourite two-light setup, fuff light as the key light and a second flash fired off camera at about 10 o’clock position to create contrasty hair light

She is just ADORABLE!

LOADS of fun!

The Nikon vs Canon debate is older than most of us. Cameras and lenses are only tools. But what happened when your tools hinder you from doing your job properly? For Preston Mack, he switched from Canon to Nikon. He shared experience in this article at Sports Shooter.

Just walked off a camera shop with a Sony SR11 high-def video camera. YAY! You may not know, but I picked up videography before I ventured into photography. I sold all my video and lighting equipment thinking I had kissed videography goodbye forever. Well, never say “never”.

What I am doing with a video camera? Well, perhaps I can include some video clips in my blog. Isn’t that a neat idea? Also, Philip Bloom’s short films really inspired me to pick up the video camera again. His love for beauty and visual poetry is breathtaking. I am seriously looking at the Letus Mini 35mm adapter. It will give me fantastic bokeh using a fixed focal lens like 85mm, 50mm or 24mm. You should really check out Philip Bloom’s site…you will get what I mean.

Is it designer gowns, expensive makeup, Eiffel Tower, a gorgeous reflection shot executed by five strobes?

Sure, the outfit, makeup, location, composition and lighting are all important. What is more important is the connection that people share. Does my work show the connection that people share with each other and the location at which the photographs were created? It is so easy to obliterate our clients unique personality with our “creative ideas”. The key is to find a balance.

This is our favourite portraits together.

Photographers rarely have pictures with their family together. They may have lots of pictures of their family members, not with them because they are the ones behind the camera. This is taken inside our bedroom near a large window. Every item inside the picture means something to us…the bedside table and lamp that we spent a day to choose, our favourite bed linen, and of course our bedroom. These are completely ordinary stuff that has personal meaning us. And of course, our love and trust for this photographer friend enables us to relax in front of his lens completely. It is a portrait, though somewhat “ordinary”, means a great deal to us. I want to produce this kind of pictures.