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upcoming photography workshops: Two-Day Guerrilla Lighting Workshop in KK (August 12-13) & KL (September 16-17)

It is a trip that we will never forget. Part of working outside of our comfort zone is dealing with the unknown. I’ve never shot in a communist country…well, China with its hybrid communism and free market system, does not count. So everything about Cuba is all new to me. I remember that Cliff Mautner talks about not approaching a shoot with pre-conceived notions. As much as I tried to do that, I couldn’t help but fantasize a little about Havana.

Had the scariest encounter with immigration at Havana. You walked up to the counter. There was a shut door on the end of it that only opened when the immigration officer let you through. So you had no idea what you are walking into. After I got through and picked up my bags, another immigration officer intercepted me and held my passport. After waiting for 30 minutes, his colleague finally found the time to interview me further. He relayed everything I said to him via a radio headset to his invisible superior. This went on for 15 minutes, which felt like eternity.

Havana didn’t roll out the red carpet to the tourist dollars from the free world. Our ordeal didn’t end here. Got to our hotel only to be told they had to transfer us to lower a grade hotel because of an electrical problem. The substitute hotel was located in a seedy looking area of Havana. We slept with our doors barricaded that night.

Things got better after we met up with Michael and Vivian the next day. Their travel and hotel arrangement worked out fine. Most importantly they were so in love and excited about the shoot. Michael is a real gentleman who always puts Vivian first. We roamed around Cuba with a 20-person bus which doubled as our production trailer, changing room, and equipment depot. We had great fun shooting in the streets of Havana, taking over the train junk yard, hanging round old American cars, and visiting the tobacco plantations of Pinar Del Rio. While we recceed a bit, much of the shoot was impromptu. Hats off the Michael and Vivian for being such great clients and troopers. We always get the best clients…ain’t that great?

Apart from cigars and baseball, Cubans love Chinese. “You Chino? (Are you Chinese?)” “Se Chino,” we replied. It’s one of the few places in the world where people of squinty eyes are given preferential treatment. Michael, Vivian, Lee Kuen, Jasmine & I didn’t mind that. Thank you China, for being nice to Cuba.

p/s Michael: thank you for educating me about cigars. You are so stylish that I had to make sure I didn’t over shoot you and neglect Vivian!

We are ready to roll out the red carpet and invite you do drop by our brand new studio in Kuala Lumpur. On August 15, 11am to 3pm we are celebrating the new studio with food, drinks and a small fanfare. So all brides-and-grooms-to-be we would LOVE to meet you. Our place is not very big. To make sure that everyone has a good and comfortable time, we have worked out different visiting time slots. Kindly give our studio manager, William (6016-681-8881) a call so that he can put you on our guest list.

See you on Sunday!

Please follow this Google Map for directions.

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Just wanna share with you a few frames from workshops in Kuala Lumpur and Penang. These are shots created with techniques and equipment I hadn’t tried before. The coolest part was to do it in live audience. I feel alive to come up something new. If you are reading this, please go out with your camera and create something fresh in the coming week.

Next up…Inspire+ Seminar in Penang tomorrow and speaking at Intel next Monday. Take care everyone!

This is how we created the first shot. Triflash through with a Skylite Panel & a silver reflector for bounce. Used the grey-ish sky as my background. The ability to light just opens up so much possibility in our shoots.

Shot during a 20-minute shoot challenge. Inside a elevator, flash behind Priscilla with half cut CTB gel (color temperature blue), and full cut CTO gel on key light with HONL honeycomb. Nailed this under 10 minutes

Thanks to Nikon, Lastolite, Elinchorm and Epson, we brought in plenty of toys for the workshop participants.

Strip light by Elinchorm via Quadra, and white vinyl backdrop by Lastolite…I love these small studio strobes!

70-200mm at f/2.8 for shallow depth of field + 30″ Lastolite Ezybox Hotshoe & Triflector MKII to fill from under the chin.

Inside the “secret” hallways of the hotel where kitchen staff bring out the food, I saw a possibility.

There you go, a Cat Woman & Pulp Fiction inspired frame. Two SB800 with red gels at 1/2 power about 70 feet away. The gloss paint and floor surface is wonderful for light to skip over. Key light a SB800 at 24mm, TTL.

Today, we are here to celebrate Heng Ewe and Han Liang’s shoot. “We don’t have any fixed ideas. We are just leaving everything up to you,” they said. That’s music to my ears! They were surprised that how straight forward it is to organize a shoot with us. Just three simple steps:

1. Book a date for the shoot
2. Pick up a gown from Pretty in White
3. Jet into KK for the shoot & holiday

Heng Ewe and Han Liang did just that. We organized the location, shoot and make-up. They stayed on a few extra days to enjoy our great seafood (with out list of highly recommended restaurants) and beaches. I had a lot of fun with them. As you can see from the picture, they had fun too!

That wish came true on 30 June 2010.

NTV7’s Breakfast Show invited me to talk about winning the International Portrait Print of the Year at WPPI, Las Vegas. I was very honored by the invitation. Being the only guest that morning, the hosts, Aisha and Joanne, spent nearly 19 minutes chatting with me on air. If you had missed that, I’ve got it on YouTube. Big thank you to NTV7 for the opportunity. What an honor that you find wedding photography newsworthy.

“Hey mum, I was on TV!”

Oh man! I am so stoked to receive this package from AIPP yesterday. Took part in the recent Australia Professional Photography Awards (APPA) and I was anxious to find out the results. Slit the envelop and out came three silver corners and a letter. I was awarded two Silver Awards and a Silver Distinction. According to my Aussie pal & Master Photographer II, David Williams that’s a “damn fine effort, great score and great recognition.” What an amazing year it has been for us at Louis Pang Studio! We were so excited about it than we put our upcoming Inspire+ seminar on sale for RM99 for 3 hours! Hope you didn’t miss it!

I love this print. Thought I would do well but it scored 75. I am really curious to find out how I can improve here.

“Peace” scored 80 here, Silver Award. View it on APPA gallery.

“Vineyard” scored 80 here as well, Silver Award. It scored 85 in WPPI. View it on APPA gallery.

“Gorgeous” scored 85 and earned a Silver Distinction which according to AIPP means “Superior Execution. Very high standard of professional practice with superior visual communication, interpretation or emotion.” View it on APPA gallery.

The APPA is slightly different from the WPPI print competition. Each member is allowed to submit up to four prints. We sent in four. This is how AIPP rank the prints:

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about print competitions lately. I am by no means an expert in this field…just sharing my experience judging at WPPI Accolades of Excellence Print Competition & talking to several reputable judges. Print competitions motivate me to excel as an artist and craftsman. I compete regularly at WPPI and recently at AIPP for several reasons.

#1 It’s not about my clients/fans
It’s solely for my artistry and development. I could stop at “As long as my clients love my work, I don’t care what other people say.” It’s not about how many “Very Cool!” or “AWESOME” shout outs we get on flickr or Facebook. That is not enough for me. A great print competition sets us up against our industry harshest critics and trying to impress them. I want to know what my fellow professional colleagues around the world think about my work. If it sucked, tell me how I can improve. If it was good, I want to be better.

#2 It’s about benchmarking
Yes, art is subjective. One man’s poison is another man’s food. I had same prints scored 10 points apart by different set of judges. It is easy to discount the judging process just because it is subjective. Remember, the same judging process have recognized masters like Jerry Ghionis, Yervant, Marcus Bell, Jennifer Hudson, Bambi Cantrell. When we submit ourselves to the same process, we are benchmarking ourselves against these masters.

#3 It’s about who you wanna emulate
Why WPPI & AIPP only, Louis? There are several other professional bodies out there. I have limited amount of time and resources for print competitions so I have to pick and choose. That makes my decision easy. I want to compete with the best. I admire the work of Australian and American photographers (probably with slight bias for the Aussies). If you are a football player, you want to play in the biggest tournaments like World Cup or Champions League because the best players play there! So it’s WPPI and AIPP for me.

Your path & preference can be different. Regardless, don’t shy away from a good challenge. It can only make us better. I am going to work hard to earn AIPP’s Master of Photography accreditation.

I am very happy to announce that we are expanding to Kuala Lumpur. Just finished putting in the final touches to our gallery last week. It is a dream come true for Jasmine and I. We’ve had this vision since we started this adventure five years ago. Over half of our clients have come outside of Sabah. It makes sense that we step it up so that we can take better care of you. So what does it mean to you if you are getting married and would love to talk to us?

We have a place that’s our own…a place we can pamper you, showcase our work, listen to your big plans for your big day. Yes, we want to hear them all. We are no longer in the land far, far away. We are right at your doorstep. We are here to help you from the beginning of your wedding plans, to the big day and afterward, choosing your prints & albums.

So where is this place? We share an address with Pretty in White, who designs beautiful gowns.
Desa Sri Hartamans, 21-3 Jalan 26/70A, 50480 Kuala Lumpur

If you know where PIW is, you know how to find us. Otherwise, just follow this Google map link.

It’s true that you will see more of Jasmine and I in KL. We also have the very capable William Lee to take care of you while we are not there. He’s da’ man. While we are waiting for Maxis to put in our phone line, you can reach William at 016-681-8881 or info(at)louispang.com.

As an artist, I always want to be better. Go where I have not gone before. Do what I have not done done before. KL has the highest concentration of fantastic photographers in Malaysia. I want to tap into that energy, inspiration and competitiveness to push myself further. Pardon my World Cup metaphor, but if you want to be a better player, you must play with or against top players regularly. The same reason why we compete in WPPI and AIPP print competitions. We just want to benchmark ourselves against the best. It is a challenge that we relish.

Brides and grooms-to-be, stay tune because we will be lining up events to usher you into the Louis Pang Studio experience.

For photographers, we are running our first workshop, Get Real, July 26-29 in our KL gallery. For four full days, you’ll be soaked in creativity and inspiration. Still have some seats available if you want to join us. Love to share our journey of starting from a tiny room in a small town called Tawau, to the glittering KL. The backdrop has changed, the core is the same–being true to ourselves and what our brand represents.

This post is fast becoming studio opening speech. I want to save that for the opening night with my family, closest friends and colleagues. Take care!

Chilling red sofa for our beloved guests

outer space like white chair for William and I

In the beginning of this year, for some unexplainable reasons, I was really drawn towards high key shots. It was likely some creative mood swings for the artist within. Yeah, if I change my mind, I can always pin it to some creative license. So I did a few shoots with a high key approach, which was something fresh to me. When I shared my high key shots, I got a bunch of questions on how I accomplished them. I thought I should slow down my thought process and share my experience here.

Typically, high key shots are accomplished in a studio environment with a white backdrop. A couple of strobes are set to illuminate the background while a different set of lights control the exposure of the subject in the foreground.

My high key shots, however, are done with available light.

First, find a strong light source. My favourite is large window or glass panels. It’s even better if you can draw a layer of sheer material over it to soften it a touch. The exposure difference between the light outside and inside the room is probably 4 to 8 stops apart. This light source will the background of the photo.

Then I’ll expose for the subject inside the room. That may mean setting the camera at EV +4 or +5. I’ll keep chimping until I get the subjects are properly exposed. At times, I use a large reflector to bounce some light into the subjects. I’ve also use the Lastolite Ezybox Hotshoe to illuminate the subjects when I needed more light. If you are at Aperture Priority, you should set a higher ISO so that you can still get usable shutter speed.

Thirdly, at that sort of exposure gap, the background will be whiteout. If you can get a white sheer layer draw over the windows, the whiteout background can be accomplished easily. If you have vibrant colors at the back, it is a lot harder. That’s why a lacy or white sheer material is very useful. The good news is this can be found in most modern homes.

Finally, lens choice. If we are using a window as the background, then a tele lens like 70-200 will be handy in isolating the background and framing our shoots without distractions.

Here are some photos from Adeline and Chuen Hau’s e-session. The first five shots were done inside their living room with a glass window. The sixth at a hotel’s lift lobby where I used a speedlight & softbox to bring out details in their faces. I hope this post is helpful. I’ll be sharing my lighting techniques at the Inspire+ Five-City Tour.

Marble floor is highly reflective. I was lying on the floor to get this shot.

And this was where we shot it. Window light from the background as the main light source. White walls and floors inside the room bounced lots of light back to the couple.

At a hotel’s lift lobby. Again, strong light from the window panels from the back as my background light. Main light is a SB800 in Lastolite Ezybox Hotshoe from top left.

Here are the rest of the images from the shoot.

Chung Yong, my brother-in-law, will be marrying Huey Kuan in July. We are excited for them. There’s daily email exchanges about the wedding arrangements: flower girls, page boys, hats, shoes, dresses, gowns, logistics. That is what makes a wedding exciting for the ladies. For the guys, we have to make sure our suits are pressed, travel arrangements made, shoes shined…

Back to the shoot, I thought it would be more difficult to photograph a family member but it was not the case here. It is always sheer pleasure to photograph a couple who are madly into each other. Jasmine and I are happy Huey Kuan and Chung Yong get the kind of photographs we never have.

How about how much daddy and mummy loved each other? Isn’t this the reason why we come together at the first place? The main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing.

Let me worry about your poses and how to make you look good. I want you guys to focus on each other and be in the moment so that I can photograph the intangible connection between two persons and make it tangible for the viewers. So that when you look back at these pictures 10 years later, you’ll be reminded why you wanted to walk down the aisle at the first place.

It takes a lot of risks and trust to give so much control and room to a photographer. Bridget and Nicholas did just that. We had fun. They loved their pictures so much that added so many pages to their album. I am just honored to witness the love they share and to record it in photographs.

Jasmine and I would not miss WPPI annual convention for anything else. Yes, it costs a lot of money, time and effort to be in Las Vegas each year, but what’s so incredibly precious and valuable is not going to be cheap. We’ve been to three of the four WPPI convention. The last two weeks went by so fast. After the euphoria has subsided, I got up at 6am today to reflect on what’s special about WPPI 2010. Let me warn you…this is a LONG post.

From a personal standpoint, to be invited to speak at a platform class and to judge the print competition is a HUGE honour. To be the first Asia-based photographer to speak there is historical. My session “7 Winning Strategies” was held at 8am, March 9. I didn’t know what to expect or how many would show up. Given the time, only the hungriest and most dedicated would turn up. I was honored to have 200+ packed into the room. I am sorry to hear that security turned people away because the room wouldn’t fit anymore. Hopefully we can see you next year.

Only five seats left when we were 5 minutes from starting.

I enjoyed delivering the presentation very much.

I put my heart and soul into this. Lost more than a few nights of sleep over this. It was nerve wrecking…not so much about speaking because I do that regularly but more so of the sense of occasion. This was the biggest stage of my young career. Closer the time, the nerve disappeared because I knew I was only speaking from my heart the things that we practice everyday & every week at Louis Pang Studio.

And the results? I felt I really connected with the audience. What an honor to be applauded for a minute! I was told that almost everyone left with teary eye when we showed the last video. (Couldn’t see the crowd very well with the lights on me.) Thank you for staying back to hug me and to share with me what the presentation meant to you. A grown man came up to me in tears said, “I had not cried since my father passed away and I cried today because I saw so much love and life in you and your work.” I am deeply privileged that you share such private information with me.

Many more stopped me randomly in the cafeteria, hallway, escalators, tradeshow and print gallery to thank me for the class. You guys are so sweet. You have no idea how much your encouragement and feedback mean to me. Your tweets, Facebook messages & emails touched Jasmine and I deeply. Thank you guys! We are happy that we can sow into your lives. We can’t wait to hear about the harvest you will reap.

Sharing my guerrilla lighting techniques at the Asukabook’s booth.

Print judging is another new experience. Bambi Cantrell chaired a panel of nine judges which include Yervant, Jesh de Rox, Rocco Ancora (three-time Australian wedding photographer of the year), Michael Greenberg (2010 Grand Award Winner – Portrait & multiple WPPI award winner), Roberto Venezuela, Juli Cialone (another multiple WPPI award winner), Jennifer Maring (who doesn’t know the Maring’s) & Jerry Costanzo. Quite a lineup, don’t you think? I love the breakfast and lunches judges do together. Such a great place to get to know people.

To be honest, I was star gazing and awestruck for a while. Their humility and kindness put me at ease. When a print by one of the judges is in the queue, the chair will rotate out the judges. Rotations are done regularly anyways. Also, when a judge recognize a print, he/she will step away so that it is judged by another colleague. The integrity of the judging process is impeccable. (More on print judging in another post.)

Dave & Quin of the DQ Studios and Quikeys. Friends who have always been helpful and frank me with me.

The best part of WPPI is the friendship. Over the years, Jasmine and I have cultivated friendships with photographers around the world. So we had breakfasts and dinners with various groups of friends. Sometimes I learn more over a meal that I do in come classes. Really proud of the deep connection we made with some people. These friendships are priceless to me. It was heartbreaking to say goodbye to friends we only see once a year.

The biggest surprise for me was winning International Portrait Print of the Year. The 38 8×10 winning prints (19 from each round) vie for four of the International Print of the Year awards. My buddy, CM Leung, took the Wedding Print of the Year. I ran to the front to get some pictures of him accepting it. As I was walking back to my seat, Jim Garner (one of the emcees) announced my name. Disbelief was my first reaction. It was my Oscar moment but everything was a blur. According people who saw me, I was shaking my head in shock. Almost choked up. I have visualized this scene in my mind a billion times and on March 10, 2010, it became a reality…almost exactly as I had visualized it except that I didn’t get to give a speech, a privilege for the Grand Award winners. That means more hard work ahead!

When I got back to my seat, I went straight to Jasmine. Kissed and hugged her tightly. So many memories flashed through my mind. The rejections, ridicule and hardship we went through building the business. It was bitter but it is so sweet to hold that award. Makes it all worthwhile.

I was so happy for CM who won 2 International Print of the Year and a third place in non-wedding album category. We are best of pals and to be able to make history together was so special to us. For many years, the Americans and Australians had dominated the WPPI print competitions. This round, Asians made a small inroad with a 7-award haul (5 from HK, 1 Indonesia and Malaysia).

Bill Hurter is instrumental to my progress in WPPI. A wonderful man.

The LPS team…flanked by Kah Yee, in my opinion, Malaysia’s best digital artist & Jasmine, Malaysia’s best studio manager

I thought of all the people who had taught and inspired me. Rangefinder chief editor, Bill Hurter pointed out to me, “Sure many have inspired you…but you still have to run with it.” He is right. We need to run with the inspiration we’ve received.

So many hugged and congratulated us. Cliff Mautner, Ken Sklute and Greg Gibson…thanks for your heartfelt message. Can’t forget what Yervant said to me after the ceremony…he is such a classy statesman for our industry. A big thank you to my sponsors Asukabook & Think Tank Photo. Glad to be able to partner with you at WPPI 2010.

I’ve found my voice in WPPI 2010. This is one is historical to me. One I’ll remember for a long time.

[special thanks to CM Leung for capturing most of these pictures here & Philip Tsang for the video. Without the pictures and video, I won't be able to remember anything!]

Let me introduce to you Lee Suan & Calvin. Boy was I excited to shoot them…from all the emails, phone calls and our first meeting, I knew right away we would enjoy each others’ company. The shoot started from Raffles Hotel in Singapore and ended in a private yacht cruise in Johor. Check this out…

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.