The closest I got to being on TV was hanging out with Drew Gurian at the NTV7’s visitors lounge while the Breakfast Show interviewed Joe McNally last February. I remembered cheering on for Joe when he went on air. Not that he could hear us, but it was just so great to see him inspiring the viewers with his stories & journey while we watched the whole thing live. It was like seeing a family or close friend on TV…and I get to brag, “Hey that’s my pal on TV!” I did made a little wish while watching Joe on air.

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.

Jasmine and I didn’t have professionally done photos for our wedding. We were young and broke. So when our family members get married, we do our best they have their photography taken care of. I don’t shoot weddings of my family member because I want to enjoy the wedding day. However, I am happy to shoot their pre-wedding/engagement session.

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.