But you know, as bad as it sounds, it’s all worth it in the end!

Really wonder how their parents can tell them apart.

It was the end of the shoot, so we showered her with toys, literally!

Taking interesting baby photos does involve taking risks. Calculated risks of course. As parent’s, the last thing we want is our little one putting something dirty into her mouth or falling down. But sometimes, with a bit of faith, and lots of luck, things do come together.

Posing for photos helps babies work up an appetite.

She was still a little wobbly but babies have more perseverance than you think.

On the other hand, shooting, I mean photographing children, is as challenging but for different reasons. By a certain age, a child either decides that he/she likes or hates having a camera pointed at his/her face. Some kids even develop a kind of sixth sense and know right away when there’s a camera aimed at them. And there are some kids who just love the camera so much that they can’t stop wanting to do cute things for you. Just like these two below.

Kids can make themselves almost comfortable anywhere.

This kid’s uncle calls him Ronaldo. I think he looks like a young Antonio Banderas.

At the end of the day though, it’s all about genuinely loving kids (yes, they can tell if you’re faking it!). And lots of practice practice practice.

Speaking of which, I love practicing on Ashley!

She can close her eyes, but when she opens them, I’m still there.

Irving is currently available for family, children and baby portraits. My standard package:

• Studio Session: $150 per hour
• Location Session: $200 per hour
• No limit on change of clothes or number of family members in the photo
• 5 high resolution artistically processed images per hour of photography
• All non-artistically processed images returned via DVD/digital download
• Canvas prints available on request.

Almost didn’t shoot this (tired, too early in the morning, foggy, etc) but for wifey’s incessant reminders that "we made it this far". We were just about done shooting when the gorgeous sun came out from behind the clouds, and thankfully dad-in-law was on hand to hold my huge reflector, filling the shadow’s nicely.

On the image, I received a few comments that the scenery looks almost unreal. Yes, New Zealand is that gorgeous. With the right equipment (an ultra-wide angle lens) and enthusiastic subject, it all simply came together.

Wanaka

Received a wonderful tip from the hair stylist, Debbie, on where to take pictures around Wanaka and it’s almost certain that I wouldn’t have found this place otherwise. The hills were filled with tussock or snow grass (their equivalent of our lalang, except much nicer). If Zhiyi looks extra elegant in this photo, it’s thanks to the wonderful makeup and hair services of Carla Lucas and Debbie Forrest respectively. You can contact them here if you’re ever thinking of doing a shoot around Queenstown or Wanaka.

Note: See the larger version by clicking on the image, and going to “All Sizes” in the next page, as the facial details just look mashed in the thumbnail.

Opotiki

It was dreadfully overcast when we decided to shoot on our 2nd day in Opotiki, but as we were about to wrap up, the sun miraculously decided to poke through the clouds just as a flock of seagulls entered my frame. And to top it off, we wouldn’t have returned to the beach for a second round had we not discovered that Zhiyi had dropped her earrings at the very spot she is standing in the photo above when we were there earlier. Serendipity!

More to come!

Speaking of revenue, one thing that surprised me this year was that I managed to sell a few canvas prints of some fine art street photographs I took in Shanghai. As a people photographer, I earn from photographing portraits, events and weddings, so this reaffirmed the fact that to be a good photographer, one must really stretch himself to go beyond his comfort zone and train his eye in other photographic disciplines.

Anyway, that aside, I think the biggest highlight for me this year was being invited by Lance Lee, a prominent local fashion and commercial photographer, to participate in a joint fashion photography exhibition with a few other local professional photographers. The T-Show was the brainchild of Luke Elijah, a prominent local stylist, featuring wardrobe from his boutique and shot on location at The Cathay. The experience of shooting for the exhibition can only be described as gruelling and I must admit, there were times I did feel that I was in way over my head. Nonetheless, the experience really thought me how to work under pressure, solve problems on the spot and take control of a shoot.

I’m proud to say that not only did I survive (want to see my scar? ), but I also managed to contribute 6 out of the 15 photos on exhibit. The exhibition is now headed to Hong Kong and the pool of photos has since grown to about 20. Really hope I get the chance to do something again like this next year!

The first group of colleagues – Jowena, Fendy and Hendrik – coming to see my exhibition.

Hendrik trying to look cool like the photo whereas Jowena is tickled by the topless twins!

My long suffering and ever patient wife and daughters finally seeing the fruits of my labour.

Click here for a link to all the photos I took for the exhibition.

Anyway, being pregnant isn’t easy. Not only does Zhiyi have to carry around an additional 14kg of tummy, she has to spend hours posing for her photonut hubby too. And this is all he has to show for it…

Here’s looking forward to 25 March!

Zhiyi, Ashley and Baby in High Key

Ashley feeling around

Squeeze

Babies just bring a smile to your face don’t they!

Here’s the setup:

Photography Notes:

• Cloth (e.g. tulle) make for good backdrop material as well as makeshift, um, garments. You can get them from Arab Street at a fraction of the price compared to Spotlight. Bargaining is a must as most shops there give a very high starting quote.
• Putting a huge light source behind the cloth backdrop allowed for a high key look and, if controlled well, highlights the flow of the fabric. Notice how the lines lead the viewers eyes towards the subject.
• No f-stops numbers this time as this shoot was done 2 weeks ago. Note to self: make notes!

In fact, the animals in the next couple of shots took a huge liking towards my camera and kept trying sniff out the source of the rapid “click, click, click” sounds. This allowed me to get very close and take shots from a unique close up angle.

Sheep are known to be timid, but not this one. This sheep got so close he left snot and moisture on my lens, but nothing a quick swab with the t-shirt couldn’t fix. Also, when they are in so close, you absolutely have to go into manual focus mode. I chose to focus on the eyes and leave the rest of the sheep’s face a blur.

While I’m a strong advocate of getting out there to make or chase the pictures you want, sometimes, it pays to be patient for good pictures to come your way, literally. I was sitting on top of a log reviewing pictures when this curious alpaca saw me from afar. Slowly and gradually, he started making his way towards me and before I knew it, he was a mere few feet away. Sensing the opportunity, I lifted my camera up as if offering food and he couldn’t help but stick his nose in for a whiff. Two clicks were all I had before he decided to move on to greener pastures, so to speak.

Nothing fancy this time round with just her in her Barbie sleeping gown and a basic one light set up against a slate grey background. The key to making a photo work is not so much the equipment and setup but the skill to coax the right expression out of your subject. Once we got the rhythm going, Ashley even came up with some poses of her own.

Note: Each image can be clicked on for a bigger version.

Rabbit ears. Ashley thought of this one herself!

Drying off my wet hair.

Another Ashley thought of pose.

After the shoot, we swapped places with Ashley directing me how to pose while she snapped away. I must say, she has talent, though her photos are not something I dare to post up.

Here’s the setup:

Anyway, here are some events that I shot recently.

Hope Family Olympics @ Botanical Gardens

This was a unit combined event held on 8 Nov 2008 at the Eco Lake in Botanical Gardens. There were various games that pitted couples against couples as well as even more competitive ones that involved the children. The turnout was really great and coupled with great weather, made shooting this event a blast. There were even medals up for grabs!

Gallery

Baby Sarah’s One Month Old Celebration

It seemed like just yesterday that Sarah was born but here she already celebrating her first month. She was sleeping almost throughout the party though so I ended up taking quite a few photos of Ashley and Zaccheus too.

Gallery

Here’s one of Ashley with her cousin Zaccheus. I need to learn the magic word to get her to smile like this. She always looks so serious when I ask her to pose!

Taking the Plunge

Really wanted to include a skateboard in this picture to “complete” the feel of the jump. From the lack of a skateboard in the photo, you can immediately tell that I need to start making younger friends. Very much younger.

Hang Time

I got Merv jumping and jumping for this photo till his ankle was sprained for the next month or two. However, after looking at the photo, all the effort was worth it (though I’m positive Merv will disagree).

Lines

I can’t recall when the last time I saw such dramatic cloud patterns in Singapore was, considering the atmospheric pollution and high humidity. Nonetheless, I woke up early one Saturday morning to see this outside my bedroom window, bathed in the most wonderful golden light. It turned out to be a beautiful day.

A Transient Place

We spend a third of our lives sleeping, but yet there is that lingering feeling that the bed is our most underutilized piece of furniture. It is a place where we alternate between consciousness and dreams. It is a place where we transit from one day to another.

Midnight Snack

Or as some would prefer to call it – an early breakfast.

The Unusual Suspects

If something were to go missing in the house, would anyone suspect the appliances?

Note: The shape of the shadows were inspired by the movie poster of The Usual Suspects. Great movie I heard, though I must admit I haven’t watched it.

Finally, here’s a recent favourite of mine that was taken inside an abandoned building somewhere at Dempsey.

Dancing in an Abandoned House

Apart from being a freelance model, Lynnie (above) provides really good makeup services. I’ve only just started working with her on some shoots, but she brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm to a photo session and even contributes posing tips here and there!

WARNING *shameless plug* If you’re interested in taking some makeover/portrait photos, do feel free to drop me a note! I currently offer very reasonable rates and am willing to consider doing TFCDs* for guys/gals/kids/babies who possess an X-factor that I would love to have in my portfolio.

*Trade for CDs – a collaborative process between a photographer and a talent (who contributes the time to model in exchange for photos) rather than a commercially driven one.

The place makes for great photos too.

Let’s order?

Getting bored…

So let’s do some fashion poses while waiting.

Or how about the cute look instead?

That’s my girl!

Don’t forget mummy!

Let’s eat!

Photography notes:

1. When shooting indoors, try to determine the right exposure in manual mode and once you’ve got it, stick to the same settings throughout. In this case, f/2.8 at 1/100s at ISO800.
2. Try not to rely too much on one of the program/priority modes because the very contrasty nature of some indoor lights can fool the camera’s meter resulting in very under/overexposed shots.
3. Even for shooting normal shots in restaurants, no harm asking for certain seats if you think they will get you better photos. I insisted on sitting in the corner near the wall display and the waiter happily obliged.
4. If I could do this again, I would’ve used my flash for fill light to make the subject “pop” more. I didn’t like how the foreground (i.e. subject) and background were equally exposed.