Black and white film

In the age where photography is dominantly digital, it is interesting to know that film still has a place in wedding photography. The whole experience of shooting in black and white film, loading it into the film developing tank, pour in the chemicals, washing the film, and finally unreeling the film to reveal the film that you hand processed is priceless.

Although I've stopped doing my own film developing, I personally like to use this medium because of the character and the overall look it gives. In a way, being able to shoot on film is becoming a niche and my clients have been very happy with it.

I normally don't go into equipment discussion, but special mention has to be given to my Leica rangefinder - these tools are really compact and silent, and produces pictures with wonderful tones.

2 examples from weddings I took last week:




Film grain is still something that digital has yet to surpass.

Overseas Bridal Photography

We are really excited to announce that Lyrical Moments will be travelling to the following places: Amsterdam (April & August 07), Dubai (Nov 2007), Adelaide (Mid April) for bridal shoot next year!

In retrospect, here are some of the overseas bridal /prewedding pictures I've done in 2006:

Bridal photography

Over the past 2 weeks, I've received many requests, as well as enquiries for bridal & pre-wedding photography. It's about time we expand our range of services and offer the kind of bridal photography that's not only timeless, but creative and unique at the same time.

So what's Lyrical Moment's philosophy on these bridal shoots? Very simply, it's all about who the couple REALLY is - no cheezy, contrived or "template" poses, but portraits and images that reflect personalities. Every series are going to be unique because everyone's different!

Here are some of my favourites that I've been doing all these while, as a teaser before the bridal section on my website is launch, which I'm sure many are looking forward to.

Images taken in Singapore:

Alex & Jolyne, 18 Dec 2006

Despite a lazy and rainy monday, this wedding is one that's full of zest and energy, thanks to the lovely and fun couple, Alex and Jolyne.

Here are some of the favourites:

Firhad & Izrina, 16 Dec 2006

This is one of the few Malay weddings that's really unique. For once, it's held in Asian Civilisation Museum instead of the usual HDB void deck.

Quick post before I rush off for the banquet shoot, will post more images later ;)

Roy & Ee Peng, 9 Dec 2006

9 Dec 2006 is probably the hottest date for couples to tie the knot. I've turned down over 50 couples who requested for that date; there were couples who actually called 3 days before 9 Dec and I really have problems recommending other professional photographers because everyone's booked!

This lucky couple, Roy and Ee Peng managed to secure our photography services in the beginning part of the year. Lovely and nice couple, I really enjoyed working with them.

Here are 2 of my favourite photos:

Congratulations, Roy & Ee Peng!

We've made it to AGWPJA!!

I'm pleased to announce that two of my images have received award in 2 photo contest categories by the Artistic Guild of the Wedding Photojournalist Association (http://www.agwpja.com)! In otherall ranking, Lyrical Moments Photography is listed as #15 for the Fall '06 contest.

This is really good news and a recognition of the effort put in for Lyrical Moments Photography. The Artistic Guild promotes the incorporation of fine arts into wedding photojournalism, and I'm really honoured to be one of the 4 Singaporean photographers listed there.

Here are the 2 winning entires:

In 4th place under "Engagment Portraits" (This photo used to grace our website as the opening picture)

In 8th place under "Ceremony"

Ezal & Muna, 11 Nov 2006

Here's one of the 2 Malay wedding/ROM that I'm covering over the next 20 days. Malay weddings are really homely affairs (no puns intended) and simple - I enjoyed every bit of it.

Priceless Moments

Ok, haven't had the time to update the blog. Having done a whole chain of weddings for the past 2 weeks, it's time to take a short breather before another marathon of weddings comes on in December.

Here are some of my favourites from the last few weddings that I shot:

I really like this image for the priceless expression. Thankfully couple didn't pop the champange Michael Schumacher style.


Same wedding in Marriot hotel ballroom, which happens to be a venue that's really challenging for photographers - low lighting, high ceiling, spot light that changes in both colour and intensity. This shot was captured at the right moment when the spot light outlines the intimate body language of the couple.



Unlike film, digital has a much lower latitude thus making dramatic lighting technically very difficult to handle. When I created this image, I had in mine the aura around the bride and her father as they make their entrance into the church. Exposure is so critical that because we want to preserve those highlight details, at the same time, enough shadow details to see the faces.



This last one really takes the cake, the contrast between the 2 faces makes this a really priceless moment!



More photos on the way...next series on details.

Major events...

One of the big events that I covered last Sunday at Suntec Ballroom, Guest of Honour was Mr Wong Kan Seng Deputy Prime Minister.

There are some shots that you CANNOT miss for such events, plus you have 12 other photographers to jostle with, all of whom are in the same "get-the-shot-or-else" situation - thus explains the stressful nature of such assignments.

Some of the lyrical moments:





Next few weeks are going to be real busy. 5 weddings in a span of 7 days, man, I'm really looking forward to it ;)

Vogue

Just did a photoshoot today for a really lovely couple. Groom is obviously very photogenic and is appearing in the current MOE recruitment advertisment (Mr Gravity) :)

I've always challenged myself to do produce images that not only look different, but with a conceptual punch to it. Anyway, here's their very 'Vogue' like shot, which will be used for their invitation card:

Another happy couple, from Holland

Been a while since I've updated my blog. The past few weeks had been really busy and very fulfilling. Did a really interesting photoshoot in the theatre studio of the Esplanade, more photos will come later :)

One of the fulfilments as a professional wedding photographer is the completion of a couple's wedding album, after all the blood and sweat that has been put into it (and being a perfectionist doesn't make my life any easier). But the greatest fulfilments in my career is the joy you see in people when they receive their book, and the pat on the shoulder for a job well done.

Lyrical Moments has seen another happy couple, though both of them are in Netherlands and I can't see their faces, satisfied customers will always write good things about you, here's her post on Singapore Brides forum.

Here's the link: http://www.singaporebrides.com/forumboard/messages/7/404966.html?1158845258

Posted on Monday, September 11, 2006 - 5:17 pm:

"I would like to share my wedding photos taken in Netherlands, taken by "Stephen from Lyrical Moments". http://www.lyricalmoments.com/EJC/ He has captured moments where it speaks of our wedding day, the story of our day. Looking at them brings back the memories of the day and also our journey in our relationships till now. He is very professional in his work and what is the best is he is able to capture so naturally of who we are and our family. He has crafted it into a video clip with a beautiful song he has selected which surprises us and touches our family and friends especially those who missed our weddings. No regrets and money well spend."

For those of you who would like to see their album, the couple has given me their kind permission to showcase their wedding day photos in the magazine style format here:

http://www.lyricalmoments.com/EJC/

Well Elizabeth and Jeroen, thank you very much for the opportunity. I'm really honoured to document those moments which you will certainly cherish for the rest of your life. Congratulations!

Jet-lagging

Doing overseas shoot is no joke - travel fatigue and jet lag are part of the equation, not to mention the expectations when the clients pay for your airfare and accomodation to fly over to shoot their weddings.

The trip to Holland had been great, churches there are especially beautiful!

Taking sometime for body to adjust back to Singapore timezone, trying to get some post-processing work going on.

Here are some pictures from Holland:






This one taken in Delft, town known for Delftware (china blue)



More photos to come, now it's time to catch my lunch @6.15pm.

Holland, Holland

Haven't got time to update my blog, been really busy with photoshoots and preparing for my overseas shoot in Holland. In fact, I've just flown over to Holland 3 days ago, so if wasn't able to answer your phone calls, please bear with me, I will be back in Singapore on 23 Aug 2006.

You can look forward to some new pictures taken in Holland. (skies here are simply beautiful!).

Something Old, Something New

Finally decided to update the welcome photo of my website, www.lyricalmoments.com. Shoot was taken during my recent assignment, timing was perfect for this one.

And the old one that has been welcoming all visitors of my website for the past months:

More Kids

A follow-up on my post last month on kids. Children are such joy to photograph and since they grow up so fast, no wedding series can be complete without some photographs of kids.

Here are some of my favourites taken just a few days ago.

Shot taken while video of the couple's wedding in the States was shown to the guest:



... and the same girl doing something behind the backs of the wedding couple (literally).

Month of Ge-Tais and Auctions

Met up with a few fellow wedding photographers who are currently taking a break since this is one year of dual lunar 7th month. On the contrary, this is a real busy month for Lyrical Moments, so happen that our cliente base is very cosmopolitan.

Just convered another lovely wedding dinner in a restaurant in Clarke Quay. Bride's Chinese and Groom's from Sri Lanka made a grand entrance on a bum boat and moi was shooting from the boat. This is one of the best shots of the wedding, when the balloons were released from the boat into the skies overlooking Clarke Quay.

Best selling albums of Lyrical Moments

Beyond just capturing those precious and special moments on the couple's big day, my mission as a wedding photographer is to create the perfect family heirloom - the wedding album. The album must not only be aesthetically pleasing, but sturdy to withstand the test of time, elegant, compliment the style of the photographer, timeless... so much to think about.

Which is one reason why Lyrical Moments do not carry 4R slip-in albums, which is so common these days, and probably much more economical for couples to purchase and print themselves, really.

Magazine style albums with fanciful layouts are the in-thing these days. Yes, I do have samples of these books but so somehow, my matted albums are so much more popular than the magazine style books! I always asked the couple "so what is it that you like about the matted albums?" Out of the 5 couples who've signed up over the past week, 4 of them opted for the matted albums because these albums are the most timeless - all the top album makers in the world such as Leather Craftsmen, Queensberry, Art Leather, are carrying these albums as their flagship products. The fifth couple told me their reason, simply the magazine style books are too common and cheezy for them.

So how do the best selling albums look like? Here are some pictures I took of the album that is fresh out of the oven...well, there are some layout that I've done in this album (e.g. the picture on the right, which carries a hint of commercial style photography).




Here's a close up on the corner of the print. Notice how the matt gives the print a 3D feel and prevents fingers from coming in contact with the photo (which is actually soft laminated).


Future brides of Lyrical Moments can look forward to more exciting products from us!

Dance, in the old fashion way

Been busy doing up a few albums, meeting up prospective couples of Lyrical Moments. Last weekend was really good for us - managed to confirm five wedding dates in just 2 days!

Anyway, here's one of my favourite photos from a series shot in Beaufort hotel. I will always remember this is one of the most interesting weddings ever - I got to know from my first meeting with the couple that the usual glamourous events in a banquet won't be in the programme. In other words, no march-in, no cake-cutting, no cham popping, no toasting (yum sing) and I was asked "so Stephen, what are you going to shoot?"

The wonder of photojournalism is that it capture the events in its raw and honest form that the couple will remember in years to come. Having 'less' to shoot in that wedding opened up more possibilities and made me think beyond the conventional shoots.

Here's one of my favourite, more to come in a while...

Kids!

Phew... The hectic month of June is finally over. Looked through the 4 albums that I just completed and what strucked me most are the photographs of little kids who happened to be there at the wedding.

The inclusion of these photos in the couple's wedding album, their heirloom and storybook, really makes their wedding unique. There will be many friends, relatives, parents who will be there to ask their kids to "look here, 1, 2, 3.... smile!"

Definitely not me... :)

#1 - Captured during luncheon...

#2 - Curious

#3 - Oh, this one is really a classic - spontaneous and cracking. Image was projected as a slideshow during the wedding banquet, audience literally roared...

Le Flower Girl Yawn

Kids. Can't imagine weddings without them!

Tis the hectic month of June

June has been a really busy month - 3 wedding assignments, 1 session at ROM, meeting up potential couples of Lyrical Moments photography, 4 outstanding albums to work on, meeting up with sales reps...

The most interesting photos I've taken earlier this month would be the 3-month old Nicole. Finally, something different from my usual diet of weddings. Brought some studio lights, loaded a roll of Fuji Neopan 400 (my favourite black and white film) and took a few shoots in the apartment.

Just spent an hour developing the roll of black and white film, waiting for it to air dry before scanning it, will post that later, but here's one from the digital cam. Caucasian babies are just so cute!

To blog or not to blog.

Finally decided to start my own blog that's related to my photography business. These entries are the milestones of my career as a professional photographer.

Many folks have asked me "so what's this wedding photojournalistic style that you're into?" Well, a lot of the info can be found at http://www.wpja.com and lots of examples on photojournalistic style. My calling as a wedding photographer is to create for the couples their pictorial storybook of their big day, one that will be passed down for the next generations to remember. All the photos that you see in the wedding section of my website (http://www.lyricalmoments.com) are neither posed nor dictated by the photographer. Group /posed photos can only tell us that much about the wedding, and moreover, many relative and friends these days do bring their own digital cameras to the weddings to snap those group shots.

I am fortunate to be accepted, amongst some of the top wedding photographers in Singapore, by the Wedding Photojournalist Association, http://www.wpja.com. The whole process of application and review of my website took 2 weeks to complete before I got my confirmation email for the membership, offered only to those whose works are true to style of photojournalism.

This blog is dedicated to all couples of Lyrical Moments, past and future, who have given me the honour to take on the task of documenting their most important day of their lives.