I am on Her World Brides December issue. I am excited when I saw the latest copy at the petrol kiosk. Why so excited…you might be wondering? That’s because Scintilla Studio is being featured! Wohoo…since we are on this topic, I should blog a little about myself.

For many who knows me…I am not your usual full time photographer. I am like a full time weekend photographer coz most of my jobs are taken over the weekends and thats also because I hold a full time job. :-) Photography came as a chance. It was my current boss (Sebastian Tan) who had an influence over me when he showed me a really bulky canon camera back then in 2007. I saved enough money and got my first camera…a Nikon D80.

It was just a hobby for me then…I practically shot everything I saw…spent a lot of my weekends attending classes and made many new friends. My sis-in-law got married and I volunteered to be her photographer. I was lucky then as the main photographer (Kwang from Lightbox Productions) didn’t mind my presence and I thought I blocked some of his angles but he was professional. Anyway, the shots I did was awful..hahaha… That assignment got me hooked and I started posted on forums and shot for free (yes…I shot for free!). Response wasn’t that great as I told them that I am still learning but yet…some couples gave me the chance which I am grateful. I shot for almost a year before I started charging. That was also when I first met Audrey and Woo Yee…who gave me the first paid assignment. They also recommended few of their friends to me which I covered their weddings as well.

Back then, I did not have a proper website, meet customers at Macdonalds without a proper album and a crappy laptop. Well…at least now I meet clients at the comfort of my home office…allow couples to run through albums and looked through images through my computer. :-)

I couldn’t have come so far without your support and I will continue to strive for better picture quality while maintaining a reasonable fee for the effort made. For all that granted me an opportunity…let me take this chance to say a really big “Thank you!”.

Elaine and Alvin were the first few couples that signed up with me when I just started out. I didn’t have a proper portfolio then. Only a laptop full of images. I didn’t meet my client in my office and I had no printed sample albums. The best was…I didn’t have a name card. Haha…

We had our first meeting at Macdonald’s, I couldn’t remember which outlet it was but I do remember that Alvin look intimating. He even commented, “How do you meet clients without albums?” I was dumb folded in a way. :-) In my heart, I was thinking, “Die ah…will he kill me if I didn’t do a good job?”

The truth was, he is a gentle man, someone who had only eyes for Elaine. The smile that he gave when he presented the bouquet of flowers to Elaine (one of the shot I had of him below) says it all. It was full of his expression of love…in his own way. When I suggested that we should head to somewhere in between their actual wedding day for simple shoot, he suggested that we should go home early to rest. Such thoughtfulness rarely happened.

Elaine, was an awesome bride. A modern guardian angel by profession, she heals patients with her heart. She was one of those brides who simply does it all. When I reached the ballroom for the dinner reception, she was still in her t-shirt and shorts..that was around 6.15pm. No make up as yet and she was cool about it. She was busy decorating the reception table with rose petals while waiting for the make up artist to arrive. In fact, she commented that I was early which I thought I was fairly late based on the past experiences I had. The couple also ensured that I get a seat and have my meals. They thank me personally on stage and even gave me a nice polaroid of a shoot of us. :-)

I finally delivered their albums last week, brught joy to them and probably Elaine’s mother-in-law who was smiling so widely when I told her that I am delivering the albums to Elaine. Thank you so much for making this assignment a breeze. While I hope my pictures will bring you lifetime memories, your actions have left a deep impression in me. Thank you for allowing me to document this significant day in your life.

This look of love, as what I mentioned earlier (picture on the right).

For your info, this is Alvin’s dad…who climbed up the chair and celebrated!

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It’s Day 2 since returning from Perth and I am working on the remaining albums when I suddenly had the urge to browse through images which I took from the recent Perth trip. Though the trip was short, we had many memorable moments and I kept complaining that I had too much to eat…too much to drink..all thanks to the warm hospitality of Aunty Grace & Uncle Johari (if I spelled it correctly).

As I was telling Ronny, this trip was full of anxiety. Prior to this, I have never been to Perth. I wasn’t sure of the lighting conditions, it was an unfamiliar environment and I was having cold feet the night before departure, worried that I may not have enough images for them to choose but as Ronny said, “There’s no pressure on us, no pressure on you and we let you do whatever you like!” Kind of an assurance for me. :-) Seriously, without our F1 driver Uncle Johari, a picture like this wouldn’t be possible. He practically chased the light for us, squeezing through the traffic and ensuring that we reached our destination on time to catch the light and at times, the last bit of light available. Aunty Grace played her part too by holding on to the tail of the gown to ensure that it remained spotless. She played the role of an assistant, helping the bride change, getting Huiwen’s hair sprayed, adjusted the veil and also ensured that I have my regular coffee and toast. She is just so wonderful.

This picture is for everyone who made this trip extraordinary. This shot was done at Cottesloe Beach. Independent, poise and confident, my intention of shooting this is a reflection of how I have viewed the characteristics of Huiwen during the trip.

So many times, I have people asking how a certain image was achieved. Lightings, locations… All is definitely important in a way but it’s you (the couple) who made a difference. I am in Perth with an awesome couple, Ronny and Hui Wen. Why awesome? I made them look left, look right, look centre, climb…

It caught my eye…

August has been a really busy month for me and I am looking towards the next few months with more work and some personal assignment for Scintilla Studio.

Btw, if you have seen this? Its just another ad that I have come up with Her World Brides. Promotion will be extended. Drop me a mail to find out more. :-)

Hello hello…I am heading to Perth from 10 October to 16 October 2010. Anyone keen to have a shoot there can contact me at amostay@scintillastudio.com

You will save on my airfare and accomodation since it’s being taken care of. Mail me for more details. :-)

Haha…kind of subjective header. It is actually someone who can print a wedding book to my preference and with awesome quality. My couples appreciate the book that I layout for them and the fact that they are light and can be carried out easily for their families/ friends to view those memories when they bring out. If you have read my earlier post on wedding albums, you would have understand that I used primarily 2 vendors in the earlier days. One from Singapore and the other one from Japan. Now, with this vendor from the States, I will no longer be offering the local prints to all my new clients. There is nothing bad about local prints, just that production time takes too long, almost double the time for those I ordered from Japan and States.

This new book is awesome, simply because its light weight, comes with dust cover and can be spread out. That literally means I can lay my picture within 2 pages. That’s a wider perspective and my client loves it! Some samples of the book as below:

For those who are keen to view actual book, do make an appointment with me. You can drop me a mail at amostay@scintillastudio.com