Anderson's Sixth Birthday Party!

Following Adri's birthday last weekend, I was booked by Cherie's fren for her son ~ Anderson's 6th birthday today. It's really good exposure & the challenge this time was outdoor photography at Jurong Bird's Park! 

However, the afternoon timing was really not an ideal period for outdoor shots due to the harsh sunlight. The party was held at a terrace area overseeing the Flamingos Lake. Right from the beginning of the party was filled with games. The party coordinator got the kids to play passing the Ping Pong ball. Subsequently, also played a few rounds of charade. 

After all the action pack stuff, we were ushered to watch the Birds' Show! When we returned to the terrace, everyone got some tea-time snacks. Right after finishing the food, it's cake cutting time! Carol ~ the mom actually home-baked a Spiderman cake for her precious boy! Wow! It's really done in a very professional manner, with real threads used in the spiderman's web! We were told that she will bake her son's bday cakes every year! This is really very powerful motherly love! 

It was rather chaotic during the birthday song part & as the kids were not being organised properly beforehand (as much as i wished), the shots were not that ideal.  The finale was we got to sit on the monorail for one round around the park before we bid goodbye! 

Before i exit the Birds' Park, i went to enjoy some air-con & relax at the Penguins enclosure! I really love it there & got some nice close-up with my zoom lens! 

Adrienne's Sixth Birthday Party!

I was surprised that my good fren ~ Cherie asked me one day out of the blue if I still do children's photography. Of course! So i was given the job of being darling Adrienne's 6th birthday party's photographer. I was thrilled! 

Finally, the Big Day arrived... as if it's my own child's bday, haha! Well, i had watched her from a baby till now turns 6! Time flies! By 10am, i was at TP Safra to get ready. With the set-up of the main cake & specially customised pop-cakes, which were all created around the Pirates Theme, I started off with the family shoot. Cherie had dressed the kids in nice denim tops, with a nice hat for her little princess too! I love how the whole family looks so photogenic! 

Only from 11am onwards, more guests streamed into the party room, while all the kids were roaming the 2 storeys playground! It's very difficult to get shoots of Adri at the playground as they were dashing about madly! Then, we had to line to kids up for the Birthday Song. Due to space constraint to squeeze everyone into the view, I resorted to climbing on top of the table to shoot! It's really a first time, haha! 

The kids adore the Popcakes & of course their goodies bags. After the makan, there's even party coordinators who organised a treasure hunt for the kids. Practically each kid was rewarded with a small gift at the end of the game. I even shot for awhile after the official end of the party. Overall, it's a very rewarding & memorable photography event. Subsequently, the post-production works also took up several sleepless nights! But I love this meaningful job. Somehow, i enjoy seeing happy family & i'm there to help them capture priceless memories. 

4 Gals & A Baby 。。。

It had been a long time since last catch-up with my poly buddies... duno why juz four persons also so difficult to coordinate? Finally, we all agreed to meet-up at Qy's house today! But alas! a thunderstorm blew thru'out the island, however we still went on ~ 真是風雨不改！

 

At slightly before 2pm, we reached & Qy's 15mth old princess ~ Clarrise seems excited to see us as she smiled gingerly at us (at the gate). Last year when we saw her, she was only 2 or 3mths old....now, she had learnt to walk! Qy & her hubby had ordered a spread of Domino's pizzas & side dishes for us. This would be my first taste of Domino's pizzas... we had the Hawaiian & BBQ flavour, together with some twisty bread & onion rings. Qy also made some delicious sotong balls for us!

 

Like this shot ~ a candid cheeky smile!

Surprisingly, Clarrise likes ZF to carry her! Duno isit due to ZF's cuter tee-shirt leh?! haha! I managed to take a number of photos of the food & of course the baby! Clarrise is such a happy baby & loves to smile alot too! But I gotta be quick enough to press the shutter...many a times, when i was focusing on her, she din smile... but once i shifted my focus, she smiled! She certainly knows that she's the centre of attention! ^_^

 

 

Baby so engrossed in watching Barney! Nice catch-light thou!

 

I spent time taking close-up shots of the baby... the natural window light worked wonder! I simply love the catch-light in her eyes! When enlarge the photo, it is crystal clear with tints of reflections in her eyes. Swee! At one point, Clarrise was so engrossed in watching her Barney dvd & eating her snacks that she totally ignored us... Zf played a prank on her by trying to block her view of the TV! It was hilarious when the baby kept trying to 'fan' ZF off... i think if her arms were longer, sure slap ZF lah! haha!

After filling our tummies & chit-chatting, Qy's hubby asked us to play the Xbox Kinect! Wow! upgraded gaming machine & it's certainly a First Time for all of us... Ruby & Zf started off with the dancing game... Baby Clarrise also love the groove of the music! Next, Zf & I pitted each other in a game of tennis. Sei, I had never played tennis before thou I would love to learn... I actually beat her to the game! keke! Our last game was bowling, where 3 of us gals & Qy's hubby competed... It took us awhile to get the knack of the game. The ultimate winner was Qy's hubby as his bowling ball spins thru' with a powerful surround sound!

 

 

All the gaming surely helped us burnt some calories from the hearty meal as the energy utilised really mirrors the real games! Ruby was tempted to get one so she could work-out at home instead! Before baby went to nap, we took 2 group photos & the first one that I snapped was really good ~ Ruby asked Clarrise where's the camera & the smart little gal actually pointed to me! It's amazing for a 15 month old to understand this! Luckily, i was quick enuf to capture all their fabulous smiles too! ^o^  We ended the gathering wif ruby's sponsored gelato desserts & I wonder when would be our next meet-up?

Baby Gareth's 1st Birthday!

I have been counting down to today & marked my calendar ever since I received a booking in July to be the official photographer for baby Gareth's First Birthday! I was so excited that I couldn't really sleep! I was worried that things may not be smooth going... I thoroughly cleansed all my equipments & packed them into my Lowepro the night before.

As I was about to reach my destination, the skies broke out into a storm! Geez! I did not have my umbrellla, only got raincoat! I was stranded at the bus-stop for a good 20mins before I could cross over to SP.
 

 

 

Once I settled down, I immediately start work by taking shots of the decoration put up by Carolyn & her 2 friends. The location is a restaurant called Food Haven at Singapore Poly's staff club. There were 10 tables set up, each with 3 colourful balloons & cute 'cupcakes' specially made by the host ~ Carolyn. Inside each 'cupcake' is actually a towel stuffed nicely that can easily pass off as the Real thing! ^o^

Soon, baby Gareth arrived with his dad... he's so cute! The front part of his hair was gel too, keke! He's a shy boy so he needed some time to adapt to an unfamiliar environment. While he's still feeling fresh, I took some family portraits for them with my 50mm. I find the venue not so ideal for photography as it has a big aquarium right smack in the centre where the cake-cutting table was set. It was meant to be a No Flash session as I usually do not use flash on young children. However, the reflection of lights from the aquarium was distracting & confused the camera's metering. If not for the rain, I would have suggested a family portrait by the poolside.

Yummy Cream Puffs!

 

After doing the family portraits, I moved on to 'discover' each buffet tray by uncovering it! haha! At close to 1pm, guests started streaming in & this was when i felt the venue was too small to contain 100 guests! Especially when the tables filled up, it was quite hard to move in between & arranging the guests for group shots was tricky!





"I AM ONE!"



My Favourite Shot of Gareth!



The most fulfilling takes were shot while i sat opposite Gareth & observed him playing with his grandpa & eating. The candid shots were good & well-lit without any edits required! At 2pm, the stressful part arrives... cake-cutting! While Carolyn & her hubby were getting baby Gareth ready for the photo-taking, Gareth's powerful flying kick smashed a portion of the cake! OMG! I think every kid's birthday has a funny moment! But of course, we were all in shock for 1 second before quickly cleaning the CREAM off his shoes! Luckily, the smashed portion was right at the back, so front view shot still looked ok! LoL

"Hmm... I want to eat the M&M!"

Mr.Bow-Tie

After the cake-cutting, original plan was for the family (with baby) to pose for group photos at respective tables. However, baby was not in the mood & cried alot! Hence, no choice but to just take some photos without baby & also those of other kids.  There's this particular little gal who loves to take photos & automatically posed her 'V' sign when my lens faced her! It's nice for a few shots as the gal was cooperative but it became like very 'posed' after awhile! At 3pm+, Jeannie & I helped to take down the decorations & we called it a day!

 

Post-Session:

 

My whole sunday was spent madly editing the photos & selecting the best shots. I also managed to come out with a tagline for Minzstudio.

~ A Moment in Time, A Picture for Life. [I find it meaningful, do u?]

 

Lastly, i designed a nice DVD cover & label as I feel that packaging is important too!

Upon delivery, Carolyn was evidently pleased with the DVD & photos.

Her testimonial for my service:

"I engaged Kester's photography service for my son's birthday party in October 2012. It was a wonderful experience working with her. Her dedication is evident in her prompt replies, her efforts to do "homework" before the event, and her insightful suggestions."  ~ Carolyn Fong

I feel so encouraged & sense of fulfilment to be doing something which is my passion & at the same time I think kids' parties are fun! If you or any of your friends would like to engage me as your photographer for similar parties be it at your selected venue or home; or even outdoor portraits, feel free to email: minzstudio@outlook.com for a non-obligatory discussion.