Reviews of our photographers and make-up artists & tips on getting the most out of your photoshoot! We had 2 local photoshoots, one in Oct 2018 and one in Jan 2019. The photographer I really wanted was only available in January, so we decided to do a short one as a backup of sorts. In the end, we were able to get the photos in time for our wedding celebrations in February thanks to Kuan Yee rushing them out!
Tips to Maximise Your Photoshoot
Have a moodboard - save photos from Pinterest/instagram that you like and show your photographer so that they have a better idea of the style, poses and angles you want. You can also communicate this to the photographer during the shoot.
Research on your locations - choose the locations depending on the feel you want (e.g. nature, cafe, street, museum) and find out if you need to pay any fees or book beforehand. Map the route out on Google maps if you have a few locations in mind, so that you can factor in travelling time. You can also search dayre to see what other brides had to say about the places and what you should take note of. See the links below for ideas on locations :)
Choose complementary outfits - choose outfits that complement the place, such as bright colours to stand out against Tiong Bahru's grey-and-white streets.
Bring your own props - having props makes the photos look more lively and personal. For ours, I brought along the Craftaholic rabbits which Janan gave me for our 100-days together. The balloon clusters we used for our Tiong Bahru shoot also made the photos much more vibrant.
Think practically - bring along a pair of slippers which you can walk around easily in! If you intend to have multiple changes of outfits, find out if there is a toilet nearby. If there isn't, you might want to consider getting a changing tent (we bought ours for $30+ from Lazada). Also consider other logistics like safety pins (very helpful when your dress keeps falling down!), extra hair pins, insect spray, straw (to drink water without smudging your makeup) etc.
Discuss wet weather plans - talk to your photographer about alternative locations you can shoot at if the weather turns bad. A popular location nowadays is the domes at Gardens by the Bay, but an entry fee is needed and it can get crowded.
Ideas for locations:
Reviews of our Vendors
1) Withminn Photography & Team Bride SG
Our first photoshoot was a budget one with Withminn photography at Tiong Bahru Estate. It was a 1-hour session with 12 edited photos. We chose Withminn because our friend had worked with them before, and I quite liked the vintage vibe the photos had. However, our photographer that day wasn't the main photographer herself, but an associate. He told us that the company has been getting more business and she gets him to help out with the shoots.
Being a more budget option (<$200/hour), our expectations weren't too high and I think the photos are not bad. I sent a moodboard beforehand, and the photographer captured the right vibe with the first few photos above. We were also lucky enough to find a relatively empty cafe that allowed us to shoot the cafe scenes I wanted. Plus point is that the photographer stayed an extra half an hour to shoot more shots.
My main gripe is that he didn't seem to know how to make use of the props. I actually had a baby breath's breath bouquet and he took lots of photos with it, but it barely appeared in the end. We also made the effort of ordering the balloon cluster and got Janan's friend to help us carry it around (ironically, the one thing the friend is afraid of is balloons), but the photographer had him place it at the side most of the time. It helped that I suggested to the photographer how I wanted the balloons to be used (e.g. us standing apart against a white background so I could use it for a Save-the-Date if I wanted). I'm glad I did, as we ended up choosing all the photos with the balloons and using them for our Save-the-Date!
My hair and make-up were done by Joanna Tay from Team Bride SG (you can search for her on FB). As it was a casual photoshoot, I requested for her Event Makeup option instead of the pre-wedding packages (also <$200). I think she did a great job, and I loved the curls for the waterfall braid especially. She also insisted on adding in baby's breath from my bouquet, which turned out to be a nice touch.
Outfits & props: Yellow dress was bought from Fayth. Balloons were ordered from The Party Stuff in Tiong Bahru area. Baby breath's bouquet from Carousell.
2) Happyphotopeople and Stella Ang
We had a lot of fun shooting with Kuan Yee! She was so nice and made us feel so comfortable, it was like working with a friend. Despite looking through a lot of other photographers' portfolios, I still loved Kuan Yee's style the most. Although quite different from Arture, her style is dreamy in its own way and I love the warm and happy vibe that her photos have. I swooned over a lot of the photos on her instagram page, and after meeting with a few other photographers, Janan told me to just go ahead with her because I would regret it (and complain to him non-stop) if I didn't. So we ended up having our shoot with her one month before our wedding.
Kuan Yee is the main photographer as far as I know. Her rates are pretty reasonable, and she delivered way more photos than the stated 50 photos minimum (170+ for us). She also stayed back an extra half-hour to shoot for us, rushed out the photos in less than a month, and even gave us metal straws together with our printed photos! In addition, she sent me an extra photo when I requested for one with a certain pose. The funny thing is that I kept thinking she was a guy, up till the time that I Whatsapped her and saw her profile photo. She is now one of the photographers collaborating with The Gown Connoisseur, so good news for those planning to rent a gown from them.
These are just a few of the many photos that I loved. It was a 3-hour photoshoot at Coney Island and Punggol Beach. We didn't manage to take photos with the Punggol beach rocks as it was high tide, but we did find a bonus swing to take photos with. The tides are another thing to take note of if you are having a beach photoshoot. I would say that there wasn't one photo that I swooned over as much as I did the photos on her instagram, but I do love the vibrant colours of the photos. She was also really detailed in checking the moodboard I sent her to ensure she got the shots I wanted, and was happy to make use of the props we brought along. Would highly recommend Kuan Yee because she's genuinely such a nice person to work with, and you'll definitely enjoy your shoot with her!
Stella Ang was my MUA for both this pre-wedding shoot and my actual day. Surprisingly, Janan could tell the difference and said he preferred this make-up to the first shoot's. I got the pre-wedding package, so it was more expensive than the previous one, but still good as far as pre-wedding rates go. Stella was previously from the Autelier Make-up, which is an established brand with lots of good reviews. She recently started her own company called Eunoia Artistry, and her rates were slightly cheaper than Autelier's. The curls actually turned limp quite fast, as you can see from the photos above (the first row of photos were taken just after we reached coney island). But I guess it's because I showed her a photo from her instagram page and asked for the same hairstyle, which was more textured waves than curls. After I showed her the hairdo Joanna did for me, she did a great job of the curls on my wedding day. I also liked that she plays music while doing my make-up, because it creates a nice and relaxing setting (and makes it less awkward haha).
Outfits & props: My flowers were a last-minute (literally the day before) purchase from the flower shop below our house, as the bouquet I ordered through a home-based florist turned out horrible. I guess there is a limit when finding budget options for things. The white tepee and picnic basket were purchased from Ezbuy.
My white gown was bought during a gown sale at Kelly's Bridals, pink gown customized from Taobao, and casual outfit was my own. Next series of posts will be on gowns, both studios and online, so you can check that out if you are interested :).
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