Emotions of a wedding ceremony. Azreen & Riccardo

I was processing Azreen & Riccardo's images and I had to stop at these images and just have them published for a preview. I just couldn't handle keeping them to myself. They're just so emotional, especially this picture below, where Riccardo's father, Mr. Perlo, hugs tight his only son, Riccardo, to congratulate him into entering the married world. I can see it was a mix of joy and sadness all at the same time. Joy of the newly weds. Sad probably because from now, they part and Riccardo lives as a husband. Also, even more sad, because Riccardo's mother, Mrs Perlo, is in Italy. She couldn't fly to KL due to her medical condition. It was truly an emotional moment for both of them, father and son. Therefore, I had to post this photo, which followed with a few other photos that I quickly processed to share with you all, especially Azreen & Riccardo, and also Zuri, her maid of honor, who introduced me to the couple. Here they are, enjoy!



Riccardo's father, Mr. Perlo watches his only son fixes his sampin, just a few minutes before entering the Solemnization Hall, at Bandar Baru Sentul Mosque. Mr.Perlo flew all the way from Italy to attend his son's wedding with Azreen in Kuala Lumpur.

Note: This tilt-shift effect on this images is really cool. Inspired from Zack Arias tilt-shift images which can be found here. Check 'em out.



Riccardo kisses Azreen's forehead as a blessing, after just being declared as husband and wife in the solemnization ceremony.




Outdoor portraiture, taken at the abandoned flats of Pekeliling, Kuala Lumpur. The Pekeliling flats will be demolished and this will be the last record of it's establishment.


Here they are, the lovely couple Azreen & Riccardo.

FAQ for Simple Lightroom Seminar

Here are some FAQs for my upcoming Simple Lightroom Seminar

1. Q: Is a computer/laptop provided for participants in this seminar?
A: This is a seminar, not a workshop. Therefore, no computer/laptop is provided in this seminar. However, you're free to bring your own laptop if you wish. If you wish to bring a laptop, please install a trial version of Adobe Lightroom 2 available here.

Note: Although this is a seminar, I've designed a simple Lightroom Workflow System for wedding photographers that works. I should be simple enough to understand that you can try it at home. To those who wants to polish their Lightroom skills after this seminar, they can attend my Lightroom workshop in the future.

2. Q: Isn't 40 people too big for a seminar? Can I concentrate?
A: 40 people is small considering that this is a seminar. If you compare this to one of Malaysia's famous wedding photographer who held a few seminars at KLiUC with a capacity of 100 people plus, you'll notice how small this seminar is.

Regarding concentration, this workflow system is designed with simplicity in mind. A lot of people worry about the complexity of editing tools. Tools are simple, as long as you understand the concept and principal of any design tools/software. They're all almost the same. You're here to learn how to harness the tool in a systematic way to your advantage.

3. Q: Where is CADC Kompleks 3C Subang Jaya?
A: Map to the venue is here.

4. Q: How to register?
A: After making payment for the retainer, kindly email me your full name, telephone number and bank payment transaction reference with the subject "Simple Lightroom Seminar". It's easier for me to filter your emails with this subject.

Word up Zack Arias!

Zack Arias has been one of my major lighting guru and reference for photography all this while. I admire his spirit and outlook on photography as art, business and passion. His passion for photography definitely rubs on to others including me. It's been a while since Zack was featured as a guest blogger on Scott Kelby's website. It has only been last night, during my quiet time before going to bed I watched this inspiring video, and I wish to share with all of you. Original post at Scott Kelby's website here.

Summary:
This video illustrates that as a photographer, we have our emotional cycle just like any human being, our ups and downs. What's important is to keep remembering that every photographer goes through the same cycle. With a bit of perseverance and focus, we can all rise to the occasion and become a better photographer and a better person. Cheers to Zack Arias. Check out Zack Arias's website here.

Simple Lightroom Workflow Seminar now open for registration

Hello all,

I'm glad to announce a brand new "simple" seminar tailor-made to wedding photographers who have a day-job. Most of the part-time wedding photographers in Malaysia that I meet has this common problem, which is: "It takes too long to process the images".

This seminar will show you the "light" out of your current "darkness". You will soon know how to be able to free yourself from long nights of post-production and editing, and actually enjoy shooting more photographs without worrying about the editing process. More after this seminar ad below:



Typical situation of a part-time wedding photographer:

Saturday
9.00 am-12.00 pm: Shoot wedding event 1
5.00 pm-6.30 pm: Outdoor shoot
7.00 pm: Head home, transfer CF cards and sleep

Sunday
11.00 am-5.00 pm: Shoot wedding event 2 + Short Outdoor session
6.00 pm: Head home, transfer CF cards and catch-up on rest. Sleep.

Monday-Friday
9.00 am-6.00 pm: Work
6.00 pm-8.00 pm: Stuck in jam heading home.
8.00 pm-11.00 pm: Dinner, TV, family time with family
11.00 pm-12.00 am: Sit in front of the computer, surfing, checking mail, chat while photoshop is opened at the background.
12.00 am-2.00 am: Attempt to select and group some photos, edit a couple of photos and too tired and sleepy.
2.30 am: Sleep
6.00 am: Wake up and routine loops.

Now tell me, if this is your typical routine, when can you get your photos done? It's like burying yourself deeper into delaying your work. It gets frustrating over time and you've become de-motivated to even look at the photos you passionately shot over the weekend.

Revelation
What this seminar is going to show you is how to have a typical routine like this:

Saturday
9.00 am-12.00 pm: Shoot wedding event 1
5.00 pm-6.30 pm: Outdoor shoot
7.00 pm: Head home, transfer CF cards, have dinner, watch TV and spend some family time
10.00 pm-12.00 am: Select, sort and group images, process and apply editing effects, export to final edited files
12.01 am: reward yourself by surfing internet, reading, YM chat or sleep early.

Sunday
11.00 am-5.00 pm: Shoot wedding event 2 + Short Outdoor session
6.00 pm: Head home, transfer CF cards, have dinner, watch TV and spend some family time
10.00 pm-1.00 am: Select, sort and group images, process and apply editing effects, export to final edited files
1.01 am: reward yourself by surfing internet, reading, YM chat or sleep early.

All images processed!
Now you can choose how you want to spend your week.

If you'd like to know how to get back your life and escape the horror of editing wedding images during the weekdays, you will attend this seminar. You will see how easy it is to process 4-8 gigs of CF cards within the same night.

I will share with you a system that works for me, and insya'allah will work for you too.

To sign-up, please email me with the subject "Simple Lightroom Seminar" so that I can filter the emails easily. There are 40 seats available for each date of this seminar. The introductory price is RM150 only for these two dates. Next seminars will have the normal rate.

Payment terms
- RM50 retainer due before seminar date
- RM100 due on the seminar date

Maybank Account Details
Account name: AZHAR ARIFF
Account no.: 514365104584
Email: azhar.ariff@gmail.com

I will update your registration status on this post. Keep yourself updated.

Thanks for your support!

Registration List (Updated daily)
31-MAY-09 (Done succesfully! Thank you)
1. Nazri
2. Kyrol
3. Chita

13-JUN-09
1. Zaza/Haslizan Long
2. Kevin Rakesh
3. Vickneswaran
4. Khairi Jalil
4. Azri bin Nasruddin
6. Amru
7. Amru's friend
8. Mohd Salme Mohd Ali
9. Zubir
10. salina ismail
11. Noranizah Md .Isa
12. Bob
13. Zainuddin

Report: 9th Simple Food Photography Workshop

After 3-weeks of delay, due to my chicken pox, our 9th Simple Food Photography Workshop was a success, last Saturday.

We were packed till the last hour that we didn't have time for a group shot. So, here are some of the photos I shot earlier during the workshop.

To my previous food photography students, I'm compiling the cropping guideline and will inform you a download link. I think it's time for me to put it in the notes.

Thanks all & best wishes!



Shila


Zainuddin


Izzat


Aziz, all the way from Kelantan. Referred to by my previous workshop atendee, Sham Abdul. Thanks Sham!

Wedding Album

Hi,

There has been several types of wedding albums that I've done in the past for my clients, which includes self-adhesive albums, pocket albums, photobooks and storyboard albums (or some call it magazine-type montage album). Among the list, I've narrowed down to only producing the storyboard album, due to the fact that it's the most cost-effective for my clients and provides great colour rendition and durability.

Self-adhesive albums and pocket albums are now so cheap that it's cheaper if my clients print their own photos at the consumer photo outlets and mount it themselves. Whereas, the photobook manufacturer's print quality has been dropping over the years. The first few times I printed the books, they were totally awesome. But the latest book that I've printed has the colours and exposures mismatch and inconsistency, which forced me to reprint and stop their services completely (until I can find a truly reliable vendor).

Which leaves the storyboard album the most consistent(in terms of colour output), cost effective and durable.

For those who inquired regarding what kind of wedding album(s) do I make for their wedding photos? Here's what I'm only offering at the moment for my wedding packages:
- 10"x12" Storyboard album
- 20-pages printed on photographic paper, with UV-varnish, mounted on hardboard
- Black LV Synthetic Leather cover
- Opens flat for pleasant viewing of the album spread

Cheers!

I'm Back!

My chicken pox is almost over, which is at the last buffer stage now, and I'll be back to work on Monday, 13-APR-09. Man, there's tons of things I've planned out to do. One of 'em is a continuity of my Food Workshop. I'm cooking up some syllabus and materials for "Basic Food Styling Workshop", which introduces what food styling is all about. Of course, previous particiants in my Simple Food Photography Workshop will get some cool discounts privileges :) Will update y'all soon. Cheers & thanks for your support!