The Photographer's Suitcase: What you should have in your wardrobe

Here's a quick blogpost for Malaysian Photographers.

Nobody has really said it formally, but dress codes can be tricky. Nevertheless, here are some wardrobe list that I think any photographer, especially in Malaysia should have in their suitcase. Hope this helps.

I understand that everyone is unique and there's a wide range of the type of photography work is around. This is not a compulsory dress code, but I think it's essential for every photographer to have at least one of these wardrobe suggestions in their collection.

The concept of a photographer's wardrobe is to create as little attention to ourselves as possible. In other words, try to dress so that you can blend-in with the crowd and be invisible. This will allow us to take the attention away from us and actually focus on getting our shots.

These are some basic suggestions, based on what I do have, and usually wear on a shoot, meeting, or presentation. It works well for me.

For female photographers, the concept is the same, dress to create less attention to yourself.

Keywords to note when it comes to dressing for a shoot:

• Invisible
• Less attention
• Sharp
• Clean
• Neat
• Smart
• Professional
• Comfortable

For formal events, dinners, launches.

Combo 1: General corporate events

1. Black shirt, long sleeve
2. Black trousers
3. Black (polishable) shoes

Combo 2: Suits

1. Black suit (with black trousers)
2. White shirt
3. Tie of your choice (possibly that doesn't attract attention: plain coloured, grey, dark blue or black)

For Royal occasions, Malay weddings

1. Black baju Melayu with complete buttons
2. Black songkok
3. Black and gold sampin
4. Black (polishable) shoes

Casual work, for commercial, on-location

1. Jeans (either black or blue), but not worn out or seasoned. You wanna look sharp.
2. Cargo pants or Khaki pants
3. Khaki shorts for sports events
4. Black plain collared T-shirt
5. White plain collared T-shirt
6. Black plain round neck T-shirt
7. White plain round neck T-shirt
8. Grey plain round neck T-shirt
9. Black shirt, short sleeve
10. Any comfortable sneakers

What do you think?

Canon 6D's dynamic range

If you haven't tried out the Canon 6D, I highly recommend it for two reasons:

1. Very good high ISO performance (I'll post some samples of an event I shot in very little light)
2. High dynamic range (as illustrated).

This is an image I shot in an Indian temple in Kuala Lumpur, around 10am. The sun was up and bright, which created a very high contrast from the shaded area of the temple interior and the outside compound.

If you notice the RAW photo on the left, the difference between the shadows and highlights would be well of between 8 to 10-stops. 

On the right is the image processed in Adobe Lightroom 4 where the shadows and highlights are rescued. Other technical aspects aside, I'm super astonished with the amount of information that was captured even in the shadows area and not to mention the highlights. Places where I thought contains no information, such as the distant high-rise apartments, actually exist in the RAW file!

If you haven't tried out this camera, I suggest you give it a go. I know I'm very happy with it.

Cheers!

*Click the image below for bigger image.

Here's another sample:

Tearsheet: Advertising+Marketing, March 2013

Made the cover again. This time featuring Fabio Fontainha, consumers markets head for Citibank Malaysia. Art Direction by Khairul Hasbullah.

Tearsheet: Time Out Malaysia-Kids Guide 2013

Hello All & Happy New Year 2013!

2012 was good and I'm looking forward to a more productive 2013. Last year I was soo busy shooting that I didn't even allocate time to update my blog. Well, this year, I've made a resolution to update as quick as possible my latest work and what's going on with me. Therefore, to start of with, here's my recent published work to open this exciting year of 2013!

I made it to the cover for Time Out Malaysia Kids Guide 2013 and got the spread too.  It was nice to meet the subjects portrayed. All three of them have a unique occupation and was truly inspirational, especially their dedication to their passion. Nice. :)

Made it to the cover. Featured here is Bryan Ng and his son, Jayden. Bryan is a Malaysian Professional Surfer and brand ambassador for Rip Curl.

Featured here is Bryan Ng and his son, Jayden. Bryan is a Malaysian Professional Surfer and brand ambassador for Rip Curl.

Here's Daniel Quilter, founder and director of Ecoteer, a volunteer opportunities agency. and his daughter Arianna.

Sitting down is Sivabalan. He works for Agathian Shelter in his free time. Featured in the background are Ivan(left) and Kesava (right).

Map Reproduction Work with Hasselblad HD4-40

I've been assigned to shoot a series of antique maps of Malaysia for a reproduction work. The maps belong to a local collector and the images will be featured in a book Published by Editions Didier Millet. We decided to shoot this assignment with a medium format to get the highest detail possible.

Pre-production

Before any work start, I had a briefing meeting with the publisher. The purpose is to discuss the scope of work and layout everything on the table. During this discussion, we investigate all possible outcome of the shoot, from the date and time, logistics, shoot schedule, the shoot list, props (if necessary), the method of shooting and some other issues. Once we've cleared this out, we can list out the costs involved which are essentially fees plus expenses. From here, we went on a recce session to check out the location and the items and see if there are any other issues to be sorted out. Once I got all information that I needed, I sent out the quote and waited for approval.

*To draw up the quote, I went on a lookout for equipment rental services and glass makers to supply a 4'x5' glass to be used during the shoot. 

The Call

Within the same week, I got a call to say that the quote is OK and it's a go. Cool!

What now?

Once I got the green light, I quickly confirm my booking with the rental house, FLIER PLE (www.flierple.com). I rented a Hasselblad H4D-40, 120mm f4 macro lens, and two units of Profoto D1 air 1000ws with a pair of 3'x4' softbox. I also rented a pair of C-stands and arms to clip the glass sandwich where the maps are going to be placed.

Before work begins, I did a few test shots with the HD4-40 at the rental house to make sure that all is good to go.

Here are the results. Click for larger image:

The details on the maps are similar as the RM1 note's line drawing on Mount Kinabalu. Check out how small Mount Kinabalu is in this image.

Look at how much detail that the H4D-40 captured. All good to go!

Finally, I also made sure that I've assembled my team of assistants and briefed them about the work.

Shoot Day

The owner of the maps wanted us to shoot super early so that we can finish early. We arrived on location at 7am and estimated the shoot to finish at 5pm, which included a 1-hr lunch-break. We had 14 maps to shoot and proceeded with the session. My team was super fantastic that it turns out that we completed all the map shoot at 3pm. It was amazing!

Post-Production

The images are currently being processed and due for delivery within 2-weeks. We got most of it right on location and post production work now comprises of some edging out, and colour checks and stitching if necessary.

Credits

I couldn't have done it without the help of these fantastic friends:

Assistants

Azwan Fakaruddin

Tunku Ishak

Video

Aiman Amir (SR Production)

Shah

Support (FLIER PLE)

Leong

Wan

Check out the Behind The Scenes video here, courtesy of Aiman Amir from SR Production.

Here's a group photo of our team.

Made the cover for Human Resources Magazine, AUG-2012

Made the cover (and also the inside spread) of Human Resources Magazine (Malaysia) for August 2012 issue. This was shot at our studio. Image features Legion Richardson, Director of Human Resources, McDonald's Malaysia. Art Directed by Khairul Hasbullah from Lighthouse Independent Media KL. I couldn't have done this without the help of two of my assistants, Azwan Fakaruddin and Zulhelmi Misran. Thanks guys!

Published work: Time Out KL-August 2012

Hi All,

If you can remember, I've posted a behind the scenes shoot for Time Out KL August 2012 spread last month. Here's the published spread in this month's issue. Go check 'em out! Cheers!

Here's the published issue, Time Out KL August 2012

Here's my published spread. Looks good. :)

Here's the original image.

Here's the alternate option the editor requested that I sent.