How to Gain Trust? Zul & Ain's wedding at Lembah Pantai, KL

These are some of the shots of the wedding of Zulhelmee Farhan bin Ab Ghafar & Ainon binti Abdul Rahman. Outdoor photo session at Pusat Komuniti Lembah Pantai, 14-FEB-2009, Kuala Lumpur. I'd really like to thank Zul & Ain for their trust in hiring me for the day. We had a really good time shooting, and I can't wait to share some of these great photos online. :)

What's truly different this time is that I've never meet the couple prior to the wedding event. How 'bout that? What's even more amazing is that how comfortable they were with me. It's really something when you get that amount of trust in your client. It makes the session relaxed and fun! Now, if you happen to come across a situation similar to mine, how do you gain trust from a wedding couple on the day of the shoot?

Here's what I've been telling my friends who asked that question:
The principal of the situation is to build trust. There are many ways to build trust on location. The two best tips that I use are:

1.Brief your client.
Before shooting, brief your client or in this case, the wedding couple, what you intend to shoot and achieve from the shot. You need to let them know what exactly you have in mind, and illustrate it in words that they can understand.

For example, in the peek-a-boo shot below, I said something like:
"OK, here's the shot that I'd like to get. I'm going to shoot a perspective of these pillars, and in between these pillars, I'd like to see you pop your head out in-between one of these pillars. In the meantime, Zul, I'd like you to be around one or two pillars behind. Let's try this out and see how it goes, shall we?"

2. Show your shot on the camera's LCD.
Couples get anxious and worried that they don't look good in the photos. Right after a test shot, or in-between shots, occasionally, show your shots to your client. They'll appreciate how good they look, and in actual fact, they look a lot better that they think! When they know how they look on the LCD, their worries are gone, and you can continue the shots with your client having a peace of mind, knowing that you really know what you're doing.

Piece of cake, eh? I hope this information helps to fellow photographers, and also to my future clients, I hope this assures you that you'll be in good hands when I'm hired for your event.

Cheers!

Without further adieu, here are some of the shots from Zul & Ain's wedding.

Ain & Zul. Love those eyes.


Note: BTW, shooting white dress in bright daylight can be technically challenging, especially in controlling the highlights. I love my gear and trust them 110%. They capture the details of the laces where they are susceptible to overexposure. I leave the camera to work itself, and concentrate on getting the shot that I want. Talk about peace of mind. :)

A little peek-a-boo!


Zul, leaning with hands against the wall.


Another one.


For our last shot, we headed to the nearby bushes at the vicinity of Pusat Komuniti Lembah Pantai. The sun was really setting, and slightly hazy.

I love this look. Something like "Gazing into the future..."


Focus on Zul, while the sun is really setting fast.






It's a wrap!

8th & 9th Simple Food Photography Workshop Now Open for Registration

Those who missed my workshops, I'm holding another two workshops on February and March each. The 8th & 9th Simple Food Photography Workshop is now open for registration. Each workshop caters for 5 participants max.

Email me at: azhar.ariff@gmail.com to register & secure a seat.

I'll update the list of the participants here on this post, so please check which slot would you like to enroll.

Updated Daily!:
28-FEB-2009 (8th Workshop)
1. Mohd Faiz Hashim (paid RM80. Thank you!)
2. Apan Rashid (paid RM80. Thank you!)
3. Zaza/Haslizan (paid RM80. Thank you!)
4. Wantai (paid in full, RM180. Thank you!)
5. Sari Maya (paid RM80. Thank you!)

28-MAR-2009 (9th Workshop)
1. Kak Dilla
2. Shila (paid RM80. Thank you!)
3. Izzat Ismail
4. Aziz Mohd Nor
5. Sitizya

Payments:
Kindly email me your TRANSACTION NUMBER and TRANSACTION TIME after you've made the RM80.00 retainer fee, for me to track which payment refers to yours.

Cancellation:
By all means, if you can't make it to the workshop after paying the retainer fee, please inform me as soon as possible. I will only refund 50% of your retainer for any cancellations. This is because of the slot has been allocated for you and finding are replacement for your slot is uncertain.

Alternatively, you can get your RM80 retainer back if you find a replacement for your seat in the workshop.

What to bring?
1. DSLR
2. 50mm lens (f1.8 or better) if possible. Otherwise, kit lens or any lens will do.
3. Memory card for your DSLR (CF, SD or xD) as many as possible. We'll be shooting lots of RAW. Otherwise, bring a DVD minus R for burning.
4. Thumbdrive, just in case you'd like to copy or transfer any data.

Cheers!

Azhar Ariff.

My Food Photography Workshop

Last two weekends I've conducted my 6th & 7th Simple Food Photography Workshop. It was a good turn out and I was very excited to inaugurate my studio for this workshop. The space was good, the food was good and we all were on track on time.

There are a lot of great food photographers out there who does this for a living. My Simple Food Photography Workshop intends to give an insight on how it works, from preparing the food, styling, shooting, and marketing.

The objective of this workshop is that at the end of the course, each participants will have a set of food photography portfolio that they can use to pitch for future photo work. For this purpose, my class is limited to a maximum of 5 persons per workshop so that each participant have a comfortable shooting time and enough attention from me.

Overall, the workshop went smoothly and I couldn't help myself from photographing some of the food, during conducting my workshop! :)

I'm conducting more workshops in February, and hopefully at least once a month from now on. Keep checking out posts on this blog! Cheers!

Tasty Spaghetti Beef Bolognaise


Grilled Chicken with Tumeric Sauce


Classic Macaroni & Cheese


Grilled Chicken with Tumeric Sauce, on white background


From Left: Yaziz, Arief, Azhar, Sham (looks kinda like Vin Diesel's brother don't u think?), Shafik and Zuraini. Group photo of the 7th Simple Food Photography Workshop held on 31-JAN-09, at FOTOMOMO STUDIO.


Zuraini evaluating her shots.


Shafik's turn photographing food.


Yaziz in the background while Sham shoots.


Our food prep station. This is where the styling and preparation takes place before the shoot.


Sham Abdul, photographing food at my studio where I conduct my "Simple Food Photography" workshops. Next to him is Shafik from Penang.


Arief & Zuraini, discussing some shots.


Here's my studio. In the background is Kyrol and Azuddin, who's working on the laptop. Unseen here is Jailani during the 6th Simple Food Photography Workshop.


Another view of my studio from the main entrance. It's quite spacious, which makes work so comfortable.


Jailani (on the ladder), with Azuddin and Kyrol (on far right).