Back in 2008, I was asked to help out in a wedding. Tim (my current partner in Through Our Eyes Photography) asked me if I was interested to shoot a wedding. I said yes. Armed with a D40 and only a 105mm, I went about covering the make-up session, the tea ceremony and the dinner.
I had fun. And my journey began.
The beginning of the journey was interesting as I got exposed to my first Indian wedding, my first Baba & Nonya wedding and I met many people. But I still wasn’t serious. In fact, I decided to sell off all my digital equipment, went on film and the wedding photography aspect pretty much went down the drain.
It wasn’t long that I started missing the digital side of things and also the fun of wedding photography. There was something about capturing those special moments that was very rewarding.
And so I returned. And I made a vow that I would try to make it this time. I guess along the way some people told me that I took good photos, and that probably spurred me on anew. Hopefully, I don’t disappoint them.
Other than buying gears, I decided that education was another wise investment. So I went to my first ever workshop with RedNinja, and I will be going for my second workshop tomorrow, Inspire+. I also bought books and DVDs to pursue further knowledge and seek inspiration from others. And trust me, these are investments I would never regret.
Of course, wedding photography is about the people. And I decided that since I am already shooting people, why not do portraits as well? And so I added that into my list of things to do – portraits.
This wasn’t easy for me because if you know me as a person when I am shooting, I tend to be quiet, reserved and trying to nail that moment at a quiet little corner. By going into portraits, and shooting some of them solo, I then needed to make myself more personable (is this a word?). Making that move made me grow as a photographer.
And so, here I am today. Ready to take on even more challenges. I’ll be doing my first family portrait shoot this weekend, and I will be going on my first major overseas assignment next year, assisting the awesome Steph Tan.
I have revamped the blog (please visit!) and made efforts to market the service on Facebook (please please add/like us! :P).
As I said, this is quite the marketing plug but a story that I would like to share with my readers here. It has been a great journey so far and I can only see it getting better from here.
I would not have made it without the support of my family and of course, my lovely wife Sharon (well, technically wife-to-be). She has been the constant supporting voice, telling me that I take great pictures and telling me that I should pursue my dream. I love her, and I hope I make it because I would hate to disappoint her.
I wish i had the courage, confidence and discipline to take such a step. You’ve already taken the first step, don’t turn back haha~ You’ve been doing great so far, may your future path be even greater!
one step at a time, nick. i think you’re on a great track, and making wise investments. =) have fun at louis’ workshop tomorrow and looking forward to more awesome photos! =)
I’m so glad you decided to get back in the game because the world would be missing out on some amazing photos! I think my favorite photo of yours is still the one with the view from above looking down on the street. So so SO cool! :-) Thanks for sharing your story… and your art!
@meendee haha i can’t turn back! thanks for the support all these while! you are one of my few loyal readers :P
@steph Thanks :) Can’t wait to be able to shoot alongside you. That will be another great learning experience :)
@Breanna Thank you! That is also probably one of my fav shots! Hope to see you and Scott in Malaysia one day :)
i enjoy looking at the wedding shots of Through Our Eyes! ooh and the baba nyonya one is quite a unique wedding eh…. wow and moving on to overseas destination wedding photography… where will that be?
@lechua Thanks :) Just baby steps for now, going to Bangladesh next year :)