A Beautiful Journey: Part 2 - Photoshoot Day 3

The 3rd day is the last day of the outdoor photoshoot. This is supposedly the lightest day so far, as long the weather was fine - which luckily it was bright & sunny.

We first went to the famous Merlimau house. This ruin house though not as sparkling as its former glory still has its charms & is filled with beautiful architecture. The person staying there mentioned that the house is influence by Chinese/ Peranakan, Indian and Malay architecture. This can be seen by the staircase & tiles along the house.

The drive off town took about 45 minutes. When we arrived, the models quickly wore the dresses and the shoots were relatively fast & easy, as the front of the house provided good backdrops, with each part of the house giving a distinctive view. The house complimented the Muslim fashion wear well.

There was 1 photo however which was rather difficult to shoot as it was towards the inner part of the house which was dark. And because we didn't want to use flash, that made the photography harder. However, eM.K. managed to do that well and the picture turned out fine.

Here, I managed to take a photo from the staircase, which is the welcoming picture of the book. The idea behind this picture is a warm welcoming greeting - and a walk up the stairs to a beautiful journey.



The black jacket gave prominence to the batik on the top left. This also allowed the staircase to attract attention, either complimenting the jacket, or even as a standalone. This picture drew compliments from many Peranakans who were fascinated with the tiles (especially after they saw it through the magnifying lens).

After the shoot at the Merlimau house, we then headed to the next location which was at the next tradional kampung house. This was also an easy location shoot, as we didn't need any artificial lighting. That saved us time as we needn't need to set up the lights.

Again, we used the front of the house. This was a unique location as the house was painted in bright colours. The neighbours house which was also brightly painted gave a good additional backdrop.

One of the nicest pics came from here as well where we showcased the 2 girls playing congkak (a traditional Malay game). This shot was to show that models can wear batik in every occasion, including while playing games! And of course it also highlighted the Malay/ Malaysia culture here in the book.

The shoot was done even quicker here. The models did well to withstand the hot weather, especially in their make-ups and fashion wear.

After this location shoot, we discussed a bit and decided to head back to Merlimau once again to do one more photo shoot - the one we missed as we couldn't do it when the sun was out already.

So we headed back to take the final shot, which is actually the last picture in the book. A smiling goodbye and a road behind shows that there is a next journey to come.

Alas, the 3 days of photoshoot ended, with tired models & crew, but very satisfied & happy. Of course, there was a lil tinge of sadness that the shoot has ended as it was a fun 3 full days, and now it was back to other works.

Read Also: Photoshoot Day 2

Next: Photoshoot Day 4

Photographer's Book

If any of you have photographer friends, you'll know that they could be quite opinionated when it comes to photographs.

We've had our fair share of encounters. And being photographers ourselves, we too could be a lil hard on our opinions at times. Well, all these is simply because 'beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder'.

However, we are proud to say the least, that my encounters with photographers on this book has been relatively more positive than negative - professionals to amateurs and hobbyists.

The aspects that they have mentioned include the composition whereby the focus or object is given good emphasis with its surrounding supporting it well. Take an example of a photo from the book



As you can see here, the focus is the models, but the staircase gives a good 'feel' and added atmosphere to the picture. Some people have even mentioned that the wall at the back has added the special touch to it, as its old rustic look. Not to mentioned the soft light approach adds to the whole mood, as if the models are going for a batik party!

Some photographers like the mixture of both batik and its background, giving a somewhat Malaysian feel - and which is not too old, neither too modern, but just a good blend.

Of course, many complimented the background aspects. Unlike many photographs from magazines, backgrounds are normally less intricate & detailed, this book however have background that are very unique, and to some very rich in details itself. If not careful, this can overshadow the object of the photographs.

However, eM.K. and myself had similar ideas & discussions on focusing directly on the models parading the batiks... and hence, that is what readers see when they first see the pictures - not the Peranakan (Baba Nyonya/ Straits Chinese) tiles, the colonial buildings or the paintings on the Chinese temples, but instead they first see the beautiful & bold colours of the vibrant batik.

Some photographers have even asked us pertaining to our photography works like where is our studio, how long are we in the trade, etc... and are truly amazed to say that we did this as the very first project, though eM.K. has vast experience in photography, taking photographs especially in events.

The compliments from photographers gives weight to our work. And we feel honoured when they genuinely like the book. In fact, when a photographer like the book, they will really appreciate it and will tell you all the reasons they like it. That, to us, is another feather on our caps :)

Book For All

A pleasant surprise last week. A day after I wrote about giving the book as a corporate gift, I met up with a director from a company.

Apparently, he was talking to eM.K. about photography (as the director business deals with cameras) and eM.K mentioned about the book to be given as a corporate gift.

He mentioned the same lines as we've mentioned before to why this book will be a suitable unique corporate gift to his high end clients - that his clients will appreciate a good book combining Asian values from its batik to the architectural backdrops using Malaccan architecture.

And especially for this client, this book is taken with superb photography using a 22 megapixel camera (that's why we provide the magnifying glass! :) ) and which have been complimented by professional photographers themselves.

And good news - the director bought the idea! I feel honoured as for a person in the photography industry to recognise this book. To make it sweeter, he plans to give it as a corporate gift, hence further re-enforcing his belief in the book himself, and our belief that this book is a book for all - from batik lovers to art enthusiasts and even photographers :)