One of the big ideas I had before my trip home was to arrange for a multigenerational photoshoot. The main reason was to celebrate our 92 year old grandma. She went through a health scare last year and we are all very thankful that she came out a warrior and although she's still not 100% full form, she is still as fit as a fiddle for a 92 year old. By the grace of God, she doesn't need no walking sticks, and has managed to impress a lot of people with her age. No one can ever guess she is 92 - can you?
I did some research from London and managed to contact a few photographers. I asked friends for contacts and recommendations and I received a few. Finally we went with Cloud Productions. Trust was key because none of us have met Irene the photographer before, but because she was recommended, I thought it should be fine. Saw some photos on their website and thought they looked good. As many professional photographers there are in Singapore, not a lot have dealt with multi generational photoshoots as majority are wedding photographers. The main venue I had in my head was the beautiful white verandah in the Singapore Botanical Gardens. I had a long call with Irene from London and told her it would be about 15-17 of us, and age range, 2 to 92 (awesome!). She sounded confident and I felt that it was a good choice. She gave tips of colour coordination on the day of the shoot. I asked if we should all turn up in a same colour and she said no because it would look like a wedding party. She said pastels and light coloured clothes are very popular now. With that I paid her the full amount, hoping she will turn up on the agreed date at the Botanic Gardens lol.
I had to mobilise 15 people from my family and told them what to wear - I decided on the theme of "something white or something light" so it's a subtle coordination. There were concerns about grandma walking from the entrance to the white verandah, or the band stand like how it's known officially, as it was quite a distance. We had to think of something. I called up the office to enquire about borrowing a wheelchair in case grandma got too tired and thank God they had such a service free of charge. We had to see where the nearest toilet was in case grandma needed one.
On the morning of the shoot, Irene contacted me and gave me a very accurate (as we later found out) weather forecast. She even quoted "no rain clouds above Singapore, Malaysia or Indonesia today". Super pro. She then continued "there will be rain till 4pm but we will be fine".
Grandma walked most of the way to the band stand like a trooper she usually is. Soon Irene our photographer arrived with her assistant and we started. I won't lie, we started off feeling a bit awkward in front of the camera. Irene kept encouraging us to "smile from the heart" and peppered with phrases like "these photos will last forever guys, c'mon, smile from your heart!" lol yes we need some encouragement. Soon everyone loosened up and towards the end, my aunts and uncles were all busy coming up with different permutations of who to take for the next shot. They were getting used to this photo taking business! Little Sarah had many natural shots, she sure is a natural in front of the camera. No bribes in the form of sweets needed!
2h of non stop posing was more tiring that I had anticipated. It was humid so we were all hot and sticky; trying to contain the uncomfortable feeling while trying to smile from our hearts ;)
Finally Irene said "it's a wrap" and it was a good feeling - we did it!
Next up was dinner somewhere close by and so we packed everyone in two cars (K's brother kindly lent us his 7 seater car for the day and so we could drive quite a few of us) and headed to Holland Village for dinner. A tiring but fulfilling day overall.
When we received the photos, everyone was really happy with them. I think it was money well spent to capture beautiful memories such as these. They will go down memory lane of our family for a long time. If you haven't had one, I strongly recommend you to do so. And if you want to engage Cloud Productions, please tell them I say hi!
I did some research from London and managed to contact a few photographers. I asked friends for contacts and recommendations and I received a few. Finally we went with Cloud Productions. Trust was key because none of us have met Irene the photographer before, but because she was recommended, I thought it should be fine. Saw some photos on their website and thought they looked good. As many professional photographers there are in Singapore, not a lot have dealt with multi generational photoshoots as majority are wedding photographers. The main venue I had in my head was the beautiful white verandah in the Singapore Botanical Gardens. I had a long call with Irene from London and told her it would be about 15-17 of us, and age range, 2 to 92 (awesome!). She sounded confident and I felt that it was a good choice. She gave tips of colour coordination on the day of the shoot. I asked if we should all turn up in a same colour and she said no because it would look like a wedding party. She said pastels and light coloured clothes are very popular now. With that I paid her the full amount, hoping she will turn up on the agreed date at the Botanic Gardens lol.
I had to mobilise 15 people from my family and told them what to wear - I decided on the theme of "something white or something light" so it's a subtle coordination. There were concerns about grandma walking from the entrance to the white verandah, or the band stand like how it's known officially, as it was quite a distance. We had to think of something. I called up the office to enquire about borrowing a wheelchair in case grandma got too tired and thank God they had such a service free of charge. We had to see where the nearest toilet was in case grandma needed one.
On the morning of the shoot, Irene contacted me and gave me a very accurate (as we later found out) weather forecast. She even quoted "no rain clouds above Singapore, Malaysia or Indonesia today". Super pro. She then continued "there will be rain till 4pm but we will be fine".
~~~~~~~
 |
| Wearing her own sewn clothes |
Grandma walked most of the way to the band stand like a trooper she usually is. Soon Irene our photographer arrived with her assistant and we started. I won't lie, we started off feeling a bit awkward in front of the camera. Irene kept encouraging us to "smile from the heart" and peppered with phrases like "these photos will last forever guys, c'mon, smile from your heart!" lol yes we need some encouragement. Soon everyone loosened up and towards the end, my aunts and uncles were all busy coming up with different permutations of who to take for the next shot. They were getting used to this photo taking business! Little Sarah had many natural shots, she sure is a natural in front of the camera. No bribes in the form of sweets needed!
 |
| This pair of lovebirds is getting married soon! |
So glad the weather held up that afternoon. We had rain just before the shoot (like what Irene said) but it cleared up when we started. The Band Stand is incredibly popular as a photo spot - we saw an engagement shoot and a wedding shoot that 2h we were there - we were so glad we managed to have it to ourselves for most of the 2h that afternoon. It was humid and sweaty but that is a fact of Singapore so that can't be helped, but at least we didn't have the sun beating down on us, or the rain pouring on us.
 |
| This was a fun shot |
 |
| The subtle coordination works! |
 |
| With my daddy |
 |
| Love the colour coordination here - white and blue |
2h of non stop posing was more tiring that I had anticipated. It was humid so we were all hot and sticky; trying to contain the uncomfortable feeling while trying to smile from our hearts ;)
Finally Irene said "it's a wrap" and it was a good feeling - we did it!
Next up was dinner somewhere close by and so we packed everyone in two cars (K's brother kindly lent us his 7 seater car for the day and so we could drive quite a few of us) and headed to Holland Village for dinner. A tiring but fulfilling day overall.
~~~~~~~
When we received the photos, everyone was really happy with them. I think it was money well spent to capture beautiful memories such as these. They will go down memory lane of our family for a long time. If you haven't had one, I strongly recommend you to do so. And if you want to engage Cloud Productions, please tell them I say hi!
Comments