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Ben Yew Photography : Facebook Fan Page

First time taking 2 outdoor family portrait in one day. It was AWESOME!!..tiring, but fun. Chasing kids around and trying to get them to pose keeps me fit, I guess…

Coming Soon :

I havent been blogging for some time, the common excuse.. busy?.. haha..
I will definately find more time to update this blog soon. Been busy updating my facebook page recently. Hope you can be a fan of my facebook page to view the latest updates.

Recent shoots to be updated soon :
1) Wedding
2) Commercial Shoot
3) Family Portrait
4) Family Portrait

AN INTERESTING PHONE CONVERSATION

I have received a phone call looking for my colleague and since he is not in, she have decided to have a short chat with me.

Caller : You have an indian accent, are you Indian?
Me : Nope
Caller : Sri Lankan?
Me : Nope, a Malaysian
Caller: Uh..my guess was close.. yeah..
Me: Er.. yeah..you can say that.
Caller : Then you must be a muslim or ethnic background as you definately dont sound chinese to me..
Me : Er.. I am .Chinese, Malaysian Chinese.
Caller : Oh..I heard that foreign/chinese businesses have to provide 50% shares to any muslim to operate businesses in Malaysia..
Me : Hm.. something like that..
Caller : What did you major in last time?
Me : International Business..
Caller : Are you applying what you have studied last time?
Me : Not really, but I am looking forward for a photography career.
Caller : It seems that you are CONFUSED!
Me : haha..possibly..I probably found out what I love to do a little late in life..
Caller : Well, its better late than never, at least you know your passion.
Me: yeah…
(awkward silence…)
Me : kay then, nice talking to you

Please join us here : Ben Yew Photography

Thank you for your kind support and hope you like our captures

Cheers,
Ben Yew

There are business ethics as a guide to all industry. Some chose to follow, some chose not to. Although its very much up to anyone`s personal choice, but ethics is there for a purpose. To maintain the industry`s standard.

When i first started in photography, there are some whom would not share their knowledge with me and there are some whom would share everything they knew. Its understandable that some chose not to share as its considered trade secrets. But for those who was kind enough to share, I really appreciate their advices and guidance. That is why, I would be more than glad to advice and guide anyone who needs assistance without getting anything out of it. Its just helping each other out.

Even when I was seeking assistance from experienced photographers, I want to make sure that they are comfortable. Meaning, the timing is very important. When there is a casual shoot or conversation over a meal, it would be a good time, as they are not working at that time. Working as in paid or commissioned. When a photographer is commissioned for a shoot, they have to concentrate and deliver the results and that is not a good time to seek advice, guidance or even to follow for the shoot, unless is requested by the photographer. We must really understand that we can somehow cause distraction to the commissioned photographer by just being there.

I was a secondary photographer for a couple of weddings and knew that the primary photographer is the priority in getting the best spots to get the best captures. I often move away from his/her way whenever I realised that i am in the way. Secondary photographer task is not just to get good captures, but to constantly look at the body language of the primary photographer on where would he be moving to next as the secondary can get out of the way before he move in. These are not taught in schools of course, as these are common sense in which I feel lacking in some photographers.

There would be some who may not agree with me, but this is just from my experience and personal point of view. I look at other photographers a friends rather than competition as different photographers have different styles and ideas. Some may look at it as a threat that new or other photographers may affect them, but in reality it does not matter if you have adviced or not adviced the new photographer, if they are talented, they will find their ways anyway.

Just thought of sharing some of my experience for those who seek to learn more in photography or other industry from the experienced. Be sincerely understanding and apply lots of common sense. I am still getting guidance as photography is a marathon journey, its never ending.

23th Jan 10 – Location (Bunbury)

This was kinda a last minute shoot, received confirmation just 2 days back and need to complete in 1 day including all post-processing and graphic layout.

We arrived at the clients place in the morning at 8.00am +, and as planned, we were supposed to head outdoor for the shoot. But it was too hot outside and dont think the baby would be comfy outdoor. Headed back to clients place and started scouting for a suitable spot for the shoot. Suitable spot as in a larger space to set the lightings. Ended up picking the dining area.

Started setting my brolly and box with remote Sb800 & Sb900 with wireless triggers. It worked during a few test shots and then.. all went crazy. Trigger dont seem to fire the flashes, quickly changed to back -up trigger set 2, dont seemed to work as well. Changed the batteries for trigger set 2, just to make sure its not the batts. Still doesn`t work.. hm….me trying to stay calm.. hahah.. then. okay.. use SB900 as master to trigger remote flashes.. still doesnt work. Even my SB900 does not flash at all. No lights coming out from Sb900.. getting terrified now..was thinking, could it be the fault of the contact between the flash and the hotshoe on the camera… well, after 45 mins of testing and troubleshooting.. it finally worked.. the problem.. still dunno..it suddenly worked.. hm….wierd eh..

Anyways…it worked with my primary wireless trigger which was the initial plan. Although it flashed, but the lights seems to go pop – pop – pop without any triggering.. i guess it was some wireless interference with some electrical devices nearby as I was very near the kitchen appliances. hm.. Didnt really bother about it as my flash was finally working, few extra “pops” would be okay for me.

Challenge was the babies getting restless. After spending too much time troubleshooting, hard to get the babies to sit still ..ahhaha, with the help of the baby mothers, i manage to get the shots.

We headed to the living area, where it was kinda dark and there wasnt any space to set the lightings as babies were crawling everywhere, gets dangerous with them pulling everything .. hence, have to go with ambient and some on-camera flash to bounce. On-camera bouncing on walls and ceiling somehow didnt turn up well, well ahead with all ambient. Because it was too dark, i have to boost the D90 ISO to 2000. Wow!.. never really try to boost that high for a commercial portrait, but it seems to be okay. D90 ISO based on the reviews is even better than D300. I have to also set my prime 50mm to f2 to get in more light. Trickky bit is at f2, it gets risky to get the eyes off focus. Had to be very careful and checked the LCD for every shot in zoomed mode.

At the end of the day, it turned out well despite all the challenges some shots to share below..

Still busy selecting and post-processing images for the wedding.  Just 1 image for now. Rest of the image will only be posted after clients have viewed it.

16 Jan 10 ( Sat ) - Sarah & Ben Wedding @ Manjimup & Pemberton.

It was nice meeting Ben & Sarah`s friends and family. They are a couple made for each other. Sarah did lots of careful planning and she did a great job even with all the challenges of the day. As much as i love photographing them, the thing i enjoyed mostly about their wedding is the speeches by their family and mates, was interesting and memorable especially for them.

Dropped my fav lens, nearly drop my flash for the second time. Rushing to keep up with tight schedule, continuously swapping lens, changing batts/cards ,trying to keep up with the 11 hours + non stop photography,  Harsh lights and hot weather.. at the end, after lying on the bed browsing the captures, its all worth it ..I appreciate the bed more as well. haha..

At the moment, having 2000+ images prepared for post processing, looking forward for the selection process, colour treatment and photobook design.

Will post some captures of this memorable wedding soon..