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30 April 2013

// night out with my muse

Model: Andrea Chong
Photographer: Amanda W.
Equipment: 5DMII + 24-70mm f/2.4L + Nissin Di622
Flickr: night out with my muse

Sorry for the lack of updates this month! The long nights of project meetings and studying for finals are finally over! Now that summer break is here, here's a blog post to make up for my absence. (April iPhone diaries will be up next week!) You may have seen a photo or two on my instagram (@beautifuladieu) or Facebook before, but here's the full set!

Few weeks ago, Andrea and I decided to experiment with direct flash. We climbed over barriers, sat on the roads, swung around poles, and photographed till midnight. Honestly it was quite challenging to handle the mark ii, an external flash AND the 24-70 altogether (think: weight and my tiny frame), especially when this was probably only the third time I've handled an external flash - but I'm not complaining! (Also, I do need to get a proper flash...)

This Terry-R.-direct-flash-thing was really hard to pull off but I'm glad it turned out great (read: decent)! I also experimented with black and white film editing to give it a really dark and vintage look. If any of you have any tips for direct flash photography (which I'm really keen on trying again!), please let me know in the comments below! :)

P.S. Check out Andrea's blog if you haven't! She also blogged out it here.

P.P.S. Remember when I said I had exciting news coming up? Well here's it!

If you ever wanted to know how I worked... Well, I will be giving an introductory workshop on Fashion Portraiture using Natural Light on 1st June 2013! I will be bringing you through my pre-production, actual production (with Andrea modeling for us!) and post-production processes! Get your tickets soon if you're interested because there are limited spaces. The morning slot is already filling up fast!

There will be 2 sessions - 9-12pm and 2-5pm.
Ticketing details here! :)

Leave a comment or email me if you have any questions! xo

Labels: bulletin, fashion

night out with my muse

6 dream notes

about: amandawxr / beautifuladieu

beautiful•adieu:

writing has never been my forte, and words just flow so much easier through photographs.
maybe i don't want to be called a photographer. i want to be a storyteller.

in 2010, i shared a tumblr account with a dear friend and we were inspired by all the images we saw. then we took tumblr-inspired images and were really active on the site, but everything came to a standstill after a few months. it's hard to explain how i ended up here, but photography was the only thing that was there for me when no one else was. in the summer of 2011, i picked up my camera again after 4 horribly uninspiring months. i started off with self portraits because i missed the familiarity of photographing what i used to, but found myself being really awkward in front of the camera. i later signed up for an account on modelmayhem and surprisingly got a few requests and emails which helped me kickstart my "photography career". while i thought my journey with photography ended after some personal problems in my life, it had really only just begun. i started a facebook page and in the next few months, i met so many great and supportive people whom i can now call friends. i was also blessed with a new camera, and i cannot be more thankful.

this year, i found myself in a close-knitted community of like-minded young artists and it makes me feel warm, and at home. it serves as a constant reminder to myself that there is nothing else i wish to do than to take photos. i shoot fashion and faces, and i want to capture all the beauty there is while we're all young and wild and free.

read more about me and my photography in a feature at obscured.sg

amanda•wxr:

i'd like to think i'm a bundle of personalities. i am a business student from smu, a watercolor painter, lover of siri, tiesto and thumper (pet birds and bunny) and all their other friends. i collect vintage working film cameras and my favorite is my canon ae-1 program (you will see some film photos on my blog every now and then!). people often describe me as a quirky and strange person, but i'd like to be known as the clown bringing smiles to people's faces.

you can always find me on my personal facebook, and if you wish to follow regular happenings in my life, please don't hesitate to send a request!

i am a dreamer. i wish we all would stay young and wild and free.

other accolades:

Workshop Instructor for the Photographic Society of NUS Photographic Event Montage 2013
Photography Exhibition at Noise Singapore 2012
Hidden Gem Finalist for Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blogger Awards 2011
Lost Freedom Issue #3
ObscuRed

frequently asked questions

What camera and lenses do you use?

I use a Canon 5DMII, his name is Chase :) I usually use my EF 50mm f/1.4, and sometimes the EF 24-70mm f/2.8L. I also have a EF 100mm f/2.8 but I seldom ever use that. Most of my old shoots (up till the unfading summerdays series last October) were shot with my old camera, Canon 450D.

Do you use any lighting equipment?

Other than in the studio of course! I'm a strong lover of natural light and not a big fan of all the fancy light equipment (or artificial light for that matter), especially when I do more outdoor shoots. Although I recognise that this may reduce the "professionalism" of my photos to the eyes of 'techies', I'm determined to stick to my style for now. :)

How long have you been shooting?

Well, I had my first DSLR in 2008, but I never really took a lot of photos, till I got my EF 50mm f/1.8 and starting taking tumblr-inspired photos. I later stopped shooting anything for 4 months, and picked myself up after several issues in my personal life. So I think it's safe to say I started shooting "professionally" or knew that I wanted to shoot fashion and portraiture in May 2011. That's about 1 year now! You can read more about this in the "About Me" section among the navigation links above.

Which camera should I buy?

I'll help you with whatever I know, but honestly, I'm not up to date with the new cameras that are available in the market. Usually when people ask me, I'll just google, and compare the specifications (which I'm sure you can do as well) and give my judgement. But ultimately, I'll like to emphasize that it doesn't matter what camera you use - whether a simple point and shoot or an ultra-pro DSLR - what matters is your eye for photography, and your passion. It's always about the artist and not the camera. Unless your equipment is faulty of course, haha!

I love your curves, will you have more curves giveaway?

Haha thank you! I'll love to come up with more curves, but I think I may start selling them in future! For now, I think I'll hold curves giveaways when my Facebook page hits certain "likes milestones"! I'm also thinking of prints giveaway and some other things. I'm having a giveaway of two 4GB thumbdrives for beautifuladieu's first anniversary this 28 June!

Which program do you use to edit your photos with and what is your editing workflow?

I use Photoshop CS5. I'm still trying to get the hang of using Lightroom and Adobe Bridge. My editing workflow is simple: I flag photos which I think I may edit, then rate them accordingly. Ultimately I choose the top 20 photos or so that I'm happy with. I don't manipulate my images that much, I usually just do simple retouching, use a couple of layer adjustments and apply curves.

Who are you inspired by?

Oh wow, there's a whole list I can't even begin! But mainly artists around my age or younger than me who also shoot and believe in natural light: Nirrimi Hakanson and Ann He. There's also Wendy Liu, Caitlin Worthington, Claire Alice, Emily Tebbets, Alexandra Sophie, Kitty Gallannaugh... Seriously, the list is endless! They all take really beautiful photos and you should check out their works too!

Where do you take your photos? They don't look like they were taken in Singapore!

Haha! But they're mostly in Singapore, I just don't like to capture recognisable landmarks. Sometimes I travel abroad and arrange for shoots on my vacations. So far I've done shoots in Hong Kong and Taipei. If you have to ask for specific locations where I take my photos, I'll appreciate if you would come off being anonymous. Being in a small country with limited places to shoot, I think everyone should make the effort to do a bit of their own research. I know it's a sensitive topic to talk about, but I don't think it should be taken for granted.

Do you take requests? How much do you charge?

At the moment, I take limited requests. I may open up to more in future or completely stop, I've no idea yet! I prefer not to state my charges online, so please do drop me a mail if you're really keen. Please note that my charges for lookbooks, model's portfolio and requests are different, so it's best to send me an email!

I've compiled a list of questions people usually ask me, whether by email or in person, and I hope it clears up some of your doubts! If you want to submit an FAQ or ask a question, don't hesitate to leave a comment or email me at enquiries@beautifuladieu.com.

30 April 2013

// night out with my muse

Labels: bulletin, fashion

night out with my muse

6 dream notes

older posts | newer posts

about me

// amandawxr: i am twenty one, a business student and an expressive fashion photographer based in singapore. i am a dreamer; a lover of nature, light and all the beauty there is on earth. i wish we would all stay young and wild and free.

if you wish to do a shoot or collaborate with me, please send me an email at enquiries@beautifuladieu.com!

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