Best places to do an outdoor photoshoot in Singapore

 

What are the best places to do an outdoor photoshoot in Singapore

The short answer to this question is that there is not ‘best place’. Singapore is an outdoor photoshoot heaven. There are so many unique places with wonderful sceneries and backgrounds. within this little Red Dot, you can get jungle, park, beach, city scape, shophouses, skyscrapers…. And of course to add to this a myriad of different cultural backgrounds: Little India and Arab Street just to mention a few.

Chose a location that suits you

There is not best place for an outdoor photoshoot in Singapore. I honestly don’t have a favourite place to shoot. Each shoot is unique and the most important thing is to pick a place that suits you and your family. If you have three small children, then doing a shoot downtown CBD is not exactly recommendable. But CBD could be an excellent choice if you are looking for some cool shots with teenagers or a selection of headshots or personal branding…

Some families like to have greenery, and in this case Botanical Garden is an excellent choice. I have done many outdoor photoshoots in Botanical Garden and each and every one is different and unique. Besides, the Garden is so big, that you get a very different shoot depending on which area you go to. The Garden is so varied in flora and fauna, that we don’t need to walk far to get a very diverse and beautiful gallery.

If you are leaving Singapore, then you may opt for a location such as Garden by the Bay East, where you get a great view of Singapore and some of it’s landmarks in the background.

Great shots no matter what location

I can guarantee you will get an extremely diverse gallery with great individual as well as group portraits, no matter where the shoot is done. Outdoor shoots is about angles, light, composition and interaction between the models. We can do an entire shoot an an MRT station and get great portraits. It is up to the photographer to capture the moments and work with the available background and light.

Examples of outdoor photoshoot locations in Singapore

Below is a few examples of what type of images you get in various locations in Singapore. Again, these are just examples from those locations. Each and every shoot is different. We work outdoors so the final images will be influenced on the lighting situation (there is no ‘wrong light’ but light will dictate the final image). Moreover, it will be affected by your children’s mood and what you wear (yes high heels limits our options a bit). So the most important thing is to be open and trust that I will get some great images no-matter what location we go to.

 

Photoshoot in Fort Canning Park

Below imagers are all taken around the playground in Fort Canning Park on an overcast day with a toddler who did not want to be in any photos…  This means the images with the little boy are more candid, whereas the little sister was an age where she could not easily escape to the playground….

I do not recommend meeting near a playground. It is simply too big of a distraction if your children are playground age. You will not get the type of family images you could get in an area with less obvious distractions. However, if you are happy with very candid pictures and hot looking toddlers, then this is absolutely the place for you.

 

Photoshoot in Botanical Garden Singapore

Below are three different shoots in Botanical Garden. Different locations, different light and different families. As you see the outcome is quite diverse.

 

 

Outdoor photoshoot on Sentosa at Tanjong Beach

Tanjong beach at sunset. Bright sunshine and lots of light is what you often get at the beach. Which is not a bad thing at all. As long as we work with the light we can get some striking images. And as I always like to get some bright and some dark backgrounds, this place is perfect as I just use the rocks for the darker images.

If you want we can even finish the session here with some water splashing if your family is up for it. But, yes, that belongs to the end of the session for obvious reasons!

 

Outdoor photoshoot at Gardens by the Bay East

Gardens by the Bay East has a great view of Marina Bay Sands and the city. It is a popular location for families leaving Singapore, as it has all these landmarks in the background. This location also has some greenery and flowers, which are my personal favourite backgrounds as floral backgrounds give an amazing blurred colourful and impactful backdrop .

 

Outdoor photoshoot National Stadium  Singapore

National Stadium is a fun and bright place to do a shoot and you get a bit of everything. Greenery, water features, promenade with a view of the city. We did an extended family session here. I really recommend bringing grandparents to outdoor sessions. They don’t need to be in every single picture. But it is a great gift for both children and grandchildren to have portraits together. And if the grandparents get tired, they can just go and sit on a bench or in a cafe whilst we finish the shoot.

 

Robertson Quay area

This place can be busy with people, but it is a wonderful place for a photoshoot with great light around 6PM. It is really popular with people who live in that area, as it gives them some unique and beautiful memories from their own neighbourhood.

I would advice to avoid Friday and Saturdays here as its simply so busy its hard to get portraits without too many strangers in the background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you don’t think outdoor photoshoots are for you, then we can also do a studio portrait session with your family. You can get an idea of studio portraits and the styles we can do HERE

Why only 20 images?

I get the question over and over again. Why do we only get 20 images to select from? This comes with other questions such as; how about the unedited images…?

Can we select some from the unedited files? Where is the rest of them? We are fine with unedited images,  just send them over!

It often leads to question about pricing. “why would we pay you $1299 for 20 images when we can get 200 images from someone else at $199”?

If you continue reading, you will get a better understanding of the value of 20 images. And if you don’t see the value of them, then there is absolutely no obligation to use me as your photographer. The market is saturated with photographers, all at different prices and different quality. 

Generally you get what you pay for.

Back got the 20 image question!

The short answer to the question is: Because every single one of those 20 image are perfect.  I am a fine art portrait photographer. I shoot for your walls. I do not shoot for your hard drive. What I create is to be enjoyed every day for decades. Not to be lost on a hard drive in a couple of years. 

The longer answer to the question is here:

PLANNING

All my portraits are planned beforehand (style and colours). You let me know what style you like, what colours you like and who you want to bring for your session. A lot of time goes into planning a portrait even before it is taken. An in person pre session consultation is included for all my sessions. This means 1-2 hours planning your session together at my studio. Time that I do not charge for, it is included in the final image price. 

POSING

I am highly trained in posing people. Whether it is family portraits, men, women, children or babies, I will guide my model through every single aspect of posing. It takes a lot of skill to pose people so they look their best and at the same time look natural. This skill is something I have learnt through years of practice and through numerous courses and expensive 1-2-1 mentoring sessions.  Yes there is such thing as posing mentoring:)

LIGHTING

Light is everything. It literally is such a bit part of an image. If not done correctly, the image simply won’t work. Every single one of my images have impeccable light setups. These individual setups are thought through lighting setups that suit the person I am photographing. I do not use a ‘one light fit all’. Often during a session you will see me change light setups, test lights, do modifications etc to get that perfect light that suit my model. Again I have spent years perfecting my lighting knowledge so I know which light to use for all types of portraits. And yes you guessed right, more 1-2-1 mentoring on lighting with some of the best portrait photographers in the UK.

 

SELECTING

Of course I take more than 20 images. After the session, during my selection process, I pick the best images for editing. I look at composition, lighting, posing, expression etc etc. It can take more than an hour to select 20 images from 200 images. And trust me, I do select the best ones! Firstly, because I don’t want anything less than perfect to my name. Secondly, I want you to like it, so why would I not show you the best?

EDITING

Don’t even get me started on the topic of editing. Your shoot may take 2-3 hours, but it takes so much longer to edit those images. This is because I edit to perfection. I can spend 20 minutes  alone on the background of an image, as I am extremely fuzzy about how I want it to look. Then comes all the retouching of the model. And no, I do not change the way people look what so ever. But it does take a long time to remove stray-hair, retouch skin, enhance colours etc. Then comes the tricky family and group images. There is always someone who closes their eye or look the other way. In this case I swap that persons’ head from another image, in order to get the perfect family portrait with everyone looking their best.

If I gave you more than 20 images to chose from, you would get a bunch of unedited images. Images where you can see the light stand to the left. Images where you are blinking. Images where your toddler is screaming his head off. You would have the choice of image A: mum and dad looks amazing, but toddler is screaming. OR image B: Dad and toddler look amazing, mum is closing her eyes and her foot is out of the frame…. By selecting 20 images I make the job easy for you. I only show you perfect images. In this case I would have merged the two images so all three of you look perfect.

How much wall space do you have?

Lastly, there is the space issue! I shoot for your walls. I only sell prints and wall art (I gift you the corresponding digital high resolution copy when you buy a print). Why do I do this? Because I want you to display your portraits! You have paid $1299 for 20 portraits. I have spent 25-30 hours creating them. Therefore, I want them on your wall! And do you have wall space for more than 20 images? Unless you live in a large house and decide to dedicate all your walls to these portraits, then chances are, you even have to select a few from the 20 you want to display. You simply don’t have space to display all of them. 

A photographer for every budget

As I mentioned above, there is a photographer for every budget. There is a photographer for every taste. I may not be the photographer for you. If you want 300 unedited images for $199, then I am not for you. In fact if you want unedited images, I am not for you.

If you want to chose between 20 perfect portraits, then I am for you. You don’t need to pick all 20. I will show you 20 portraits, beautifully printed and displayed at my studio for when you come for yout your viewing and buying session. It is totally up to you which ones you want to purchase. There is no hard sell, I only want you to get the ones you are in love with. However, most people fall in love with them all, so there is a good chance you will too.

If you want to read more about how my sessions work and everything I can do for you please read here

And my full pricing can be found here