How Can I Make It Better?

In my recent photographic assignment, my task was to cover a company's Chinese New Year dinner at Pan Pacific Hotel Singapore. The organiser mentioned that this wasn't going to be any ordinary sit-down dinner but one that would let their staffs dance their night away - imagine the challenges any photographers would face i.e. Low lighting conditions, White balance issues (Powerful flood lights emitting a myriad of colours) and so forth.

If you've seen any photos from your company's D&D or corporate events, those would usually make good keepsake photos but otherwise mediocre in my humble opinion. That is exactly why being a professional photographer, I am constantly thinking of how to move away from mediocrity to being stellar in what I do by regularly questioning myself on "How can I make my pictures better?" and "How can I make a difference by being different?". 

So I assessed at my gears, thought hard about it; that was when I realised that perhaps introducing some sort of a kicker light to the rear of the dance floor and stage would created some sort of separation (by hair light or lighting flare) between the subject and the background which would eventually create more interesting pictures.

Anyway... I do regret that no photos of the event would be posted as the organiser has requested that no photos containing their staff be published anywhere in public. I have acceded to their request. 

Hence, here's a collage of 4 pictures showing my lighting set-up with Jack & Rai rehearsing for the main gig.

Equipment used during event - 

• Nikon D4
• Nikkor 28-70mm f2.8 lens
• Nikon Speed-lights SB-900 (2 off camera, 1 on camera)
• Pocket Wizard Mini TT5
• Pocket Wizard Flex TT5
• Pocket Wizard Plus X

The Pocket-Must-Have-Wizards

As a working professional, I am constantly on the lookout for ways to produce creative pictures without physically corrupting the environment's original elements.

So, in my quest to search for ideas and answers to my unanswered questions a some years ago, I chanced upon a photographer named Joe McNally over the internet. Joe opened my eyes to a world of photography I had never known. His method was simply - Light! 

Here's a quote from Joe McNally himself on light..

I have always thought of light as a language. I ascribe to light the same qualities and characteristics one could generally apply to the spoken or written word. Light has color and tone, range, emotion, inflection, and timbre. It can sharpen or soften a picture. It can change the meaning of a photo, or what that photo will mean to someone. Like language, when used effectively, it has the power to move people, viscerally and emotionally, and inform them..

Through the countless research I made, the conclusion was simple - to improve on one's flash photography, all we need to do was to use the flash OFF the camera instead of ON the camera (for users of DSLR cameras with hot shoe). But to do so, one would require some sort of trigger / sensor for the flash to communicate with the camera so that they can be operated simultaneously. The obvious choice was the Pocket Wizard radio triggers.

I love these devices and would say that it's definitely worth the investment. These devices practically opened up a myriad of creative opportunities for me to venture into just like the 2 pictures in my previous blog post under Kee Kiat & Melissa's Romantic Love Affair.

Here are the awesome devices I'm presently using for my shoots.

Oh, just in case you're wondering if I work for Pocket Wizards or they paid me to say something about them, nothing of such sort. I simply enjoy using these devices made by them which propelled my skill set upwards and I thought it'll be good to share. 

Have a wonderful day ahead!