well i promised to do this for a while, but it really took some time... i know it got a little lengthy but i want to try cover as much as possible as there had been asked and also touching a little in detail on my shoots. for info on the 2008 calendar see my previous journal entry~

what camera and lenses do you use? what did you use for this shot!?

i own canon 350D and 5D. on 350d i use the kit lens 18-55mm the most. don't ask me why, i just like it. it gives a good range. and it's my babyyy. i love the colours of my 350D over my 5D, i've tested with the same setting and colour balance and lens they just come out different. i shot most of my earlier photos with that until about May 2007, and i still use it now, although more 5D because of better noise control and higher MP. On 5D I probably use the 50mm 1.4 the most, for low-light situations or not, 28-135mm comes in 2nd, unless I need to go in close or need a wider angle, I stick to 50mm when I can. Moving around gives me more room to play around rather than being stagnant in one spot.

some photos i've posted were taken with 1ds mark II or H2D or H3D... i can't tell you much about those as i don't use them often. but once you've used a Hassleblad you don't really want to touch the canons anymore... ;_; i also have a rolliecord that i've only used twice, it's a lovely thing but i kept forgetting to wind the film... and i have no idea where to send them for developing.

can you recommend me a camera? how much does it cost now?

i'm not a salesperson, i'm also not a specs/tech craze person. in any case i think to spam every photographer on dA this message is really kinda rude. afterall i only know the cameras i use and it's in my profile, if it's bad i'd probably have changed. so do your own research. i'm happy with my canon. ^^

did you study photography? can you give me more info on photography schools, art schools and possible careers?

no, i'm self taught. i'd wanted to take photography but no schools offered that at that point of time when i was deciding between the different colleges, so i took fashion design instead.

as for schools, academies, jobs in singapore and asia, i'm not a portal and i do not sell such services. please do the research yourself because even if i want to help you i have no clue.

what lighting system do you use?

primarily just one film/hot light (mostly that or natural light. Sometimes a mix of natural and the hotlight can be good since natural light is cold in contrast to the yellow tone from the hotlights, it doesn't always work though, depends on what is essentially needed for the shoot). occasionally i also use 1 more for fill light.

sometime point of time, some shoots, i landed with strobes with basic reflectors. i like them, but no money. ;_;

so when i use the hotlight and need softer shadows i'll bounce it off walls or ceilings.

but if you ask for my recommendation among those that i've used before, i'd say if you can save up for it, get profoto lights. broncolor's likely definitely out of your budget, because if it's not you wouldn't be reading this FAQ>

i don't have contacts for makeup artists, stylists, hair stylists, models, can you tell me where and how i can get them?

=/ i didn't have either. i do makeup and hair for my models myself when i just started before finding some friends to occasionally help out to lighten my load. i took a diploma in makeup actually, i didn't even have an idea about how to apply foundation before that. -_- really.

styling's almost always done by myself, i've bought alot of things for styling purposes, if you want it to look good, then make an effort to find it. sometimes i buy, sometimes i sew them myself, or design and get a tailor to have it done. one is due to knowing no one, another is i've had a fair share of people i found via the net to work together and they just ALWAYS disappear on the day of the set or come a few hours late or do a shitty job (believe me you can tell when a person is not sincere, so why waste everyone's time?). so no, i don't trust anyone unless i know them well enough that at least they're professional in their attitudes, it's the only way to ensure the best is prepared for my shoot because i do it myself. T_T

i also didn't have contact for models, i used friends and transformed them. i'm not trying to boast, but i mean this, don't tell me your friends are "not as good looking" as mine (it's mean, and seriously, not all models are good looking to begin with). it's only my job as the photographer to make them beautiful. when you get better, people will find you (both to work with you and give you work).

how long do you take to do post-processing/digital imagine for a photo?

highly dependant on the quality of the image and size to work on. usually 1-4hours per photo excluding the selection time, which is usually 2 hours split down into 2 days. one on the first day where i just run through some basic colour processing and pick out a batch i like enough as thumbnails, come back the next day and refine and pick the final 3-5 i will be able to use for my portfolio out from the hundred odd photos.

i usually have 100-200 photos per session, movement shots runs a lot more (300-400) because of the rehearsing and trials. it's a lot of fun though.

sometimes when it's really hard to make my mind up on something i feel very strongly about, to push it a little closer to perfection, i spend a couple days to work on it: basics, colours, clean up, scrap, rework the colours/croppings all over again, scrap, stop, redo. until i get the best i'm happy with... it's really painful ~_~

small files are really a pain sometimes because the noise level is high and things have to be in their best possible positions so i don't have to spend too much recreating images and textures for tiny portions that are impossible to touch up.

how did you take/light this shot? oh FINE you won't reply me, keep your secrets to yourself!!! you proud, haughty, selfish little ugly useless bitch!

i get 5-10 of such questions a day and if i were to reply to each and everyone and follow up with further questions i obviously won't be creating images.

and oh right, the answer. i almost forgot: trial and error.

i don't have sophisticated equipment and large studio working spaces, i shoot mostly in my bedroom or living room, motto is make do make do and make do, and you get used to it. there aren't any secrets, it's just trying and trying and trying. researching a lot reading a lot seeing a lot. (By the way, if you're not in Singapore, you likely have better/more interesting nature environment or cityscapes to work with than I do)

I actually had someone who said this to me after listing a long essay of questions: "I'm asking many questions because I need to make a living and I wonder how to start. So I look for good informations."

did you know, that good information is often than not, not free? XD oh come on, money doesn't just drop from the sky (or i won't have to work for my food and books and gears). you don't just sit there to wait for people to give everything to you, the easiest and most accessible is the internet, use it and read up. not demanding strangers to help you when you're making demands like they owe you. >( but of course, i will offer my help when i can.

and a professional advice, bad attitude sucks over anything, i dislike people who're rude and demanding to others only for their personal gains. it's terrible. >_<

by the way, i had been a mentor of 2 in the senior mentorship prog for a while now.

do you do requests?
no... sorry

commissions?
yes, and "this will give you exposure" is totally not replacing payment.

may i draw/reference from your pictures?
yes you may, so long as it is not for profit/commercial purposes and you agree that you give clear credit and link back to me. you can read my Copyright Notice for the longer version.

anything to add?
please read the descriptions in my artist comments? it's there for a reason. thank you XD
and oh, there is also a previous interview done earlier this year for deviantART's print prog/international women's week. a little about me and other stuffs. you can find it here: [link]
and for those who had been requestion a website banner of mine, here:



yay that's all, it's soooooo long, pardon my typos and grammar, i hope it's helpful!

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