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What do Meg Ryan and Bruce Willis have in common?

Well, they found themselves a niche in a competitive and congested market and kept reprising the same roles that made them a worldwide phenomenon.

Once they tried to veer away from the formula (Meg the forever wide-eyed vulnerable romantic, or Bruce the estranged tough-guy, never-say-die husband-cop), they found themselves struggling to gain acceptance for their new roles and the effort to re-invent themselves failed miserably.

I feel there is a parallel path cutting across the wedding photography (maybe generally in photography, but I can only speak based on my own experience).
It makes a lot of business sense to be a specialist in a particular aspect of wedding photography, because that’ll set us apart from the rest, and clients can immediately identify with the “right” photographer who might be a good fit.

For example, some photographers are well-known for the romantic feel of the photos they create, some can tell a compelling visual story using pictures, some create aesthetically pleasing abstracts whereas others do wonders with contrasty light and shadows and are adept at injecting quirky humour into the wedding pictures.

Here are some examples that cut across a wide spectrum of “styles”:

By doing so, we make it easier for clients to “shop” around and find the style that they prefer.

However, as a photographer who wishes to constantly grow professionally and “artistically”, I always seek to challenge myself to straddle a bigger platform. Why should I limit myself to a particular way of shooting? Isn’t photography “painting with light”? There’s no rule that says I have to paint in a certain way to be successful. I paint what I like as and when I like, with the pure hope and joy of a 5-year-old who just wants to create something beautiful (I do get a lot of inspiration from my daughter). I want to tell myself: be it rainy, sunny, foggy, along the equator, in the southern hemisphere, shooting slim clients or plus-sized women, chirpy couples or reserved ones, young or old, of different races or nationalities, I am going to paint something I like with the ingredients I have.

Be a one-trick pony or Jack-of-all-trades? Nay. I am just a photographer.

~kc of Tinydot Photography

Ask any photographer worth his or her salt what the most important ingredient to producing amazing images is, and the likely answer you will get is one word – Light. In fact, the word “Photograph” is derived from the Greek words “phos” meaning “light”, and “graph”, meaning “to draw”, and so to photograph is to draw with light.

Ever so often, many wedding couples do not understand that beautiful images can only be the result of good natural light (and of course, a photographer that is able to harness that light!). There have been so many occasions where I’m photographing the preparation in the bride’s room, where there’s beautiful sunlight waiting to be streamed into the room, and the curtains are fully closed. In Singapore, where good weather with nice lighting is rare, it would be a sin to waste such opportunities!

Good light generally manifests itself in the early hours of the day, and later towards the evening. Whilst it may be hot in our Singaporean weather, it will also provide a backdrop for some extremely well-lit images, bathed with beautiful golden sunlight and nice shadows. Some of these timings may be impossible for portraitures or bridal party photographs though, given the hectic schedule of the wedding day. In cases like that, it would be better to bring the photography into a shaded area, or indoors near large windows to take advantage of the softer light. If you are going to be holding a solemnization right a mid-day outdoors, use cloth canopies or the like to diffuse the light so that your wedding images will turn out to be the beautiful memory they so deserve.

What about artificial lighting? Not all banquet venue lightings are made the same. What a casual observer sees as nice lighting at a banquet venue may not necessarily translate to the same in photographs. Ballroom lights are generally flat and uninteresting, so if possible, use spotlights to light up march-ins, speeches, dances etc. The contrast that these lights provide will definitely add to the reception images. For outdoor venues, it would be best to engage a lighting consultant, not just so that you will get awesome images, but also that your guests can see the food they are eating.

So when it comes to planning for your wedding photography, remember this little thing called light. It may just make the difference between excitement and disappointment!

Here are some images to give you an idea of what photographing in good light can achieve. All of them were photographed in Singapore.

Photographs created with beautiful light at the golden hours are worth the sweat!

Light creates interesting shadows. Believe it or not, this was photographed at a void deck with an ordinary coloured wall!

Using window light helps to create a soft diffused portraiture. But make sure that there’s a big window

Here’s an example of a photograph created in shade provided by a huge tree. In a no-choice situation where harsh lighting reigns, this is the next best alternative. Shot at 10am on a hot, sunny day.

Again, shadows add an interesting element into an otherwise “ordinary” groomsmen portrait.

Artificial lighting, when placed correctly in an indoor venue creates the perfect mood for your documentary wedding photography.


And oh, if you’re going to have a first dance or after party, don’t stinge on the lights. At least get the venue to provide you with directional or spotlights!