Justin Oh Wedding Photography

Sonia and Dennis just got married yesterday(6th Dec 09)!! Congratulations guys! Now that the wedding is over, I can post up the photos we took from their prewedding sessions. Yes, we we took two weekends so we could get various shots from various locations

I’ve known both Sonia and Dennis for a good couple of years now when we were all still in university. We all connected through the Malaysian student societies back then and since we were all committee members, we actually worked together organising events too!

Having known them for some time before they got engaged (and now married!), naturally we had tons of fun during the shoot. Here are some of my favourite photos but stay tuned for the slideshow with lots more in my next post!

I like the attitude in the next few here

We wanted something more edgy but those guys being jokers, it was a tough task refraining from bursting out in laughter!

Yes, I love brick walls with interesting textures and colors

Haven’t been back to this spot in 2 years. It was nice to shoot here again

Always wanted to shoot at Luna Park!

The ferris wheel shot!

These guys glow with passion

Don’t forget to check back again for the slideshow!! It’s in HD so you don’t want to miss it

They say the first is always the best. This certainly held true for me this morning when I checked my email from Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI). I won my first award for my first submission ever!!!

Winning a WPPI award has been a major goal for me since I got into the wedding photography business. As a newcomer to the industry and only a year (almost exactly) since I officially launched my services, I am absolutely ecstatic to say the least!

For those not familiar with WPPI and its competitions, it is often referred to as the Oscars or Grammys of wedding photography! WPPI’s print competitions are perhaps the most highly coveted photography competitions and certainly so in the wedding industry.

I have to admit I was both very nervous and excited before the results were sent out. It was a mad rush job as I decided to give it a go less than a week before the due date. There wasn’t enough time to further touch up the selected photos as I had to send them off to the lab to print and also the matting workmanship was sub par. I was very worried about this and thought going ahead with the submission might have been a mistake… so much so I actually had a bad dream this morning that I didn’t win anything! Apparently judging took longer than expected this time around with over 1900 prints submitted from around the world – which obviously didn’t help with the nerves

On to the image which won me the Accolade of Excellence (Honorable Mention) award:)

Title: Band of Brothers

Category: Wedding Photojournalism

It really must be a day for Firsts as this shot was actually taken at the first wedding I shot!  Thank you Grace & Keiichi for trusting me to photograph your very special day, especially when I had no prior experience whatsoever then!  Thank you for the opportunity and ongoing support. Who knows what I’d be doing now if I didn’t have that opportunity to shoot your wedding?

Also, I have to thank all my friends, both old and new ones! Thanks for all the support, encouragement, inspiration and more importantly, your friendship. You guys know who you are Not to forget, I have to thank Alex for being my loyal friend and assistant since I started this adventure.  It has been one hell of a ride man!

There are so many things on my mind now but I’ll just end this post before it gets too long with the most important one. Having just spent a week with my family when they flew in to Melbourne last week, I’m really missing them a lot after I returned to Sydney. Prior to this it has been over a year since I last I saw them and 1 1/2 years since I last went back to Malaysia. I owe everything to my family and they are the reason where I am today. This first win is dedicated to them! Love you guys!

Teasers – either love them or hate them

I have two to share from separate shoots we did with Sonia and Dennis over two weekends. They actually wanted to keep all the photos as a surprise until their wedding later this year back in Malaysia. ‘Negotiations’ were made and they agreed to let me ‘release’ this one first

All I can say is this is only a minor indication of the ‘awesome-ness’ of the other photos to come so hang on guys!

This is the full 18 hour coverage condensed into 8 mins. Don’t forget to turn up your speakers! Head over to the Vimeo link at the bottom if you want to watch a higher quality verson. Enjoy!

Jasmin + Chiang – Wedding Day from Justin Oh on Vimeo.

Continuing on, here is the second half of Jasmin and Chiang’s epic 18 hour wedding! A wonderful mix of traditional Chinese customs (and costumes too) with a touch of contemporary flair. There was a nice mix of traditional Baju Kebaya representing Jasmin’s Malaysian background and Chinese Mandarin Shirts for Chiang’s  ‘brothers’.

It was a packed day as we were between several different locations starting with the Star City Apartment, their new home in Alexandria, a stroll through the Royal Botanical Gardens before boarding the Sydney Glass Island via Man O War Wharf. We also allocated some time to prepare a slideshow as Jasmin wanted to display some photos taken earlier in the day at the reception. I think it is also safe to say that the Hen’s Day Out vidshow was a hit If you missed it earlier here’s the link to watch it: http://www.vimeo.com/6941364

The weather forecasted for that day was an evening thunderstorm. It was threatening us the whole day but when we were at the Gardens, we had some very nice dramatic light – although we had some drizzle on and off which cut our outdoor portrait session short. Everyone was a little worried and on edge since the ceremony was on the top deck of the glass boat. We went on with the ceremony as the storm brew. Amazingly enough, it only started pouring when we were just about to make our way down!! The celebration went on as hard as ever as the thunder and lightning was seen and heard from every corner Checkout the wedding day video in the next post above.

Thank you Jasmin and Chiang for your trust in me to be your photographer on your wedding day, for asking me non-stop throughout the day if I had anything to eat or drink, for your warmth and kindness and of course, your friendship! I haven’t had so much fun shooting a wedding! Although it was 18 hours, it just went like a blink of an eye! Thank you!

Here are the highlights of the day. Hope you guys enjoy looking!

Chinese Tea Ceremony for the Bride’s side of the family

And the groom’s side

Jewelry as gifts for the bride

Got it!

Jasmin’s sisters. Sorry guys, they’re all taken

Love the lighting here!

One of my favourite shots – pure photojournalism

Another favourite one here

Oops!?

Speech reaction

Love this shot taken by my friend/2nd shooter/assistant Alex

Yaaaaaaaaaaaammmm Sennggg!!! The Malaysian/Singaporean equivalent to Cheers!

And a whole lot of partying too!

The fantastic glass boat with a 360 degree view

If you like the hair and makeup you see in the photos you need to contact these guys! Their work is amazing!

Hair Stylist: Vicki McFarlane vmcfarlane@aapt.net.au 0414 261 033

Makeup Artist: Rosetta Ripepi rosetta_ripepi@hotmail.com 0423 210 441