sneak peek of portrait session with lemon

when i was in primary and secondary school, i had absolutely no idea what i wanted to do. but i knew one thing for sure, and i told my parents with utmost conviction that,”I never want to be a business man…”

fast forward a decade and i find myself loosely termed as a business person. sure, my job’s not about selling. i just want to create amazing photographs for a living. the creating photographs part is easy…well relatively easier then the “for a living” part.

i hate talking about money. i hate selling things that i won’t buy, so i don’t. but one thing i’ve learnt is that if i want to remain in business and not have to convert my dream back to a hobby is that i have to be honest about pricing. internally i understand why, the training that i do, the skills i’ve acquired, the knowledge and know-how, the experience, the expertise, the ability to bring out the best in someone, to allow everyone to have fun, the workshops i pay to attend, the time i take to prepare for a shoot, the time it takes and the gazillion thoughts running through my mind during a shoot/wedding, the intense problem solving while remaining calm on the surface, the follow up, the long hours of editing, replying emails, operational costs, equipment maintenance, then making sure i enjoy creating, making sure my clients get sufficient attention, making sure i have a life for inspiration, making sure i have time to spend with my family and loved ones. internally i know why i should price things a certain way but i’m scared to share it. i’m nervous that people won’t understand and terribly come to a conclusion that i’m trying to get more then i’m giving.

it’s tough being a photographer and also having to wear the hat of a business person. how can i explain to someone all the many reasons that go into the way i price things without making them feel like they owe me a living? because that’s not what i want at all! i just want to share with them the value of what i provide. haha sometimes it is tough.

but i shall strive through it and struggle to find the right path and way if i have to. because i do believe that somehow what i do can bring joy, hope and love some way some how. and oh how i enjoy seeing that sparkle in someone, drawing out their beauty in our photoshoot and making them see and understand their beauty! because i think in our society where everything has to be perfect and is so narrow in it’s clasification that our true beauty is smothered and cast aside. so i say let your light shine! and when a girl goes away from the shoot affirmed of her beauty, it brings tears to my eyes ;)

dance always gives me that freedom, it takes me away and i love it. and when the chance came to photograph these two wonderful dancers, i was ecstatic! they don’t just move beautifully, but they are such lovely girls in their own right and we had such an enjoyable shoot. ok, so we got chased out from one location…but not before i snapped a few shots! tee hee…

december is going to be one crazy one! haha and tomorrow we start :D by first a portrait session with a junior smugger & her beau, then S+J’s wedding day this saturday, followed by another b’day portrait session with a special someone who’s turning eighteen, then the wedding dinner back at grand shanghai, another lookbook, regularly scheduled shoots, christmas eve celebrations, a wedding reception on christmas, my cousin’s 21st birthday on christmas and then flying off to chiangmai the next day over the new year. wow whee!! are you ready? haha “let’s go!”

Read More

after looking at people’s million dollar yachts (great, i didn’t even know how to spell “yacht” properly haha) that hardly ever set sail, the topic of being rich came up over dinner. how rich would you want to be? and i honestly never really thought about it, haha because to me being that rich just does not seem attainable at all. it became a common consensus that everyone would like to be rich enough not to worry about finances and do something they are really passionate about without the fear of failure.

this conversation then continued on with my boyfriend and i realized, i told him, that if i had all the money i ever need i’d love to continue what i do but just in a bigger context. to document, using both photography and writing, the goodness of life. to shed light on important life issues, to share a different perspective on life, to bring joy, to bring hope and to make something beautiful. which i think is what attracted me to photography! (hey…i think i just penned out my life motto or something…haha) 

to me, big dreams starts with small steps. so i don’t want to wait until i’m rich to do what i want to do. of course, if i have all the money i ever need, i’d be doing things in a different capacity. but to someone else in another part of the world, i am ALREADY filthy rich. so i start now. and i’m so thankful to this two beautiful girls who have helped me accomplish my first step to devoting time and effort to bring hope and joy to someone’s life in Somali. remember the bid for the photo-session help portrait thingy? (click) well, these girls bidded for it and these are the results from the photoshoot (a few from the album!). we had a blast!! and also sunburn haha, will share some behind-the-scene film pictures soon!

# i’m also really really excited about my community trip to chiang mai in december :D on a side note, i haven’t sat in a plane for years!! i think a good SEVEN years!! Lol

capture your special moments with the help of {nicolethen studio}. check out the website at www.nicolethen.com or drop me an email at info@nicolethen.com to enquire on services!

aren’t mothers the most beautiful? lately, after hearing about what mothers go through. the fierce love for their child, the insane pain, the burden, the emotional turmoil of motherhood, the joy of just loving, the sacrifice they make for their children and so much more. i’m just filled with an overwhelming respect and adoration for moms all over the world. i guess no one can really understand what it is like until you’re a mom yourself. 

a few days back, together with the beautiful haslinda and beatrice (who did an amazing job with the hair and make up!!) we did a photosession <3 what i see in haslinda is that she’s got this inner strength yet incredibly gentle and loving. and so i try to capture that…plus i love it with people laugh-smile hee so this is one of my favourite shots :D more too come!!

ohh!! i can’t wait to put it into a 4-series photoframe :DDD

# to book a photosession with {nicolethen studio} feel free to drop me an email at info@nicolethen.com to enquire on photography services ;) www.nicolethen.com

choosing my favourite snap shots for this family photosession was really tough! haha but here are a bunch of them, I’ll put up the video slideshow soon so you can check out the photographs too ;) i had so much fun with this family, 3 beautiful girls and one adorable mommy-papa pair. haha

halfway through the shoot, to escape the heat we had ice tea, cold drinks and a humongous chocolate cake that packs a lot of chocolate in a bite!! 

# to capture a moment with your loved ones, just drop me an email at info@nicolethen.com to enquire on photography services ;) www.nicolethen.com

Children are a blessing and they just grow up so fast! And i do feel it is so important to capture them as well as the family. Plus, children’s day is just around the corner :D So for the month of October, book a children’s day special photosession with {nicolethen studio} and receive a $50 voucher to spend. 

find out more about our photosession collections by visiting the site at nicolethen.com or dropping me an email at info@nicolethen.com <3