“Never crossed my mind”

In a few days’ time I’ll be sitting in TCT Auditorium to be trained as cell leader. Frankly speaking, have never crossed my mind  I’d even be attending one that trains me to be a cell leader. 

 How often have we done something that had never crossed our mind before. More than 8 years back I would never picture myself being a professional photographer. Though I did have an interest in photography as a kid, back then it was unthinkable my parents could afford to buy me a camera.

 If you are interested to find out how I got into wedding photography, you can find out from this interview.

1) Can you give me an introduction of yourself, when and how did you startout and what is your wedding site & business about?

 I was originally a technician in SMRT maintaining the gantries that the public uses day in and out. You might have even seen me before at City Hall and Bugis station.

 Though dealing with machines and electronics, my real passion has been in filmmaking. Having to support my family,I could not afford to enroll to a proper media programme in the local institutes.

Despite not being able to go to school for my passion, God had a plan for me. One day, I said a little prayer and asked Him that, if it was His will for me to leave my company, could He send someone to offer me a job as a cameraman,with a certain monthly salary.

Barely 5 minutes later, someone I just got to know sms-ed me with this offer, “Hi QP, do you want to be a cameraman for a private studio shooting cooking program? Paying $XXXX a month with $10 food allowance a day.” The amount I asked for was an exact match to the offer! I took it as a sign from God, resigned the next day and the rest, as they say, is history.

2) I understand you have been in the wedding-related field for quite some time. What do you think is the key factor to your success?

 Be humble to admit a mistake, having courage to say sorry and be willing to step out of my comfort zone. I always tell myself it is not good enough to be good, I need to be different and a true artist always reinvents himself.

However, the mean key factor to my success, not limited to my wedding business, is to die to one’s ego and allow God to mould me and wait for his timing.

3) When you are working with couples, what is it that you are most proud of?

 When the couples look at the photos I took for them and thank me with tears in their eyes.

4) What is the greatest challenge that you have faced while growing your career?

Finding the right people to join my company. While it is relatively easy to find talented photographers and videographers, I discover that it’s sometimes hard to get people who share the same spirit of serving with a heart. As our company slogan goes, “serve with a heart”, only those who show congruence to the company value will work with us.

5) What are some of the areas do you think wedding couples always overlook when planning their own weddings?

Timing. Do not get yourself into the major “life-changing” events nearing your wedding day. This could include renovation of your new flat, changing jobs or even taking exams. It is likely that it will be almost impossible to enjoy your wedding day when you need to look into such worries few days before your Actual Day.

6) Currently, what is the one wedding tip you want to give to soon-to-wed couples?

Just relax! Unless there is unlimited budget, there’s usually no such thing as a perfect wedding. Remember, you are not perfect and the one you are going to wed isn’t either. So just do whatever you can and leave the rest to God, have faith!

7) Your final thought and advice for my wedding blog readers?

What I’m about to say may sound like I’m breaking my own deal but it’s something straight from my heart. Having the best photographer and signing up the most expensive package does not guarantee true and lasting happiness to your marriage life.

Now you may think that I am kind of crazy, advising people it’s not necessary to engage top end photographer and spend big bucks on photography package. This statement coming from someone who actually charges wedding couples thousands of dollars for their photo to be taken by him?

Let me say again, don’t feel bad if you can’t afford a high-end photographer to take your wedding photos.

This is what truly matters: to marry the one you love and this someone loves you and wanted very much to spend the rest of his/her life with you.

Of course if you’d like to have a magical wedding album, there’s always Dave Koh. This is what I call Magic of Love!