Bespoke (Customised & Personalised) Portrait Photographer in Singapore

The Meaning of Bespoke Photography
Bespoke implies tailor-made, custom-made, customised, personalised, exclusive, limited and boutique. Bespoke portraits are therefore custom-made portraits that are personalised for the models (clients), which are limited and exclusive.
What to Expect from a Bespoke Photoshoot
Who would want to do bespoke photography? Why would bespoke photography produce better photographs as compared to the usual photography?
Bespoke photography is for people who wish to create special sets of photographs that can be differentiated from the daily millions of photographs being taken worldwide. The clients would receive photographs that are unique, eye-catchy and/ or meaningful to them. Instead of simply counting on luck, the photographer can do proper planning to increase the chance of getting good photographs.
My bespoke photography helps you to customise and personalise:
Photography Packages that You Truly Need
Photography can be very complicated. Many clients tend to underestimate the amount of time required for some photoshoots. Unfortunately, a big portion of a photoshoot is actually the logistic part, which is often neglected.
On top of that, an important aspect of photography is the lighting and non-professional photographers likely don't know the differences between high-end and casual photography.
A responsible photographer should always try to find out more details from his clients and advise them in order to help them make the best decision on the selection of the photography packages based on both the need and budget.
Photography Ideas that Suit You and Your Personal Needs
There are many different reasons why a person needs to have their portraits taken. Be it for a meaningful purpose or just for fun, the photoshoot can be tailor-made to outweigh its initial value.
That's no one photography idea that can fit everyone; a photography concept may suit you but not another person, and vice versa.
What you truly need is a photographer who works to identify and achieve what suits you best or serves your interest the most. He should try to find out the kind of mood/ impression you want to give the viewers. For example, a sweet or sexy feel for a personal female portrait, or a serious or trendy feel for a corporate portrait.
Photography Ideas that are Special and Eye-Catchy
Why choose to be normal when you can be special? It's boring to do the same things as most other people, resulting in getting images that won't be noticed by others, and won't grab your interest for long.
Your photographs can be eye-catchy and stand out from the rest. They can be trophies that truly represent you, the one and only you in this world. Remember that there can be people who resemble you in looks but there won't be anyone who has both your looks and personality. You're unique and your photographs can display your uniqueness.
Lighting to Create the Mood Intended
Lighting is the most important part of photography as it helps to bring out the mood and draw viewers' attention to any part of the photograph as intended.
There's no single lighting set-up that can help to create all kinds of moods, not even in a controlled environment like a photography studio. That's why I may be changing the exposure, position and angle of my lighting every now and then, even during my studio photoshoot.
I customise my lighting to fit each mood that I want to create. I can keep the background dark, I can highlight a certain part of the photograph, and I can customise my lighting to give you the most flattering light possible.
Lighting to Create the Best Photographs Possible
We can plan a fantastic outdoor photoshoot but there are many unforeseeable situations that could happen to destroy our supposedly perfect plan. The most common culprit would be the weather.
For example, we can plan for a golden hour photoshoot in the early morning but a sudden downpour could stall the time and drag it till the sun was out in full force. Another common problem is having the direct sun shining at you even on a cloudy day.
When an unfortunate problem arises, what you need is an experienced professional photographer who can customise the lighting to deal with each individual bad situation to create the best photographs possible.
Apart from having to find a better spot or angle at the location, the use of powerful (heavy and bulky though) professional lighting can help to battle the harsh sunlight.
Under every circumstance, I will try to keep the dynamic range of the photographs as high as possible to keep the photographs looking good.
How to Make a Photoshoot Unique?
Many non-professional photographers think photography is only clicking on the camera's shutter button. They don't see the effort behind every photograph that has made the photograph different from the rest.
I have a respectable client who appreciates me a lot. However, to her, all professional photographers would produce good-quality photographs of a certain level. She approached and hired me because of my personality, after going through my entire website.
My photography experience tells a totally different story. Throughout my entire portrait photography journey, I have been trying to work on creative and bold concepts. Creating all these spectacular works helps to keep my love and passion for photography going. I also see the beauty of personalising pictures that would relate to the models' personal lifestyles, so as to create more meaningful photographs for them.
My effort in both planning and executing photoshoot concepts for many individuals is hectic, but they are what make my bespoke photography different from other photographers' photoshoot packages.
Ideas: Ideas don't simply appear at the snap of a finger. It takes experience, inspiration and creativity to come out with good ideas. It usually takes time to do research.
High-end photography: Setting up for the specific kind of lighting is very tedious as compared to setting up a standard light. If the photographer were to adjust the lighting for different poses, the effort would be even greater.
Below are the elements of photography that can be customised and personalised for a bespoke portrait to make it unique:
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Ideas/ concepts
The photography idea is the initial and most noticeable part of the photoshoot. It also includes the kind of mood you want for your portrait. -
Location
Sometimes, I have to spend hours researching for the best place to do the photoshoot. I would try to explore places that I have not used before so that all my models would have a more unique set of photographs. -
Date/ day and time
For certain locations, it's better to do the photoshoot on either a weekday or weekend. The timing matters as well. -
Outfits
The outfit shouldn't be distracting nor blend in with the background unless intended. The design and material would make a big difference. -
Props
Props can help to make a photoshoot more interesting. They also help non-professional models to perform better. -
Hairstyle
The hairstyle can greatly affect the look of the model. It can also help to shape the face. -
Makeup
Makeup can hide flaws, highlight features, shape the face and bring out the feel. -
Posture
The posture of the model can tell a lot about the photograph. -
Expression
An experienced photographer would be able to help the model to create the expression intended. -
Quality of light
I usually work with soft light in order to produce more flattering photographs. -
Quantity of light
Non-professional photographers usually mistake the quantity of light for the quality of light. -
Direction of light
The direction of light will affect the mood. -
Number of light
The number of lights can include both natural light and flash. Sometimes, more lights have to be involved in order to achieve a certain effect or mood. -
Lens
The lens and the focal length used can affect the mood. -
Composition
How the photographer frames the entire picture matters a lot. -
Angle of lens
The angle which the photographer captures the picture from can change the mood and appearance as well.
Examples of Creative Bespoke Concepts
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Dance in the sunset
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Pretty fairy light
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Water and light
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Student theme
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Having fun at the beach
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Musical hobby
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With your vehicle
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With your pet
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Balloons
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Toys
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With fireworks
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Fitness / Gym
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Retro
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Hiking
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Special fashion
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Cool Fashion
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Nature themed
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Edgy fashion
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Modern corporate
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Pre Wedding
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Couple boudoir
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Boudoir
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Art bridal
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Document your tattoos
The Bespoke Photographer
How Skai Began Doing Bespoke Photography
Just like most photographers, I started my portrait photography as a clueless hobbyist photographer. I began getting my friends to model for me for the usual fashion photoshoots. I was fortunate that a commercial makeup artist friend began guiding me soon. I was imparted with proper photography knowledge and the urge to do more creative work.
Since young, I would do things differently from others. This personality of mine pushes me to work on bespoke photography. It's too boring to keep doing things that others have been doing. In order to keep my passion going, I always try to work on different genres of photoshoot. Each time, I would also think of ideas to do different special concepts whenever possible (subject to clients' approval).
Why Work with Skai for Your Bespoke Photography?
There are many other adventurous photographers who would do bespoke portraits and every bespoke photographer is special in his/ her own way. You have to look through their entire portrait portfolio in order to judge whose work can resonate most with you.
For my bespoke photography, on top of personalised ideas/ concepts, I also customise the lighting for each individual situation, especially for high-end photography. Therefore, the photographs don't excel only in terms of the special concepts but also strive in terms of quality.
It's my stubborn character to give in my best and, unfortunately, I usually don't know my limit and exhaust or even injure myself. On the bright side, my effort helps to push my work to a greater height.
Contact Skai for Your Bespoke Portrait
If you're interested in getting your personalised photoshoot, do contact me for discussion.
You may be interested in:
- Makeover photoshoot photographer in Singapore
- Birthday photoshoot photographer in Singapore
- Outdoor portrait photoshoot photographer in Singapore
- Special photoshoots you can hire a professional photographer to do
- Reasons why you should hire a professional photographer
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