To say that i love their pre-wedding photos is an understatement. The whole shooting experience with Andre & Hany has been so memorable that i don't mind doing it again. There's something about them that makes the shot so special, it's not the fashion or even the locations for that matter, coz we did some shots in Jakarta as well as France. One thing that stood out is their chemistry on camera. I felt that this is it, we nailed it. Their passion is so tangible that it's worth posting it twice on our blog. You guys are so in love...keep it that way for the next 50 years together :)

Hey guys, it's Paulus here again...now that i'm done giving away all Ang Paos for the Chinese New Year i'm ready for more blogging action. Let me first introduce this lovely couple Roy & Venice. I've been fortunate to shoot for two lovely couples from Malaysia, the first one is Patrick & Eunice. Roy is not Patrick's brother although they both knew each other long enough since elementary school. So thanks to these guys, looks like we do have a little fan club in Kuala Lumpur :)

All these photos were taken in Kuantan, quite a few hours drive from Kuala Lumpur. It's a small yet beautiful city and a popular tropical getaway. Before this trip i had no idea it existed. It so happen that both Roy & Venice work in Kuantan, and to my surprise he owns a lottery shop *yes it's legal :) It was a memorable trip for my wife Natasha & I, from the midnight "Too Fast Too Furious" four hours drive to Kuantan, to all the funny moments during the photo shoot. It's been a pleasure knowing this lovely couple, who is more like a friend to us. 

Most of you still remember Phoebe & Dan from our previous post of their pre-wedding & wedding, now it's her sister Felice who's getting married :) Irwin is one cool Filipino dude, who seems to be ON for any ideas we came up with. I still remember the day of their pre-wedding shoot which started with lots of intermittent rainfall and a little episode of getting chased by security officers. Needless to say we had a whole lot of spantaneous fun!

Ok there's a first time for everything..here's my first ever shoot at the zoo! For Felice & Irwin, they love animals sooo much that they insisted on having it shot with the animals. Feeding and playing with the cow named "Manohara" is another unforgettable scene. I love seeing how cute and loving they are. Once again congrats guys, may the cows overflow you with milk..he he :) *peace

I love love these portraits of Andre & Hany :) It's truly a joy to shoot for them. We are fortunate to capture their memories in France, traveling from Nice to Paris, passing through Dijon & Lyon...with some insert of photos taken in Jakarta too. You'll find quite a mix of different scenery, but what i love from it all is capturing their love story. I'll be posting their images in a separate post...for now here's their pre-wedding clip.

Enjoy the clip, add some comments & don't forget to share ;) 

Andre & Hany "France Photoclip" from Axioo on Vimeo.

Ferry & Rufina is one of my favorite couple. The first impression of them was totally different when i spent the whole week with them, in fact they're super fun & wacky! Our initial destination was suppose to be Japan, but due to visa issue, we finally decided to head to Taiwan instead.

This is the first time for me to explore Taiwan. The first thing that caught up my eyes when we arrived in Taiwan is their tagline “Taiwan, touch your heart” and after a few days exploring Taiwan, the tag line is totally true. The people are very friendly eventhough they hardly speak English, the buildings and the parks  middle of the city makes Taiwan the place you want to visit.

I heart Ferry & Rufina, they are very fun, energetic, sweet and craziest couple I've ever met…we enjoy every shooting session, we laugh a lot, we jump a lot, and we run a lot. There are so many beautiful places in Taiwan, we start shoot from National theme park to Hello Kitty apartment.

Totally enjoyed my trip with Ferry & Rufina, they're an amazing couple and good friends…love you both! See you at your wedding and Sweet Escape yauwww...

I remember seeing them the first time, coming over to our office and thought to myself "Oooh I'll enjoy shooting this couple". So I did...it was fantastic! They are so natural in front of camera, it's as if they're professional models and i'm shooting for a fashion spread. No wonder models get paid so much for a shoot, often more than the photographer...now i know why. They are what make the images stand out, real emotions of love shows through. Ok while we're on the topic of 'real', this is where it makes the biggest difference. We shot a fair share of fashion spreads for magazines and though models are professional knowing how to pose and what to do next...but there's no chemistry. When shooting real couples in love, their chemistry is almost tangible, it's like you know their feelings just by the way they look at each other.

With their wedding coming up end of this month, i'm sure they are busy sending out invitations and doing the final check on the wedding preparation. So here's a glimpse of their portraits, enjoy :)

I won't forget the feeling shooting for Danny & Eva on top of the world (well..we were pretty high up on Whistler Mountain, British Columbia) The view is simply breathtaking. How i wish we can just relax there for a few more days just to enjoy the scenery...

With great food and spectacular outdoors, no wonder Vancouver always gets high rating being the most livable city. As for Danny & Eva, their fondest memories together has always been here, so Vancouver means a whole lot more than just a beautiful city. When we came up with ideas on how and where to shoot for their portraits, it's quite a challenge to narrow down to just a few locations. So we decided to just have fun in and around Vancouver doing the things they do when they were dating. With that, i just have to shoot their chemistry while they were having fun the whole day.

Don't you ever wonder why opposites attract? How sometimes someone so different from you can get you head over heels? The little things they do that drive you crazy are also what make them so irristable?

For Stephanus & Dewi, this is what brought them together...so they say. After getting to know them better, i realized that it's not entirely true that opposites attract. To me, both of them share this young, playful, and cheerful energy that perhaps glued them even more. How should i say this? They are just sooo in love with each other, that no differences can set them apart.

We explored some new ideas and places to shoot for their portraits. Laughing and giggling as i shoot them through the day. Enjoy :)

Love lasts though the seasons. For Jansen & Rose, we are so excited yet nervous to shoot 4 seasons in a day's session. Thumbs up for the couple who shows no signs of panic as the rain starts pouring down, they even seem to enjoy running in the rain. We always believe there's sunshine after the rain, and so it happened. The sky clears up for us to continue shooting this series of portraits. 

To Jansen & Rose, thank you for trusting us to shoot it anyway we like. We totally love these shots!!

Jansen & Rose MotionPicture from David Soong on Vimeo.

I can't help but notice the resemblance of us photographers and chefs. We can use the same pan (in my case the camera), to come up with numerous dishes, each one unique to the taste of our clients. All these years shooting pre-wedding, i've learnt that good preparation is key to executing a great shot (that again is subjective to the taste of each couple). So we normally spend a fair amount of time to listen and brainstorm ideas for each couples' portraits. 

Yes of course the choice of dress and location of the shoot is important...but for me, the most important element is capturing their chemistry. Our job is to tell their love story visually.

For Chandra & Stevanie, these are what they have in mind.

Sometimes you just wanna have fun. There really is no right or wrong when shooting for your own pre-wedding portraits. Some like it romantic, some like it hot, but for James & Pauline they seem to just enjoy being themselves, goofy and happily in love. 

For us it was a fun day out, we kept shooting them as they go crazy trying out new ideas. Enjoy these happy moments :)

It's 2 am and i just got back from Lionel & Grace's super after party. Once again congrats to the happy couple. Your wedding is awesome!! 

It doesn't take a genius to spot a couple in love, that's how i felt being around Lionel & Grace. Is it the way they laugh at each other's jokes or just a glimpse from his eyes that says it all. 

As for Lionel & Grace, we picked New York for their pre-wedding session, since both visited New York frequently during their stay in the East Coast. Being in New York is like a giant playground for photographers, with each turn it seems like i found another spot to shoot. But it seems like Lionel, who is more affectionately called as Onel planned our trips around his favorite food...no complains from a fellow foodie ;)  

Yoohooo :) Now it's my turn to blog. Happy New Year to all our friends..thanks for tuning in. So true that time flies when we're having fun! 

This is the one couple i've been waiting to blog. For Linda & Budi, they went the extra mile (i mean 11,000 mile) to fly from Jakarta-San Francisco-NewYork for this photoshoot. Nothing beats the excitement of going somewhere fresh to soak in the atmosphere and get their portraits done. 

With their wedding coming up in a month, here's a little preview of their pre-wedding photos.

Hi hi, happy new year friends…how’s your holiday??

Another fun couple, Caroline and Calvin from Surabaya… love to shoot them! They’re so expressive since the first session. We couldn’t stop laughing. I love their chemistry as a couple. They’re so into every scene!

Some funny things that happened during the photo shoot. We saw from afar that there was a white and blue helium balloon, so we thought there was someone selling it. But turns out that there was another couple using those for a pre-wedding photo shoot as well. Haha!

And after lunch, Paula found a huge fresh heart-shaped crackers. We decided to use it for as props. Love using items that pop up spontaneously.

All the best for Caroline and Calvin!!! Happy new year…

It's always been our joy listening to couples telling their tapestry of love. How they met and how they get together and decided that she or he is the one that they want to live happily ever after with. I got to know Eliz more than a decade ago, while we were in high school, back in Singapore. She is still the same as I always remembered, this sweet girl, who generously shower you with her smiles and adorable giggles.

So one day, when she called me and break the news about their engagement, i was very curious who is this lucky guy. Hardy is a brilliant and charming guy, rather quiet at first, but to my surprise, during the shooting they are like a pro.

Enjoy Eliz and Hardy with Snuggle and Snowy ;)

The Crazyness get better with this clip... enjoy :)

Nico & Emil PreWedding Photoclip from Axioo on Vimeo.

Congratulations to the happy couple!!!

Andhika & Janice Prewedding Photoclip from Axioo on Vimeo.

Remember Andhika & Janice from our previous post taken in Perth?  It's always a pleasure to shoot them. This time we're shooting it indoors with her wedding dress, by the famous Eddy Betty. Both of them knows their way in front of the camera, as if they've taken some modeling course. 

i love this series! Enjoy :)

Caution!! These images below are NOT your typical pre-wedding photos. Take a deep breath and enjoy :)

For Nico & Emil, together we came up with the craziest mix of ideas to show who they are. Each with a color of their own, but together they are truly one of a kind. Emil is gorgeous, when I first met her I really thought she's model or miss beauty queen. She's elegant, edgy and yet quirky...who would have thought she's a doctor. Nico is all out wacky, funny and full of expression. It's been a while since i know someone like Nico, he reminds me of Ivan our uber-hyper-creative photographer. 

Nico's dream shot!! He specifically asked for a Bajaj for the photo shoot. We had a ton of people watching us shoot this scene, to my surprise they played their role with pride.

Both Paulus & I had the pleasure of shooting for Anthony & Renny in Melbourne a few months ago. Their wedding is not until March 2010, but it's always a good idea to get the portraits done ahead of time. No doubt about it, Melbourne is fantastic place to shoot. We love the variety of locations as we move from urban to nature, capture their chemistry in each places. 

Here's a few shots during the trip :)