Ziggy Mag

Back in the month of June, I had the honour of shooting for Ziggy Mag's 'It's A Girl's Thing' staycation surprise contest which was open to everyone and 2 groups of girls were selected for a 3d2n staycation at The Sultan Hotel. Ziggy Mag has also very kindly arranged for lots of surprises and pampering sessions to fill up the entire 3 days for the girls to indulge in the company of their own friends and enjoy the weekends to the fullest and it covers every aspect of it- from rooms, to food and drinks, activities, makeover, club, transportation. It reminded me of ANTM whereby the girls would be issued secret greeting/ activity cards and the next thing they knew, they are whisked away onto their next surprise leaving them guessing and anticipating. 

It was no doubt tiring having to follow through for 3 days but these girls, videographers Rainer and Jacky the people at Ziggy are a really nice and spontaneous bunch to work with. At the end of it, when I was mailed a copy of Ziggy and having to see my works on a 2 page spread in the magazine was truly truly rewarding. (,:

I am really thankful for all the opportunities I have been getting. 

xx

Celebrating 10 years of friendship // Jacqueline and Winnie

This is the celebration of two friends, who have hit the tenth year of their friendship ever since their secondary school days. Jacqueline assumes the role of a big sister, who takes the responsibility to take care of Winnie, who is a lot more playful and as what we would all describe after meeting her- Blur. They took the idea of shooting at a playground, and I really enjoyed shooting them because it's unpretentious fun where the girls get to do what they like and play for real. They even got themselves matching outfits for this photoshoot.

Friendships are just like relationships, it takes time for two parties to mold into each other perfectly and it takes a lot of compromising for it to work out over a long run. Sometimes, we do not need a huge bunch of friends in life, just a few old friends who have gone through the thick and thin with you, or should I say puberty stage, and knows you like the back of their hands. People say that real friendships are usually forged in secondary school, and I can't agree more on this and hitting a milestone of ten years is indeed something worth celebrating. (:

Cheers to everlasting friendship to both Winnie and Jacqueline!

Babygirl

Been awhile since I've last put up photos of my baby girl here (,: As usual, I was doing my best to annoy her and take her selfies with my scarf. Mommy loves you so much, you are always a joy to come home to.

I just wish you could open the door for me whenever I forgot my keys.

To be able to call you mine was the best thing that ever happened // Of Sarah and Edwin

Sarah and Edwin had wanted a casual pre-wedding shoot, something that depicts their day-to-day activities and allowing them to be themselves as much as possible. After going through a selection of cafes to hold the shoot, Sarah decided on D'Good Cafe that everyone can recognise by lovely their white swing chairs and their good coffee.

During the second part of the shoot, the couple changed into an even more casual outfit to go supermarket shopping! Something which we were all looking forward to. Sarah says that both of them do quite a bit of supermarket shopping on their own, and they just wanted the fun for the shoot as well. Edwin, by nature, is shy and takes awhile to warm up but I'm glad he did in no time because it made everything so much more fun and he can actually be really cheeky! Sarah actually planned the shoot on the day of Edwin's birthday, which actually serves as a gift for him and even for herself because they have never had the chance of being photographed together, and they wanted these photos to be for keepsake before they were to get married and that's probably what most people are facing, even myself.

For me, it's been awhile since I've done a cafe/supermarket shoot for a couple and I was inevitably reminded of the first few couple shoots I've done for own friends many years back at a supermarket which was a hell lot of fun, and it indeed brought back a lot of memories as to how I started taking requests for couple shoots back then. It's been a real fruitful journey so far. (,: 

For bookings and enquiries, do drop me a mail at fiona.sng@hotmail.com (:

xx

Ours

Stay gold, forever.

Dedicated to Mr Wong

When you set your eyes on this post, you'd have already received the first three parts of your birthday gifts that I've been painstakingly hiding over the past 2 months, and this is the very last part to it. You deserve an entire dedicated post because the world ought to know the goodness you possess.

I spent the last 2 months working late into the night on the scrapbook I'm making for you after you've slept. If you were to ask me how long I've been planning this, I can tell you it's actually been for as long as we've been together. I am aware of how much you wish to receive a handmade gift from me, especially knowing I have a thing for hand making cards and such. All these while, I've been planning, which explains why I would occasionally buy some materials many months back and you start questioning me why am I wasting my money on these when I barely have the time to do cards for anyone. It's been a really long time since I've last attempted to make a scrapbook, and now that I've come to the end of it, I'm really happy with it because I did it the way I've always emphasised how scrapbooks should be done- with scraps. Most of whatever you will find in the book, are leftover materials from years ago or from my torn clothes, old gift wraps and all sorts of rubbish you can ever imagine. I attempted to photograph the entire process of me doing, and putting the images into a short clip for you so you could see the making of it but there just wasn't enough time for me to do this in the day time comfortably, and the photography stopped midway. The Bali trip was supposed to be a surprise for you that I've planned since 4 months back, but barely a few days into it and I let the cat out of the bag because I couldn't contain my excitement. It was like every minute into it and I'm trembling with excitement because I just wanna stand and squeal " Omg we are going Bali!!" After a long 4 months wait, we are finally heading there together.

7 months. It is not a great deal of time at all, and in comparison to the past relationships we had this is almost peanuts. But we do know of many couples who barely last past the 6 months mark, and we are aware how much things could have evolved in this span of time. But, I'm proud to say each moment together just makes us even more inseparable, and that this is even better than the chase because we never settle for less, we fight for our love, we do whatever it takes to make each other happy and we stay in love.

You remember the slightest details, right down to worrying about me not having lunch if you aren't around because you know I'm too lazy to get my own lunch and doing everything possible to ensure I get my meals on time. You're the bigger man, who forgives my tantrums on bad days and even giving up your iPhone 5 for me because my 4s is faulty. On many of the days when work has been too much to bear, such that I lose track of my days and time, you step in to calm my senses and take over my admin work for me to ease my load. You tirelessly stay up with me every night till 3am because I'm bogged down by work and wakes early with me without a single word of complaint all these while. Our relationship is as good as a long distance (haha, I kid!), because we are literally separated across Singapore but he has never once not sent me home. I love how each night you will tuck me into bed and end the day with a goodnight kiss. You are always going around telling your friends how proud you are to have me, and telling me "I want everyone to know how proud I am of you. My girlfriend is so awesome!" (,: You bring me with you everywhere you go, and there was never anyone like that before you. You make me out to be a gem, when I am not. Now, you deserve nothing but the best from me.

I know how taxing it can get being with me at times, and having to accommodate my schedules, but thank you for your relentless love. Most of all, thank you for fulfilling your promises towards me every day. One reason why we can constantly be each other's source of joy is because we've never stop working things out together and we never stop chasing each other ever. It's tiring, even for me. Sometimes the struggle to balance work and life drives me to a corner, and the distance between us isn't helping. You take all the effort to come over to my place just to watch me work on my computer.

Every single day with you, I learn so much about loving someone. You build a love that encompasses all my shortcomings, but your love is patient and forgiving. I learn how selfish I can be and how insensitive I am at times towards your feelings while you, love me with every fibre of your being and puts me in the first place in every little thing you do, place my emotions and welfare as priority in the decisions you make. You never hesitate to put your pride down for me, and when we do quarrel, you end up saying you're sorry first because you love me and not because you are at fault. I get to make the decisions for everything because you want me to be happy, and you want me to be able to have whatever I want. No, don't get me wrong. I am not a demanding girlfriend (or so I'd like to think), but D really lets me make the final decision in everything. He says he wants me to always be happy. (,: In him, I truly understand what it means when someone says, " Whatever makes you happy, makes me smile." It's times like how he brings me to have my favourite tom yum soup when he doesn't even fancy tom yum at all and when I'm happily wolfing down the entire pot of it, I see him chuckling to himself across the table and then he'd say, "I'm happy because you are happy."

At the same time it makes me afraid because I feel so blessed and loved, that I am bursting at the seams with happiness. It's happiness like this that makes me worry because good things are never known to last for me and I'm so incredibly blessed, it's unbelievable. It's like I've finally found my place, that I never have to wander again. And that I know, every beautiful moment in my life I have you to share them with me. And every country that my wanderlust spirit will bring me, I have you to witness the beauty together with me and leaving our footprints bit by bit as we conquer the world together. <3 

Thank you for being the wonderful man you are, and for being mine.

Happy 25th birthday, the love of my life.

Advertorial: Simplicity Nails by Trina (p2)

Remember my previous set of craftholic inspired nails done by Trina? They lasted me for a good whole 7 weeks with only very very slight chipping at the corner of my thumb. I am absolutely impressed, and even my friends who saw my overgrown gelish were amazed by it. I mean it when I say I get compliments on my nails wherever I go, people ask me where I got it done cause my manicurist did a good job at it and everyone finds them ultra cute!


Nail credits to: http://simplicitynails.blogspot.sg

Don't you just love my new set of November nails? (: On the 31st of October, I had my own graduation which I'll share more in time to come. Before my grad commences, I rushed to meet Trina to get my nails done, but it was mainly because I want to have a new set of nails before I jet off in the coming week! I'm doing all sorts of preparations cause I'm just so stoked, and my nails are definitely not forgotten!

This time round, I opted for something that I would say… describes me more. I'm quite an extremist at times, leaning towards both the feminine and edgy side at times.  I love it! Trina and I customised this set together based on something that we've seen online. I love the stark contrast of the pastel pink and black. If you have an eye for details, you would have realised that Trina is extremely good with her florals, which she admittedly agree it's one of her strong points and many customers like to look for her specifically for her florals! (: Note the florals on my index finger and how intricate the flowers are, even the leaves are painted in two shades of green to make them realistic-looking. So much thought and strokes go into those tiny flowers. I would never have imagined that there would be different techniques to go into the drawing of just flowers alone. On my fourth finger, it's actually white acrylic flowers on a silver glittery base!



This is probably the highlight of the entire set! Check out the triple spikes on my pinky. Everyone who has seen them couldn't resist but marvel at it and insist on touching them. Yes, they are a little prickly but you'd be amazed how sturdy they are because Trina actually used acrylic to stick them on, followed by coating a layer of gelish over it to secure them in place. Initially I'm a little jittery about the studs, which Trina suggested I give it a try. I was so worried of them falling off because of my job and how rough I can get at times but my worry is unfounded. I play with my spikes all day and night and they are still intact. (:


Check out more of Trina's works on her blog HERE or her instagram @Simplicitynails. Her rates are really affordable and I bet you will love her works as much as I do, this I promise. xx

xx

Agneselle x Kisses Bakery

Wardrobe: Agneselle

Model: Peiling

Hair and Makeup: Pearlyn Law Makeup & Hairstyling

Location: Kisses Bakery

Some of you might have already known that I've been working with the Agneselle team for the past ten months, and that makes her my longest-standing client ever. Throughout this entire year, we've forged a certain kind of bond that overrides our photographer-client relationship and we indeed have been through a fair share of good and bad times together. The countless number of shoots done in the hot sun  in forsaken places that got us panting and lamenting like mad and feeling like we've walked into a desert and that we are never gonna get out of it. Good times of Yoshinoya bonding sessions after our shoots because Pearlyn, Peiling and I are so crazy over the beef bowl with the goodness of an additional tamago and ROFL moments during shoots that always gets us laughing like crazy women even in public. We've had our little disagreements before too over the differences in opinions and views  on our shoot directions or even just things in general but I guess that's just bound to open when it's no longer a working relationship because we are friends.

I think that's also one reason why we can keep things together this way for so long, and I do know that neither of us wish for things to change because we know each other's working style and pet peeves so well. Pearlyn and I have bonded so much ever since I first met her way more than a year ago for a shoot and thereafter introduced her to Peiling. She is in every way like my big sister, she dotes  on me and shares every bit of her happiness with me, and at times she even goes the extra mile to help me out as an assistant for my shoots because she doesn't want me to be alone. As much as Peiling always reiterates to us that she is not our boss, and that we are our own bosses who work together for our passion, Pearlyn and I love to go "Heyyyy boss!" to irritate her and then bursting into fits of laughter on our own. But Peiling hosts steamboat sessions at her house for US, and recently even brought us out to eat at Uncle Leong Seafood for some crab indulgence after shoot (like what bosses do, isn't it?) and takes us for events with her. She is also always buying me super good and cheap korean masks when she visits her boyfriend in Incheon.

This is still pretty amazing to me because for the past 4 years I've been a buyer of AE clothings and I remembered I used to buy a fair bit from her every month, so yes I love how I never have to camp for her launches anymore and even till date, I am still constantly buying her stuffs but now I am CONTRIBUTING to her site. (: I think my wardrobe can do up its own AE mini launches every now and then. It's a pretty long post because I want to dedicate a little more to one of my favourite teams ever because I've never once gotten round to doing it properly. We are also looking to host an intimate yet elaborate sort of tea party thing together to interact with our customers/clients in the next few months to come. We'll release more information when the time is ripe.

Cheers to AE!

__________________________________________

Anyway, a few months ago we had the honour of shooting at Kisses Bakery in Tiong Bahru area. Kisses is opened by one of Peiling's friend in a really old district that makes for good photoshoot location and I have to get this across to everyone- KISSES SERVES THE BEST CUPCAKES I'VE EVER TASTED.  Each of them are freshly baked to perfectly, the cake itself is so moist and soft and the cream is so rich and generously topped on each cupcake. We've gone back so many times to purchase the cupcakes even when we are shooting at other places. We really love how clean and simplistic the shop is, and we took on a more korean feel for the photos when we shot in there. This has got to Pearl and my favourite lookbooks of all the ones we've ever done. (: The pink totally exudes a Barbie feel and I love it! ^_^

I hope you guys enjoy this set of photos as much as I do (:

xx