mom vintage.

Steffi.
a random bag, a tee from europe, jeans from thailand, a pair doc martens and her mom's vintage coat, steffi pulls off an effortless style with a wardrobe that has travelled the world.

photographed by nicolethen studio (www.nicolethen.com)

the throwover.

Geraldine.
she's wearing cardigan/throwover from forever 21, a pair of awesome denim shorts her mom bought for her from overseas, blue doc martens, clutch from haji lane and bag from marc by marc jacobs.

# i have a soft spot for those ethnic/aztec/bohemian prints...whatever they're called. so when i saw the super cute throwover geraldine was wearing, how could i not snap a picture and share it with you guys!

photographed by nicolethen studio (www.nicolethen.com)

soul song.

{nicolethen studio} portrait session with Nabillah for The New Paper
http://blog.nicolethen.com/post/17190574413/nabillah-song-with-soul

yellow rose.

model: cherlyn
make up artist: delanie wong
assistant: nadia
photography & styling: nicolethen studio (www.nicolethen.com)

love freely

i absolutely love shooting couples/engagement sessions. it's a dedicated time where you're free to love and hug and laugh and giggle with your loved one whether the person's your family, a wonderful friend or a special someone. and having it caught in a photograph to keep and to cherish <3

i had a wonderful time at the shoot with sueann and lawrence, who are my junior juniors(!) from Singapore Management University haha. the shoot was a little present to herself to celebrate her twenty first birthday! and of course, one can't help but notice that sueann just has the most adorable laughter and smile that just makes you think how sweet and beautiful she is! these are the couple shots, but there's more individual shots too and some behind the scene film photographs coming up too :D

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


See more pictures at http://blog.nicolethen.com/post/15648457720/love-freely-nicolethen-studio

{nicolethen studio} a little sunshine, a little love

# wendy & angie from a little best-friend portrait session i shot with them!
read the inspiration behind this shoot on the photo-blog (http://blog.nicolethen.com)

what's happening at {nicolethen studio}

we've been buzzing over at {nicolethen studio}. here's a little update of what has been going on in the "crib"! haha

1. did a photosession with the loveliest family ever, the girls are so beautiful and sweet <3 mom and dad were just the most adorable couple ever! haha (click to view more pictures)
2. then we met up with an awesome bunch of friends for a graduation shoot too! haha, it was one afternoon filled with laughter ;) (click to view more pictures)
3. then it was off to a wedding for the beautiful couple Eileen & Mervyn. i shot their engagement photos remember? and i just feel like they've become friends <3 
4. a little sneak peek behind the scene shot from the love bonito lookbook shoot (click to view more pictures)

do visit me also at the {nicolethen studio} blog where I document my adventures and happenings at the studio :D www.nicolethen.com

{nicolethen studio}

read more on the {nicolethen studio} blog, click

{nicolethen studio} x dreams

i can't remember when i started working on the project. yup, that's probably how long ago i started. but i know i kept delaying the launch date. i guess part of me wasn't sure. i mean, it was my dream to have a magazine (that's why my blog was called cherry magazine) but do i have any experience? touch and go. so there was this resistance and fear about whether the magazine was good enough and such. but i guess, that's the whole point of dreams magazine. it's that you have a dream or an idea and then you have fears and resistance. despite that, you'll break through it and work on your dream.
part of me is afraid and yet part of me is not afraid of failure, or of imperfections. because my dreams are always a work in progress and i'm always aiming for it to get better. so come along with me and the team on this journey and if you've got a story to share do drop me an email too :)

click to get Dreams Magazine delivered to your inbox (click)

# thanks to my lovely assistant nadia for helping me so much with the magazine! <3
# and also to all the amazing talented make up artists (dee!), beautiful models and creative people who helped contribute to making it possible

event style: raoul

a little "street style" off the streets at the raoul event. have you met Pia? actually you might have met her on my blog and maybe on other blogs too (click). just love this babe! haha and i feel very privileged to be able to meet and become friends with people i snapped on the streets <3

# supported by nicolethen studio

flower girl

photography is a little like being a treasure hunter. you go into the shoot for 2-3 hours and you dig and dig or chase and chase for that shot that embodies everything that is good and reflects your vision.
i did this shoot with rach and wanted to do this crazy print layer on layer styled shoot. her class ended really late so we didn't have the amount of time that i would like to do a shoot. plus, we had to forsake the initial location for one just around the corner. but despite all that, i think the shots turned out gorgeous ;) so i'm really happy!

oh and psst, i've got some items up at the thrift store! (click to shop)
www.nicolethen.com

EM engagement shoot

i need to start speeding up with my blog posts on the shoots that i have done haha. this one was done in JUNE :P and it was really fun. broken up into 3 posts, this engagement shoot took us to 3 really cool locations (inspired by the short film by Royston Tan called Old Places) in 8 hours.
first stop: Queenstown Estate. when i went there, it was really eerie. the whole estate was vacant. blocks and blocks of nothing. it felt almost sad to think of how it once was when people occupied it and memories were made. they were supposed to demolish this old buildings, but after the national day speech...maybe not so soon. haha
when we were shooting there halfway, this uncle just came casually and opened the door to the cinema/bowling alley. and we all just jumped at the chance to explore the inside of the building together. the uncle was so nice and we had an exclusive chance to get a peek into the old building. really really cool, it's literally from the old period sometime i'm guessing in the 80s or 90s. the deco was like the old american diners. the bowling lanes were stripped away but part of the mechanics that lifted the pins were still there. the cinema theatre was pretty cool and scary too. it was too dark though to go all the way in. there was no electricity and the place was pretty much boarded up. but wow, we did feel special to be able to look inside!!
first look: Eileen styled herself for this shoot and i think she looks so pretty & adorable in this one (wait till you see her other cool looks!). she's wearing her ROM dress and a pair of polka dotted shoes with pink accents. hair & make up done by delanie wong.
book a session with nicolethen studio with your loved ones.email me at info@nicolethen.com!
click read more to see the inside pictures of the cinema/bowling alley

fashion editorial: "fair play"

so vineeta got herself a new spunkie haircut, check her previous shoot out to see her "longer" hair haha (click here) and the behind the scene post (click here) and we decided to have some fun!

model: vineeta | make up artist: delanie (ps, if you'd like to engage her for any make up stuff just drop me an email!) | assistant: nadia | wardrobe: nicolethen boutique

# photographed & styled by nicolethen studio (info@nicolethen.com)

i live like a gypsy

it was one of those days when i said, "i want to try out strobes (artificial) lighting...come nadia, be my model for the day!" ok, i didn't say it like that exactly but...along the lines haha

i got this heavy ass ton of a portable lighting and carried it up a hill...a very very high hill...and tested a few shots moving the lights around and i just hated it. i found that i was forcing myself to like the results that came from using artificial lighting because i found in many instances, well...some people equate using strobes=professional. what i didn't like about the photos that were lighted with strobes was that it was too harsh, it gave that "darkness" or "moodiness" to a photo that i didn't like (although i do appreciate moody & dark photographs on magazines, i just don't have that much fun and fulfillment from actually shooting them myself haha). but i was glad i tried it out, i'm starting to understand my style as a photographer and it's comforting to allow myself to be myself.

being a photographer is like being a conductor to an orchestra. you don't just push the button and count 1,2,3 (although it does look like all the conductor does is wave a stick and dance to the music haha). it starts with the vision, researching on the concept, then finding the right venue (then cropping the right parts of the venue), working with the stylist on the concept, communicating the idea to the model/make up artist/team/etc, guiding the model into a shot that is most flattering yet not over-posed, making sure the clothing is seen in the best light (for fashion photography), making sure the styling works well with the background of choice, making sure the lighting is right, my ISO/shutter speed/aperture are in the right marker, work through a myriad of different shots, compositions or poses then we take the prints home and work on it on photoshop (for digital prints) and this post-processing part takes alot of time and effort too. for a typical fashion shoot, i usually take a total of 8-10 hours from start to finish. well, at least, this is the amount of effort i take into producing those images haha

although for these images, i cut down the post-processing by a ton because i shot with film. i think i used 3 different types of film and was afraid that the effects would be different. but well unless you look closely will you be able to see the difference between the films.

# check out photography packages at nicolethen studio

peaches and cream

the beautiful ladies

rachel was simply stunning with a hot bod and a gorgeous smile ;) but what stood out more was the abundant praise her friends and family had about what a beautiful person rachel was on the inside. of how much they appreciate her for being such a blessing to their lives.

that's truly one thing i love about weddings, that it gives people the opportunity to express (and cry!) their love for one another (not just between the couple but friends & family).

the highlight of the evening? this cool dance item the bunch of them did to the song "I think I want to marry you". awesome performance and so cute!