A Quiet Night for Tea

While I was making that cheongsam the other week I watched "In the Mood for Love", a movie I had heard about for a long time but never got around to actually seeing.  It seemed fitting, as the supernaturally beautiful Maggie Cheung walks seductively around in a series of simply amazing cheongsams and backgrounds.  I absolutely loved the cinematography of this movie and it inspired me to do a little photoshoot with the dress I had just made.  I wasn't intending to mimic an exact scene of the movie, but just a bit of the same feeling. 

Putting the shot together:

I did a lighting test with a single desk lamp instead to study how the light might fall in the photo.  You can see it ended up being similar but not too much like the lighting I used in the end photograph.  Single light source, but it's reflected fairly well off the light table surface and I'm sitting pretty close to it.  I liked the  feel of that light, but knew I would end up with a different table lamp that fit the scene a bit better.  I liked how the light simply trailed off around the edges of the photo due to the single light source and wanted to replicate that - with two light sources visible in the end photo.

 Here's what my final setup looked like.  Kind of ghetto when you take a step back and see that this is just the far side of my bedroom (which by the way, is quite large so there's room for this kind of thing).  Cost breakdown, and set contents.

1) background - a curtain panel with fun texture from Goodwill - $5
2) Hanging lamp shade from Daiso: $1.50
    2a) already had hanging cord lamp, but did see them for sale for about $15.
3) tiger poster  from Daiso, $1.50
4) desk lamp - the bulb light is filtered though a piece of white paper I put inside the glass shade. already owned
5) teapot, tea cup, table, chair, already owned
6) fake wall trim - found some crown moulding pieces in my garage, so free.  I think you could get some cheap pieces for hm, $10 at home depot?
7) Background stand: $40 off ebay.  This isn't something I think anyone who really wants to claim they are being uber cheap would get, but I was ready to buy and own one.  It's a lightweight one, probably not for holding up heavy backdrops.
8) duct tape - $6. Wow this stuff is amazing.

So there it is!  I shot the thing in low light, and slow shutter speed so I was holding myself pretty still.  As you can tell, I'm quite a fan of the way light wraps itself softly around objects when you have a nice long exposure.  This was a very fun little shoot, I will definitely be doing more in the future.

Photographer, photograph thyself

natural pose

The funny thing about taking pictures for a hobby is that I always feel so awkward about posing for photos.  Despite the fact that I often do pose for my own photos (a teacher in college was very surprised to hear me say I am camera shy, since I used myself as a model for most projects), there's a huge difference in doing something with a self timer, and posing while someone is actively looking at you through the lens.  And, most of the things I take for myself aren't the typical "fashion" look.  While I'm of course vain enough to want to look good in the photo, you'll notice my own self portraits I'm often not looking at the camera or really just not STANDING there trying to look like a model.

After the wedding, WL and I went around our fabulously appointed hotel to take some more glamor oriented photos with the dresses we had made.  We're making it an ongoing goal to feel more confident about how to compose ourselves for this kind of photo.  Hand in hand with that, I'd like to learn how to take better photos, how to direct people to pose.  What kind of lenses, what angles to put myself at?  Photography is such a strange thing where angles that look strange in real life 3D are flattened in a way that really works on camera.   Maybe I should start watching Top Model to get some more clues?  It's definitely a skill!  Models aren't just pretty people, it's work to get yourself to look good in a photo.

the "glam" pose

We took many photos but here's the two I ended up liking.  Ha!  Favorite is where I don't have to look at the camera.  The only one I liked where you can see my face is the most "natural" one, which, I guess is all right.  Having photos of myself looking vacant eyed and artificial wouldn't really look like me at all. :)

Scalloped Heart Dress

It's been another two weeks of adventure in the realm of sewing for me.  Ages ago I had decided I would try to make a dress to wear to an upcoming wedding, and I'd found this great retro pattern that looked fairly simple.  I had made a mock up and a casual summer dress with the pattern (which...had problems with going wrong and wronger under another deadline), but I thought surely, the third time would work perfectly.  Ha!  Just goes to show nothing goes according to plan.

This is the dress I ended up with.  There's been a few late nights tearing out my hair and a ton of stitches regarding the skirt - the first draft of the dress ended up with an alarming amount of poof.  Like absolutely ridiculous amounts of poof.  With the clock ticking (I leave in 2 days and I had to leave time for actual packing and prepping to go) to a deadline of Sunday, I frantically thumbed through my patterns to find an alternative skirt.  So, in the end the dress looks not very much like my original pattern, but woohoo! - I have something to wear to the wedding.

These are the two patterns I based the dress off of.  It was a bit of  hack and slash to put those things together after the Poof Incident, though not to bad since the waistline is about the same area.  It wasn't as hard as I thought to tackle the pencil skirt, actually, though next time I'll know better about how to adjust the pattern to fit my hips better.  The hardest part I think was that the dress is now PRETTY SNUG right at the waist after I added in the zipper - it just took up a lot of the seam on the side.  Sadly I won't be able to gorge myself in the week leading up to the wedding, when I'm visiting New York - oh no!

I found a good scalloped edge tutorial which helped me out for the neckline.  This is the second attempt at a heart cutout for the back.  I totally forgot to attach a stiffer material to the back of the dress so it only really holds its shape if I'm not moving my arms around.  Seems like that heart cutouts are a pretty popular thing, judging from Etsy. :).


I'm very relieved it's finally done, so I took a dancing pic to celebrate.  The dance pose was inspired by the Chinese Dai ethnic group, which is very well known for their peacock dance.  The traditional costume includes a long narrow  sarong-style skirt, so the dance moves don't feature a lot of open flexibility in the hips.  My hands aren't so perfect but, eh. :)  Taken using the timer off my Canon 7D, lit with natural daylight and a ring flash.  Note to self to use a more powerful flash and/or ought to have used faster shutter speed to catch movement without blurring.

Next stop - mad amount of laundry, cleaning the house, and packing for the trip! :D

Inque Photoshoot

Inque Photoshoot
Model and Stylist: AJ Wu
Photographer: Doris Cheung

Last month I had the chance to do a photo shoot with AJ, who had just completed a new costume.  Both of us are big fans of Batman Beyond, and she had cosplayed the character Inque for a "Spies and Mercenaries" themed party.  She wanted a few pics of her costume, although she told me it was not one she had spent serious time on.  (Um. Really?! You can't tell it's a "throwaway" costume.) 

I've been wanting to test out shooting on a reflective surface for awhile and figured this would be the perfect time for a little experimentation.  At the moment I didn't have the resources to rent out a studio, strobe lights, and a floor made of black plexiglass (gives a GREAT reflection), so we had to settle for ghetto-macgyvering something together in my bedroom.  We ended up using natural light with some borrowed Canon EX-500 flash, sheets for the background, and a 4'x4' piece of mylar.  It worked worked out pretty well to capture some of what makes Inque so cool as a villain - the ability to melt herself into a black inky killer/thief.

What do you think? Personally, I think AJ is maybe a little TOO good at costuming because I was getting seriously freaked out editing her photos.  Doesn't she look scary?!

Of course even villains have their mellow moments.  They can't be in a murderous rage all the time, you know.

Favorite photos from the shoot here.  We ended up having to do many poses lying down and curled up to get the best effect out of the mylar.  Since it is so soft, it doesn't give a perfect reflection, and I only had a small piece to work with.  If I'd had a full studio lighting set and done maybe 12' x 12' on the ground we could have done more dynamic action and full body poses.  However, for a shoot that was on the very ghetto side in terms of materials, I'm very happy with the results.  A little goes a long way!

Next up: A little bit about how I set up the shoot.

Human Figure class

I had the chance to attend a workshop on photographing the human nude about a week ago, and I'm so glad I was able to go.  I may have studied photography in school but since I didn't go the route of professional photographer I need to remember to constantly make the effort to improve my skills. 
 I haven't done much of human figure/nude photography before, it's quite intimidating to have a naked person stand in front of you, waiting for you to give direction.  Luckily most of the models at the workshop had the experience I didn't; one was a dancer, one looked like she had done plenty of modeling before, and one who just was having so much fun with the whole process it made my job easier.  In the end, I thought the dancer was almost too easy to shoot because all of her poses were beautiful, and reduced the challenge.


I have to say, a room full of nude female models sure brought out the dirty old man in many participants of the workshop.  There was at least one rather rude gentleman (I use the term loosely) who bossed the rest of us and kind of ordered the models around.  The rudest of all was the equipment salesman at the workshop (from the sponsoring company.)  He had brought lenses for people to try, and was so kind as to "help" me with the equipment (in that "Let me help you there, little lady" way), insulted my camera as an antique, and let me know the perfect lens to use in case I wanted to you know, zoom in on a nipple.  The cherry on top was when he  proceeded to make a few remarks when the model was on the ground reclining, and I also lay on the ground to shoot her from a low angle - about how we were both now rolling around on the ground.  Uh-huh...and you're a professional salesman?


Using studio lights is always a treat for me these days, as I don't have access (or pay for access) to a regular studio.  After this weekend though, I'm thinking quite seriously about investing in a kit of my own, because it's just so much fun to use!  And I have a garage now, so some limited room to actually just use them at home.  On the whole I had a great time at the workshop - I learned a bit and came away with lots of inspiration, which is exactly what I wanted!


For the full portfolio, click the photo above, or follow this link - and remember, this was NUDE human figure so don't click if you're not ok with it!

http://www.stanford.edu/~cheungd/HumanFigure/

Jen and Paul's Engagement Photos

 I had the great honor of shooting Jen and Paul's engagement photos a few weeks back.  I've known them for about eight years now; though not so well in the beginning as we started bumping into each other through mutual friends.  I have to say, I totally thought Paul was a thug and kind of scary when I first met him due to buzz cut bleached hair (turns out that hair was "gold" to go with the blue and gold colors of Cal).  Later on Jen, Wei-Ling and I were roommates in one of the most fun apartment I've ever been in, 3 gals together - 4 if you count Charcoal!

The photos were taken around Berkeley in the Rose Garden, a few in downtown, and down by the Marina.  We totally crashed someone else's wedding down in the Rose Garden (don't worry! They were just setting up.)  I hadn't done a formal shoot or a location shoot in awhile, but the light was perfect and I was reminded just how much fun it is!  I imagine it was more fun for me than them, because I didn't have to face up to giant camera lens staring at me; and I started getting a bit gleeful in telling them to kiss again...and again...and again.

Mwahaha THE POWER, er, all in the name of getting a good shot!

Doing a photo shoot is a great way to test that wedding makeup and hair before the big day  Jen had gotten her trial run done right before; and I think we all quickly figured out that the updo was pretty, but it made Jen look like not-Jen.   And on your wedding day, it probably helps to still look like you, especially for the pictures!

Special guest appearance by Charcoal in these photos; I can't really imagine Paul and Jen without her there too.  I had a blast...I can't wait for their actual wedding day!   

For the full gallery, take a look HERE.

Men’s Shirt Refashion 1: Summertime Dress (Part Two – Photo Shoot)

Concept: Frolicking Among the Flowers

Photographer: Wayne Vanderkuil
Location: Sunnyvale,CA

Model and Styling: Doris Cheung

It’s been far too long since I’ve made a concerted effort to put together any kind of photo shoot.  To think I used to do this all the time for school!  Back then I often used myself as a model  because I far too shy to ask anyone else to be my unpaid model for a school project. 

Modeling is quite hard!  I am not much for being a fashion model – there’s definitely a way to stand and pose that looks really weird in real life (and probably feels very awkward), but ends up looking great in photos.  Before we went out I reviewed the sketch notes that Wei-ling drew from her modeling session.  The sketches are fantastic, but I unfortunately wasn’t able to put much into practice – practicing in front of a mirror would have been very helpful.  There’s definitely fashion posing, and then there’s me.  Usually I end up liking things that look more natural.

This particular shoot I knew I wanted to be in among fields of mustard.  I can see the bright yellow flowers all along the freeway on my drive home, and thought they would be a perfect match with the yellow on the dress.  I had originally selected Heritage Orchard Park in Sunnyvale as the location for the shoot based off photos I’d found – only to discover on the day of that the fields have been plowed!  Well.  The potentially disastrous lack of research was averted when a field down the street turned out to be a perfect substitute.  

For outdoor shoots I highly recommend overcast days.  The lighting is much more even (no harsh shadows) and flattering for people and the colors will tend to be a little more saturated.  I tried the fashion thing, but these photos here I was just walking and moving around aside from the more posed “is it going to rain” one.  I wanted to focus on the dress and not myself as a model, so I like the ones with less of my face showing.  Incidentally, I’m wearing makeup practically applied with a trowel because I’m currently suffering through a very bad spell of allergies/eczema around my eyes, and much more eyeliner  than I would wear, say, to work.  However, it doesn’t actually show up that much in the photos so I am really pleased with the more natural look.  

Photo post processing didn't include a super amount of retouching (hm, due to my laziness?)  I popped out the saturation and contrast, and brightened up the whites with a slight glow.

Lastly, I guess I went a little nuts and made a parasol to go with the shoot.  I had stumbled across this wonderful tutorial - crafts from the dollar store!  Lo and behold written by the same blogger I've been following for tutorials recently. (Yup, my blog is not going to be about crafts I've invented, but lots of links to tutorials I've found!)  This parasol probably wouldn't hold up to an real rain...or sun...but the intention was to use it as a diffuser in case of harsh sunlight.  A very fashionable diffuser.


I think I can call this project done - except, I'm still waiting for warm weather to wear it!  I'm looking forward to spring and summer. :)

Lastly - a HUGE thank you to my friend and co-worker Wayne (check out his Flickr site here), who shot all these photos for me.  Not everyone would go along with "hey. You wanna shoot some pictures of me in a field of flowers?" with such an immediate "Sure!"  Many, many thanks.