Decided to head out for the first time in my life, to capture General Election Rallies. Of course, it had to be a Workers’ Party one as it had been known for its amazing atmosphere and ambience.

Words cannot summarise enough the feelings I had, attending/photographing my first ever election rally. From the moment I arrived, I saw scenes of people helping one another, sharing umbrellas, helping seniors, starting conversations with total strangers, and witnessed the smiles and giggles that seemed to be a constant through the night.

I saw people of all ages (and here’s me thinking it would only be older citizens), from young children, the Gen Zs (which I was pleasantly surprised that they were so intent of learning more about the political scene), people of my age the millennials, to the boomer generation. It felt more like a carnival, than a rally. The plus point was, people were not as wary of the camera as they often would be, and so,

I ran on adrenaline.

No wonder everyone seemed so intent to head out to photograph such events.

“Your guests need to be entertained.”

It is probably the worst piece of advice I have been hearing from ‘helpful’ attendees of the wedding since Singapore recovered from the Covid pandemic a few years back. However, the new-ish tradition of having the need to entertain your guests who have made it a point to celebrate your wedding day remains.

I am so sorry that this will not be your typical list. No lucky draws, no money in a bowl draw, no BINGO suggestions. No flying paper aeroplane challenges.

Can I shoot in an editorial way? The answer is probably yes. When it is a requirement.

I have recently got the chance to collaborate with a bunch of all stars, led by the team at 1-Host. If you are not familiar with 1-Host, then you will be familiar with the many wedding / F&B venues that they preside over. Under the 1-Group umbrella, they are the venue owners of venues such as 1-Arden, Au Balcon, Bee’s Knees, Botanico at Summerhouse, Monti, Wildseed Cafe and Alkaff Mansion. With a team of magnificent vendors, we managed to be part of an intimate fair at the Summerhouse.

As the year closes in on yet another wonderful year for the team at Bottled Groove and personally for myself, I wanted to talk a little more about the elements of one of my favourite genres of photography – street, and how it co-relates to wedding photography.

I recently reached out to UK photographer Neale James as I am an avid listener of his ‘FujiCast’ podcast as well as the very new ‘1000 Weddings’ podcast. Why the name? He has already photographed 1000 weddings in his career and I am always mindblowned by this fact! I was beyond elated yet frightful when he replied and said he does not mind having me come on as a guest.

On my flight back from the Bali workshop, I finally caught the award-winning film, ‘Rain Man’.

Starring the impeccable Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, the movie revolves around how Cruise’s character discovering one day that he had an autistic brother (Hoffman) that was hidden away from him and how his character transformed from a greedy, self-centred person to a selfless one.

There are many questions that couples ask of us, especially more so when it comes to pre-wedding/engagement photography shoot. So I have decided to put together this impromptu preparation guide, so that it can help you get ready the next time you are heading into a shoot!

After photographing weddings at various venues across the years, be it grand hotel ballrooms, small intimate bars, cosy dimly lit restaurants, and even shophouses – I always find myself wanting to photograph more at Min Jiang at Dempsey. It still remains one of my favourites for short ROMs (marriage solemnisations) or actual day weddings, whether it is a lunch or dinner reception.

Today, I shall attempt to at least jot down, what it is about Bottled Groove Photography’s and its photographer’s unique (I would think!) take on wedding photography in Singapore and what is compelling for clients/couples to book us for this term - documentary style photography. Although we hope we make it on those “Best Wedding Photographer in Singapore” list at times too HAHA.

Definition

So, what is documentary, sometimes labeled as photojournalistic or in Singaporean terms - candid wedding photography? Why is the term bandied around so casually and commonly these days?