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 :)

A little spark here today in our office...everyone prepared a little something for the birthday girl --> my lovely wife Fen. We woke up this morning thanking God for all the things He's done in our lives. Then a crazy idea pops up (this always happens), 'let's escape to Singapore for the day'...we let the idea sit for a while then decided not to do it. Instead we headed off to our office and found a pleasant little surprise :)

it seems like birthdays are a whole lot more fun when we were little. All the singing, food and gifts made it all the more special. Today, we reminisce a glimpse of it. Today is special, we give thanks for another fabulous year ahead.

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.

Come & join in the FUN at Axioo's Love Language Competition @ eX Plaza Indonesia from 5-17 February. WIN an Apple iPad!!

Our team is delighted to present an interactive exhibition at the wildly popular eX Plaza Indonesia. This time, we ask the audience to participate and create their own photos at our booth. 

Based on the best selling book "Five Love Languges" by Dr. Gary Chapman, we realize each of us say "I Love You" differently. The dynamic of a relationship rely on how couples successfully communicate their love. In the age of Facebook, Twitter & Blackberry message, we somehow rely on our status and messages to get in touch with our loved ones. Yes saying "I Love You" on your Twitter might get him/her to notice, but that might not be their primary Love Language. To some people, action does speak louder than words. While to others spending quality time means a lot more than getting all sorts of gifts. So on this Valentine month, discover each others' love language and begin to communicate accordingly. To take the test, please follow this link of Love Language test.

Here's a glimpse of the five love languages: Quality Time, Receiving Gift, Physical Touch, Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service. Which one is yours? 

Vita's pregnancy shoot is one of the most fun pregnancy shoot we've ever had. They like it fun and colourful and it turns out very well! We enjoy every second of that shoot.

Vita and Francis is a very sweet couple. We were shocked when we first meet Vita because she is one hot mommy! 

We love their shots hope you"ll love them as much as we do!!

Very excited to see baby Amarta! 

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.

As mentioned earlier by Ivan, it takes more than a day to celebrate the union of Arief & Corinne. I've known Corinne for a while now, she's a talented designer who constantly surprises us. Here's a small sample of her work, she illustrated their nicknames "Duck & Gorilla" as part of the decor.

I know i'm going to have fun shooting them, and i did! Congratulations to you both...let's see what happy baby will a duck & gorilla will bring :)

Here's what happens when one of our photographer gets married! Paulus is the brother of David, and after all these while knowing him, he's like a brother to me too. He is one lucky guy to get Natasha to marry him :)  

For the whole day, we laugh as much as we shoot this wedding. Surrounded by familiar faces, it really feels like family. I totally love the wedding, love the crowd, love the atmosphere, love the decoration, love axioo team...what a dream wedding! Surely one of my favorite wedding in 2009. 

As we share this moments, feel free to leave your messages to the happy couple. 

It's Ivan here again...looks like this is gonna be my blogging week.

Ohh you'll love this wedding of Wiharjo & Yaning!! Don't get me wrong, we always get to shoot a super size ballroom wedding with more than 2000 guests. So a small & private wedding is very refreshing. The little details of this wedding, makes me want to shoot exclusively for weddings in Bali.

At 31 degrees, we are all melting from the heat, yet thankful for the beautiful weather...one of the most important ingredient for an outdoor wedding. So what do we do with a vintage VW Beetle that does not have air conditioning on a hot day? We turned it into a cute photo prop instead :) It's a beautiful day for all of us, the party is FUNtastic, lots of dancing and shouting all night long.

For a few days our Axioo photographers (David, Paulus & myself) had the chance to shoot a super fun wedding of Arief & Corinne. She used to be one of our designers here in Axioo and we've been counting down for her wedding. She's absolutely gorgeous on her wedding day, far from her usual tomboy look. Arief is a crazy new friend who loves the camera and came along with bunch of funny groomsmen. 

Quite a number of funny incidents, one of which involve a 'hide and seek' angpao during tea ceremony, where the aunties let Arief work to find his gifts. There's always a first time for everything. This is why we love shooting weddings. So many things happening at the same time, so much for us to tell the story visually. We could tell everyone was having fun. Enjoy their moments :)

This kiss wasn't just a kiss

This kiss was the demise of eternal bliss

This kiss wasn't just a second of meaningless feelings

This kiss was the end of priceless beginnings

This kiss wasn't just a thing you had to do

This kiss was the duration of me and you

Michael J. Burt

Being a part of Anthony and Jessica's big day was pure joy. They were full of smiles and their faces radiate joy. The reason was simple, they are deeply in love. And in the midst of all the wonderful events and the beautiful decorations, they knew that the day was for them, a day.. to forever.

So here's what that day look like summarized in this clip. Enjoy!

Anthony & Jessica Wedding Trailer from Axioo on Vimeo.

A while ago we posted a photoclip video of the Darjoto Family photo shoot in Bali. The photo shoot was part of the things they are doing to celebrate om Darjoto & tante Felissa's 25th wedding anniversary. A little background story, they actually wanted to just celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary in a "normal" way in a restaurant, but Devina, their eldest daughter had other plans. She arranged for her parents an elaborate wedding celebration, complete with a full make-up, wedding dress, all the wedding vendors (including us) and even a pastor to bless their wedding anniversary. By the way, they had always wanted this pastor to bless them on their wedding day, but he was unavailable 25 years ago. Well, 25 years later, they got their wish come true.

But, Devina's surprise didn't stop there. She wanted to do an appreciation video from her and her sister Febiana. She told me about her plans, and because of our tight schedule, we had to secretly shoot the video at her place on the 30th of December 2009! Interviewing the two sisters that night was indeed a memorable moment for me. Listening to them telling the stories about their parents touched my heart deeply. I went home tired, but contented.

The result? See for yourself.

Devina Family Surprise from Axioo on Vimeo.

11-01-2010 is the day that God sent us the best gift we've ever had in life…finally we have a baby girl, we name her Kioko Zoe…no words to describe how amazing it is to be a dad. To hold her in my arms is so magical.For the past nine months, we've seen her grow, sang to her, prayed for her and each day expecting for this day to finally come. The delivery process is quite a drama. I've heard so many stories about it, now it's our turn. When we first reached the hospital, the doctor estimated that it would take at least another 24 hours for Zoe to come. At first the dilation took quite a while, all the screaming and sweating finally come to this. I was there the whole time, having my hand squeezed by Helen, until we saw Zoe's head...that's it here comes the final push.We can only thank God for Zoe.

It's an awesome experience! The waiting and the pain is all worth it. Now i'm a daddy!! Let's celebrate :)Here comes Kioko Zoe...

By now we have more than 10,000 photos of Adrian & Sanny :) After shooting their pre-wedding in Singapore months earlier, we keep looking forward to their wedding. From the start i knew it's going to be fun filled day. They are by far the most cheerful couple ever, giggling and laughing all day. There never seem a moment when we can let our camera down being with these guys, there's always something happening if not they will come up with funny poses that gets us on our toes.

As we post these images, Adrian is continuing his medical school in the Philipines and of course Sanny is by his side. I hope Adrian's is picking up his tagalog fast to survive there. Cheers guys..

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 :)

Our first wedding of 2010 goes to Patrick & Eunice in Kuala Lumpur. This is our first wedding in Malaysia...and i'm liking it. Stepping into their house is like walking into an Axioo office. Lots of their pre-wedding photos displayed all around the house, in case you haven't seen it, here's their gorgeous pre-wedding photos taken by Paulus. 

The day is full of celebration, from morning to midnight friends and family kept raising their glasses to wish Patrick & Eunice a lifetime of happiness. All night their friends kept shouting "Yam Seng" at the top of their lungs with their glasses full of wine...we had a great time!

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 ;)