At first, this might seem like your usual “walk around the city” pre-wedding shoot, arbitrarily wandering around — but everything* that you see — the buildings, streets, neon signs, restaurants, alleyways, coffee places, mom and pop shop, and that burger joint — it’s Weiheng & Hedy’s Hong Kong.

— their condo.
— their tram ride.
— their Five Guys.
— their work place.
— their juice stall.
— their Wan Chai.
— their SoHo.

50 cinematic & street documentary style couple portraits from Weiheng & Hedy’s city engagement shoot in Hong Kong. Reportage couple photography x @redsheepphotocinema

Shot on location: Wan Chai and Central, Hong Kong, March 2023.

*everything except the Monocle Shop , ROR and Blue Bottle - those were redsheep spots.

Tokyo engagement photos and save the date video in 4K: Briggs and Kim’s three-day “as we are” engagement session in Tokyo and Chiba, Japan x engagement photographer @redsheepphotocinema. Shot on location: EPSON #teamLabBorderless at the MORI Building Digital Art Museum; in and around Shibuya; Saturdays NYC Daikanyama; and Akihabara, Tokyo and Summer Sonic 2018 Chiba, Japan. Sony A7S II and Huawei P20 Pro. VSCO. Original score for both videos. (c) 2018 redsheepphotocinemusic.

When Plan B turned out to be better than Plan A. Like this practically empty but gorgeously lit platform in Shibuya Station. *pause for effect* Shibuya. Ever-busy Shibuya. Thirty minutes before rush hour. Didn’t come across this spot while I was location scouting the day before. Come to think of it, I can’t consider this as Plan B; it wasn’t even part of any plan to begin with! Like most of my Milky Way shots. Or my most picturesque sunset after the storm shots. Just going with the Flow. Flow with a capital “F”. Not aimless spontaneity, but Guided orchestration rather. * “Qarah” wrapped in a flurry of forced faux coughs *

That was such an inspiring way to kick-off our three-day “as we are” shoot in Tokyo. Just Briggs being Briggs. Kim being Kim. Briggs and Kim being Briggs and Kim. Doing the things that they love doing in Tokyo: good specialty coffee, psychedelically trippy art exhibits, hole in the wall whiskey bars - a quasi-speakeasy at that, izakayas, international music festivals, and walking backwards in Shibuya Crossing. Oh. Not that one.

Fukuoka, Japan engagement photos: Seiya & Zynn’s urban engagement session x @redsheepphotocinema. Shot on location: FUK Coffee, Tenjin & JR Hakata, 福岡市 Fukuoka, Japan. #福岡 #結婚式 #前撮り #東京写真部 #結婚式準備 #ポートレイト #ウェディングフォトグラファー #ウェディングフォト #結婚式写真 #結婚式カメラマン #持ち込みカメラマン #外人風ヘアメイク #ロケーションフォト #ビーチウェディング

One stormy Saturday afternoon in Fukuoka. (IATA Airport Code: FUK) Yeah, blame Typhoon Kong-rey for the moody-gloomy feel. Sharing with you guys some stills and frozen video frames from this chill, come-as-you-are session. Total shooting time? Less than 40 mins, not counting the travel time between Point あ and Point び. I wanted to take it easy on Seiya & Zynn. After all, it’s the day before their wedding. (Yes, this wedding.) *smiley* Remastered June 2021.

Full circle.

0°
On 15 October 2019, we shot and filmed a destination wedding in Amorita Resort, Bohol, Philippines.

Enter: Dennis & Alyce. They’re now based in Singapore.

90°
Ralph & 은지 (Eunji), who are based in Singapore, are also having their ceremony in Amorita.

180°
They found us through Dennis & Alyce’s portfolio entry on our website.

270°
On 15 October 2022, I met Ralph & Eunji for the first time over coffee. (Chye Seng Huat Hardware - a mutual choice!)

360°
…right on the day of Dennis & Alyce’s wedding anniversary - ultimately the reason why I’m meeting Ralph & Eunji to begin with.

There. Full circle. (I also met up with Dennis & Alyce for post-pandemic catch up over cocktails, one day prior to meeting Ralph and Eunji.)

Ralph & 은지. 55 casual, chill and cinematic Sunday afternoon couple portraits in Singapore. Candid engagement photography x @redsheepphotocinema.

Shot on location: Nylon Coffee Roasters, Outram, Downtown Core / CBD, Thian Hock Keng Temple / Telok Ayer, Jubilee Bridge, The Float@Marina Bay Grandstand, Helix Bridge and Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, January 2023.

New York City engagement photos: AC & Winona’s NYC engagement session by @redsheepphotocinema. Shot on location. SoHo and Nolita, New York City. December 2017. Color remastered June 2020. Leica M.

"Guj, we just wanted to let you know that we're awkward - as in really awkward - in front of the camera."

I get that all the time. 

OK, not ALL the time. Maybe 90% of the time to be more accurate. It's either that, although not verbatim, or something like "We don't know how to pose." Good. Because I too am, errrr, awkward in front of the camera. *high five*

Tell you what: we won't do a photoshoot. Yes, "won't". We'll just "hangout". The camera that I use is rather small and is anything but intimidating. And the most that you'll hear from me are instructions on where to sit or stand, or where to walk. The exactly what, how, and how often, it's all up to you. Truth be told, making people look good through posing isn't my gift. I thrive in spontaneity. I'll throw in what you call moment bait from time to time, if needed. Essentially, it's just you guys being you guys.

Case in point: AC & Winona, after that oh so damn good brunch at Jack's Wife Freda, then wandering around SoHo and Nolita, just "hanging out", talking about, errrr, stuff in under an hour and a half, walking, bathroom break and Sunday coffee at #SaturdaysNYC included.

Vienna engagement photos: B&L's Vienna engagement session x @redsheepphotocinema. Shot and filmed on location: Vienna, Austria. Color remastered, July 2021.

Kleines Cafe. Albertina. Prater. And the alleyways of Innere Stadt.

It's easy for one to conclude that we were trying to pull off another "Before Sunrise"-themed shoot, but we weren't.* We intentionally left Zollamtssteg Bridge out this time. It's just B-- & L------, the soft early morning sunlight, and this oh so beautiful city by the Danube. "Milkshake".

*Well admittedly, the three of us are fans of the movie. But do you want to know a better love story IMHO? It's "Good Will Hunting". No, not the one between Matt and Ben. It's Robin Williams' - or Sean's enduring love for his wife. That, is what love is, my dear friend.

Hong Kong engagement photos: Eric & Sabrina's night engagement session in Hong Kong. Street photography / urban engagement photography x @redsheepphotocinema. Shot on location: Central, Hong Kong. Sony A7III, color remastered July 2021.

Aside from the fact that their wedding date is a numeric palindrome - that’s 07102017 - and that the music in their wedding film was done by a local band, here’s one more thing that made this wedding noteworthy: there’s this air of excitement, joy and “first-time” anticipation as if they didn’t already have their wedding solemnization a couple of months ago!

Shawn and Serene's wedding in Singapore: wedding photography & same day edit videography x @redsheepphotocinema featuring location photos of the Armenian Apostolic Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator, The Fullerton Hotel, The Colonial @ Scotts. January 2017. Color remastered using redsheep Chromavibe 160M, June 2020.

Hello again, New York. It's been two years.

9:40AM ET DUMBO
Resisted the urge not to fall into that Insta-trap. (Crazy. 6:20AM and Washington St. corner Water St. was already swarming with people!)

10:53AM ET Brooklyn Heights Promenade
Was able to tick-off an item in my bucket list of shots. It's quite specific actually: "Shoot a couple in Brooklyn Heights Promenade using a telephoto lens." Because years ago, I made a rookie mistake of using a wide angle lens. It wasn't as ooomph-y as I wanted it to be.

12:20PM ET SoHo
Spring Street, Crosby Street and Broadway in particular. Saturdays NYC was closed for renovation so we had to improvise: shop window reflections, lamp post shadows and shoulder-level autumn foliage to the rescue. And yes, a bokeh-ed Broadway for that unmistakable Big Apple vibe.

2:35PM NoMad
Stumptown Coffee at Ace Hotel. Matcha for Ingrid, latte for Manuel, and one cortado for me.

How could we not use Ace Hotel's retro-yet-still-functional old school photo booth!

Next: walk a few blocks down to...

3:17PM ET Madison Square Park
Did you see my IG story? Guess I'll be having Shake Shack after all. *smiley* [ Thank you Manuel & Ingrid! ]

4:22PM ET Central Park
Don't let the time stamp fool you. Behold: The November sunset was just a few moments away. We had to make the most out of the light that we have. Although admittedly, I'm a blue hour person. *wink*

6:32PM ET Times Square
Last stop. Check out Photo #20. See the billboard "Playing with Fire" where John Leguizamo and Keegan-Michael Key are dressed as firemen? Such a waste of white, empty space above the movie title.

2-week US tour, done.

Engagement photos from Manuel & Ingrid's pre wedding photoshoot in New York City. Couple photography x @redsheepphotocinema featuring location photos of DUMBO, Brooklyn Heights Promenade, SoHo, NoMad (Ace Hotel and Stumptown Coffee Roasters), Shake Shack at Madison Park, Central Park (A Rock with a View and The Lake) and Times Square. Color graded using redsheep Chromavibe 400M+. November 2019. Color remastered, July 2020.

“A Day in the Life of…”: Quark Henares & Bianca Yuzon’s prenup video and engagment photos. Featuring location photos of Antidote Rooftop bar at I’M Hotel, Agimat, 20:20 Bar, Vinyl on Vinyl Gallery, Silverlens Art Gallery, and Poblacion in Makati City and Manila House Private Club and Bonifacio High Street in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. Metro Manila, Philippines. Color graded using redsheep Chromavibe 160F. February 2019.

Richard & Norris’ engagement session redux for years later: same shooting spots, exactly the same vibe - stay happily in love, you guys! - but now, with their bundle of joy, Max Leone!

Chicago family photo session x @redsheepphotocinema featuring location photos of the Chicago Theater and Millennium Park, Chicago, Il, USA. November 2019.

New York City wedding photos & wedding video: Pao & Carissa's New York City destination wedding x @redsheepphotocinema. Filmed on location: New York City, NY, USA.

Preparations: The Pierre, A Taj Hotel, New York
Ceremony: St. Ignatius Loyola Church
Reception: La Grenouille & Restaurant DANIEL (Michelin Starred Cuisine by Chef Daniel Boulud)

Makeup: Lilian Yeung
Hair: Jay Wee
Gown: Vera Wang

Soundtrack licensed under the Music Bed. Instagram soundtrack by redsheep. That was our 6th original music track and the first one featuring the Roli Seaboard Block (the intro's very [very!] subtle steady glissando part) and the Korg nanoKEY2 (the intro's arpeggio pattern). "Untitled redsheep track no. 6", or, as I fondly call it, "Metropolis pt. 3". Best enjoyed with 🎧. But that's already asking too much from you guys. *chuckles*

One of the shots in my bucket list is a photo of someone on an empty street in New York City: think "I Am Legend" but a lot less apocalyptic, "Vanilla Sky" but a lot less Tom Cruise-ey. In order to achieve that, you have to be in a Universal Studios backlot with matching green screen, CGI and all as in the former, or you would have to be a hotshot Academy Award-winning Hollywood director with enough calibre to be given the privilege to *actually* shutdown not a few New York City blocks on a particular weekend -- the latter. It's either those two or you have to be the POTUS himself, or perhaps just have him in the same hotel as where you are on the morning of your wedding day.

And that's exactly what happened: President Trump was attending a Republican event at The Pierre, and, as protocol would dictate, they had to shut down a few city blocks within the vicinity. (Sorry Carissa, but when you called me up the night before, I was actually stoked!) And good thing Pao and Carissa were perfectly cool, calm and collect with it, not sulking over walking a few blocks up instead of getting picked up by the bridal car directly at The Pierre's driveway. You guys are awesome.

Wedding video from Miguel & Nicole's ceremony at the St. Mary's Cathedral, Tokyo, Japan. Wedding cinematography & original score "Arashi" x destination wedding videographer @redsheepphotocinema. Filmed on location: Andaz Tokyo & St. Mary's Cathedral in Tokyo, Japan during Typhoon Hagibis. Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K. DaVinci Resolve 16. October 2019.

Manila engagement photos: Ivan & Julia's urban/city street engagement session in Metro Manila. Prenup photography x engagement / street photographer @redsheepphotocinema. Shot & filmed on location: Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig & EDSA/Orense Pedestrian Overpass, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines. Sony A7III. February 2019.

Jan & Jes’s wedding in Manila: wedding photography x @redsheepphotocinema featuring location photos of Conrad Manila Luxury Hotel, Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines. January 2020. Color remastered using redsheep Chromavibe, May 2020.

We’re back or did we really go *wink wink*

A wedding ceremony at the Supreme Court to a quick stroll around the National Museum while rigorously trying to avoid the guards because of *permits* turned to a quick walk around BGC *with manila traffic pre-lockdown and all it’s fame or infamy, rather.* then an after-party at 2020, pre-CoVid19 style, no social distancing of sorts.

A wedding near home - intimate wedding photos of Clayton & Chiqui ceremony in Supreme Court, Manila. Wedding photography x @redsheepphotocinema. Shot on location: Supreme Court in Manila, National Museum in Manila, Bonifacio High Street in BGC and 2020 in Makati.

A match made in Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL). Hence the lemniscate in the title sequence "Clarence ∞ Tiravan"; the infinity symbol instead of the usual operators &, +, /, | and x. But more than the romance that budded in THE most sought-after company to work for*; more than actually filming inside the Google campus in Singapore; more than the saturated reds, bright yellows and pale blue hues in the film's color palette; more than this indie rock tune that I had to extend to twice its original runtime so I can tell a more compelling story; more than the time-lapse-worthy Singapore sky during their pre-wedding photo shoot a few days prior, it's the air of authenticity and warmth that you rarely see in big banquet hotel weddings - that's what struck me the most. So right up my alley, with distinct undertones of Silicon Valley.**

*I should know; I came from the IT industry.
**That didn't mean anything. It just sounded nice. *wink + laugh*

Singapore wedding video (same day edit wedding highlights): Clarence & Tiravan's wedding and solemnization at The St. Regis in Singapore. Cinematography x documentary wedding filmmaker @redsheepphotocinema. Shot & filmed on location: The St. Regis, Singapore. Sony A7III. redsheep Chromavib 160C proprietary color grade. March 2019.

Hisamizu & Raquel’s Singapore pre-wedding photos & video: Shot and filmed on location: Downtown Core, Singapore. Original score: “Invisible Horizon” (c) redsheepphotocinemusic 2018 All Rights Reserved

First photo: The best seat in the house, well, for around 10 minutes or so. And what of that fine Englishman who was sitting there earlier? One latte from the three of us, for responding amicably to my ten seconds of imploring, asking for a good three minutes in the - quite literally - hot seat.

A match made in Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL). This is us, trying our best to be incognito (i.e., Essentially Google, but not overdoing it by being too "Googly"): the distinctly yellOw-Orange GoOgle "O", town hall steps (watch: "The Internship"), pocket gardens and then some. We'll spare you the blatantly iconic Google logo.

And of course, there's the Marina Barrage, where Clarence and Tiravan spend their Sunday afternoons.

Singapore prewedding photos: Clarence & Tiravan's engagement session in Singapore. Prewedding photography x @redsheepphotocinema. Shot on location: Google HQ and Marina Barrage, Downtown Core, Singapore. Sony A7III. redsheep Chromavib 160C proprietary color grade. March 2019.

Singapore wedding video. Filmed on location: The Fullerton Hotel, Empress and Privé at the Asian Civilizations Museum, Downtown Core, Singapore. redsheep Cinema + M Weddings (Photo).

Don & FT's Singapore wedding, right in the middle of Downtown Core: effortlessly chill, as hip as its Style Council soundtrack, artsy AF, with tons of feel good fun. And with that, a fun fact: Art Deco imagery in the wedding details and the reception setup were made (with love) by the groom himself! Gestalten coffee table book-worthy. And indeed, it was featured in Gestalten’s “You’re Invited”. Cool ‘eh.

Malmö Sweden wedding photos: Ronald & Johanna’s Gamla Staden Malmö Sweden wedding x wedding photographer @redsheepphotocinema. Shot on location: Elite Hotel Adlon and C3 Church, Malmö, Sweden. Photos by Guj Tungpalan & Aneta Michniak. Sony A7R II, Leica M, VSCO. Color remastered November 2018.

Paris engagement photos: Ron & Abby's Engagement Session in Paris x destination wedding photographer @redsheepphotocinema. Shot on location: Trocadéro, Musée du Louvre, Pont des Arts and Rue Mazarine, Paris, France.

The challenge that I face whenever I shoot in Paris is this: just how do you photograph two people in love in le overly photographed La Ville Lumière? Where do you draw the line between being too touristy, and being too snobbishly local that Paris becomes a tad too unrecognizable already? (Like something from a Pinterest Board called “10 Parisian Streets that only locals know about”.) 

If you’re a Malmöit (cool demonym huh?), you would have enjoyed that weekend: clear skies, bright sunny and all; not the other kind of Scandinavian “summer" - rainy, gloomy and grey - which was exactly the case a few days earlier.

Malmö Sweden engagement photos: Ronald & Johanna's Malmö engagement session x @redsheepphotocinema. Shot and filmed on location: Gamla Staden, Malmö, Scania, Sweden. Color remastered, December 2018.

Kilkenny Ireland wedding video: Daniel & Sheila’s destination wedding in Ireland x @redsheepphotocinema. Filmed on location: Mount Juliet Estate and St. Colmcille’s Church, Thomastown, Kilkenny, Ireland. Aspect Photography x redsheep Cinema.

A pint of Guinness in an Irish Pub right at the heart of Inistioge Village. This, just minutes before the ceremony in a medieval-looking church across the street. Add to that a bridal prep sequence inside a 250-year-old Gregorian manor house. This is as Irish as it gets. But wait, there’s more… Ireland's warm evening light, and the much warmer company of their closest friends and family. All these, plus an intimate wedding reception at a Michelin Star restaurant. #weddinggoals, ladies and gentlemen, wedding goals.