Category Archives: Random Thoughts

Random Thoughts

It’s Not Insomnia. I’m Just Happy.

Posted by on August 3, 2011 at 8:14 am.
Sunrise

A fiery sun about to spill over the mountain tops

I think I may have discovered my favourite time of day. Either that, or sleep deprivation works wonders on my happiness meter. I didn’t bother going to sleep last night. I just kept reading (I’ve been doing a lot of that lately) — in bed, at the computer, on my side, upright against pillows, and even that awkward position where everything except the head is horizontal.

This morning around 3:30am I started to get excited that the sun was coming up. I’ve had 9,444 other chances to view the spectacle, but for some reason its grand entrance means more now than it did a decade ago, a year ago, a month, and even a week ago. I’m going to have to add “watching the first sliver of morning sun spill over the mountain tops” to my list of favourite things to do. That, and taking a walk through the park before anyone else has gotten up. I did just that this morning. And if I were to list words to describe it, “bliss” would be the first.

Random Thoughts, Travel

A Day in the Life of an American

Posted by on July 28, 2011 at 3:13 pm.

I found out last week that I’m a US citizen. What the heck, right?

I’ve never lived or worked in the states, but according to the US Consulate anyone born within American borders is automatically a US citizen who must pay taxes. Oops! :P

To confirm whether this indeed is the case, I drove down to the Social Security Administration office in Bellingham yesterday to see if I could get a Social Security Number. I figured, if I am actually a US citizen I should be able to get a number and work in the states without issue. It was pretty easy to file for a number and I have to wait a few days to get a confirmation that everything went through alright.

I asked the woman at the counter whether she had any information on how to file taxes for dual citizens living outside of the states. She recommended that I visit the IRS office downtown. Well, they weren’t much help. They’re not trained to handle questions for dual citizens so the representative just gave me a bunch of reading material and a help line phone number.

Since I was already across the border, I decided I’d go a little further to Seattle and tour the underground (been meaning to try this for a while now). Here’s a little video of the trip.

Arts, Film & Photography, Random Thoughts

Talking Pictures

Posted by on June 30, 2011 at 4:09 pm.

I’ll admit I’ve been a bit of a hippo these past few years and I’m surprised nobody’s ever called me out on it. I’ve been telling people for ages that videos are the next step in an obvious progression of online information, and here I am having uploaded a total of only one homemade video in my 20+ years. Why?

YouTube LogoVideos are scary.

I don’t think anyone likes to watch a video of themselves. Even if the old notion of “adding 10 pounds” isn’t true anymore, high-definition videos bring out every wrinkle, bump and scar, you can’t restrict yourself to only a few good angles, you can’t edit spoken words like you can edit typed words or read through to make sure you haven’t used the word “lovely” three too many times, and it’s a pain to edit. Once I start editing a video, I usually discard the entire project after an hour.

But one has to keep up with the times, right?

A few weeks ago, I went to the Art of Marketing Conference courtesy of BNOTIONS (thanks Mark!). The first speaker, Mitch Joel, was talking about the future ‘what’s a keyboard’ generation that have made YouTube the #2 search engine in the world, and the little cogs in my brain started churning thoughts about the topic.

On the one hand I’ve been quite jealous of this generation on multiple occasions — most recently while watching Glee and wishing musicals were popular when I was growing up. But then with the recent Game Seven riots in Vancouver and all the digital citizen surveillance that followed, I felt really relieved not to be a teenager in an age where everyone has a cell phone with WiFi and video capabilities glued to their hand. There’s a part of me that feels pity for this generation because they can’t make a mistake without the entire world knowing about it. And let’s be honest here, we ALL make mistakes. But I digress (and I really don’t want to get into the politics of the riots again).

The point is, some scary things are inevitable so you might as well embrace change and make the best of it.

I decided to buy a new waterproof camera so I could take pictures on my surfing trip with the girls this summer. Since unboxing videos are stupid-easy, I figured it’d be a good starting point for videos. Here I am, embracing change:

Random Thoughts, The Best Job in the World

My Words, in a Book?

Posted by on May 12, 2011 at 6:15 pm.

DandelionEvery once in a while I get a message from someone who wants to use one of my photos on their website, in their book, or as part of their art project. So long as the photo doesn’t include a person and the cause is not for profit, I typically say yes. I’ll even hunt down the original large version in my external hard drive for you.

A few weeks ago I received a message from a publisher asking for my e-mail address so she could send a Request for Permission form to republish something off my site. I was pretty excited because I thought that someone was finally going to include Tourism Queensland’s Best Job in the World campaign in a marketing textbook as an example of a great idea executed at the right time, and wanted to include screen shots of all the blogs that were created / revamped for it. I replied with my e-mail but didn’t hear back from them for a while. I started to think that maybe it was just a request for the Axolotl photo I took a while back which continues to be very popular (apparently it’s very difficult to get a close up of the little guys).

I got the form today! It turns out that both my guesses were wrong. :P They’re interested in republishing an entire blog post that I had written after the Best Job in the World campaign about the applications essay Tourism Queensland had asked each of us to write. It’s going to be included as an example in a college textbook on how to write effectively. I think this is even better than both of my guesses. I hope they send me a copy once it’s published!

Random Thoughts

Behind the Scenes at WordCamp: Developers

Posted by on May 6, 2011 at 3:50 pm.
WordCamp: Developers Swag

WordCamp: Developers Swag

A few months ago, Morten told me he wanted to put together a WordCamp for web developers and asked if I wanted to help make it happen. My role? Event planning, logistics, budgeting and some other odds and ends. Yeah, ok. That sounds like fun!

Our friend Vanessa quickly jumped on board too and within a few weeks the website was up, the date was set, the conference venue was booked, a few key sponsors were on board and we had a real project on our hands.

This isn’t the first time Morten and I have worked together so we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses when it comes to organizing an event like this. Morten had also worked with Vanessa before since they organize the monthly Vancouver WordPress Meetup events together so the three of us were already off to a great start!

Pre-Planning

We originally had a much smaller budget to work with which meant that ticket prices had to be somewhere in the range of $60 — $80 to break even with a basic conference. Then, Al from Telus Shared Hosting increased the company’s sponsorship, a couple more sponsors came on board, and we got some sweet prizes from Lynda.com and Pearson Technology Canada.

Things were looking pretty good and it seemed as though WordCamp: Developers was being embraced by the tech community, but we were still really confused why one particular group of well-known WordPress community members were ignoring our e-mails. A couple of weeks ago, we finally received a reply which was less than ideal and found out that there had definitely been some miscommunication going on over there. This was probably the only non-positive part of the entire experience organizing WordCamp: Developers. After a few more e-mail exchanges clearing up some misconceptions though, all was well and they even helped us get some additional sponsorship!

As we got closer to the Speakers Dinner that was taking place the night before the conference, the list of things to do started to get longer. E-mail speakers, confirm reservations, get additional gifts, pick up notebooks and pens, wrap prizes, update budget, update contact lists, print registration lists, print evaluation forms, make volunteer schedule, writer sponsor blog posts, send venue deposit, check menu list, reply to e-mails, etc.

Speakers Dinner

Speakers Dinner

Andrew Nacin, Lorelle VanFossen, Leland Zaremba and Steve Heffernan at the Speakers Dinner

When the day of the Speakers Dinner finally arrived, it was full-speed ahead running around getting last minute items, spending a lot of time at Staples printing and cutting evaluation forms and badges (shout-out to Betty at Staples Copy Centre for being uber-awesome!), and checking and double-checking the numbers, times, letters, time-slots etc. I have to give a huge thanks to Ang for helping out by making all the graphics on the name badges, signs and banner pens! You know you rock!

I was so pleased with the way the Speakers Dinner turned out — especially with how everyone was able to mingle and get to know everyone who was there. The Diamond was our venue for the night and since it was a Wednesday we had the entire middle section of the restaurant to ourselves. Perfect!

It was cool that so many of our Speakers and Sponsor Guests had flown / driven / taken a train down, over and up to Vancouver. It really said something about how much the WordPress community wanted a developer-centric WordCamp. As Morten was watching the tweet stream for #WCDev he saw that Andrew Nacin (one of our Keynote Speakers) was stuck in WA and might not be able to make it to the dinner, and at the same time Justin Sainton (one of our Speakers) had tweeted that he was driving from OR and his geotag showed that he hadn’t reached Andrew in WA yet. Yeah, I know it’s a little creepy that everyone can see where everyone else is in the world nowadays. But, it’s because of things like live Twitter feeds and geotagging that Justin, his wife and their absolutely adorable little girl were able to give Andrew a lift up to Vancouver. Awesome!

WordCamp: Developers Conference

After the Speakers Dinner we arrived home and it was crunch time with the badges, last sponsor blog posts, cheque refunds for those that had purchased tickets before the price drop, and volunteer packages. Ang, Morten and I got a combined total of about eight hours of sleep. When I woke up the morning of the conference at 5:25am, I thought “Damn, the alarm didn’t go off at 5:15am” only to find the alarm in my hand under the covers. This friends, is why I have a second alarm in the bathroom. Haha

I had been worried that the registration process might take too long even with four volunteers handing out badges and another volunteer handing our swag packages. I worried for nothing! We had the best volunteer crew ever! Registration was smooth, everyone knew where they were going next, the rooms were manned towards the beginning and end of each session, the caterers at SFU Harbour Centre were on time, the Events and Tech crew at SFU Harbour Centre were on the ball and quick to respond to everything we needed, people tweeted what they needed so I could respond to their queries and needs in real time even though I wasn’t able to leave the registration desk, and I was one happy camper. Thank yous go out to Ang, Astra, Kulpreet, Lisa and Ryan for helping out at the registration desk, Unconference Room and Segal Room! Also a thank you to Jeremy Lim for photographing the event! You can see the photos on his Flickr stream.

After Party

WordCamp: Developers Organizers and Volunteers

WordCamp: Developers Organizers and Volunteers

The whole conference went by so fast! I was only able to catch some of Alex Nelson & Beau House’s presentation, and a chunk of Mark Reale’s session on the crazy website he worked on for composer John Oswald. I can’t actually stay on that site longer than two minutes without getting a little dizzy, but listening to how it was made was trippy even for a noob like me.

Once we finished the raffle draws at the end of the day I ran down to Subeez in the hopes that I would get there before everyone else so I could hand out the drink tickets when they arrived. When I got there over a half hour early, there were already five keeners settled into the party area we reserved. Michelle and Benny from Subeez are fabulous to work with and had the food and drink tickets already prepped for our start at 5:30pm. The turnout was amazing and as the final part of WordCamp: Developers, I was able to totally relax and mingle with everyone.

Random Factoids I Learned About WordCamp: Developers Speakers & Attendees

  1. Andrew Nacin had worked as a fire fighter, EMT and hockey referee before becoming one of WordPress’ chief developers and he’s only 22!
  2. Toby McKes is 6ft 7″ and is the coolest guy I know who buys stuff from AE. Walking towards him in Gastown before the Speakers Dinner was one of the few times I’ve truly felt like a midget. LOL
  3. Brendan Sera-Shriar used to be known as “The Dirty P” back in the day when he taught fellow Speaker Mark Reale in school. So many jokes that can come outta that one I’m not going to even begin.
  4. Alex Mills came up with the handle @viper007 when he was 13. Explains a lot right? Haha.

Want to meet these guys in person? Some of the WordCamp: Developers Speakers will be presenting at tomorrow’s Make Web Not War and a bunch of Speakers and Attendees are loitering around Vancouver taking in the sights this weekend.

Random Thoughts

Warning: Website May Be Down For a Few Days

Posted by on March 23, 2011 at 5:50 pm.
Dot Not-so-easy

Dot not-so-easy: The stupid page I can’t get past

I got an e-mail notification 17 hours ago that my domain registry will expire on Sunday. Morten told me about a different domain registry company that’s cheaper, so I phoned Doteasy (where I’m currently registered) to make sure there wouldn’t be a problem with transferring over. I don’t use their hosting services.

There is a definite problem. This is so stupid it hurts…

I can’t remember my password. I’m pretty sure something went wrong somewhere along the line because I only ever use one of five passwords for anything that’s non-bank related and none of them work.  And because I can’t remember my password, I have to be able to answer the security question to gain access to my account. Unfortunately, that default security question is “What is your anniversary?” What?! I didn’t have an anniversary back in 2006 when I set up the account. How could I have? I don’t even have an anniversary date now!

Well, if you forget your password and have no idea what the answer to your security question could be, then surely they can go on to the next default item: the e-mail address. But no. Back in 2006, I was still at SFU and I didn’t have my annychih.com e-mail address so I registered using my old SFU e-mail. SFU doesn’t let students keep these e-mail addresses and while I’ve registered for the alumni e-mail forwarding, it never did work for me so I eventually gave up on getting anything sent to that old address.

What’s next then if they can’t send me any e-mails? “Well, how did you get the notification e-mail then?” asks the guy at Doteasy. “I got it through my annychih.com address that you guys have on file!” I replied. “Surely since it’s on file you can just send my new password by e-mail?” But no. Can’t do that. They have to send it to the primary e-mail that was used to register the domain even though my domain is IN the e-mail address I’m trying to get them to send a password to, and even though they get a “permanent failure” message when they try to send something to my old SFU account.

Ok fine, then why not try my phone number? I added a phone number back then when I registered and it still works. Why can’t they just phone it and verify that I’m really who I say I am? No can do. They can’t verify that way.

Ok… then since you’re in Burnaby and I’m less than 15 minutes away, can I just come by the office and show you my ID to prove that I’m me? Nope. *sigh* Gotta say, the guys at Doteasy were really nice and they tried to ask the head honchos whether I could just drop by and prove I was me, but bureaucrazy (spelling intentional) got in the way. No can do. The office isn’t set up to receive visitors and they can’t verify that way. I can get my ID notarized and send it by mail though. But wait, to get it notarized and then sent by mail would take a minimum of three business days and it would cost over $30. My domain expires this weekend and I was only told today!

Alright, let me get this straight. I can’t transfer my domain registry to another company without first accessing my current domain registry account. I can’t access my current account without answering the security question. I don’t have the answer to the security question. If a person can’t answer the security question they would send a reset password to the e-mail address on file but that e-mail address is no longer valid. The secondary e-mail they use to send notifications IS valid, but they won’t send it there. They have my address and phone number on file, but that can’t be used to verify an account. So what CAN I do?

Well, the answer is that I can pay a small $5 US fee and fax in a form to retrieve my account information. Ok, good. I can at least get access. Can I pay now and get the info today? No. I have to fax / e-mail it in, and then it has to be processed, and then they can send it by mail. Well, can I get it by e-mail or even pick it up? I can bring in proof that I live at that address. I’ll bring in my ID, licence with my address on it, and even some phone bills for good measure. No. Even though they believe that I’m me, it has to be sent by mail.

But how long will that take? Well, it won’t get to me until Friday at the earliest — if they get it processed today and sent out before the mail is picked up. Alright, I can do Friday. At least then it’s enough time for me to transfer to the other company before the Sunday deadline. Oh wait, “no” again. That won’t happen. “What?” Well, in order to transfer there’s another process that I have to go through that will take at least a couple more days so it won’t be done before the domain expires so I’m going to have to renew with Doteasy if I don’t want my site to go down for the few days that it takes to transfer.

Heads up: my site will probably be down for a few days this week. *sigh*

Random Thoughts

The Unwritten

Posted by on March 20, 2011 at 1:57 pm.
2001 / 2002 Winter on the Beach

Taken about ten years ago on a snowy night at English Bay. HP, me and Jules.

There’s this book I’ve been meaning to write. I’ve thought about this short story / novel / epic series for nearly ten years now, and I still haven’t written a word of it.

I told HP last night that I was going to write a blog post about our ‘dinner and a movie’ experience, but I woke up this morning with the same feelings towards this post as I have with that unwritten book. I didn’t know how to start it or how to explain any of it so that it would make sense to a stranger.

It doesn’t make sense. In fact, if I were to write out the premise of the post, you’d be confused why anyone would want to write about something so uneventful. There was dinner. There was a movie. That was it. I could say something like “well, you just had to be there” but that wouldn’t make a difference either. Even if you were stalking us all night, you still wouldn’t get it.

The point might very well be that sometimes it’s not about the dinner or the movie. In the end, we’re still the same people we were ten years ago laughing about the same pizza story, arguing about who argues more, and singing along to the radio. And you know what? That’s ok.

As a sidenote, The Adjustment Bureau is a terrible movie.

Random Thoughts

Power Tools Are My Friends

Posted by on February 19, 2011 at 4:00 pm.
Danny and Me

Danny and me at the shop

The little wrench sign was lit up on Henry’s dashboard so I asked the Twitterverse if anyone knew of a good deal on oil changes. My buddy Danny DM’d saying he was going to get his girlfriend’s Honda serviced and could do mine at the same time. I thought he knew a guy with a shop, but it turns out Danny is that guy with a shop! Haha

Henry and I went to Wing Lee Auto Collision on Clark Drive this morning and I got to learn how to change Henry’s oil, filter and even rotate his tires! Knowing how to do everything yourself is a hundred times cooler than being that chick in the waiting room reading a magazine while someone else does everything and then hands you a bill with items you don’t question because you have no clue what anything is. Was it dirty? Yes. Was it worth it? Abso-eff’in-lutely. Anything where I get to learn new stuff, wear coveralls, and get filthy is uber-awesome in my books!

Here are a few things I learned today and pictures to prove I changed Henry’s oil, filter and rotated his tires.

Tips for Car Owners

  1. When a car has been wrecked to the point where it needs a complete overhaul, the car is placed on a large platform and clamped on while it’s being repaired. So, if you’re ever in the market for a used car, look for bite marks behind the front wheels and in front of the back wheels where these clamps would be placed to see if it’s undergone some work the seller hasn’t told you about.
  2. Hub caps are different from rims. I have hub caps. They’re the cheap plastic caps that come with the car and are literally punched into place (I did that today ;) ). Rims are those fancy metal plates that people pay extra for.
  3. When mechanics refer to a “thread”, they’re talking about the spiral around a screw. Never force a screw into place — especially if it’s the one connected to your engine oil tank. If you grind down the thread on the tank, you’re screwed; you’ll have to replace the entire tank which will cost you several thousand pretty pennies.
  4. New car oil looks like liquid honey. Used oil looks like tar and smells like a car shop.
  5. The cap on the oil tank under the hood probably has a few numbers and letters on it that specify what type of oil you want to use (denoted by the “W” which tells the mechanic how thick or thin the oil should be). The thickness / thinness of the oil you use will also depend on the climate in which you drive you car, so the oil you use may change if you move to a colder / warmer province / state.
  6. If you drove for a while before getting to the shop, let the oil and tank cool down before you uncap the tank.
  7. When you uncap the oil tank, the container for your used oil shouldn’t be directly beneath it. It should be about half a foot further back because the oil doesn’t just drip out — it spills out like a fountain. I’m glad I was off to the side of the opening when I did this! I was surprised at its fountain-like nature though, so I dropped the screw in the oil bucket. :P
  8. Never overfill your oil tank. If you do, the oil may travel to another part of your system (I don’t remember the name of it — it’s the part that looks like a giant can with holes in it; little guys who want louder cars remove this part to try and look cool).
  9. For your safety when using manual jacks, you should have those concrete triangular blocks underneath the bar that runs between your two front tires when you go underneath the car. These blocks prevent your car from coming down on you if the jacks give in.
  10. Servicing your own car is actually pretty easy. When you pay an arm and a leg for it, it’s because the oil and filter aren’t cheap, or the mechanic hates doing it, or a combination of the two. If you’re getting a “deal” under $60 for an oil and filter change, it’s because you’re getting a cheap filter and bulk oil. The cost of buying the oil and filter I got for Henry today at regular consumer prices would’ve been over $60 (no service included).
  11. A “pneumatic” system is something that uses compressed air (like the hand tools that you use to screw the tires back on).

Thanks Danny! :)

Arts, Film & Photography, Random Thoughts

I Could Feel My Pupils Dilate

Posted by on January 19, 2011 at 11:12 pm.

I just got back from watching my first PuSh Festival show of the season and if Circa is any indication of what the rest of the festival will be like, I can’t wait!

Before you read any further, I highly recommend… No, I really absolutely insist that you click HERE and purchase your ticket for one of Circa’s remaining three shows (January 20, 21, 22) right now before it’s too late! I take full responsibility for your enjoyment because I know you’re going love it. <– Period.

Review: Circa

Circa at PuSh Festival 2011

Circa at PuSh Festival 2011

The show starts with a beautiful specimen of a man throwing himself on the ground as if he’s a separate being altogether and his body is an object made for this sort of thing. He begins to move what seems to be every muscle in his body one at a time with the character you’d find in a drama combined with the fluidity of dance and rigid structure of a calculated machine all at once. I could feel my pupils dilate.

Not once was I bored during the 80 mesmerizing minutes of Circa’s self-titled performance. The set includes a wide arrangement of different styles and moods and it’s all amazing — from the quirky redhead spinning hoops, twisting her arms, and showing the curiosity of a four-year-old as she contorts and chases her body, to the strong muscular man determined to stay in the moving spotlight while exerting enough effort to make MY neck cramp watching him as he does something as simple as raising his arm.

This is not what you normally think of when you think of a circus or even acrobatics. At least, when I think of acrobatics I usually picture the rubber band troupes that fly across the air and land on each other’s shoulders as though they weighed about as much as a helium balloon. Circa on the other hand showcases the strength behind each individual movement; you can see the dedicated effort behind every twitch, stretch, jump, and bend. In this small venue (UBC Frederic Wood Theatre), you can also see the strands of hair that remain floating in the stage light after a series of lifts and pulls by the head. I especially love that both the men and women act as base supports for each other. They walk all over each other as if the person on the bottom is a shifting building and the person on top can always find another arm, leg, neck, shoulder, back, or muscle to explore.

I don’t want to continue describing the entire show (you should just go see it for yourself!) but there is one more thing I want to mention. My favourite act is the woman who danced on a vertical rope. I realize that sounds weird, but I’m not sure how else to describe it. She lifted herself and climbed up with only the strength in her one hand and moved, contorted, stretched, balanced and fell gracefully across this hanging rope as if she was suspended in water. She moved beautifully and with such fearless security in her movement that I couldn’t help but be thoroughly impressed.

When the show came to its end the entire theater stood up to clap, cheer, and clap some more. The five performers had to come out to bow two more times before we finally let up.

Arts, Film & Photography, Random Thoughts

I’ll Shoot You… With My Camera.

Posted by on December 20, 2010 at 10:30 pm.
Photoshoot with Phil

Stand right in the puddle. There’s great light there.

The Original Plan

For my 25th birthday, Ang and Morten arranged for me to have my photos taken by a professional photographer. We had a couple of meetings beforehand to discuss “the look” I was going for, what types of photos I liked and disliked, location etc. and I was totally psyched about the upcoming shoot.

The day finally came, and… it was pretty much a disaster. Ang, Morten and I were late, the makeup artist was even later, she made me look like a friggin’ clown with mismatched eyebrows and skin like sandpaper to boot, the makeup took much longer than expected which meant that we had little time before the sun went down since our appointment was in the late afternoon, which also meant that we didn’t have the time to get to the location we had planned on using, both the photographer and I were low on energy by this point, and in the end all of this was reflected in the photos. :P This was technically one of the photographer’s first photoshoots since he’s normally an event photographer (and a great one at that) so I don’t want to make it sound like he’s a bad photographer or anything like that. It was just one of those learning experiences.

Photoshoot with Phil

Anny Chih

My current Gravatar

After several days of not knowing what to do with the photos, Phil asked if I’d want to spend an afternoon taking photos in Richmond. He isn’t a professional photographer, but Phil likes to dabble in the art as a hobby and owns a spiffy Canon. We first met at last year’s 12x12 Vancouver Photo Marathon where his interpretation of the ‘panhandle’ theme won the prize for ‘Best Aesthetic’.

Ang and I met up with Phil in Richmond and the first location we went to was a half-empty parking lot where a corner of it had “great natural lighting”. I don’t know how he found it, but he was right. It did have great natural light! This time, I did my own makeup and followed Phil’s recommendations to eat a decent breakfast so that I’d have more energy. We also met earlier in the day so we didn’t feel any time-constraints.

Within a half-hour as boasted, Phil took some great shots (one of which is currently my Gravatar, Twitter profile pic, and Flickr icon). The rest of the afternoon was spent taking fun photos on one of those grassy highway dividers, and a short path in a small park. They were really random locations that don’t look like they’d be ideal shoot locations but they all worked so well. I had a great time and have included some of my favourite photos from all the locations in the gallery below.

Thank you Phil! :)

Tips for Aspiring Photographers & Photo Subjects

  1. Eat something before you head out on a shoot (this goes for both subjects and photographers because if one is tired, the other will feel it too).
  2. I know photographers work in different ways, but I found that with a snap-happy photographer I ended up with lots more usable photos because expressions change in fractions of a second. One photo would turn out only “okay”, while the next one that only had the slightest difference was perfect.
  3. Meet an hour earlier than the time you’d like to start shooting. It’s better to finish earlier, than not have enough time to get a decent shot.
  4. (Photo Subject) If you’re Asian, get an Asian makeup artist. It’s difficult to find a non-Asian makeup artist who doesn’t overdo the eye makeup.
  5. (Photo Subject) All makeup artists should know this already, but not all do: when you’re getting your makeup done, make sure you’re sitting in an area with equal lighting on both sides of the face so you don’t end up with one eyebrow a good 0.5 cm longer and darker than the other.
  6. (Photo Subject) If you’re doing your own makeup, apply a bit more colour than you normally do so that you don’t look like a ghost if the light ends up being a little harsh.
  7. (Photo Subject) Avoid synthetic fabrics. They reflect light and have a tendency to either overshadow your face, or appear to have a strange rippling effect. Cotton works best.
  8. (Photo Subject) Avoid wearing solid black / dark tops because they also tend to draw attention away from your face and towards your chest.
  9. (Photo Subject) Although most of us have a “preferred side”, take photos from both sides to get a broader range of looks.
  10. Always have a comb and a bottle of water handy. I forgot the comb and kept using water to keep my hair in place.

Some Photos from the Photoshoot with Phil

Unedited photos

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