FAMILY AFFAIR

MAKE MEMORIES THAT LAST A LIFETIME WITH WHITE ROOM STUDIO

The late photographer Aaron Siskind once said, “What you have caught on film is captured forever... It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.”

This adage rings especially true for the work of awardwinning photography atelier, White Room Studio. The boutique studio nestled within a Peranakan shophouse specialises in capturing the moments experienced by a growing family, be it immortalising that fleeting smile on a newborn’s lips, or the natural glow of a mum-to-be.

Kiki Yue Gundersen is one client who has had countless memories captured with images by the photography studio.

She was first photographed by the team when she was pregnant with her first son, William, in 2014. Since then, the lensmen of White Room Studio have photographed her two sons as babies, shot their family portraits, and captured moments from her sons’ birthdays.

For the mother of two, the right photographer not only has to possess technical skills, he or she also needs to understand how to put fussing infants and boisterous children at ease. “I think their attitude and personality are key, as well as their eye for great shots.

Photographing children can be very unpredictable, so the photographer has to keep things moving without ever making things too stressful and busy,” says Kiki. “The White Room Studio team is very patient, which is most essential when photographing children. The spacious studio allows me to feel relaxed and at ease, and the interactions with their photographers, who devote all their attention on my family during the shoots and photo selection process, happen on a personal level such that I don’t ever feel stressed.”

For parents who seek personalised images, rather than formulaic poses, it’s essential to find a studio with creativity. “If you have a special request, White Room Studio is always up for trying something new. They take your initial idea and play around with it to make it work. For my son’s birthday, I brought in a cake and balloons, and they set it up perfectly so the pictures came out beautifully,” she adds.

Thanks to her younger son, George, who is just four months old, Kiki now has plenty of experience in handling shoots with newborns. Her top tip: Always feed your baby to settle him down prior to a shoot. Once the shoot begins, keep your baby close to your body because he can get cold, and have a blanket on standby for the time between shots.