Louis Pang - Blazing a Trail

LOUIS PANG BLAZING A TRAIL - Published in August 2007

Name drop wedding photographer Louis Pang to those in the know in Sabah. Their immediate response will be to beam and wax lyrical on the brilliance of his work as well as to state how personable and pleasant he is.
Mention his name out of Sabah, say in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore or Hong Kong for example and chances are you will probably receive a very similar reaction.

Louis Pang has a photography portfolio that could easily rival those of professional wedding photographers worldwide. An unobtrusive man with a fantastic eye for amazing photography, Louis was dubbed "The Passionate Newcomer" by a leading publication in Malaysia.
Louis is as relaxed as he is artistic. A Tawau-born local, he has recently relocated to Kota Kinabalu with his wife and are looking forward to a new life here in between wedding photograph jaunts around Asia.

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Where are you originally from and how old were you when you developed a passion for photography?

I was born in Kota Kinabalu but grew up in Tawau. I picked up photography out of a job requirement. In 2001, I was working as a journalist for a local newspaper and I had to take some pictures too. So I bought a very old fully manual camera, Nikon FM2, and a banged up 35-70mm f/3.5-5.6. The idea of capturing light and shadow on film fascinated me. There was no LCD screen on this RM800 camera, just a huge viewfinder that told me my exposure and focusing plane. Aperture and shutter speed were operated manually.

In my first year at work, I won first and second place in a district level photojournalism contest. I knew then that I had a special gift. Photojournalism has always appealed to me. I would scour the internet for works of photojournalists around the world.

Did you take any photography courses to hone your skill? What made you lean more towards wedding photography?

I didn’t take any formal training on photography. I just learned on the job and by spending time viewing works of other photographers on the Internet. I read a lot on photography and I practiced what I learned on the job. More and more, I was approached to shoot weddings and commercial projects. In 2004, I left the editorial desk to start my own business with a ton of optimism but zero business experience. Very quickly I had learned that being a good photographer is not enough, I need to be a good businessman as well because I am in the photography business.

There was a time when I thought of giving up photography. I was shooting too many things, editorials for magazines and newspapers, commercial work and weddings. I don’t want to spend 20 years in photography being a jack-of-all-trades. I want to leave my mark and blaze a trail. When I reviewed my work, I saw that I was drawn towards photographing people and it was in weddings that I found my best work. So I decided to focus on wedding solely.

I signed up for business classes with the Malaysian Institute of Management (MIM) and read a load of books on sales, marketing, branding. The biggest help was to be taken under the wings of a mentor, a successful and respected businessman who is not a photographer. I've learned that love is the winning formula. Instead of focusing on getting the signature on the dotted line, I focus on solving problems for my clients and meeting their needs. People know it when you are just trying to get your hands into their wallet. Love people genuinely and success will follow.

In March 2007, I spent 11 days attending the Wedding & Portrait Photographer International (WPPI) 2007 in Las Vegas, which was the largest tradeshow and education program for wedding and portrait photographers. It was an eye-opener to learn from the best of the world. I took a two-day class with Joe Buissink, Hollywood’s most sought after wedding photographer, whose clients include Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguerila, Hilary Swank, Kelsey Grammer, Christina Applegate, Steven Spielberg and Annie Leibovitz.

I can only describe the next two days with Joe as a life-changing experience. Yes, I learned a lot of how-tos, but it is the why-tos that changed me. “Think outside the box”, “take some risks” and “break some rules” is difficult for a Malaysian who is raised to conform and obey. Yet venturing into the unfamiliar and breaking away from the conventional can yield so much creative dividends.

Tell us more about your awards and accolades, and of course how it felt to receive them.

In July, I won 1st place in the WPPI 2007 8x10 print competition. It is the world’s largest and most prestigious wedding photography competition that attracts thousands of submissions from around the world. When I was informed via email that I won the Photojournalism, Wedding Details category, I could not believe it. I read, reread and reread the email before screaming at my wife, “Honey, we’ve won!” We were in tears and utterly speechless. We mumbled a short prayer of thanksgiving. It took us a while to take it in that we had won an international award for our work.

The win was sweetened when we discovered that we were the first Malaysians to have won anything at all with WPPI, let alone a first place finish. Looking back all the hard work, toil, pain, bruises, sweat and tears…it is worth it. As Steve Jobs said, “You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.”


Trickiest or most difficult session you've had? Any funny anecdotes to share?

I don’t think there had ever been an easy wedding to shoot because every wedding is different and every other weekend I am shooting somewhere, often away from Sabah. Asian weddings are tough because it can start at 6am and end at 11pm. Working 12 to 15 hours for a wedding is quite common…that’s carrying over 10kg of camera, lenses and peripherals in 95% humidity and 35 degrees Celsius. I have a water bottle strap to my camera belt system, and I drink constantly to keep myself hydrated. Despite such trying working condition, I must maintain high level of concentration.

In November I will be shooting three weddings in three countries in one week: Hong Kong, India and Malaysia. I will be photographing in venues and with couples I had never worked with before. I need to think on my feet. There is huge pressure for me to deliver and fortunately, I thrive under pressure.

The worst experience I had was to be down with food poisoning the night before a wedding. I was soaked in cold sweat, down with fever and my stomach was in knots. Luckily I had my wife with me for that out-of-town shoot. She got me some activated charcoal and anti-diarrhea pills. I battled on to complete the shoot and presented a slideshow during the wedding banquet. The clients were really please with the pictures. Phew!

What are your plans for the immediate and not so immediate future? A book of photography perhaps?

I would like to position myself as an international wedding photographer, specifically in Asia Pacific. We live in very exciting times with China and India awakening as new economic giants. Then we are surrounded by affluent neighbouring countries like Hong Kong and Singapore. These are lucrative markets to tap into.

Sabah has great potentials to be a major city for destination weddings. We have beautiful beaches, scenery, fantastic five-star facilities and services at very affordable prices. While Bali, Phuket and Samui are still the better known places for destination weddings, I believe Sabah can compete with these places if we can market ourselves well and provide superior services. Sabah has her unique charm. Sabahans must cherish that and believe in ourselves.

Also, I would like to spend more time shooting portraits. Some of us think of portraits as sitting in a room with outdated furniture, tacky backdrops and lots of lighting strobes firing at us when the photographer says, “Smile.” I see portraits as documenting the unique bond between people. The challenge is to bring out that intangible bond and capture it on a picture. This does not have to happen inside a studio. It can be done on a beach, in a park and even in the comfort of their own home—wherever they are most at ease. A photography session should be fun and enjoyable, not a chore to be endured. I want my work to give people a good and healthy sense of who they are. I also want my pictures to give them great memories. Without a good picture, we are only left with memories. Unfortunately, we cannot print memories.

What brand/make of camera do you use?

I use Nikon D2X, D200 and a variety of Nikon lenses & strobes.

Any advice for up-and-comers or budding amateur photographers?

Camera manufacturers want to convince young photographers that the secret to better photography rests in the next new camera model with higher pixel count and frame rate. It is a lie that most photographers want to believe in as well.

I would suggest that we spend time in good photography websites, books and magazines. Also dedicate energy into honing our arts and skills. The rules of the capturing light and shadow is the same whether you are using an old manual film camera or the latest state-of-the-art RM30,000 digital camera.

Who took the photographs for your own wedding?

My buddy Peter. My wife Jasmine and I could not afford the service of a professional photographer. Peter was kind enough to do it as a gift for us.
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Clearly someone who lets his work speak for itself, I have yet to find a photograph that I've not found visually stunning. Fans can visit Louis's online portfolio at www.louispang.com or for more a more personalised feel head over to his blog at www.louispang.com/blog