October – Proposal, Family, Commercial, and Event Photographer
To start off October, I had a string of proposal photo shoots on Jeju Island. I made two trips down with for four different clients and had not only some of the nicest weather of the year, but some of the most heartfelt moments I’ve captured in a while. These were all beautiful proposals and I wish everyone the best with their futures.
Kicking things off, Florian opted for a sunrise proposal overlooking the ocean. Knowing that Mei Tong was likely to be quite shy and would prefer to be as alone as possible, he chose to get them up early for a sunrise walk and it couldn’t have been more perfect. The light was gorgeous, there was no wind, and not a soul around to interrupt their moment.
After a quick trip up to Seoul to pick up some flowers, my next shoot was with Whee Khim and Cindy. This was another sunrise shoot, but for another reason. Whee Khim had decided on Seongsan Sunrise Peak as his location and it only made sense for us to use that excuse to have the beautiful morning light and no people around. So, he and I plotted a location overlooking the ocean for this moment. We also met up the afternoon before for him to pass his hand-made scrapbook over to me for staging the location. Again, we could not have been more lucky with the weather! Autumn was truly delivering this year!
My next proposal shoot with Nicholas was actually supposed to be the following afternoon, but the weather report called for a huge storm passing that day and I was able to stay on the island that evening anyway, so we rearranged things and made it happen before the rains!
Jeongbang Falls is a gorgeous but difficult location to work in. The rocks can be very slippery, the crowds can be intense, and the light can be harsh and unflattering. Thankfully, with the incoming storm just hitting the horizon, we still had dry rocks and the overcast sky made for soft, forgiving light that afternoon. The crowds, on the other hand, were something else. Nicholas had to hold off for almost 20 minutes just to get a spot on this rock that he had chosen for the proposal. It was absolutely worth it, though! The emotions of these two drew the attention of everyone around and a massive cheer erupted once the moment was over.
My final shoot of this run was with Min and Elise. Following the storm, the sky cleared and only puffy clouds and blue skies remained. This was another gorgeous day that culminated in another sunset for the ages. While hanging around to watch the sun go down after our shoot, I spotted my couple doing the same and snagged a frame of them from a distance to finalise the set.
Back up in Seoul, it was time to take a couple of days off and spend time with my family for Chuseok. As always, that meant eating too much and moving too little. But, what are holidays for?
Then it was straight back to work for another beautiful proposal, this time at Changgyeonggung in Seoul. Bradley had listened carefully as they planned their trip and knew that this would be the exact location he’d want to have this happen. He just needed my help working on timing, getting to the location, and making sure it looked the way it should in photographs.
After a little more rain in Seoul, I met up with the Setobol family for some portraits to celebrate their trip together at Changdeokgung. Cloudy days, especially those with the threat of more rain, make for perfect family shoot days in the palaces here. Even light and thinner crowds keep our sessions moving smoothly.
Another shoot with Volvo Construction Equipment was up next and that means another placeholder until the machine is released. So, here we are having fun as always.
Expecting autumn to be in full swing, especially in the colder areas like Gapyeong, Yangzi had requested Nami Island as his location and we’d planned for the metasequoia avenue expecting them to be blazing orange by this time of year. Unfortunately, autumn had other plans this year and the whole country was still green by the time of their visit. This avenue is beautiful in any season, though, so we made use of the morning fog to give a soft, ethereal feel to the scene.
You wouldn’t believe where I went next? Or would you? Back down to Jeju Island for a proposal photo shoot with Si Chuan and Lusandra. Si Chuan’s chosen location was, unfortunately, forecast to have rain for a couple of days but we decided to go ahead with it anyway and then move to another location afterwards so as not to arouse suspicion about his plans. The rainy forest made for a lovely scene with deep greens and warm cloudy light coming through the treees. The rest of the shoot is coming in a full blog next year to show you just how varied Jeju’s weather can be!
Popping back up to Seoul, I headed over to the German School for our annual school portrait session and then jumped onto the KTX the following morning to cover the South Australian pavilion at the Daejeon International Wine Expo. As always with events like this, there was a surprise around the corner. When I arrive, there was a last minute request for a portrait of the wine master for editorial uses following the show. Of course, I didn’t have equipment to make it look the way I would like, but we made use of what we had. Thanks to a most gracious subject, got some excellent portraits from a dull convention hall!
My next shoot was a family session with my old friend, the Little Koala from a couple of years back. He’d returned with his little sister this time and we headed over to Gyeongbokgung one early morning for some playful moments.
The next day, I made the trip over to Seoul Forest for yet another proposal. Again, autumn delivered with some of the most lovely light I’ve seen all year. But, still no leaves! Even at the end of October, everything was still green this year!
A few days later, I headed back to Seoul Forest for an early morning couple shoot with Roy and Pei Chin. They were also hoping to have the full autumn experience coming from sunny Singapore. But, even on the second to last day of October, when most years we’d be starting to lose the leaves, we only had a couple of trees in the whole park that were showing any colour at all! The morning sunlight gave them an extra push into the warm autumn tones, though.
Rendell’s proposal was up next. He’d planned to be on the banks of the Han River and had asked me to join him in the early morning for this special moment in their lives. I’ll be bringing this session to the blog next year as it’s a great example of my entry-level proposal package.
After a quick bite to eat, I crossed the city for an afternoon session with my old friends Caitlin and Jae. This time, though, they’d added one to the crew and came along for a family session with their little bundle of joy, Sophie! These images might look like a big difference from yesterday’s shoot, but this should give you an idea of how two parks in Seoul that are only 10 kilometres apart can look so vastly different in autumn! And with that, October was done!
November – Family, Event, and Proposal Photography
My first session for November was at Gyeongbokgung with Maki and her family. Finally, the gingkos had started to change in the area and those were a hit with the kids!
The next morning, I took an early walk around Samcheongdong with Efren and Yadira. Efren had surprised Yadira with not only a proposal during their trip to Japan but a surprise flight to Seoul right after it! Well, played, sir!
Over the next couple of days, we had the realisation of the dream that everyone who visits during the autumn season has, gorgeous light and leaves in abundance. Luckily, two of my families from Singapore were able to experience this gorgeous moment in the year. Both sessions had the perfect mix of autumn colours, beautiful light, and warm afternoon temperatures. If only we got this for a few weeks rather than days! My first session with Peik Ai and her family was all about play and laughter. It was great to see them again and meet the latest addition! My second session with Angela and her family was three adults trying to keep up with one little man, or possibly a dinosaur! More on both of these sessions coming up in full blogs next year!
Then, it was onto a few days spent with my good friend Andy, who you may remember from my April Tokyo visit. This time, he was visiting Seoul for an editorial assignment and I tagged along to do all the things tourists do when they visit here. It was refreshing to see some streets and places that I’m normally just flitting by or trying to make work in a photoshoot. It was great to photograph Gyeongbokgung again as a tourist and see a few stores I’d never normally have the chance to visit!
After that, I had a week or so of down time to edit, do a little cycling, and prepare for my final shoots of the year. Autumn was late this year and there were still plenty of leaves around at this time, so I made sure to get out and spend some time under those, as well!
Next up was my family shoot with Natatasha and her family in Seoul Forest. I hadn’t even held onto a glimmer of hope for autumn leaves when Natasha had booked this session. But as the date approached, it seemed more and more likely that we’d have some beautiful scenes to work with. We got incredibly lucky with both the leaves and the sunlight! This was the blazing orange we’d been hoping for on Nami Island back in October!
Then, it was over to the Novotel Ambassador for the annual KGCCI Innovation Awards. I was saddened to hear that this would be the last innovation awards! It’s been an ongoing tradition for me as long as I’ve had my business open! As always, I ran a photowall with on-site printing and had my good friend Roy Cruz along to ensure we could capture the event in full, as well.
Next, I was invited by Rodine to photograph his proposal over dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul. This was a quick and emotional moment that I had to capture without disturbing the other guests at the restaurant.
If autumn were late this year, it was certainly holding on for dear life by the end of November. There aren’t many years when it’s still warm enough to head out in thin layers and see some autumn leaves by the end of November, so the Drews and Auyeung families were both incredibly lucky!
December – Event, Family, Proposal, and Commercial Photography
To get December started, I joined the fine people from Wine Tasmania for their first ever grand tasting in Seoul! They held a masterclass and tasting with several different wineries from Tasmania at the Grand Hyatt
Straight after that, I headed down to Seoul Station to catch a KTX down for one last shoot with the Volvo Construction Equipment team for 2025. Here’s everyone in the winter garb as the temperatures went sub-zero in the valley.
We started this quarter with a proposal photo shoot and we’ll finish with another. Here are a couple of quick frames from Joseph’s proposal on Nami Island in winter. Thankfully, the weather is still quite warm and we got a beautifully sunny day to bring a little of that winter magic to the images.
I’ve still got a few shoots left before this season ends, but I’ll tack those on at a later date. For now, a big thanks to all those who have chosen to work with me this year. I hope you all have a wonderful end to the year and a great start to 2026. Thank you for joining me here for this series and I hope to see some of you in the coming year!