Clicking with Kid
Jacqueline M. Lim got to know the real Kid Chan and how he found his niche in the world of photography.
Meeting Kid Chan who today is probably the most acclaimed wedding photojournalist in Malaysia, I was a little apprehensive about photographing him but soon put at ease when we talked about Kid Chan, the former Sunway student. “That was twelve years ago in 1995 when I was in the Canadian Matriculation Programme” he said. “Back then Sunway was quaint, cozy and we all knew the Canadian teachers well. Mr Rex Sharman who was programme director and Mr Dobson were terrific. Ms McKeegan brought life to history and English Literature. I just plunged into the role of a fun-loving and sometimes cheeky student” he recalled.
Kid chan came back to visit Elizabeth Lee, (right) Executive Director of Sunway university college.
A teacher, Shirlee Curtis remembered Kid for bringing so much spirit into the class and indeed he must have stirred up lessons on more than one occasion.
As a child Kid always liked photographs. It was not until he went to university in Western Australia that Kid got started as an amateur shutterbug. “I saw myself as a high flying corporate executive and that was why I did a degree in international business”. On his return to Malaysia, he worked with a prominent business leader of an education group. After two years, he began to pine for a change. Photography was one medium that allowed him freedom of artistic expression.
Kid Chan joined his family’s business in a photography studio called Portrait One. This was followed by a short training stint at a commercial studio, Studio 88, and the rest is as they say, history.
With his trusted Nikon in hand, Kid stumbled into wedding photography by chance. “I started out as a fashion and commercial photographer. That was where the money was”. But soon, high profile clients began asking him to take wedding photographs for their son’s or daughters. “It was hard to say no to them” he said.
Refusing to be a photographer to take instructions, Kid took a journalistic approach to photographing weddings. He locked the emotions of the day into his frames. “It is a pictorial story of the bride and grooms big day rather then the staged “mock cheque and handshake” pictures” he explained.
Kid watches every move in a wedding with a keen eye in the hope of stealing a poignant or candid moment from the main players of the day. The Kuala Lumpur born and bred photographer’s stunning images won him much admiration as it allowed bride and groom to own a truly memorable record of their special day.
Needless to say, Kid, 29 was the first Malaysian admitted as a member of the prestigious American-based Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA) in 2005.
Kid remembers the good ol’ days in cMP at Sunway with Mr Dobson.
Some of his high powered assignments have included the fairy tale weddings of Siti Nurhaliza and Datuk Khalid Jiwa, Mohamed Ridzuan (son of second finance Minister, Tan Sri Mohamed Yakcop) and Ezrin Suraya, Jeslina Hashim and Dion Rais Vercoe, YM Tunku Myra and James Iskandar Jaafar Greaves. Kid was voted one of the “100 People in Asia You Must Know” by Malaysia Tatler magazine and has been featured in the Edge, New Straits Times, Pesona Pengantin, Harian Metro and Prestige magazine.
A self-confessed people person, Kid admits he still gets an adrenaline rush when he is photographing a wedding. “All weddings are different and special and I always look forward to the next assignment”.
Not surprisingly (there is a trend among our alumni) Kid’s wife Shirlyn Lim is also a fellow Sunway alumni. “She did A-Levels at Sunway and is a chartered accountant. She looks after our accounts” he said proudly. They have two daughters, Faith (two and a half years) and Adira (six months).
Kid currently has five photographers assisting him in KidChan Studio. He has plans to develop photography short classes for busy professionals on weekends in the near future. Time permitting, Kid dabbles occasionally in travel photography for relaxation. His jaunts have brought him to capture the streetscapes of Penang and London.
Kid humbly professes that he has not reached the level of success he wants just yet. But this proud Sunway alumnus words of advice to young people planning to get into photography is “To practice, be patient and seize any opportunity you can get”.
He shared his personal motto which is “Work hard, work smart and party hard” he said rather matter of factly. Obviously this has worked for him within and around his work. No kid-ding.
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