Beware of this Photographer!!!

Hello supergal, this is Kai, Chief of Kalyedoscope Photographers. I sincerely apologise to you and your girlfriend (whom I remembered and later called on her to check if everything was alright). Kalyedoscope Photographers are indeed in the business of ensuring that our customers' wedding celebrations, be it solemnisation or wedding day, are filled with joyous moments. We have apologies on behalf of Max Koh often left the logistics to the rest of the team to man-handle in hope that issues will resolve themselves. At this point, I had to come in, put a stop to everything and move the customer away from his discredit zone and buy back their confidence. We all know that once a photographer has been discredit, the only way is to win back the confidence of the customer. We had already terminated his services from our team effective 20 Dec 2oo5 Again, we sincerely apologise for having this individual to attend to your friend's wedding and it is not in the interest of Kalyedoscope Photographers to put our valued customers in these situations. We had done all we could to avoid our long and excellent reputation being tarnished by Max Koh at that time last year and we had to be best of our ability delicately attended to those cases. We wish you well and thank you for sharing your views with us

Hi supergal, was the jiemei very chio or something? First time I ever heard of such an unprofessional PG. But kinda amusing and scary at the same time.

Hi Kai- Chief of Team Kalyedoscope, Thanks for your clarifications on behalf of my gf, I have told her abt it and asked to convey her msg to you. It was over liao lah and furthermore, my gf and her hubby was very much pleased with your explanation and apologises. She also added that its not ur fault actually, but she's just being sway lor to think such things happened. Anyway, thanks alot. I guessed with your inputs here really helps to clarified and warned other future/potential couples, it really ensured them that this Max Koh is totally out of your team and will at least felt more eased liao lor when or if they are enaging your service. By the way, r u the 'unknown photographer' the bo-tak (bold) guy that I'm refering? Hehe.. sorry.. thats very rude of me.. hehehe.. but then, just wanna comment that those pics u took for my gf's hubby side one and some of the combined shots one..very nice leh.. hehe.. Hi Funnyman, Yalor, my that jiemei quite chio and sweet lor, outshine among all of us as jiemeis. Hehe... But then, no matter how chio she is, the chio-est is always the bride mah. Yalah, come to think of it, really scared the hell of us lor that day. Besides attending to assist my gf being the bride, we have to look out for this jiemei as well. To prevent any thing happening on that day lor. So can u imagine, how busy we r!?! hehe.. Anyway, when's ur AD, BS chosen already? This forum quite quiet hor. ;p

Hello Supergal, you can call me Kai. No need to be so formal cos I very paiseh to hear the entire phrase! ;) And yes, you are correct to point out to the patch above my forehead where a great canyan of folicles used to reside, say proably 15 years ago! thank you for your feedback with regards to the pictures. I am please we could salvage your friend's confidence in my team. Anyhow, yes, I did clarified with the wedding couple and very pleased that all is smooth and calmed. I sincerely apologise for the entire experience and in fact was utterly shocked to know that you guys knew that he is working there cos when I first saw your posting I quite frankly did not know how to react. As much we could, we will advise against the staff in the team (be it full time or part-time photographer) to brag about their day job. I often told him in that past that it wasn't professional to use his day job email to contact the customer and bragging about his work to the couple's friends as it undermine the credential of the photographer and to the team he was shooting for. No matter how good Max may behaved to the delight of our wedding customers, the confidence level will inevitably drop when you as the customer find out that you are talking to a part-timer, and it's more true when it comes to the biggest component of your life : YOUR WEDDING CELEBRATIONS. With this in mind, I like to assure all our customers that we have already put a system in place to prevent the documentations and behavoural aspect of the photographer to go our of sync and more effective be in line with our team's business objective going forward.

[quote=supergal]Hi Funnyman, Yalor, my that jiemei quite chio and sweet lor, outshine among all of us as jiemeis. Hehe... But then, no matter how chio she is, the chio-est is always the bride mah. [/quote] Of course, but I wouldn't want a PG who's leering at my wife on her wedding day either. Think also quite bad luck to get that Max guy. Can't imagine explaining to my wife's or my female friends why my PG is harassing them. [quote=supergal]Anyway, when's ur AD, BS chosen already? This forum quite quiet hor. ;p[/quote] Nope, still looking. Though my better half probably has better idea on that. She doing more digging than me. Yah, place seems quite quiet. Only few ppl like us making noise. Probably have to shout louder so place not so quiet.

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There are alot of freelance wedding photographers in the market and definitely wedding photography is an avenue whereby we can all earn a few extra bucks to go alongside our day job. To excel in wedding photography takes years of patient learning, PR and a keen observant mind of what's happening in the surrounding all at the same time. And this is on top of what you have content with, especially the Aunties and Uncles, and the very stresseful (in most cases) bride and a groom who (usually) wants to get the event over and done with. There are many experience freelance photographers I have met or known who are doing very well because they have very excellent time management capabilities. There are those i know who failed after a few months or a year or so. Being a photographer is easy. Aquiring the basics of photography skills is very accessible. One of the best place to get such an education is at [url=http://www.tpgallery.com.sg/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10&Itemid=25]TPG (The Photographers Gallery)[/url]. Established teams does offer a few advantages from a One-Man-Operation freelance sharpshooter. first of all they have more human resource, i.e. usually 2-3 photographers, which means, if anything happens one of the them, they can get a replacement easily. This element can be one of the most crucial point to a wedding. Also, more well known team usually have better work presentations and instill more confidence with potential wedding couples. However, this is not to say freelance photographers are not up to the mark. Freelance or weekend warriors, as we usually call them, are better priced, more flexible in packaging, and are usually more accomodating and sensitive towards to the couple's needs. That's not to say the established teams are not flexible cos apparently it all depends on the company's objectives and values, but these guys have more overheads to consider and in many ways pricing structure is distingtively different from the freelance warriors. So what is a good choice? I will say both are good and in both options, do read forums and check out the feedback from other brides with regards to the prior and post performance of the photography team. A good testimony is usually encouraging. Price point wise, if you are on a very tight budget, its good to go hunting for a freelance due to the above the reasons mentioned. However, if cash flow is not of the concern, then it will be good for wedding couples to consider getting a more well known team with at least 2 to 3 photographers in the organisation. No matter which option you take, just remember, FORGET about asking your friend to shoot for you, unless he is a seasoned professional freelance or someone in a well known team. No matter how it works, wedding is a once-in-a lifetime matter, why bother having such lavish decors, year long meticulous planning, when you cannot take back the memories in a properly documented fashion? Now, isnt that worth it?

It's nice to see you in this forum, Kai, and even better that you helped straighten out this problem. I felt bad when I first read the post and was very happy when you came along to explain. It's good to see someone like you reading the forum and keeping up with your customers.

Doing business, it's always unavoidable to have bad/unlucky days. Just have to solve it and carry on. To me, it's reassuring to know that the problem is taken care of quickly and efficiently. And that Kai is keeping us informed of the matter, of course. =P

Hi Plumley, Thanks for your kind words. Sorry it took me a while to get back to you as we were tight in schedule since June cos it was prior to the closure of the peak season before the chinese 7th month halloween period. Yes, we too felt very bad towards those unfortunate incidents and regretfully we were unable to change them, else, I would have done everything in my power to put a stop to the rotten apple from further rottening our reputations and customers' confidence. One thing I like about advertising in Dwedding and coming into The Dwedding forum is the honest and sincerity of it that carries lots of transparencies, where people are entitled to their own views (within limits & no vulgarities of course!). We are here to share our thoughts and express our feedback, while merchants such as photographers, videographers can come in to have a good feel of their customers' well-being. Like what Ming Siong above said, in business we are bound to make mistakes, and quite honestly, we did! But the fact that we'd identified the root of the problem, eradicate it that we are constantly monitoring our photographers, and ensuring our customers do not fall down over with individual who does not bother about people's happiness but rather his own pocket money first! The main difference here is what are the focus and objectives of our business and how passionate we want to make those objectives a reality. Unlike other more 'iconic' XXXXbrides portal, Dwedding does not put a restriction to merchants like us, control our handling of cases pertaining customer issues. Within limits, we have free rein to express our views and to be able to objectively pinpoint the cause and effect of each comment, without having to be constantly LOOKED OVER BY BIG BROTHER. The best feature about this forum compared to most other forums is that Dwedding wants it to be truer and better, i.e. REALITY forum. They dont want something of a conceptualised containment, and that is what will give our customers true perception. Coming back briefly to the part time photographer mentioned above, I have to admit, we overlooked our protocols and operational processes! Issues included non-issuance of deposit payment receipts, not being able to acquire him lack of attention to details, etc. We are certainly glad that we will not be at these issues anymore Yes, we are delighted those issues were over, rectified, WE ARE BACK IN ACTION!!! Although we didn't please 1 or 2 of those customers in 300% totality, I now just wish to move on with our business and attain better stature. And thanks to Dwedding portal, we now have a great opportunity to REALLY AND CLEARLY explain to our customers, express our apologies and provide confidence to those who are currently shortlisting photographers for their own wedding. I personally have to thank Dwedding in opening up to us to vacuum up the negatives vibes, mob away those gooey issues, AND laugh in the face of fear, twik the nose of incompetence, drop ice cubes into the vest of sabotage delights! LAND 'AHOI CAPTAIN, here comes the SHARP SHOOTER CALVARY!!

Hi Kai, Thank you for your compliments of the D' Wedding forum. But despite our wish to become a 'reality forum' as you said. I feel your comments are a little too personal in offering details to Max's personal life. As such, I've removed certain portions of your earlier posts.

Hi Ming Siong, My apologies for some of the unnecessary additional facts on the previous postings above. It was not my intentions to put a stereotype casting towards the photographer in question. As such I do hope I had not inconvienient anybody in anyway. Thanking you for highlighting this very important fact.

hi supergal, can u give me more info on dat photography (max koh).i jus meet up with one photography wif the same name.now feeling veri scare its the same guy u referring too..how????

Hey Kai, Hope u've been well ya...=) Almost a year since we met... Hope u're gettin on great.. Sorrie for takin this long to post a review on yr fantastic work ya... =) Dear All, Here's my personal experience with the team from Kalyedoscope. I had my actual day last year on 21 Sept 2005 and only started sourcing for photographers and videographers sometime after CNY... kinda panic den as there were so many things to finalise... wedding preparations, hse renovations... evything lumped within less than 9 months to our big day... While doin my research... i came across Kalyedoscope's website... was kinda impressed with their work n started lookin up forums on pple who got them to do the photography on their wedding day... i must say i was impressed... when i contacted Kai, we had a short conversion on msn n arranged to meet up so that i could see their work n also discussed the package i wanted in detail. I must say i was rather fortunate as he was also meetin 1 of his clients on tt day n they were happy to share with us the work tt Kai did for them... My hubby n I were rather impressed as they managed to not only capture wonderful pics of the couple but they also managed to get the essence of the whole days event on photo... i tink tt was the point of no turnin back for us... heheh... i somehw knew we would be gettin Kai n his team to do our actual day for us... =) n to this day i have neva regretted tt decision i made... We finalised the other details within the next few months... n i decided on the dual photographer + videographer package. I must say the actual day was rather hectic as i had a church weddin (in sengkang) followed by tea ceremony at both parents plcs (hougang n Jurong west). we also poped by our our new plc in cck before the 2nd tea ceremony... to top evythin, we had the dinner on the same day... boy was it hectic for evyone involved... However, I must say the day went by like a breeze.... Kai came to my plc in Houg whereas Master Foong was at my hubby's. kekeke... though Kai was slightly late which we neva blamed him for...=) the pics the both of them took were marvellous... Both of them not only lived up to our expectations but in some ways they exceeded it... They, esp Kai, reali made evyone relax in front of the camera... kekek... esp my hubby who's slightly camera shy... i think the most impt thing btw the couple n their photographers is tt both haf to be relax with each other n trust has to be there... only them can great pics be captured... hehe.... the whole day went by so fast... sooner then we realised we were already preparing for the reception at the hotel... Master Foong was replaced by Max... (i'm rather sure it's the same Max tt evyone's referrin to) in any case... i didn't notice anything out of the ordinary... maybe apart from him takin too many pics of one of my gfs =) (Kai, i saw tt look on yr face too... hahaha...=P i'm pretty sure we were tinking abt the same thing) Anyway evything went on well... no disappointments at all... All in all.... the service from Kalyedoscope was excellent... Kai & Master Foong together with Alvin were superb. Max did wat he was supposed to do... so no harm or damage done on my big day =) My trust in u guys will always ne there... n i will continue to recommend u guys to all my frenz... Its almost 1 year since our wedding day but i can still remember it like it was only yesterday... evyone complimented on the pics... I knw this will neva be enaf but Thanks for makin our big day an unforgettable one with all yr pics n video capturing the many moments... =) It meant alot to the both of us... Rachel & Garry ;)

Hi aurora, Sorry for the late reply. Was out of town recently. Hehe.. Anyway, regarding the Max Koh. Well.. i can't really recall how he look like. He look rather presentable if i can recalled. Furthermore, I'm was really bz on that day helping my gf (bride), so didnt really get much impression of him anyway. Just can only recall his name and his doings. Maybe I can check with the bridemaid whom being 'woo' and let u know if u would like to know how he look like. But i doubt she would wants to recall, since she already being 'scared' by him. hehe.. Whether of not, we are referring to the same guy. Just a 2cents worth, just be careful yah. But think @ the gd side, who knows this Max Koh that you have met is a different guy. Then it will not be very nice to doubt liao lor. Follow ur senses, and have trust in urself. Most importantly, had enough faith on the PG that you chose. :)

Hi .. new to this forum. the Max Koh topic caught my eye. No sure whether there is a relation. Was in JB two weeks ago and one of the bridal saloons there was warning me against going to this bridal saloon (let's call it INSP)in JB. They mentioned that INSP recently hired a new photograppher and this guy is only part time. His name is MAX KOH .Howeveerv INSP will tell u that he is a full time Phtographer. I am not sure how true this is but if i notice certain pple were curious to know where MAx koh went too .. i guess it cant be a co-incidence?

Cant help reading this interesting article about a degenerate photographer such as this individual. I guess there are many more like him that we have yet to discover out there. JB is now an alternative to those higher end bridal boutiques along Tanjong Pagar but then again they are so different from the Average Joe bridal collections, so in a way, we are in a multi-level sophiscation culture than embraces both cheap price on one end and high quality service plus personalised attention on the other. If you pay only so much for a wedding photographer like this Max Koh, then expect to take back a smaller percentage of your expectations when the day ends. I have heard of Kai, Marcus, Emotion pix, Treasure productions and Chris Ling but not sure about Max Koh. Since there are a number of curious pple wanting to know where Max has been to, then he must be quite popular for the right or wrong reasons. If he has gone to JB that probably means that he is enterpricing enough to reach across the border for better prospect or that he may be leaving behind a legacy of curious unpleasant moments to start a new photographic career in Malaysia. I guess whether this Max Koh is a part time wedding photographer or not it, may not matter to some customers because if you have a low budget and just want someone to record those precius moments, maybe this guy Max fits the bill cos maybe his price is very appealing to those who are looking for a good all year round low budget bargain. Double -edge sword is probably the better word. You get what you pay for lor. Be positive!

Dear valued customers Effective 27 march 2008, Essential Photography has relinguished our part-time photographer named KAS (or Eric Koh) for misconduct and breach of business trust. Senior photographers, Arthur and Miz, will be handling our operations in place of him indefinitely. We express deep regrets to any customer whose wedding deal is closed or offered by KAS; using corresponding emails: koheric [at] gmail [dot] com OR kasessential [at] gmail [dot] com, which we are not aware of OR not sanctioned by our team management, we are not in liberty to faciliate any form of liability. If contacted by this individual pertaining any matters in relation to Essential Photography, customers are advised to ignore him and notify us for clarifications purposes. We apologise for any inconvenice caused. Thank you.

Was surfing the web and found this on Singaporebrides.com forum. It directly refers to Essential Photography, as well as mentioning its relationship with Kalyedoscope Photographers. What same photographer but operating under different brandings, etc. Its an very interesting read because there seem to be so much hatred and displeasure by that thread starter call NATALIE, if thats her real name, which I feel would be very unlikely. http://www.singaporebrides.com/forumboard/messages/7/658818.html?1209481043 I read that thread above several times, and felt a lot of anger inside NATALIE, which I can understand cos if under the circumstance: (a) the essential or kalyedoscope cheated her money (b) lied about a package price or configuration (c) took her money and ran off (d) gotten rude with their clients (i.e. in this case NATALIE) (e) that they persistently pestered the client to take up their package on the spot (f) they are hard sellers (g) they refuse to let the client NATALIE leave their premises . But the problem is that none of the above are mentioned. I can feel for NATALIE that under such circumstances like the above, one would be very very annoyed, however, nothing was mentioned about the sales experience or the discussion. Moreover, there seem to be so much comparison between an apple and an orange. I am not a photographer nor a video man, but its not surprising that one photographer knows another one. The demography of the Singapore market is so HUGELY reduced by our mere 4 million population and given there are so many wedding photographers out there, its not surprising to see a photographer befriend another. As NATALIE has put it, there is a KAI inside the essential guys place. perhaps he was there for coffee or lunch with them, cos he wanted to introduce them to his preferred friends? NATALIE din mention that. As a bride, what is the purpose of meeting the photographer or the video person or the bridal shop. Its to get the best deals at the best price. I did a quick check on Kalyedsocope's price and then compared it to the packages offered by essential. Indeed there is a large margin gap and a very huge price difference. But then, when I look at their photos in their respective websites, I notice the style and picture handling quality is vastly different also. Hope the essential people are not offended here! you get what you paid for. If you want those top notch quality photographers, we hav to make a sacrifice in price, and if like NATALIE whose husband unfortunately cannot afford Kai's price, then you get what you are paying for. In the first place, as a reader, i will feel: (a) Kai recommended his client to his friends (i.e. essential photo), that is a virtue. How many bridal shops have anyone visited will recommend another shop when a $5 to $6K wallet walks out on them? Kai did what many of us did in the corporate world. Taking care of the clients' interest first. He is very smart to have done that. Thats y this guy has so many good feedback on the forums and on the website too. (b) Natalie and her husband wants to see the essential people; nobody forced them to do so. (c) Natalie forgotten that when you have cheaper priced photographers, they tend to have more business and customers so if I am the bride, I dont mind meeting them elsewhere. (d) Be compassionate, those freelance photographers are trying to earn a living and being lower price and Natalie and husband can only afford that 699 price, then so be it. I would not mind as I said cos 699 is very well priced to me if I were a miser! I still remember there is thread by this guy in dwedding forum who even wants free photography from student but insist on instructing them what to do and how to shoot his wedding. thats absurb! Lastly, if I am the bride, and I can save some money with the 699 wedding package as compared to their high price of kalyedoscope's KAI, why should I complain about it, unless of course, of the points which I mentioned earlier. I tend to based someones attitude and writing skills to relate to their basic personal characteristics. Natalie does come across to me as very commanding and micromanager. Her use of the words, THERE IS NO INTEGRITY AT ALL....does sound very very armed forces like? I have heard it from my friends who served national service, and very often this cliche is mentioned cos I personally have not come across this phrase in the commercial and corporate world. So, whats the morale of the story? I tend to have a tendancy to speculate that Natalie could not even afford the wedding packages by these essential people and therefore, something or someone must have ticked her feminity off to complain. Is this a personal insult on those essential guys too if I may ask Natalie?

Following up on the Natalie case : ' http://www.singaporebrides.com/forumboard/messages/7/658818.html#POST2898422 '. Here is a question posted by a BTB888 : ' bell, i think we can't recommend pg and vg like tat, e moderators will close the thread.. i suggest u leave ur email or go take a looj at those threads which is active to get your pg and vg...' . The Natalie replied : ' Hi btb8888, I think you might have mistaken... Anyway, you sounded as if you know these 2 companies and are trying to defend them... Maybe you have friends who signed up with them and have good experiences? But for me, I will not recommend them to anyone I know because of the way they deal their business. ' . Now anyone reading this would be wondering what is the focal point of the unhappiness? Until now, Natalie has been very direct and stuck to the core of her issue that (A) she knows the way these Essential and Kalyedoscope goes about doing their business, (B) she condemns their offering, or relative packages saying its not worth spending those kind of money, (C) does not appear to come forth as a real or genuine bride from the way she word her sentences, because she was not specific about what exactly the Essential boys did to her and in what way their relationship (if there ever was!) with this another brand Kalyedoscope, bothered her about. Even if she kept mentioning how unhappy she was, it appeared that Natalie has an excessive grudge against Essential Photography as a whole. It unfortunate she refused to provide her email contact after she was requested upon, and still at that of unhappiness, Natalie has not said or highlight the nature, the cause and effect of the proceeding that took place, which resulted in the drop out of her negotiations with Essential. Seriously, as a bride who is getting married, having an outlook in condemnation with prejudice is not uncommon, however, to use words like No Integrity or I know the way the deal their business, literally means, there is a direct impact on Natalie's brush with Essential before. As I mentioned in my earlier posting, I will assume there is a personal grudge from the part of Natalie, with such harsh words in presentation. Coincidentally, there is another Natalie of the same name posted a good feedback about her wedding day experience with the Essential boys and incidentally this Natalie posted previously on Singapore Brides forum . Have a look at Essential's feedback hyperlink: www.essential-photography.blogspot.com.... If this was the case, does it mean that Natalie has already taken up her wedding package with Essential Photography, finished it and somehow or rather, she had a confrontation with these people, could not resolve the situation, and then fabricate a very loosely chained tale about her ' misfortune' ? This is quite an interest a read as the Everitt Road saga! I will still snooped further :)