Kid Chan

Kid Chan
Born (1978-01-15) 15 January 1978[1]
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Nationality Malaysian
Known for Photography
Notable work Kid Chan's Guide to the Business of Photography
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 陳文傑
Simplified Chinese 陈文杰[2]
Hanyu Pinyin Chén Wénjié
Yale Romanization Chàhn Màhn-giht
Jyutping Chan4 Man4git6

Kid Chan (born 15 January 1978 in Kuala Lumpur) is an international wedding photojournalist,[3] portrait and celebrity photographer from Malaysia.[4][5] He was the first Malaysian to be accepted as a member of the Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA), and was named by Malaysian Tatler as "one of the 100 people you must know in Asia". Chan is often credited as a pioneer in Malay wedding photojournalism.[6] Notable high profile personalities photographed by Chan include Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, governor of Bank Negara Malaysia; Cherie Blair, wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair; actor Jackie Chan; business tycoon Tan Sri Dr. Francis Yeoh; model Elle Macpherson; and designer Jimmy Choo. The media often refers to him as "one of Malaysia's most sought-after wedding photographers". In 2013, he published his first book, Kid Chan's Guide to the Business of Photography in 2013, which went to number one in the Malaysian best-sellers list.

Life and career

Raised in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, Chan attended the Sri Cempaka school before pursuing a degree in international business from Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Australia.[5] He began his working life in the corporate world before taking up photography. After two years as an executive assistant in the corporate sector, Chan became burnt out and decided to take up an apprenticeship at a photography studio[7] under the mentorship of TS Lim of Studio 88.[8]

Chan with Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, former Prime Minister of Malaysia

In 2000, through a management buyout, he took over a company called Portrait One. The company was later rebranded as Kid Chan Studio.[7]

Originally focused on corporate photography, along the way, Chan agreed to take photographs of his clients' children's weddings.[3] He has since photographed many high profile royalty, politicians, artists and celebrities.[5]

Chan has photographed numerous celebrities, including being the exclusive photographer for the weddings of television personality Paula Malai Ali and Tengku Kudin, and songstress Siti Nurhaliza and Khalid Jiwa.[3] He was also the official photographer for the royal wedding of Tengku Aslahuddin Jaa'far and Sofia Erica Lane, and these photos were used in an exclusive cover story in Harper's Bazaar.[9] Other notable high profile personalities he has photographed include Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, governor of Bank Negara Malaysia; Cherie Blair, wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair; and actor Jackie Chan.[8] Chan was commissioned to take the cover shot of Millionaireasia, which featured business tycoon Tan Sri Dr. Francis Yeoh.[10] Other celebrities photographed by Chan include Elle Macpherson and Jimmy Choo.[11]

In a photography competition organised by the History Channel in 2009, the grand prize offered was a photography session worth RM10,000 with Chan.[12] In 2010, his collection of images of three cancer survivors and their families were exhibited in 50 Courts Malaysia's stores nationwide, as part of an exhibition to raise funds for the National Cancer Society of Malaysia (NCSM) through its "Hope for Our Children" campaign.[13] In the same year, he was invited to photographically document the shooting of Britain's Next Top Model Cycle 6 in episode 11, which was filmed in Kuala Lumpur.[11] In 2011, Chan was invited to be a judge for the Malaysia's Online Fashion Entrepreneurs' Weekend (MOFEW), together with Amber Chia.[14] In 2012, he was appointed ambassador for MenCare.[15] Supported by GE, MenCare is an initiative by Pfizer Malaysia and the National Council of Women's Organisations (NCWO) Malaysia. It aims to educate men on breast cancer and how it affects families as well as to gather men's support for breastcare health of their spouses and female members of their families.[16]

Chan is married to Shirlyn Lim, a chartered accountant,[17] and they have two daughters Faith and Adira, and a son Joshua.[17][5][8]

Book

Chan at the launch of Kid Chan's Guide to the Business of Photography at Sunway University

Chan published his first book, Kid Chan's Guide to the Business of Photography in 2013. The book contains 11 chapters, and covers topics that deal with setting up a photography business. It is the first photography business book written from a Malaysian perspective. The book is part of the "MPH Masterclass Series" from publisher MPH, which is a collection of books by experts who want to share their experiences.[18]

The book shot up to the number one position on the MPH best-sellers list in the non-fiction category for the week ending 16 June 2013.[19] It remained on the best-seller list and was the number one selling book for the month of June 2013.[20]

Accolades

Chan presenting an image to a cancer survivor and his family in support of the "Hope for the Children" campaign for the National Cancer Society of Malaysia

Chan was the first Malaysian to be accepted as a member of the US based Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA),[3] and was named by Malaysian Tatler as "one of the 100 people you must know in Asia" in 2006.[3][21] In the same year, Le Prestige magazine named him in their "Top 40 under 40" list.[17] Chan is often credited as a pioneer in Malay wedding photojournalism.[6] The media often refers to him as "one of Malaysia's most sought-after wedding photographers".[22][23]

In 2008, Tiger Tales, the official magazine of Tiger Airways, named him in their "annual list of trail-blazers across Asia and Australia".[24] In the same year, he was named as one of Malaysia's most influential youth entrepreneurs under 30 by Youth Entrepreneur.[25] In 2011, Glam, Malaysia premier lifestyle luxury magazine, listed Chan as the only photographer in their top choice for luxury wedding vendors, citing in-depth knowledge of Malay wedding culture and protocol.[26] In 2012, he was the only Asian photographer to be listed in Conde Nast's Brides UK's "Top 20 Extremely Talented Destination Wedding Photographers in the World" feature.[27]

Chan has received numerous accolades from the media, and has been featured in Harper's Bazaar,[9] The Edge, the New Straits Times, Persona Pengantin, Harian Metro, and Prestige magazine.[8] Chan was also featured in the inaugural Malaysia edition of August Man magazine.[28]

Speaking engagements

Chan has been invited as a motivational and photography speaker at numerous conferences and workshops. In 2009, he was invited as a guest speaker for the 1Malaysia Entrepreneurship Month, which was organised by Sunway University College in collaboration with the Higher Education Ministry.[29] In 2010, together with award-winning director Yasmin Ahmad, Chan was invited as a speaker at TEDxKualaLumpur.[30]

References

  1. ↑ "Kid Chan – Official Facebook page". Facebook. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  2. ↑ 陈文杰摄影厚相簿. Oriental Daily News (Malaysia). 25 January 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Khoo, Rubin (20 January 2008). "The kid grows up". The Star. Archived from the original on 6 December 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  4. ↑ "Fashionable watches for the young". The Star. 10 May 2008. Archived from the original on 21 February 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Periaswamy, Nizha. "Bermain dengan imej dan persepsi". Kosmo!. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  6. 1 2 Rajem, Radzha. "Kid Chan perintis wedding photojournalism". Persona Pengantin. Persona Pengantin. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  7. 1 2 Toyad, Jacqueline (29 May 2005). "Picture perfect". Options: 10.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Tan, Celine (September 2011). "Never Give Up". Personal Money. Malaysia: The Edge: 54–56.
  9. 1 2 "Royal Wedding of HH Tengku Aslahuddin Ja'afar & Sofia Erica Lane as featured in Harper's Bazaar". kcwebsite. Archived from the original on 9 January 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  10. ↑ "Cover shot of Francis Yeoh for Millionaireasia". Kid Chan. Archived from the original on 8 November 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  11. 1 2 "Britain's Next Top Model Cycle 6". Kid Chan. Archived from the original on 7 November 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  12. ↑ Koay, Allan (2 March 2009). "Snapshots for eternity". The Star. Archived from the original on 19 February 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  13. ↑ Low, Christina (16 August 2010). "Educate children on healthy lifestyle". The Star. Archived from the original on 21 February 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  14. ↑ "MOFEW". MOFEW. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  15. ↑ "Company launches MenCare to educate men on breast cancer". The Star. 6 November 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  16. ↑ "Men urged to join breast cancer fight". New Straits Times. 25 October 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  17. 1 2 3 "Top 40 Under 40". Le Prestige: 29. September 2006.
  18. ↑ Jacob, Anansa (26 June 2013). "Life behind the lens". The Sun. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  19. ↑ "Bestsellers". The Star. 23 June 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  20. ↑ "Bestsellers". The Star. 30 June 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  21. ↑ "100 People You Must Know in Asia". Tatler Asia: 193. September 2006.
  22. ↑ Kaur, Manveet (15 May 2005). "Chan loves weddings, no kid-ding" (PDF). New Straits Times. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  23. ↑ "A weekend to plan your dream wedding". The Star. 1 August 2008. Archived from the original on 21 February 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  24. ↑ Siow, Sean. "Wedding Photographer to the Stars". Tiger tales. Tiger Airways. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  25. ↑ "youth Entrepreneur". Youth Entrepreneur. 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  26. ↑ "5 Direktori Perkahwinan". Glam. Blu Inc. Archived from the original on 27 November 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  27. ↑ Ho, mabel. "Kid Chan Studio Among World's Best". Wedding Guide Asia. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  28. ↑ "August DNA- 7 individuals who best represent the qualities of August Man". August Man. Vol. 1 no. 1. September 2006. p. 74.
  29. ↑ "Kindling the business spirit". The Star. 20 September 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  30. ↑ CerVentus, Daniel. "TEDxKualaLumpur Speakers and Schedules". entrepreneurs.my. entrepreneurs.my. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
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