The Malaysian Insight

COUPLES getting married are keeping the city’s photography studios in business by going local for their photoshoots because of restrictions on overseas travel due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the same time, these couples are discovering how scenic Malaysia is, said Kelvin Chin, who owns Touch Wedding Studio in Jalan Pudu in Kuala Lumpur.

Before the pandemic, the trend was to take wedding pictures in exotic destinations abroad, he said.

Chin said half of his customers planned to do that.

“They had arranged to go to Switzerland, Iceland, France and other places but they can’t go anywhere now. So, we are now using local attractions to entice customers to do their photoshoots there,” he said.

Locations along Federal Route 3, which runs along the coast on the east of the peninsula, are popular choices for the shoots.

On Federal Route 1 which runs north to south on the west, the many small towns along the way are favoured for evoking a “rustic feel”, Chin said.

The waterfronts in Taiping and Kuala Sepetang in Perak and Sasaran Beach in Selangor are also selected for the “sky mirror” effect of the sea when it is at low tide.

“We show customers photos of the locations and their response has been positive. Some are even surprised that there are such beautiful locations in the country.

“They tell me that they did not realise Malaysia had such beauty, so maybe the movement-control order (MCO) was a blessing in disguise and an opportunity for locals to discover more about the country.” 

The MCO was issued on March 18 and lasted about two months before restrictions were gradually eased. 

Overseas travel for non-business purposes is still barred in Malaysia while many countries have kept their borders closed due to the coronavirus threat.

The restrictions that have proved a boon to Chin and other studio owners in the city, however, have had a detrimental effect on others.

“Johor and Johor Baru are the hardest hit as their primary customers are from Singapore and locals who work in Singapore,” said Chin, who is the Wedding Expertise Association president.

“With limited travel between Singapore and Malaysia, it’s having a huge impact on business.

“In Penang, many large wedding photography studios have also closed and the situation generally isn’t looking good.”

In Johor Baru, Jacky Wong, who runs Jacky Wong Photography, said he knew of studios which closed down because of the pandemic.

Wong said before the MCO, 70% of customers would do their photoshoots at home and the remainder abroad.

“Even with the RMCO in place (with eased restrictions), there has been no improvement in business because our customers are mostly from Singapore.

“Some couples have one spouse stuck abroad and have had to postpone their photoshoot.”

Wong said the studio had lost money and was doing other photography work to survive.

“We take photos of children, family photos and the like to have a little more income but it’s not enough to keep the business open. It’s a huge headache,” he said.

Wong, who has had his studio for about 20 years, hopes the government could assist the sector by allowing more categories of travel between Malaysia and Singapore.

“This will benefit families and all sorts of businesses.”

Travel between the two countries is currently restricted to work only.

Meanwhile, studios in Kuala Lumpur have been more fortunate. The Malaysian Insight learnt that business had even grown by 10% at the popular Stareast Wedding Signature studio, which has been in the business for 20 years.

”About 20% of our customers planned to have their photoshoots in Bali, Taiwan and other places abroad, but due to the pandemic, they have all chosen to shoot locally,” said  general manager Jessy Lin.

Before the MCO, Lin said foreigners, including from Indonesia, Hong Kong and Japan, made up about 30% of its clientele.

“Even though we have fewer foreign customers currently, there are more locals.”

She attributed the booming business to the availability of various settings, such as a garden, and more than 50 backdrops for the couples to choose.

Lin said photoshoots at the studio’s location strictly follow the Health Ministry’s procedures to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

“Since the RMCO began, business recovery has been very good.” – September 15, 2020.