Hi all,
I read through the entire Bluebay thread and decided to post a review for Bluebay.
The good service and overall great experience with Bluebay prompted me to write this review.
My WTB and I took up 2 packages respectively with 2 different Taiwan PS company(I will not disclose the name of the other company here, I will just name it company X).
About four months ago, we began sourcing for a PS company and we decided to go Taiwan for our photoshoot after some thoughts.
We signed up with Company X a reputable old company but later regretted as I felt that Bluebay's sample photos really stands out from the rest.
After much discussion with my WTB, we decided to sign a 2nd package with Bluebay.
Similarly for most of the taiwan companies, their customer service is really good(in comparison with our local customer service),
so need I to say more. As we just went for our PS in July for the PS, and we haven't receive the photo album yet.
So basically, I will only comment on the photoshoot experience. (Until I receive the album I will reserve the rights to comment on that part.)
Since we took the photoshoot from 2 different companies, I felt that we are in a good position to give an unbias review.
Besides recommending, I would also like to share some of my experience after going through the 2 photoshoots.
And here it goes...
With 2 PS company on hand, we planned a 2 weeks stay in Taiwan.
Bluebay was the first PS company to take and Company X the second.
During the sign-up, we appointed Daxiong as our PG as we liked his work.
So we had the following Bluebay staffs appointed on our PS day.
PG - Daxiong
MUA - Jianing
Assistant - Xiao E
On our 1st day arrival, we did not arrange with Bluebay for the airport transfer,
so we headed to take a bus to Taipei Bus Station and transfer to a cab to our hotel.
(We used a pair of free bus ticket from the Taiwan Tourism Board in SG (July Promotion includes our themepark promotion coupons)).
After depositing our luggage, we took a cab to Bluebay to finalize our photoshoot route, before starting the photoshoot gowns selection.
Grooms will provided suits/duck-tail suits at a another partnered shop, basic design provided and designer suits you will need to top-up.
(Same goes for Company X until this point)
- Started the next day at about 9am, Jianing did our makeup and we started our studio shoot around 10+.
- At around noon, we started our outdoor shoot with Daxiong assisted by Xiao E and accompanied by Jianing.
- Throughout the photoshoot, Jianing did a brillant job with the makeover for 4 different styles with minimal time spent. (FYI, we had 5 gowns)
- We had fun as Daxiong guided us with the poses and Xiao E keep reminding and looking out for us.
The photoshoot went smoothly, and the overall experience was fun and great for us.
- We were very pleased with the photos and my WTB keep commenting on how did Daxiong manage to make her look so slim in the photos!
We almost took everything for granted until we went for the photoshoot with Company X, then we realize the big difference!
Company X
- Started the day at 7am.
- Took 2 hours plus to do the makeup for my WTB, and less than 15 minutes for my makeup (I can't even tell if I did the makeup, my WTB complained as well.).
I don't know if this is the norm, but the MUA sprayed alot of hairspray and each time she change the makeover for my WTB, she would scrub her entire hair straight and do the makeover again.
(Each time costing us an 1 hour or so, 5 gowns so we lost around 3-4 hours just purely on the makeover). With so much hairspray on,
it is really painful to have your hair scrubbed and I believe there should be better ways to do it. To be fair, I am not too sure if this is necessary because our venue selection is very windy by nature.
- We can see that the photographer tried his best to make the experience fun but he failed to do so. The assistant just did his job, when the MUA didn't follow us for all the venues except the last two(when the sun begins to set)!
- Anyway, the photoshoot was pretty boring with most of the time spent waiting. We ended the day at around 8+, and reached the PS company at 10pm. That is a 15 hours photoshoot!
- Worse of all, a look at the end result, the photos really looked bad and we had a hard time choosing the photos to reach the quota we agreed when we sign-up.
- The photographer did a lousy job and my WTB looks fleshy in the photos even tho she isn't plump(I am really amazed, I didn't know it can be done in the 1st place!). The colors of the photo also did turn out well for some of them and we had to give up the one entire venue as it is beyond what we can accept.
Maybe, some of you might think we could have asked for a re-take but asking us to go through the entire process is a torture.
Even if you assure me that it would be a better experience, or even pay me to go thru it again, I would rather opt out to spare the torture.
And of course, we did communicated our requirements to the person-in-charged, but they still failed to exceed our expectation.
Luckily, we took our photoshoot of Bluebay.
After these experience, I had some personal advice when it comes to choosing a PS company.
Before deciding on a PS company, please think about whether you will need heavy Photoshop touch-up for yourself(Not scenery) vs Minimal Touch-up (Only scenery).
I believe some PS companies relied heavily on Photoshop editing to make your photos look good, but I personally believe that no matter how good the touch-up is, it can never be as good as natural with no touch-up required.
Yes, you might need mininal touch-up at times. So if you need heavy Photoshop touch-up particularly on the person, try sourcing for a company that is able to fulfill your requirements.
If you don't need the heavy Photoshop touch-up, I would highly recommend Bluebay!
(PS: If you want to know which Company X did our photoshoot. PM me.)