“One last advice: Learn the rules of the game, then break them” - Jerald Saw

Based in Singapore, Jerald's main focuses are photography and videography, which he uses to embody cherished experiences that stoke emotions. Unafraid of pushing the limits to capture moving moments, Jerald’s work is a great demonstration of his versatility and dexterity that shines through in his lifestyle and automotive shots, adding an undeniable artistic and tasteful quality to everyday life.

How long did it take for you to find your style? 

I first started shooting back in my polytechnic days and those few years were the most experimental ones where I learned a lot and tried a lot of different styles. I'd say it took me three years to really find my own style and for people around me to start telling me when they saw my photos on social media, “Hey bro, you took this shot right?”

It is obvious you devote a lot of time to your photography. Do you take photos daily? How valuable is that in honing your craft as a commercial photographer? 

I take photos every day and I think this is incredibly valuable. I cannot even say it enough, because I always believe — "the best camera is the one you have with you." When you take photos every day, you learn to see things differently and frame things differently. You subconsciously learn which angle or height works better, how the light hits a subject and how moving even just a step can help to get better composition.

How important is experimentation to finding your niche as a commercial photographer? What role pushes you to get out of your comfort zone play in that development? 

Experimenting is key because it makes you realise what you do not like or what you are not good at. It is important to take inspiration from whatever you see online and offline and to try it out on your own. Try replicating it first, then give it your own spin and touch to find your niche. I think a lot of times we get too comfortable doing what we already know and are good at, and that is a scary thing. As a creative, we must constantly experiment and attempt to challenge our usual styles to continue growing and gaining inspiration.

Your specialties are portrait, lifestyle, and automotive photography. Which came first and how did you realise that these are the fields you want to focus on? 

I love working with humans and I always love meeting new people. That is how I started taking portraits, which then transitioned into lifestyle and travel. I travel a lot and I always have my camera with me to document the moments and scenes I come across. I realised that having a subject or a model in a scenic location brings the image to life, literally. It makes viewers feel like they are there, which is the point of my photography. It just sort of surfaced when I started working with hotels and travel companies to create lifestyle and travel photos, which gave me the wonderful opportunity to travel and explore different cities. I started dabbling into automotive photography when I found my passion for cars and driving a few years back. I love the aesthetics of cars — these powerful, fast machines are so challenging to photograph and capture in a single frame. 

What are the fundamental dos and don’ts in your work?  

I have a number of fundamental dos: 

1. It's crucial to under promise and over deliver. I personally feel that regardless of whether it is a photo for friends and family or a photo for an advertising campaign, it is important that I put my all into it and ensure that I have brought across the intended message and objective of the photo. 

2. Try something out of the norm and think outside the box. My motto is "you will never know unless you try," and chances are you will end up with the money shot. Besides that, I don't wait for post-production to fix my shots. 

3. Finally, lighting, lighting, lighting. I always ensure that the subject is well lit. If it is people I am taking pictures of, their face is the number one priority. 

As for don'ts: 

1. Making your models comfortable is non-negotiable. It does not take much to make those around you comfortable. Besides getting better work from your model, you'll also come across as easy to work with, which will benefit you, especially if you've got the photography chops. My personal strategy is constantly asking if the talent is okay, or if he/she is feeling uncomfortable at any point of the shoot, especially if I know it’s a difficult pose or an uncomfortable situation. I always try putting myself in their shoes and I think that just goes with anything in life, not just photography. Haha! 

2. Never come unprepared for the job. You really do not want to be caught off-guard by things that you can absolutely ready yourself for before the shoot. 

Your go-to equipment for shoots are mostly Sony gears, and you used the Alpha 7R IV in this particular shoot. What do you think of the Alpha 7R IV? How did it help you achieve the desired outcome of the photos? 

The Alpha 7R IV is truly a beast of a machine. It is packed with a 61-megapixel full frame sensor putting the output photos on a different level. It allows me to crop in or resize for any usage. The auto focus is on point too—it is super sharp even when focusing on subjects far away. However at the same time, the files are huge, which could be seen as a downside. It’s not an issue though, because that’s just how high-quality photos are. This just means more detail and higher resolution. The upside for me is being able to crop in and play around with the raw image with a lot more control. It gives me the confidence to shoot slightly wider because I can just tighten it while editing if I need to. I’ll make sure to delete unselected or unusable files afterwards to save storage on my drives as the files take up a whole lot of space. 

Next, the dynamic range of this camera is insane. It was a big aid in shooting this project. It gave me the confidence to shoot in challenging light conditions, especially when I’m a huge advocate of shooting against the sun to get the flare and softness in the photos. The Alpha 7R IV truly surpassed my expectations in this regard.

What would you say are your favourite features of the camera? 

I love the super-fast autofocus and low shutter lag when doing high burst photos. And, of course, the sharpness of the photos that comes out from the 61MP sensor! 

For me, these really help in different kinds of shoots that I do but are especially handy in shooting motion. For portraits, I’d even use the Real-time Eye AF for even sharper results as the talent moves around. In automotive photography, the fast autofocus really helps me keep my subject in focus while doing rolling shots of another moving car. As both cars are moving fast, and sometimes in different directions, having the fast autofocus takes one worry off my shoulders! The low shutter lag allows me to shoot more in tricky situations where I don’t want to miss a single moment, for example, sun flares and that moment where the light hits the right place.

What were your camera settings for Alpha 7R IV in shooting automotives? How about for the lifestyle shoot? 

My settings for the rolling shots for automotives were a shutter speed of 1/30 and aperture of F5.6 with an ND filter to get the motion blur. However, this is tricky because you’re on low shutter speeds, where every little shake affects the sharpness of the photo. So I would recommend beginners to use high burst to make sure you get some sharp shots first before trying to capture a motion blur photo. 

To get motion blur, I’ll bring down my shutter speed to at least 1/30, depending on how fast and how blurred I want it to be. I’ve figured after countless trials and errors that 1/30 is optimal for keeping the subject sharp and having sufficient motion blur at the same time. ISO is always at the lowest for the cleanest image. A good tip for motion blur shots would be to have an ND filter on your lens so that you can get a slower shutter while still maintaining the correct exposure.  

For the lifestyle shoot, my settings vary but I usually shoot between F1.4 and F1.8 aperture and my shutter speed doesn’t go below 1/200 to prevent any motion. In these settings, I have to make sure that the subject is always in focus because the depth of field is super shallow. Finally, placing the subject in the right position and angling it for the light to hit tops it all off. 

What are specific considerations in commercial photography that are not present in other areas of photography? 

In commercial photography, the objective is to promote or sell a product or service. With that in mind, the priority is to always ensure the product or message is brought across clearly, more than any other elements of the photo. Of course, it’s important to make the shot as aesthetically pleasing as possible.  

Here are sample photos where the products are the highlight of the photo, all whilst ensuring that it’s visually interesting enough to capture the attention of the audience: 

How do you formulate fresh ideas in every shoot, so that you are also constantly expanding your creativity?

For every shoot that I do, I always make sure to follow the brief and objective. Above that, I bear in mind to add in my own touch and break the rules—be it playing with foreground or adding motion or just shooting from a different perspective. It doesn’t hurt to try something different just to add more variation sometimes. 

It was interesting that the subject’s surroundings play an important part. What role does the location play in the ideation of your concepts to fully meet the shoot’s theme? 

I believe that being at the right place at the right time wins half the battle. I always choose my locations wisely and recce the spots before I go for my shoots with the subject matter. Many a times, a photo is made by the location it is shot at — in a way that it either blends or creates contrast with the subject. Even when you use bokeh, the background and surroundings of the shot can still be seen, which is why being there at the right time is crucial. Also, getting the right amount of light or knowing where the sun is helps a great deal too.

How important is it to be adaptable when working on projects?  

It is super important to be quick-thinking and adaptable on a shoot. A lot of things can vary, such as the weather; how the sunlight hits; even strangers that interfere with the shot and/or the mood of the shot. Sometimes what the client or photographer envision in their head does not always come across the same way at the shoot. In situations like that, you have to act on your feet to change certain things and move things around to get the shot right. 

I remember an instance where it started to rain on a shoot and we sought shelter in a nearby bus stop. We waited for the rain to stop but to no avail. We thought it would be super cool to carry on and shoot in the rain. We were all completely drenched, but in the end, the photos came out surprisingly good! It was a different mood, but it worked. The client was happy as well. Thankfully, my Sony camera’s water-resistant capabilities left me without a single worry to shoot in the rain! That said, remember to always have a back-up plan for every shoot. 

What should be considered by commercial photographers as short-form content like TikTok and Instagram Reels become increasingly popular content formats? 

I think short-form stuff can provide some exciting avenues to play around with the type of content we can make as commercial photographers. Short collages of photo series and behind-the-scenes shoots are some creative ways to make engaging content in these formats.  

I’m thinking of doing more IG reels/Tiktok for short form content like snippets of shoots and behind the scenes because those are blowing up. I would even consider doing short tips and tricks to give back to the community and my followers. 

What inspires you when planning for lifestyle shots? Talk us through your process. 

I always scroll through Instagram and Pinterest when planning for a shoot. This is where I engage my creativity, and I will do up a moodboard for the shoot. This really helps me, and the client, to roughly visualise how it is going to turn out and bring out my ideas further. 

What are some tips for budding commercial photographers seeking to promote their work?  

Two words: social media. People say it all the time because it is true. Social media is convenient and easy to use, so why not make the most of our hyper digital age by sharing your work on Instagram or other platforms. You gain invaluable exposure and benefit from opportunities gleaned from social media. On these platforms, your photos are your networking tools so that people can find you and learn more about you as a photographer.

That leads me to my next tip. Networking does not just have to be on social media. It is so important to do it offline, as well as online. As a photographer, always be open to put yourself out there and tell people what you do. You'll never know where and when you'll land that next big gig through word of mouth. 

You should also have a portfolio to show your best work, so that potential clients can view them and decide if they want to engage you.