Ao Dai Photoshoot

Time flies, and the trip to HCMC, Vietnam with my sisters two months ago feels like but a fever dream now.

We had an Ao Dai photoshoot on our second day there. We engaged the service of Shalom Closet, which is a family-owned Ao Dai rental shop. The person whom I contacted on Instagram was friendly and could communicate in English fluently. The two sisters whom we met when we went to the shop to pick out our outfits were helpful and patient. The photographer who took our pictures was shy but good at capturing candid moments.

Despite the language barrier we had with the photographer, the photoshoot progressed smoothly because the make-up artist who could speak Mandarin rather well followed along and gave us instructions on how to pose. She even took a few behind-the-scenes videos for us, which was definitely a sweet bonus.

Since the shop is located far away from the hotels and the tourist attractions, the person I contacted recommended us to pick our outfits online, and they would deliver the selected clothes to our hotel. However, we decided to visit the shop physically and tried out the clothes first before committing. This turned out to be a good call because the sizes varied for different designs. Moreover, some designs I had my eye on while browsing online actually didn't look good on me when I tried them on. In the end, all three of us went with different shades of cream-color tops to complement each other.

We woke up bright and early at 7.30 in the morning for make up and hairstyling. The make-up artist came to our hotel room and got us ready. Then, we headed to our destination by taxi. It was a cloudy day with a little drizzling at the beginning of the shoot, so we had fun posing without worrying about sweat. Nevertheless, due to the high humidity, we looked like the matchmaker in Mulan with her makeup melted off by noon. It was the sign to conclude the session. The photoshoot lasted for slightly over two hours.

We went to two locations in total, the Independence Palace and the Saigon Central Post Office. However, since photoshoot is prohibited inside the post office, we took majority of our photos at the palace. 

On top of its deep meaning, the Independence Palace is well-suited for photoshoots, with various distinct backgrounds ranging from the signature red-carpeted room to multiple long corridors to well-lit areas accented with its iconic turquoise color. The palace is surrounded by well-maintained, green space of grass and trees, which brings a sense of tranquility to everyone who visits the building.

As I have mentioned in my previous post, I think doing photoshoot in a foreign country is a fun and memorable way to experience the local culture whilst supporting the locals. It's also humbling and refreshing to see others' interpretation of us. For example, never would I have requested a cat-eye look, but it came out surprisingly well in pictures. Of course, being able to small talk with Ms. Cherry, the make-up artist, added another layer of personal touch to this unique experience.

That's all for now. Till we meet again. Stay safe and healthy.