I'm in Korea now, going to have my photos taken by the locals next week. Its been quite a blast to deal with them. Language is quite an issue. I can speak some Korean but it has been pretty tough still. Luckily I have a friend here who has been helping out. LEt me share my experience so far:
1. Recce Trip
There was a fair bit of online research b4 coming. Its not easy as well due to language issue. U got to naver (k google) for korean words
Made a 3 day trip in March to visit the studios here. Well, there are 3 grades of PGs. The high, Mid, low end. High end uses those film cams.. I m not pro in Photos so I do not know the name of the cam! The mid n low end use digital cams.
At the moment, the high end is into studio shots. They have elaborate studios. The one I m going to has 4 levels of studio space with different concepts at each level. They only go to location on special request like I have done. Thing is they r using film, means we cant select the photos this trip. I will come back again to choose, and another time to collect. Unless u r having business trips to Korea all the time its quite a fair bit to spend for the travelling.
Mid n Low end still does location shots. Price wise would be cheaper than bringing a SGP PG. I met someone that is pretty reasonable in the Cheongdam area. I can give u the contacts but I have to get back to SG to dig it out. Advantge is they r locals n they can get u all the best locations but the season to shoot is impt. Best time is Autumn (8-11). They will be able to let u choose the photos on the same day since they r on digital (Canon 1D/5D). So I guess this is yr best bet. However u WILL have to come back again to get the photo album unless u can do the album locally in SG. Just buy the photos from them.
Its quite a huge logistic effort as well, having to carry the gown n stuff over here. Make up style is different as well. Will update how the shoot turns out next week
