A person wearing round black glasses, a septum piercing, a checkered blazer, a light-colored dress shirt, and a purple bow tie, smiling and taking a selfie at an indoor event.

BIO

I’m Axel—a Brooklyn-based Singaporean-American portrait photographer and practicing fine artist.

I make humanistic photographs that captivate viewers for more than just a few seconds.

I earned a BFA in Photography at Pratt Institute and have resided in Brooklyn for over 15 years.

Approach

I take a slow, measured, and supportive approach that will help you feel at your most relaxed and confident while you’re having your picture taken.

My philosophy is simple—to capture you at your most human. Inspired and influenced by Western realist painting and social documentary photography, I will photograph you with a careful and compassionate eye.

FAQ

  • You don’t! :)

    Most of my clients have never felt comfortable in front of a camera—that's exactly who I love working with

    Working with folks who aren’t usually comfortable in front of the camera presents the unique opportunity to gently draw out a person’s real, lasting beauty.

    With my guidance, we’ll create quality images that will impact the viewer emotionally—not something to simply react to and scroll by.

  • Creating images and prints using analog processes is the best way to get a beautiful photographic image that will last you a lifetime, maybe longer.

    It is certainly more costly and time-intensive, but investing in this work means you’ll have professional documentation showing you in your best light, for generations to come.

  • I am trained to shoot with many formats and cameras—analog and digital, large format film, medium format film (my favourite), and of course, 35mm. In addition, I absolutely love shooting instant film as well, especially for candids.

    Candids can often convey more personality and spontaneity than a posed shot, and this is something I take into account when I select the formats on which I will shoot.

  • Occasionally.

    I mostly shoot in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and am proud to serve the 5 boroughs of New York City.

    I am open to traveling to Philadelphia, PA.

    Sometimes, I am in Singapore, so I’m open to shooting there as well whenever I’m in the country.

Let's talk