Tee Tran

Portrait, Wedding | Last Updated: February 16, 2021

Hello ShotKit Community! I am a wedding and portrait photographer originally from Montreal, Canada but now reside in Houston, Texas. I come from a marketing and advertising background, with over 20 years in the corporate and agency world.

Photography was simply a hobby until the day I brought my Nikon D90 to a friend’s wedding and sent them several candid shots of the day. They were so impressed they thought my photos were better than the photographer’s that they hired for their wedding. That inspired me to build a website and showcase my work.

Soon after we got married, my wife Bao Han and I moved to Houston and in our first three years as professional photographers, we shot over 100 weddings and were rewarded with several industry awards, notably Junebug Weddings’ The Best of the Best and MyWed’s Best of the Year.

Our photography style is dramatic, epic and glamorous. We want our clients to feel that they can get the rock star treatment without having to be a rock star. We believe Everyone is a Star.

Lens quality and dynamic range are very important to me, so through the years, I have continued to use Nikon products because I believe the Nikkor products, combined with high-end body specs, give me the best possible results.

BODY

I respect photographers that shoot with only one body at weddings (please show me how!), but I simply can’t picture myself swapping lenses on the fly and potentially miss a shot, so I carry two Nikon D810 bodies for every wedding. Amazing dynamic range from this body gives me plenty of creative options in post-production. Also, much improved ISO from my previous Nikon D800 gives me confidence to shoot at 6400 ISO or more without worries.

LENSES

I start a wedding day with the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 and Nikon 85mm f/1.4 for details shots and bridal portraits. The photos come out really sharp with creamy bokeh. During religious or cultural ceremonies, there is no time to swap lenses, so I have my workhorses Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 and Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 on each body. The down side is that it’s like carrying a gorilla on your shoulders, so I wear the Hold Fast MoneyMaker strap to save my back (and it looks great!).

LIGHTING

Our style combines the use of natural and artificial light to produce the dramatic feel we like to have in our photos. Since most of our work is on location, we try to keep the equipment count to a minimum and travel as light as possible. The Nikon SB-910 Speedlight is my go-to flash, while the two Yongnuo YN568EX serve as my lights during the reception.

I control these flashes wirelessly with the help of four PocketWizard Plus III. We get creative quickly on the fly with the MagMod Flash Modifier System, including the MagGrip, MagGrid, MagBounce and MagGel. Finally, two Lume Cubes help us light up our details shots as well as the dance floor. A Joby GorillaPod helps us hang our flash unit in non-conventional environments.

Not Pictured: We also use the Paul C. Buff Einstein E640 Strobe on location for more complex shoots that may demand over-powering the sun.

TRIPOD

Super sturdy Manfrotto 190XPROL tripod travels with us for stability and can also serve as an alternate lightstand.

LUGGAGE

Not Pictured: The Think Tank Airport Roller Derby is our ultimate carry-on luggage and fits my two D810 as well as all of my lenses, on top of my Apple 15” MacBook Pro.

www.teetranphotography.com