Human Stories by Chrsitine Tan
Hello, Thanks for stopping by!
I'm Christine!
I'm a portrait photographer based in Melbourne, Australia.
These are the stories and images of some of the teens I've photographed around the world. Sprinkled in here is also my work as a missional photographic storyteller which focuses on the work of organisations on a mission to do good and bring good to their local and global communities.
Thanks for being here.
I had a very unique experience photographing Sophie on both coasts of the United States. The first part of her senior photoshoot happened in Philadelphia, where we were both visiting a group of Afghan girls who we’ve been mentoring and helping through their transition to the US. While in Philly, we wandered around Old Town […]
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I had such an AMAZING time on Reuben’s photoshoot. He was going to be a tough one because he was really sceptical of the whole thing, but he was doing it for his mum. He’ll admit that he doesn’t like being in front of the camera and doesn’t think he’s very photogenic. But I beg […]
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I’m excited to announce the theme for this year’s Mother’s Day mini-sessions “The VISIBLE Mother” for Mother’s Day 2025. Motherhood is an honourable though sometimes invisible job. All the details we keep track of to make sure the family runs well often go unnoticed, until we miss something (which I often do)… and then our […]
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Three different looks in just ONE location. How did she do it? I met up with Olivia the summer before her senior year. We had a great photoshoot at the park just down the street from her home. It was a place she and her friends meet up regularly, so it had extra special meaning […]
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So you’ve purchased some digital downloads recently from an event, and you’re wondering what to do next? Here are not five, not six, but SEVEN ideas for how to make the most of the digital downloads this season. (Listed from cheapest to most expensive.) 1. Update your wallpaper on your computer / phone What easier […]
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Family, friends, and photography brought be back to the US during its summer months. I had a blast photographing Class of 2024 graduates and a couple from the upcoming Class of 2025. This group of teens are extra special because I’ve been photographing many for over ten years! So to do their senior portraits and […]
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What printing images of our teens remind us and tells them about themselves. Printing images of our teens is a dying art. It’s something I think we need to fight to bring back into our busy lives. The struggle is worth it. I believe the simple act of hanging photos of your teens can improve […]
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One of the best things about being a teen portrait photographer is getting to seeing the changes and growth of your kids across many years. It’s something special to work with teens across the years, getting to know them and hear first hand how they have matured, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It’s also an amazing […]
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You have a teen, or two, or three! and maybe you’ve never considering booking a photoshoot specifically to celebrate your emerging young adult. “Is this even a thing people do?” you may be thinking. My answer is, yes! And if you don’t think this is something for you or your teen, let me share with […]
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When I started playing softball again in 2022, I met some pretty fun women who love the sport so much that no matter rain or shine, cold or hot, even all that weather on the same day (that’s just Melbourne being Melbourne), they’d make the trek to the diamonds at the Waverley Women’s Sports Complex […]
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This 2023 school year brought new opportunities to photograph more teens and young people in the Melbourne area. One organisation I thoroughly enjoyed working with was the Melbourne Youth Orchestra. The MYO provides performance opportunities for over 580 young musicians in the greater Melbourne area across various ensembles, ages, and ability levels. Musicians range from […]
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As a fairly recent transplant to Australia myself, I love meeting teens who have moved from other countries because their parents believed they would have more opportunities or a better future here. Moving during the teen years, let alone to another country, develops a certain type of adaptability that living in the same hometown your […]
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This guy wins the prize for traveling the farthest for a photo shoot. Not only did he travel over from the US, but he came from the farthest corner of that country – all the way from Florida! I’ve been photographing Carter long before he was a teenager, since he was about six years old. […]
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In the western regions of Tokyo, almost an hour’s train ride from the organised chaos of the Shibuya Scramble is the neighbourhood of Higashimurayama. Life moves at a bit slower pace, but it’s still urban enough that the train lines extend this far west. I emerged from the station to meet my hosts, absorbed in […]
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The year was my most eventful and diverse year of shooting teenagers since arriving in Australia in 2019. As we were finally able to travel outside the country, I shot dozens of teens across three continents. Closer to home in Melbourne I had the honour of photographing many talented teens here in Australia. In no […]
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Remember the days of photo albums? One of my favourite photos from my childhood is this one with my sister. Every time we visited our grandmother in San Francisco, we would return to this spot at the top of Lombard Street throughout our childhood. (circa 1989) If you were a child of the 80s like […]
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Many people look at me quizzically when I say that I’m a portrait photographer who specialises in teen portraits. Why not wedding, family, maternity or kids? Well, in short, it’s because there are plenty of photographers that shoot that genre and not enough who exclusively focus on the teen years. For the past 11 years, […]
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“Faith, Family, Fellowship” **An shorter version of this post is featured in Baptist Mission Australia’s online magazine which can be seen here on pages 11-14.** I arrived in Chiang Mai on a hot, humid summer day in August. Muana, an inter-cultural worker based in Northern Thailand, picked me up from the airport in his silver […]
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“Graduating and Growing Up With Diversity” On my recent trip to Thailand I had the opportunity to photograph Zoe, a Class of 2022 high school graduate from the Chiang Mai International School. Her parents are originally from India, but she has spent most of her life living in Thailand. Her experience is best described as […]
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“On Top of the World“ All birthdays are special, but the sixteenth feels particularly different to me. At this age, I feel like the child is definitely gone. The awkward early teen years are passing. The adult version of your child is emerging. Conversations change, they become a little more serious, sometimes a little more […]
