Did you know that Teo Poh Seng or P.S. Teo as he was commonly known, was a studio photographer who dabbled in photography since his schooldays? He worked at a popular photography studio, called Studio De Luxe. He began his career assisting the chief photographer and dark room assistant and quickly picked up the skill that would serve him well in his later years.
He lived in the era when black and white photography was in demand from around the mid 1800s till the early 1970s. According to his younger brother Teo Yeo Seng, P.S. Teo used “an old camera for photo-taking, and a big enlarger for printing black and white photos.” He specialised in taking family photographs, graduates in their gowns, wedding couples with their entourage and children’s photographs.
On this page, we feature some of his photography works by the theme of family, i.e. wedding and children photographs. Brides and grooms together with their large entourage would have their wedding photographs taken at the studio. He would suggest different poses for the photograph taking to enhance the composition. He was also good with children. Among the gadgets he used to make children as young as a few months old burst into smiles were a hand Mickey Mouse puppet and a brass bell. The care and skill he put into his work and the quality of his photographs were appreciated by his clients.
To find out more about his life and works, do also check out the BiblioAsia article (Jul-Sep 2025) “A Tale of Two Cities – Singapore through the Lens of P.S. Teo and Ronni Pinsler” .
Click to return to the main page or visit the Archives Online to check out more of the records we have in the Archives!
References
1. Teo, P.S. Teo, Photographer (1930 – 2005), 7, 9 and 30.
Families through the lens of P.S. Teo
Full length portrait of bride, groom and attendants
P.S. Teo had professionally arranged the positioning of the bride, groom and attendants to achieve a balanced photograph composition. Just check out the uniformity in the bridesmaids’ dresses and their hairstyles. The wedding dress featured long sleeves and laces, which you can see more of such a design concept in the subsequent photographs.
Date: 06/12/1973
Media Number: 20090000132 – 0021
Full length portrait of bride, groom and friends
Another group wedding photograph taken by P. S. Teo. Check out the exquisite floral patterns of the maid of honour’s dress. The floral patterns are a form of 1950s style of free motion embroidery – locally known as “sulam”. It is quite unique to Southeast Asia.
Date: 25/01/1973
Media Number: 20090000129 - 0009
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Full length portrait of bride and groom
While long sleeved bridal gown is generally less common now, floral patterns are motifs well-loved by most brides across time period.
Date: 07/12/1973
Media Number: 20090000132 – 0025
Full length portrait of bride and groom
A mixed marriage couple taken in 1969, which tells us that intermarriages took place back in those years too, albeit less common than today.
Date: 14/04/1969
Media Number: 20090000124 – 0014
Full length portrait of bride and groom
Another wedding couple in full-length shot.
Date: 24/05/1969
Media Number: 20090000115 – 0021
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Full length portrait of bride and groom
A short-sleeved wedding dress as a contrast to the long-sleeved dresses we see in the earlier photographs.
Date: 02/07/1969
Media Number: 20090000116 – 0031
Three-quarter length portrait of bride and groom
Photo of a three-quarter portrait of bride and groom. Such a bridal hairstyle and the elaborate floral wedding veil were popular in the 1960s.
Date: 17/06/1969
Media Number: 20090000117 – 0031
Three-quarter length portrait of bride and groom
Here is another three-quarter portrait of bride and groom. Notice the intricate hairpins and a wedding veil that held on to her hair at the back.
Date: 11/06/1969
Media Number: 20090000117 – 0016
Full length portrait of two girls
P.S. Teo was good with children and could make them smile during the photo taking session with the use of tools such as a hand mickey mouse puppet and a brass bell.
Date: 22/05/1969
Media Number: 20090000121 – 0009
Full length portrait of two children
Children from the 1960s. Such a style of dressing can still be seen today, i.e. clothing and shoes.
Date: 11/07/1969
Media Number: 20090000119 – 0004
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Full length portrait of boy with birthday cake
Photograph of a boy with a birthday cake taken at the studio, presumably to capture the memories of his birthday.
Date: 03/05/1969
Media Number: 20090000126 – 0005
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Full length portrait of girl
Notice the simple background of these studio photographs, made more obvious with just a subject in focus. Quite a contrast with today's studio photography, where props or fancy backdrops are commonly used.
Date: 13/07/1969
Media Number: 20090000120 - 0012