Monica

Just wanna share this photo of my friend Monica taken at Eco Park over at QC. I was looking for some files in my external hard drive and came across my last photoshoots and saw this... Monica here is just beautiful.. The photoshoot was for my officemates clothing line called Z clothing.. Good times..  take note.. this is candid by the way :)

Stan and Armi's Prenup

In most days, i take photographs of food, gadgets and other nifty objects... but there's also one thing that I love to point my camera on, couples. Every time I photograph that moment, that sweet point in time, makes me really happy. It was an honor taking pictures of Stan and Armi. Celebrating their love...

It was a very nice weather. Sun is up and the clouds are marvelous. I was really excited for this shoot that i bought myself a new Black Rapid camera strap! Which i bought if on sale.. anyways., i was so excited for this shoot because shooting prenups are fun. I was with Ms. Love's prenup and I really enjoyed shooting them... Im somehow getting used to this so when Raiza, also my officemate asked me to take photographs of her sister, i immediately obliged. Indeed it was fun!  

We had the shoot at Real Ship Yacht Rentals stationed along Manila Bay. It was my first time to step foot on a yacht honestly. It was also my first time to shoot a prenup on a boat! A lot of 1st times on this day. The boat is really beautiful. This is how rich people roll..i mean float. What a great location for a prenup. Definitely worth it. 

 Im not really good in making poses but i tried my best to be the cheesy guy for this moment. I asked them to do sweet poses which I think looks good eventually. Our very talented make-up artist, who happens to be my Remy's, my officemate's mom, gave a lot of ideas regarding the poses... 

One of the boat's caretakers, Ate Maria, also gave some suggestions on the poses. Thank God for all their help coz i ran out of ideas... Love this shot by the way. I love the way Stan smiled on this one...Its so natural. 

 at the bridge, cuddling... :) i envy their sweetness...  hmmm.. anyways..

also one of my favorite shots on which is one of the hardest coz i was actually lying at my back with some bars of steel poking my spine... i just have to get this angle coz the clouds at the background is absolutely gorgeous. A photo of a kiss would be perfect!  

 the shiny reflections of the waters amuses me... and i wanted to include it to the photo... I would like to thanks Jeric for helping me hold the speedlight for me. Without him, it would be really tough to do these kind of lighting...

This pose was an idea of Ate Maria... Very nice things to warm things up and relax...

I really want to thank this beautiful lady over here for inviting me and entrusting me to cover for her sister's wedding. I said to her im not a wedding photographer but I will do my best to make her sister's wedding worth memorable. I do hope i made them happy with their prenup shoot...

I also want to thank Malcolm for letting me ride the dinner cruise. It was quite an experience not to mention the food was really delicious. Awesome buffet... I was so full on the trip good thing i didnt barf on the side of the boat! 

It was such an experience! Hope to do this again some other time. Many thanks to RealShip Yacht Rentals.. im leaving you with this lovely sunset photo with the lighthouse silhouette. 

Gil and Ina's Wedding

Its Gil's wedding! The countdown is finally over as Gil and Ina tied the knot at San Agustin Church in Intramuros. Its such a beautiful wedding! Im so happy for Gil because he's waiting for this for quite some time now. I didnt bring a camera with me on that day... good thing my friend EJ brought a dslr but hes kinda reluctant to use it... Due to my undying eagerness to capture moments, i borrowed it and took some snaps. It was my first time to use a Canon camera on  a wedding and it was quite impressive! 

I told myself not to bring a camera coz i wanted to enjoy the wedding as a guest, not as a photographer...But then again, i enjoyed taking photos rather than just sitting around. Took this one when they were on their way out and man i was so happy for the great capture! Never seen Gil so happy like this ever before... 

of course there's the production team to back him up! These guys look really fine and dandy! We also had a our lovely Anne Cua and Kannika! Its so good to see them once again!  

Ze lovely ladies of production team! Tracy always has this really curvy and voluptuous pose...

 they are like the batman and robin of the creative writing department of the production team...

 of course our lovely boss Ms. Mara who looks stunning in her green dress..

As the bride and groom started to enter,the party has just begun!  

Mel actually won the garter wearing ceremony and boy she was nervous! Its her 1st actually! 

The traditional cutting of the cake! Gil got a big slice from inah...Gil didn't mind.. :)

 the lovely Anne Cua with our soldier of love Marky!

Angel came! These three ladies are surely missed at the production area... 

 getting crazy at the photobooth. This was ej's challenge, to fit the entire production team inside the frame. Good thing it did! Thanks to Pop Picture for the great photobooth photos! 

Gil with his wacky Mr. Pogi pose! 

After that long delicious dinner, we are all full and happy... you can actually see it in our faces! Busog!!!! :)

Thank you so much Gil for inviting us. It was a really awesome and wonderful wedding. We all had a good time. Best wishes to you and Ina.

DeoBC Salon Photoshoot

 We had a deal at DeoBC salon and i was asked to take before and after portraits of our officemates and boy the transformation was mind blowing. Mel, one of our new graphic artist were up to the task of modelling and i think it was just her 1st week...and we actually kinda forced her to do this.. It was a total surprise actually. After all the hair and make-up our jaws just fell....  

 Our next model was Rona who just came from a long ordinary straight hair to these lovely curls! I posted this photo onto my facebook  page and bam!!! likes are pouring in like mad crazy!  The hair stylists and make-up artists at DeoBC salon are really amazing! Good job! 

Lovely and Christian's Prenup Sneak-peeks

 Ms. Love from HR asked me if I could do their prenup...well, of course i can do that.. I just gave them a disclaimer that im not really a wedding photographer and they said its alright.. they trust my work and we gave it a go! 

We went to Camp Crame (its actually quite having a prenup there but might as well give it a shot) at a very hot and scorching day...  It was almost noon and the sun is raging like hell.... im sweating like im in a basketball game but still managed to be the on the top of my game. Had my gear up, rigged my lights and fired using my telephoto on this shot...Bokeh is really sweet with the 70-300 f/4 nikkor lens... 

 its quite hard doin the poses coz i always wanted it to be as natural as possible. I made them talk... i made them crack jokes to each other.. i wanted them to feel relaxed... and i just pointed the camera at them then click and click and click....

As much as possible i opted not to take a glimpse at the viewfinder....i tried to avoid chimping as much as possible coz i might miss that kodak moment... like this one right here... 

I owe it to all those wedding magazines, wedding photographers who share their tips and techniques. Covering a prenup..or a wedding is quite challenging coz you really have to be good because are precious moments that you need to document and it gives you that feeling that you are carrying the world on your shoulders... But you should learn to accept the challenge.. do good... and always remember this quote.. "Fail to prepare, prepare to fail..." its applicable not just in photography, but also in everyday life...... im planning it to be tattooed onto me someday for me to remember.... 

Many thanks to Love and Chris!

The Tattoo Wives Photoshoot at P&P Tattoo

To be honest, i really find women with tattoos...very sexy, alluring and hot. Im actually lost in words to describe them. This is a great privilege shooting at P&P Tattoo in Makati. Many thanks to my officemate, Rona, for inviting me at this shoot. She is writing a blog titled " The Tattoo Wives ". She needs portraits of these lovely ladies who are the wives of Tattoo artists. It was a lonely friday night and I got nowhere else to go but home and I was glad Rona saved me. Me and my other officemate EJ worked our cameras and lights for this one of a kind shoot. 

Raquel and Carol were very easy to work with. They were like professional models actually. They know how to pose, how to project, and they were very patient. The first location was at the Hotel room. I played with my lights on this one using a 2-strobe set-up. I placed my huge softbox umbrella top left and another speedlight on the right with an improvised snoot. The shadows at the back are kinda weird..but..i dunno it kinda looks cool though.. I made this one black and white to add a little drama..  

I really wanted to highlight Raquel's rose tattoo in this picture. 

We went downstairs to the tattoo parlor and images are starting to flicker inside my head. I thought of something like this. I wanted to capture Carol, in her fair white skin, being inked., like her first time... Again placed my ever reliable softbox umbrella top left.. and another speedlight with a snoot on lower right of the model. I really want that dark background to conceive the clutter from behind. Im happy with this one. This is one of my favorite photos from the shoot.   

 Its Raquel's turn and I also asked her to do the same pose but this time in her arm. Id like to thank Francis, Rona's husband for being so cooperative.

I made Francis and Rona a portrait. I find this one really nice. Francis is one of P&P Tattoo's premiere tattoo artists. He's one of the best in his craft.  

 Like I said earlier, i am really honored to be part of this photoshoot. I had fun and I really had a great time.  This is actually my first time to shoot inside a tattoo parlor. Not only that, this is my first time to do a portrait shoot with  tattooed women! Another addition to my portrait porfolio, something new. Maiba naman hindi puro food... :)  I wanna thank again Rona for this one., for the invite. I wanna thank our lovely models, Carol and Raquel. I also wanna thank Francis.. i dragged him to do the poses.. and also to my fellow photographer E.J. for lending me his extra flash.. thanks bro! Id love to have another shoot like this someday. 

Visit Rona's awesome blog about the Tattoo Wives at lippiestick.blogspot.com 

Another happy shoot. It was tiring but very fulfilling. 

Learning Food Photography with Mark Floro

I feel like I'm the luckiest person on earth right now. I always wanted to attend a decent food photography seminar but the thing is., its quite expensive. Thanks to my good friend, Aron Lim, i got in for free! He invited me on a  food photography seminar by one of the best advertising photographer in the country no other than Mark Floro! The seminar was made possible  by the joint efforts of the  members of Accenture Photography Club. 

I always look up to Mark because his photos are really good most specially in shooting food. He is a master playing with highlights and shadows. His Halo-Halo shots at Chowking is very beautiful!  His photo with the syrup dripping down slowly from the leche flan is really awesome... He's also one of the best when it comes to architectural and product photography! 

There are some interesting facts about Sir Mark. He graduated with a degree in political science! But he really wanted to be a photographer and he followed his passion. He went to the states and finished a degree in advertising photography at Art Center College of Design  in Pasadena California. One of the biggest school of design in the states. He is a frustrated painter, just like me.. and he doesnt know how to photograph fireworks! but he can google it anytime he said :)  He believes that light is the key factor to any means of photography. Know how to control it and he assures you, you will make wonders in your photos.  

    

mark discussing about advertising photography

Mark uses continuous lights in most of his photos. He said you should light the subject according to your intent. Always look for the strong "point of view" on your subject. Then make it sharp and properly exposed. Theres no such thing as good angles. It really depends on the food. Lessen the props. Shoot the food dead on. As much as possible shoot the food with the whole plate then leave the cropping to the editor or the client or give your own cropped shot later. Always shoot RAW and tethered whenever possible. Use a booster cable (A-Ten , available at Octagon) to connect your camera to your computer.

mark floro's popular strawberry dip shot. 

When doing food photography, one must provoke an emotion. That ooohh.. that ahhhh, that yummmm. It should be there! To the point that you will still love to eat the food even if you're already full! Mark gave us a great tip when handling  a food presentation with client. He said, deprive them of food. Never schedule a photoshoot after lunch! Talk to them when they'r hungry for sure an ordinary photo will definitely look good!

it doesnt have to be expensive

Some of his photography stuff can be found almost anywhere! These two jugs of water are his weights for his tripod to make it sturdy. Very ingenious actually because if you gonna buy weights for your tripod and  lightstands, for sure it will cost a lot.  

a very unusual flag that came from an endangered animal

He showed us this feather and it came from a monkey eating eagle! (or eating eagle monkey..monkey eagle eating..mark blurted). He uses this one to flag or block the light from its source creating beautiful shadows onto the subject. 

insulation material as reflectors

When shooting food for a client, you must remember one thing, you should always hire a professional food stylist. The photographer and the food stylist should work hand in hand. The food stylist actually creates your photo. Thats why the food stylist must be really good if you want to achieve quality photographs. If not, you will just glorify horrible looking dishes! Mark's food stylist is his wife Linda who owns an Itallian restaurant called  Buon Giorno in Tagaytay.

styling for the on the spot photo contest

Always remember to "implant an idea" to your client. Follow their desires, give them the shot that they want. Make the idea that comes from them. Then give them your own version.  Show it to them side by side. Giving them choices and variations. Food photography is always about texture. Always focus on the texture. Show those highlights and shadows standout. Those will make the food more interesting and look more 3D-ish.  Mark has a hard time shooting siopao because some siopaos lacks texture and it has no details except for a red dot on top of it (pink for asado). I asked where's the best place to put your light? He answered, its best to put it at the left side of the food.

one of our demo food which is sitting for quite some time. 

This is one of the many dishes photographed at the seminar. Mark asked who wants to volunteer with the food styling and I just raised my hand then said "Me!"  

went to handyman to buy some stuff

We even had a little fieldtrip at the hardware store and CDR-King to buy some stuff for a DIY studio lights. He showed us that it doesnt have to be expensive to make a good continuos light set-up. In less than 500 pesos, we already have a decent lightsource out of ordinary household fixtures and cables.  Then at the end of the day, he raffled all of these stuff to the participants. So nice of him.  

Judging the photos. 

We had a on-the-spot photo contest. The members are grouped into 3's and they were asked to shoot different kinds of dishes. Mark asked 4 members to be the judge. My friend aron told me not to join the contest and be one of  the judges intead. Why not :). Photos were really good but there can only be one. It was a unanimous decision and we picked group number 4 with their amazing shot of the Tamago and sushi rolls. 

Accenture Photography Club

We had our group picture taken at the end of the day. Im so happy to be a part of this workshop. It was actually a whole day event! I was there at 9am and the seminar ended at 8pm. I learned a lot from the seminar and I really appreciate it. Many thanks to Aron for inviting me. I met new friends who has the same passion as I am. It was an honor to be here. 

with THE Mark Floro, an ambassador of light

Of course ! I wont go home without a photo with sir Mark Floro! Like I said, he's the guy that I look up to not only because of his talent but also with his great personality. He is really a down to earth person and he's very easy to talk to. Photography is his passion for quite some time and he really knows what are the ins and outs of the photography business. He teaches advertising photography at Philippine Center for Creative Imaging or simply PCCI in Pasong Tamo. 

some interesting facts : 

• 600 Million photos are uploaded on facebook everyday
• Mark Floro has a degree in Political Science
• You should learn how to talk to a "mayabang" person
• Sigma is Mark's first camera before using canon
• According to Mark, the best camera would be a Canon body with a Nikon Lens and with a Sigma sensor .
• Shoot with One Light.
• Diether Ocampo took 40+ takes on that "cheese stretch" sequence on a pizza hut commercial
• Never shoot 50/50 on your food.
• Minimize the use of photoshop.
• 100% of the photos in advertising is edited
• Warm, neutral colors. always.
• shoot tethered
• Your food stylist creates your photograph.
• Draw an imaginary line for your shadows
• Rule of Thirds
• Use Selective focusing
• Lemon, Calamansi on bananas will prolong oxidation
• An ice cream stylist's talent fee - 9,000 pesos per scoop
• Add some of the ingredients on your photos but not to many.
• Implant an idea to your clients.
• Ask yourself, what are your intentions in shooting this particular subject.  

What a great day for photography. =) Thanks again sir Mark for the knowledge! It was an honor to be part of your workshop. I hope someday I can attend your classes in PCCI. Visit Mark Floro's official website at www.markfloro.com