on Shooting Weddings

"What or who got you started in wedding photography? The lousy pictures I got for my wedding and honeymoon trip. I was very disappointed at the pictures I got, so I started to question the approach of the photographers. After which, I became a hobbyist and got to practice shooting for some of my friends’ weddings. So that’s how it started." -- Dino Lara (Interview with Crash Taylor)

I will start this blog by saying that I am not (well, at least not, yet) a wedding photographer. While there have been a number of inquiries, I have yet to take a professional gig with my own team. Perhaps, 2016 will be the year that I will take that big step up into the wedding industry. I am still very indecisive on that move.

From time to time, I do dabble into wedding photography but not professionally. I shoot from the sidelines most often at the behest of the couple or their family members. And they just want to see the guest's point of view of the wedding. And I usually only accept the invitation when I am comfortable with the photographers covering the event as I do not want to get in the way of those who are getting paid to shoot.

The wedding of Neil and Karina would be one of those times that I had my camera with me during the event. Neil has been my friend since gradeschool and Karina during my entry into the world of portraiture. And I also know the team from Homebrew Photography that was covering the event. So, I tagged along during the post nuptial shoot and had a couple of interesting photos. I didn't direct them or anything, I just looked for my own angles while the official photographers were doing their thing.

This 2016, I am looking to probably take some steps towards doing wedding photography gigs. While I have covered a number of weddings as a backup shooter, I do hope that I find the confidence to step up and be the main guy. There are things I still need to learn but I know I will get there soon. And I know that I can assemble a team that can back me up.

"‘How can I be the next Dino Lara?’ What would you say? Be yourself. Learn more of who you are and what makes you happy. Strive and change for the better, but never forget who you are, what you do and what you love." -- Dino Lara

 

Happy New Year to everyone! May 2016 bring you and your loved ones the joy and prosperity that you wish for! God Bless!

PS: There is another wedding that I attended a week after this one. I also had my camera with me then and I will probably post a some of the photos I took.

PPS: Dino Lara is my second cousin and a photographer I look up to. He, and his sister Gia, are two of the people that have inspired me to make this hobby a profession. I often go back to that article whenever I doubt myself and my craft. I hope to live up to my family name in the future.

on Music Videos and Minimalist Concepts

It is 29 days to the New Year and I want to catch up on my blog so that by the start of 2016 I will be free of backlogs.

One other reason why I find the need to write is because I need to diversify. I accepted a part time gig writing articles of an automotive website based in Australia. I want to write other things besides cars and what better way than to get my blog updated with my current projects.

I have to admit, I am not much of pop music and it has been awhile since I last watched a proper music video. When my partner in crime Chawie wanted to do a shoot that was inspired by the music video of Good For You by Selena Gomez, I had to watch it to get the idea. And I will admit that before this shoot, I only knew of one song done by her and that is because she collaborated with Zedd, who I listen to.

Anyways, with Chawie and our frequent muse Krestle, I knew it would be another fun shoot.

And I was right; it was a very relaxed shoot. We had a white wall and a long bar stool and ambient lighting. I really enjoy minimalist concepts because I find that I can do a lot more when I have fewer distractions. A plain blank wall works best for me.

Here are some more photos from the shoot...

There you have it, another set with Chawie and Krestle. It’s always enjoyable working with them. No stress and I am guaranteed that I will have some keepers worthy of posting in this blog. I'll be posting collaboration with chawie probably this weekend. Until then!

PS: Thanks to Charisse Ann "Chawie" Bibera and Krestle Deomampo for this shoot. And to Chawie's grandma who welcomed us into her home so we could use the blank white wall in her backyard.

on Backlogs, Clothing Ads and Portrait #45

This is long overdue!

I have had the priveledge to do three shoots with Fatima already and I haven't had the chance to publish any of it here in my blog. Truth be told, I always have fun doing a shoot with her because I do not need that much effort during the shoot because she is just simply awesome in front of the camera.

I just want to share with you guys the shoots I have done with her and to officially add her to my portraits project.

This shoot happened about a year ago inside the pedestrian underpass to the airport.

The next shoot was for a makeup competition where she and her makeup artist Paulyn Dy made it to the final cut.

 

The last shoot was taken about a month ago. This one was a quick strobist shoot with my good friend and peer Charisse Ann Bibera. I was inspired by the advertisements from clothing companies and tired a hand at making my own.

 

 

And this will be my entry to my portrait project:

Portrait #45: Fatima

This is probably the most number of photos I have published in one portrait blog. I know there will be more shoots in the coming months when she visits Davao again. She will always be one of my favorite models.

PS: Special thanks to all those who made these shoots possible. To Paulyn Dy of Makeup Magic by Paulyn Dy for the makeup on the first two shoots and for introducing me to Fatima. And to Charisse Bibera for being my co-shooter for the past few months. I hope to collaborate with all of you in the near future.

on Sail Boats, Beaches and Panoramas

It has been awhile...

I have been planning to write a blog for weeks now and yet I haven't had the inspiration to actually start writing; until now.

I finished stitching up some panoramas from a recent trip the island of Boracay. These photos were taken during our island hopping trip via sail boat or known locally as Paraw. While the weather during the trip was sketchy, there were times that we had clear blue skies. It was my idea to ride a Paraw instead of the regular boat with an outboard motor. It was fun, sometimes harrowing because of the wind and waves, and a very unique way to explore the island.

Here are the panoramas I took during the trip.

Station 1 Boracay

Station 1 was our jump off point. We were picked up by the boat there. It was around 6Am when I took this photo and in the distance the clouds were looking very ominous.

Magic Island

Magic Island is a small island not far from the main island. The trip to the island was a bit scary because we were facing the huge waves. There were times when one side of the boat would get lifted up to about 10 feet or get swallowed by waves. It was like a roller coaster ride of sorts; one that lasted about 30 minutes.

Puka Beach

The last photo was taken from Puka Beach at the tip of the main island. The scenery made the trip worthwhile. The sand was powder white, the breeze was cool and the waters were crystal clear. I could imagine myself staying in the beach, with a book and a nice milk shake. I promised myself that when I return to Boracay, I will spend a day there.

I only had a short stay in Boracay and only got to shoot a few times mainly because of the weather. I plan on returning probably in a year or so just to explore more of the island. I hope the next time I will be blessed by good weather.

PS: All photos were taken with my  Nikon D7000 and stitches in photoshop CS6.

on Overcoming the Creative Block, Patience and Portrait #38

It has been awhile...

I am back from almost three months away from blogging. My day job got a lion's share of my time and sapped all the enthusiasm away from me. There were times when I found myself lost and devoid of creativity. Even taking photos became a chore of sorts.

Getting over the creative block meant taking time away and doing other things. I rescued my guitar from the back of the closet, bought a pen and a sketch pad, and did some experimenting in the kitchen. Focusing on other things helped me ease myself back into doing what I love to do. I am sure a lot of the people I know who share this hobby with me have their own stories to tell about how they fell out and back in love with photography.

The first thing I did when I felt I got my mojo back was to finish editing a set done two months ago for my friend's makeup portfolio. Paulyn invited me to shoot Hanna, who was on vacation in the country, for her blog. It was such a blast working with the two of them. Paulyn did a splendid job with the makeup and Hanna was very easy to work with. I'm glad I took this shoot even on short notice since this will probably be my only chance to get to have Hanna as my model.

I would probably avoid using my macro lens the next time I shoot portraits in a studio(ish) environment next time. Post processing is such a pain when using the macro lens; too many unwanted fine detail. It took me hours to finish cleaning things up.

It took a while for me to publish the set but in the end it was worth it. One thing I learned during this shoot is that I should always be patient and not be in a hurry when I am shooting or retouching. Patience is not a part of my vocabulary but I learned that you cannot rush things when you seek aesthetic satisfaction. Creativity will come in waves. Sometimes it consumes you until you run out of energy and other times it dries up even when you desperately need it. What matters is that know when you have it and that you make the most out of it when it's there.

Portrait #38: Johanna

Well, there you have it. Another set published and another portrait to add to my project. I will hopefully write another blog in the next couple of days. 

PS: A big thanks to Paulyn Dy for always trusting me to shoot her portfolio and to Hanna for being an awesome model!

PPS: Hanna's portrait just went popular in 500px.com an hour after I uploaded it. Oh happy day!

on Fashion Photography, First Time, and Portrait #37

Photography... it is a never ending learning process.

I have never been someone who people would think of for a fashion photography shoot. I am not that comfortable shooting whole body portraits compared to shooting head shots. And I know next to nothing about fashion. You wouldn't really expect a guy who wears the simple t-shirt - jeans - sneakers combo to be much of a fashionista right off the bat. But then again, I went to a very hip and trendy college and do browse magazines from time to time so I do have some sort of idea what I am getting myself into; or at least that was what I thought. And believe me, I never expected it to be a workout.

 

 doing my usual head shots...

I took this fashion shoot as a challenge and told Paulyn, who invited me for this shoot, that I have very little experience shooting fashion stuff. Well, she had faith in me so I got the gig. I did my homework and got some inspiration from popular fashion bloggers in the country; and there is always 500px as reference material.

 testing out if the strobes would look nice...

My usual shooting order is find my models angle, place her in the right location, shoot my keepers and do my experiments later. This is how I shoot when doing headshots as I already have that basic formula from experience. I can get from finding angles to shooting keepers in about a few minutes time. The experimental part takes a lot longer. This is my usual workflow because shooting keepers first makes sure that the effort to do the shoot doesn't go to waste. Only after I know that I have some decent output do I even try to play around with what I have.

 I also tried if monochrome would work...

I went about the shoot in reverse of what I usually do. With this shoot, I first had a location in mind, did a few test shots and then worked for my keepers. I first had to experiment to see what worked and what didn't since I still don't have a formula for shooting fashion stuff. I spent more time experimenting than nailing down keepers since this is a first.

trying out composition I figured would look close to what I usually see in blogs...

I am happy I did this shoot. I learned a lot and gained valuable shooting experience which I could apply. There are things I need to learn like shooting details and knowing how to match my subject to my location. And I do have to overcome that mentality that I have to highlight the model's face; I need to learn how to balance my shots so I can show her beauty as well as her outfit. Overall, I did good considering it is a first time. I am still in the process of mastering the popular way of doing this fashion shoots for blogs. Sooner or later, I will find my own way of shooting fashion.

 I still have to learn how to shoot the whole outfit...

And before I forget, my model Paulyn is a fashion blogger, stylist, and makeup artist rolled into one. She is easy to work with and really comes prepared for a shoot. I can't wait to do the next shoot with her. We will start planning it soon.

Portrait #37: Paulyn

 

PS: Uber thanks to Paulyn for being very game model and for the confidence that I could deliver output, to Alfe for recommending me as a photographer and Francis for being the instant support crew for her sister. Until next time! :D

 PPS: do visit Paulyn's blog at http://dypaulyn.blogspot.com

on Workshops, Backlogs and Grain

Having backlogs has always been a part of my photography and blogging life; come to think of it, it is a part of my daily life as well. There is no shortage of things to do and stuff to place in the back burner.

Anyhow, I found some time to publish this long overdue set for my good friend Waqui. She's no stragner to this blog as she's has a number of photos here. One good thing I like about her is that every time I get a chance to shoot her, she gets prettier and prettier; and this shoot is no exception. She always finds ways to level up whether it be her fashion statement or her looks. And it is never boring when she's around.

I took this photos during the Photobombers / FPS workshop with the Philippine Institute of Architects as sample photos for the participants to have some sort of idea how I shoot. I took only a few shots and mostly during times when they stop shooting either to change pose or location. I'm glad I had some good shots even though I only took a fraction of what I usually take during photoshoots.

The post processing is again film inspired since it goes with the retro / boho / vintage theme. I like the old film look. Grain is always good in my book. I edit the matte film look using the S-curve slider in lightroom and I think I'll be doing more filmy looking photos in the near future.

PS: Thank you to the Photobombers crew / FPS people and the PIA for making this workshop for a cause possible. To Waqui and LA for being great models. And also to Iris for the awesome styling and makeup.

on Finding the Ant Mimicking Spider Part 2

I found another Ant Mimicking Jumping Spider.

It did not resemble the long jawed ant mimic I posted a week ago. It looked like an ordinary ant with funny looking antennae poking through the side of its head. I normally would have just ignored it but What gave it away was that it jumped. I instantly knew this was another ant mimic.

I followed it as it went about its business and found out that the telling sign is not that it jumped; because it did it only twice.  It was the fact that it moved its thorax (rear end) up and down while it was walking which was not a normal thing for small black ants. It moved a bit faster than most ants and didn't seem to follow the straight lines that ants usually take.

I got only a few useable photos because the spider was really small. Here are my photos of this Ant Mimic Jumping Spider.

I got lucky again last weekend and found a few more. I will post them when I have the time.