Arianne

James is a very good friend of Pete and mine from college. A few months ago, he announced that he and his wife Arianne are expecting their first child and everyone in the barkada is excited to welcome their baby boy in a few weeks.

We did the photoshoot a couple of Sundays ago in Tagaytay. Pete and I didn't mind making the trip. It was just like going out with a couple of friends on a weekend. We actually had a lot of fun. And although I usually charge extra for out-of-town shoots, I went easy on James. He just had to pay for our heavy merienda/early dinner. Hehehe.

We were able to take a lot of great photos that I actually had a hard time choosing which ones to post. Here are some of my picks:

Veronica Mei

Mel was the VERY FIRST to email me regarding the free maternity shoots. Unfortunately, at that time, she was already due to give birth any minute and we couldn't find a common schedule. A couple of weeks ago, Mel texted me again to tell me that she had already given birth to a lovely baby girl and she was now asking for my rates for a baptism photo coverage.

Veronica Mei or Vera for short, was christened last Saturday, October 21 at the Sanctuario de San Antonio. Below are some of the photos from that event.






Welcome to the Christian world, Vera! And congratulations to Jon and Mel!

For more photos, please click here!

Kitkat

Kitkat's was the second maternity session I did last weekend. It was very different from Meng's session. We did the shoot at Kitkat's parents' house in Paranaque. Even when we were first setting up our schedule, Kitkat already knew she wanted to do the shoot in a house because she wanted to be comfortable doing the outfit changes. She even offered to travel all the way to my house here in Q.C.

Kitkat and Bryan were two of the nicest strangers we have ever met. We felt right at home with them, and the photoshoot went very well, despite the fact that we had to experiment with the lighting for a bit.

Here are some of the photos from that session.

My favorite part of the house? This blue wall.:D These are two of my favorite shots of Kitkat.


Pete was just telling me how cool it would be to get a picture of a mom-to-be standing over an empty crib...And what do you know? Kitkat and Bryan just bought their baby a wooden crib which I loved.

Mommy Kitkat.

Family portrait.

Meng

I shot Meng's maternity portraits at the playground of Market! Market! in Fort Bonifacio last weekend. This session was a bit different from all the other portrait sessions that I've done so far because of the venue. Being in a very public place, it was a challenge to do the shoot without calling too much attention to ourselves. We also had to find spots where we could shoot without kids running us over. The shoot was very casual but I think we managed to capture really great photographs. I loved playing around with the colors and all the other elements in the playground, including the kids (and the moms).

Oh, by the way, Meng is a writer, which I think is a very cool job.

Below are some of the photos we took.



I love these next two shots of Meng because they show her playful side. I also love the color details in the photos.


It's a baby boy in there...


Unfortunately, Meng's husband wasn't able to join us during the shoot as he was out on a business trip. Good thing this little guy came along.

Bliss

When I first started looking for pregnant ladies who would be willing to pose for me, I thought of Bliss. She was a labmate/classmate at the UP EEE Dept. We had lost contact after college but I heard a few months back that she was pregnant. None of our common friends however knew if she had already given birth.

After Pete sent out emails to several of our mailing groups to promote my services,I got an email from Bliss. She told me she read about my free preggy photoshooots and she was interested. She told me that she was just over eight months pregnant. Sakto! We texted back and forth about the schedule and place. We had decided early on to do it in UP...I guess because it's one of the few places where we're sure no one would mind a pregnant lady showing off her belly in public. Hehehe.

We set the shoot for October 8, Sunday, at the Quezon Hall (Yes, Bliss, yun yung may Oble...Hehehe. Loko lang!:D). And below are some of the photos that we got.

Bliss has always had that great "Close-up" smile. Plus it was a breeze directing her to pose.



Some photos with Daddy Gerry. As you can see, he also has a bright smile.:)

Mae and Liam

As I promised before, here are a few of the shots I took of my sister Mae and my little nephew Liam. I will be posting some photos from Liam's baptism in my other online gallery which I will be launching (naks! as if!:P) soon.

Jody

Just a couple of days after everybody in Metro Manila and the nearby provinces felt the wrath of Milenyo, Pete and I found ourselves heading for our very first maternity photoshoot.

When I saw Jody Liwanag's name in my inbox a couple of days after I came up with the idea of the free maternity sessions, I immediately knew I've heard about her somewhere before. And I was right. She's practically a celebrity in the local wedding industry as she has been in the event coordinating business for four years now. She was one of the very first to contact me regarding the free photoshoot, and we quickly agreed on a schedule.

She told me this was her second pregnancy and she wanted both her husband Dicky and their 1.5-year-old daughter Margaux to join in the shoot as well. I happily agreed. We were originally supposed to do the shoot at their house near the Eastwood area, but because of the recent typhoon, Jody told me that things were still pretty "chaotic" at their place. So, instead, we headed for her brother's home in Filinvest. It was such a lovely place that worked well for our shoot. Jody's brother and sister-in-law were such gracious hosts, they didn't mind that we had to move some furniture a bit and that we basically invaded their privacy. Hehehe.

Below are a few of the photos that we took.

Jody and Dicky were great subjects to photograph. They were very easy to shoot and even had a few ideas of their own. I'm glad they were very understanding even when they knew I am pretty new at this.

This is one of my favorite shots.

See Jody's dimpled smile? I love it!

A maternity session wouldn't be complete without something like this.

Holding Baby Bianca.

Daddy Dicky kissing Baby Bianca.

We were even able to capture a few nice candid shots of the beautiful Margaux.


And finally, a casual family portrait.