Gaby: 7th birthday party

April 5, 2008
Max's Restaurant

For Gaby's 7th birthday, Mommy Judith decided to hold a fun kiddie party instead of a more formal "mini debut party" which has become the trend for little girls' 7th birthday party these days. When I met Judith a couple of weeks before the party, I liked her instantly. She's so bubbly and friendly. And when I got to the venue on the day of the party, I realized that she was also very creative. She and a friend of hers worked for hours on the party decorations. I loved the yellow-and-pink theme. They did a fantastic job that by the end of the party, Judith told me someone had already asked her how much she would charge to do party decors.:D

Gaby is a lovely little girl. I loved photographing her, although she was a bit shy. I could only manage a couple of shots before the party started, but I'm glad we were able to use the beautiful sunlight outside the venue.

Some of the kids during one of the games.


The 7-year-old girls of today. :D


Judith asked me to go directly to the venue so I didn't get the chance to take photos of Gaby's dress which I loved so much. I think I spent a few minutes trying to take pictures of the details on her dress.


The blowing of the birthday candle...


Last shot of the cake and tarp after the party.


We weren't able to take family photos before the party started so we decided to take a few shots before heading for home.


Don't forget to check out the rest of the photos HERE!

P.S.
The Mother's Day Contest is still on! Submit your entries now and get the chance to win a free mini session with me with hair and makeup by the talented EJ Litiatco!

Free Mother's Day photo session contest!

Hey guys! I've been so busy the last couple of weeks that I didn't realize it's almost the end of the month already and I haven't posted the guidelines for the Mother's Day contest yet!

Ok, so here's the deal.

1. WHO: The contest is open to all the mommy bloggers out there.

2. HOW: Just write a blog entry on the topic "The best thing about being a mom", and leave a comment to this post with a link to your entry. Please limit your entries to 500 words so the judges won't have a hard time.;) You can write in English, Filipino, or mixed.

Also, please put a link back to this blog on your blog entry.:)

3. WHEN: Deadline of entries will be on May 4, Sunday, and the winner will be announced right here on May 8.:)

The winner will get a FREE mini photo session on Mother's Day with hair and makeup by EJ Litiatco.

4. THE JUDGES: I'm so lucky to have such nice friends. I asked two of my writer friends to judge this contest for us. These ladies are both talented writers, so I'm confident they will do a great job in judging this contest.:)

Ruth Floresca is a widely published writer. She's been writing for popular publications like Good Housekeeping, Health Today, and a whole lot more for years now. She's also a super mom to not one, not two, but FOUR young boys! Just go to her website to know more.

Lyra Dacio is, of course my good friend from college. She's been published a few times and has even worked as editorial assistant for the special publication magazine Masigasig. Oh, and she and her hubby are also almost five months pregnant with their first baby!

5. QUESTIONS? If you have any questions, please email me at photosbyging@gmail.com.

Oh, and before I forget, we still have one slot left for the special Mother's Day mini sessions. So, email me to book it now. We're still finalizing the venue, but it will most probably be in Marikina City, in a nice little resto called Pan de Amerikana. Even if you plan to join the contest, I would suggest that you book a slot now, and if you win, you can get a full refund of the reservation fee. That also goes to those who have already booked mini sessions. You may still join the contest, and if you win, you get the session for free, get back the reservation fee, and we will open the paid slot to other interested parties.

Thanks and I hope to see you guys on Mother's Day!:)

The Litiatcos: Family portrait session

I wanted to post these photos yesterday to start the week off but my whole body was so sore because of the crazy weekend I just had that I could barely make it out of bed.

So, I am now posting the photo session I had with the Litiatcos the same day we shot EJ's headshots. These guys are such a beautiful family it wasn't difficult to get great shots of them at all. They came in colorful summer clothes which went so well with the beautiful sunshine that we had during the pictorial.

As I said, we got a lot of great shots, but here are just a few of my favorites.

First, a couple of warm-up shots while mom and dad were fixing up Toby's shirt.

See what I meant when I said they're a beautiful family?


I love the feel of these next two.


Gorgeous mom and Toby.


Again, just beautiful!

Toby is a bit shy, so we had to find ways to make him smile.

Lovely, lovely, lovely...

I usually like to end a family session with what I like to call "paparazzi shots" because they remind me of those photos in tabloids of Hollywood celebrities walking down the street with their kids in tow (think Brad and Angelina).:D I like to think mine are a bit more artistic though.;)

Niña: portrait session

This is the second part of that mini portrait session I did a few weeks ago. I already posted Pie's photos, and now here are Niña's. Niña is Pete's younger sister. She is NOT shy in front of the camera.;) She has always been my willing test subject whenever I needed someone to pose for me.

Here is a photo I took of her back when I was learning off-cam lighting (this was taken in 2005, I think). Hmmm...I guess the moody over-processed look appealed to me back then.:D

And here are the photos I took during our recent photo shoot. I told her to wear light make-up but not to forget the mascara which is very important to put emphasis on the eyes. I also asked her to wear a casual dress. As you can see, even when she's wearing a dress and a pair of heeled shoes, she still looks comfortable and not over-dressed.

This was my favorite shot of Niña. She looks mysterious and sexy, and yet the photo still looks sunny and colorful, just as I like it.:)

Joie Bernice: Baptism

March 23, 2008
Sacred Heart Parish

It's always an honor for me when people who "knew me from before" hire me to photograph their events. JB and Maricel were my colleagues from my old job. They knew me as the masungit engineer (Yes, apparently, I've been called that behind my back. Hehehe.), and yet when I started doing my photography, they were among the first people who believed I could actually make something out of it. I took their portraits almost two years ago, and I was thrilled when they contacted me a few months ago to photograph their baby girl's baptism. They are now both based in Singapore, and after the baptism, they were finally able to bring Bernice along with them.

It was a scorching hot Easter Sunday when Pete, Pie and I made the trip to Binangonan, Rizal. The church was filled with churchgoers and other families of babies who were going to be baptized. Poor Bernice was very uncomfortable and fussy during the mass, but slept through most of the ceremony.

The simple reception was held at Maricel's family's residence. Since we couldn't take as much photos as we would have wanted at the church, we made up for it during the reception. One of the bedrooms had wonderful lighting, and I spent most of my time taking pictures there. I loved it!

Here is a photo of Bernice when she was getting dressed in something more comfortable.


Bernice getting a bit annoyed with the camera. :D


The baptismal outfits.


I caught JB having a tender moment with his baby girl.


My favorite photo of the day.

Please click HERE for the online gallery.

Test shots

The weather is a bit gloomy today and I have a bad headache, so I want to post something fun to brighten things up a bit.

Yesterday, I went to check out a possible venue (which will remain undisclosed for now) for the Mother's Day pictorial with Pete, Pie and a few friends. I brought my camera because I wanted to check out the light, plus I wanted to give the new lens I bought a little test drive. I was so excited! Unfortunately, all I had with me were half-a-dozen UNwilling human subjects. They wouldn't cooperate even when I threatened to post their photos here. And believe me, I am known to make good on my threats.:D

First off, some headshots.

Lyra.


Pie.


Bryan.


Lyra and Ice. These two have been best of friends since college and now they are both pregnant with their first babies! I can't wait to do their maternity photos in a few months. They want to do the preggy session together so it'll be so much fun!


The beautiful couples.


My favorite series from yesterday. The Dacios.:D

Oh yeah, Happy Monday!:)

Brent: 1st birthday party

March 16, 2008
Teriyaki Boy

Cher is an old friend of EJ(Hmmm...I just realized the last three entries before this also had something to do with EJ. Hehehe.), and I think I have actually met her before when I attended EJ's basic make-up class last year. Anyway, it was her son Brent's 1st birthday party the same day Pacquiao fought the controversial fight against Marquez, so naturally a lot of the guests wanted to finish the fight before heading for the party venue. Once the party got started however, the boxing match was all but forgotten. Everyone enjoyed the food and the games.

Brent wore a Naruto costume made by his grandma (if I'm not mistaken). The image on the left shows the small action figure that was the inspiration for his costume, with the costume in the background. The image on the right shows the cute costume on Brent and the action figure in his mouth.:D

It took a total of four adults to get Brent to wear the headband.

A family photo before leaving for the venue.


Brent is such an adorable little boy. He was very interactive and very friendly just like his mom Cher and dad MJ.

Some details from the venue. I love Japanese food and I was excited to learn that the party was going to be held at Teriyaki Boy.

When we got to the venue, I asked the birthday family for a very short pictorial.

Ok, I don't usually make appearances on this blog but I just had to post this photo of me with Cher and EJ. I actually felt like a real Plain Jane between these two lovely ladies. (Photo taken by Pete.)


Oh, let me just say that MJ and Cher are so nice and friendly. It almost felt like I've known them a long time. It's always great working great clients like them.:)

Please click HERE for the online gallery!

Mother's Day mini sessions "FAQs"

We decided to announce these limited edition sessions at least a month early because we thought we needed that much time to get the word out. Now, less than two days after we posted the announcement, I've already received a lot of emails about it. But before actually signing up, here are a few questions that you may want to ask about the mini sessions:

1. I would like to book a mini session. How do I sign up?
To sign up for the shoot, you can just send me an email at photosbyging@gmail.com to tell me that you are interested. Then you will have to make a PhP1000 deposit to secure your slot. We are requiring this reservation fee because there are only a limited number of slots and we want to make sure that none of them goes to waste. To be fair to everyone, you will only be considered booked when you have paid the reservation fee. We can hold on to your slot for a day after you express your intention to sign up (to give you time to make the deposit) before we make it available to others.

If you change your mind about joining the shoot a week or so before the session, you will get a 100% refund of your reservation fee. If you back out at least 2 days before the session, you will get a 50% refund.

2. How do I pay the reservation fee?
Once you've decided to book your slot, I will give you my account details and you may deposit the reservation fee (PhP1000) through the bank.

On the day of the shoot, you will be asked to pay the next 25% of the total fee (PhP500) and the last payment will be made after the delivery of the final output (frame and CD of images).

3. I would like to sign my mom up for the photo shoot. Can the whole family (including my siblings, their spouses and their kids) join the shoot so we can have our family portrait as well?
Please consider that this is not meant to be a family portrait session. This event is meant to be for the moms so 80% of the shots will be of the mom alone or with the dad. As much as we want the whole clan to join the shoot, photographing an entire family takes a lot of time and energy that a 30-minute session may not be enough. We can probably take a couple of shots of the whole family if there is time, but again, the focus of the session will be the mom. Small and/or young families are easier to photograph, so we can probably take more family shots or shots of mom with her baby/child. We will still take more shots of the mom alone though.

If you're interested in having a family portrait session, I'd be happy to do a regular photo session with your whole family. Regular sessions last for about 1.5-2 hours. Please email me so I can send you my rates. Oh, and don't forget to hire EJ to do make-up for you as well!;)

4. What do we have to wear for the photo shoot?
As you may have noticed, my style is more relaxed and casual, and I focus on capturing the personality of the model. This will definitely not be a formal portrait session, so please don't wear gowns and barongs (in case of the men). EJ will also be doing nice casual hairstyles and natural make-up fit for the photo shoot. We recommend light comfortable clothing preferably in bright solid colors. Now, "light and comfortable" doesn't have to mean t-shirt and jeans. You can still wear dressy clothes without looking like you're on your way to a wedding or a business meeting.;) Besides, this will be an outdoor shoot, so you would definitely want to wear comfortable clothes if you don't want to burn in the summer heat.

5. Do I get to choose what time my session will be?
If you book early enough, yes. The whole event will be from 8AM to 5PM. Although each photo session will only be for 30 minutes, we will only be having one session for every hour (with a 1-hour lunch break). This is to give time for the set-up of every session, and to prevent overlaps between the sessions.

Once you have made the deposit, you can check back with me so I can tell you what time slots are still available.

6. How early do we need to be at the venue?
Please be at the venue at least 30 minutes before the hour of your session (i.e. If you booked the 8AM-9AM time slot, you have to be at the venue on or before 7:30AM). This will give EJ enough time to do your hair and make-up and for you to be comfortable with the place (and with us) before the photo shoot. If you show up 30 minutes late (at 8:30AM for the 8-9AM slot, for example), EJ will not have time to do your make-up anymore as she will be starting on the next model's make-up. If you show up more than 30 minutes late, your photo session will be cut short (i.e. If you show up at 8:45AM for the 8-9AM slot, you will only have a 15-minute session, AND no make-up from EJ.) to give way for the next session. If you don't show up within the hour of your session, you will be considered a no-show and your reservation fee will be forfeited.

7. I would like to sign up my mom for the shoot but my sister and I also want to be in some of the photos. Can EJ do our hair and make-up as well?

The session fee only covers hair and make-up for the mom. However, EJ can do your hair and make-up for an additional fee. Please email me if you want to have this add-on. Again, please consider that our time for each session is limited. According to EJ, she can only do a maximum of 3 heads per session (including the mom). She will also be spending most of her time on the mom's hair and make-up.

8. I am a budding photographer and I have my own DSLR. Can I shoot my mom/wife/friend's mom/friend's cousin's wife on the side during your photo session?
As much as I love working with other photographers, this may not be the right time to do that. We promised "private photo sessions" and this means no other cameras but mine during the shoot. Being in front of the camera is intimidating enough for a lot of people, and part of my task is to make them feel more comfortable. Having a second photographer shooting on the side may not help.

Of course, you are welcome to shoot the model (if they agree, of course) at a different spot after their private session with me.:)


Having said all of that, we just want this to be a fun experience for everyone, so please be sure to read these guidelines to avoid being stressed out on the day of the shoot. If you have any more questions, please feel free to email me at photosbyging@gmail.com.

Hope to see you on May 11!:)

An invitation

Ok, here it is! I am so excited to be working again with the lovely and talented EJ Litiatco on these special Mother's Day photo sessions and we are both so excited to be working with all the moms out there. This is a great opportunity to treat your mom (or even yourself, if you're a mom) and make her look and feel fabulous on her special day. Please see the image below for the basic details. I will be posting more about this in the coming days.

Oh yeah, there will only be 7 slots for the taking and session times are on a first-come-first-serve basis, so hurry up and book your slot now!:)


But wait! There's more!:D If you're a mommy blogger, you can win one of the photo session slots if you join our mini contest. Please be sure to check back for the details.;)

EJ: portrait session

EJ Belen-Litiatco is one person that I am so lucky to have met this past year. She was my makeup artist during my wedding. The first time I saw her, I remember thinking that if she could just make me look half as radiant as she was on my wedding day, then I would be one happy bride. I think the reason EJ and I click so well together is because she feels about her craft the same way I feel about photography. For us, it's not just all about OUR art, but ultimately, it's about making other people feel good through our work. In fact, EJ has already taken it to the next level by holding basic makeup classes (at a very reasonable price) and offering one-on-one consultations where she will also help you shop for the makeup set that is just right for you (again for a very reasonable fee). Yes, I think this lady is on a mission. I have attended her class, and now she always reminds me to put makeup on.

Anyway, EJ needed new headshots that she could use for her website and for an upcoming bridal fair that she's joining. So, last Sunday we finally did the shoot. It was also a family portrait session with husband Nohmer and baby Toby (I will be posting their photos in another entry), and they all came in bright summer clothes, which was exactly what I wanted. EJ was stunning as usual. We took a lot of great shots (it's hard to take bad shots when your model is as pretty as EJ), but here are some of my favorites.

You can catch EJ at the Dream Weddings and Destinations bridal fair on April 12 and 13 at the SM Megamall. Do drop by her booth. I may also visit her there as she promised to give me a free makeover if I do.;)

Finally, I think this would be the best time to announce that EJ and I have put our heads together and are coming up with a little something for the mommies for Mother's Day. Please stay tuned for the details which I will be posting here soon.:)