David William: 1st birthday party

December 5, 2009
Valle Verde 4 Clubhouse

I have to admit that sometimes I still do miss working in a regular office. I don't miss the stress of dealing with the bosses, or the flourescent lights that gave me headaches, or the sub-zero temperatures (both from the A/C and from other people.)...But I do miss the chismis, the "good mornings", the "water cooler chitchats". The human interaction. Although I totally love my job right now, it can get really lonely during the week when I work in my home office. Alone. Five long work days without human contact.

This is why I love the Internet. It's my window to the world. I especially love YM and Twitter because they provide me with my daily dose of friendly human contact.:) Neva is one of the friendly faces (or names?) that I constantly see on my Twitter page (Follow me if you're on Twitter!).  I have worked with her before when I photographed David's baptism almost a year ago, but ever since, because of Twitter and her blog, I feel like I've gotten to know her more personally. So, when I saw her again on David's party, it was like we were old friends.:D

Oh, yeah. This entry was supposed to be about David's party! Well, all I can say is, it was fun, the food was great, and the details were beautiful! If you want more details though, just drop by ManilaMommy.com and get the lowdown from Neva herself.:)

Meanwhile, here are some of my favorite shots from the party.

One of my favorite party planners Jhoanne Alon of Polkadots Events did the balloon and stage decorations.  This was a copy of the cute invitation and Neva asked Jhoanne to base the stage backdrop on its design.


And this was the stage backdrop that Jhoanne made based on the design of the invite!






The lovely centerpieces were provided by the caterer.


We took some family shots before most of the guests arrived.













Cute and colorful cake ensemble!

It was my first time to watch Jiggles the Balloon Lady.  She makes pretty incredible balloon designs!

Everyone had fun!





Neva looked happy.:)

The candle-blowing...





Everyone wanted to take photos of the birthday boy!

Sian Gabrielle: 1st birthday party

November 29, 2009
Villa Veronica, Biñan, Laguna

People always tell me they love how colorful my photos are.  While it's true that I naturally gravitate towards color whenever I'm behind the camera, I believe I'm just really lucky to be able to work with clients who love details and colors as much as I do.  And sometimes when I'm REALLY lucky, I get a bright orange wall for a background! :) But before everyone starts looking for venues with brightly colored walls, I have to say colored walls aren't always good in photos. In fact, we photographers prefer white walls, especially when we have to use them as reflectors. Green walls, for example, tend to make everything else green in photos especially when the light is bad and the photographer has to use flash. And that's not good. Tamtam's venue, however had awesome natural light.  In fact, I didn't have to use my flash at all during the entire party, except during the group photos (and mostly just to let people know when I was clicking my camera). 

There are times when my job just seems so easy. Some days everything just seems to work for me. And almost every shot just turns out as I want it to. This was definitely one of those days.:)

Here are some shots from the party:



I love this shot of one of the dresses that our celebrator wore.

Just some of the beautiful party details that Mommy Tina prepared for her little girl.  Check out all the yummy colors!


Here's Sian Gabrielle or Tamtam as she is lovingly called by her family, with Mommy Tina.

Yep. Tamtam looked pretty happy with her party.

A few shots of the birthday family.

Colorful balloon decorations by Party Boosters!








With Lola.





Kids enjoying the company of Minnie.








Food was great too, by the way.:)

I like this photo because it's usually the ladies that you would see in a scene like this.;)


After the program, the kids and other guests decided to take a dip in the pool. Meanwhile, Tamtam decided to kick off her shoes and run around barefoot.:)

Ryzi: Baptism

November 28, 2009
Archbishop's Palace
The Palladium Clubhouse

Mommy Noreen contacted me just a couple of weeks before the event.  I was so glad I was still available for Baby Ryzi's baptism because the family turned out to be so nice to work with.:) Oh, and because of them, I have just found my favorite venue for baptisms! The small chapel at the Archbishop's Palace in Mandaluyong is so so lovely, I can't believe it took me this long to be able to photograph an event there! The whole chapel was beautiful, and there was magnificent natural light coming in through the windows...Just look!

Pretty candles prepared by Noreen.


Some shots of the ceremony.  As I said, the natural window light was great. And the beautiful chandeliers, floor pattern, the ceiling beams...everything in the chapel was a photographer's dream. Loved it!

The was also ample space for me to move around and take closer shots like these.


After the ceremony, I asked the family for a few family portraits within the chapel.  Ryzi became too fussy however, so we weren't able to take a lot of shots.  Here's one that I like though.


Some details at the reception.





This cake smelled yummy!

Ryzi wasn't in the mood. At all. For anything. But after a short bottle break, we were able to take some nice shots of the family without her crying her eyes out.





She still had that cute scowl going though.:D

After the party, we took a few more family photos around the venue.


I didn't think these pillars would work in the photos, but they actually looked pretty nice. Mommy Noreen is so easy to photograph. I guess it helps that she's very pretty and has an easy natural smile.:)