Rafa: Baptism

March 31, 2013
Cocoon Boutique Hotel
Sacred Heart Church (Kamuning, QC)
Max's Restaurant

Between June 2001 and September 2003, I worked at a government agency called the Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) as a Science Research Specialist. I know, sounds super hi-tech, right? I was fresh out of college, and I had big dreams of becoming a wireless design engineer. I thought I could do anything if I just followed the theories and formulas written in my books and applied them in the real world. I worked with a lot of young people just like me then. We were all feeling smart and invincible. We were so ready to take on the world. It didn't matter that we got paid loose change in brown coin envelops every other week. (Ok, we did whine about it sometimes over lunch in the conference room.) We were having so much fun. And I have to say, in my VERY LONG 4-year career as an engineer, those first two years were the most memorable ones.;)

It was at ASTI that I met Kokoy. We belonged to different departments (his office was at the second floor, while I worked at the 3rd floor), and we were never really close then. However, we did have mutual close friends, so we would sometimes end up hanging out with the same group of people. A couple of years later, I moved to a private company, and so did Kokoy, and so did all the other people we knew (except for maybe a couple of guys who are still working there until now.). And then, a few years ago, Kokoy contacted me to ask if he could maybe tag along on one of my shoots so he could practice on his photography. I said yes, and he came along to shoot an event with me. We never saw each other again after that (except on Facebook).

Fast forward to last year...Kokoy contacted me to ask if I would be available to shoot his baby's baptism. I was not taking a lot of bookings that month, but I couldn't say no to him. I always love working with people that I knew from before. And I really appreciate it when friends who knew me before I became a photographer actually ask me to shoot for them. And so, I had the honor of meeting baby Rafa and Mommy Anna and photographing Rafa's very special day.:)

We started by taking photos of Rafa, and his outfits at the hotel. We were also able to take a few family shots before leaving for the church. I was so glad we did, because it rained hard just when the baptism was ending, and we didn't have any other chance to take portraits afterwards.





Rafa was taking a nap when we arrived at the hotel.


That's Daddy Kokoy trying to wake the baby up. But Rafa wouldn't budge.:D


I suggested taking of his clothes to wake him up. And it worked.;)


Love those eyes!:)





The happy family.:)


Isn't he cute?:D





More photos of the family.





And there he goes off to dreamland again when we got to the church.:D

Rafa was sleeping the whole time.


Still sleeping.;)


I love Max's!:)





With Ninong and Ninang.


Speech, speech...

Kyle: First birthday party

My new website and blog are currently in the works and so, keeping this blog updated has been quite difficult lately. At first, I was torn between wanting to wait for my new blog to be launched before posting the rest of my events, and wanting to to keep the stuff I have online current. And then there was a point when I actually considered to stop blogging altogether because I read a couple of articles saying that people just don't read blogs these days anymore. That didn't last long though, because people I meet always tell me that they still read my posts here. So, I've finally decided that I will start posting all my recent events and shoots (starting with my shoots at the beginning of the year) on my new blog, but I will try to continue posting my events and portrait sessions from last year on this blog because I know a lot of people still come here to get ideas. To be honest, I will probably never totally catch up on my blogging. And yes, I sometimes get super stressed out whenever I think about all the events and shoots that I haven't posted yet. But, I guess I just have to try to post as much as I can and hope that someday soon, I'll be able to

And now, on to Kyle's party...

March 25, 2012
Valle Verde 6 Clubhouse

Kyle and his family are based abroad, but his Aunt Jacq was the one who made most of the arrangements for his party.  And I have to say, she made excellent choices with the suppliers.;) It was, as always, a great pleasure for me to work with some of my favorite people in the industry like Jacque Tan of Party Boosters, and Flooch.  And it's really nice whenever I work with families who have already made other countries their homes, but decide to come back to the Philippines just to celebrate their babies'/kids' parties with their loved ones. I guess kiddie parties really are more fun in the Philippines!:)

Here are some shots from Kyle's party

The birthday boy.

The cake...


Cupcakes!


To be honest, this venue isn't my favorite because of it's dark ceiling and dim lights. However, having Jacque and the Party Boosters team do the decor made it a whole lot easier for me to take nice photos.:)


Balloons...


A few shots of the family...









Enjoying the program.

Flooch, as always, was a big hit!

Candle-blowing...



Venue set-up: Party Boosters
Host/Magician: Flooch

P.S. I know the logo on the photos still has my old website URL. These photos have been prepped for posting for months now, before I decided to get a new URL. My new website will be at www.ging-lorenzo.com (please note the hyphen:) ).

Jacob: Baptism and 1st birthday party

March 24, 2012
Santuario de San Antonio Parish
Urdaneta Village Clubhouse
Party theme: Safari

It looks like more and more daddies are becoming more involved in the planning of their kids' parties. I was always used to getting inquiries from and dealing with just the mommies during the booking process. In fact, the most I would typically get out of a dad is a small nod or a quick handshake when the mommy introduces me during the day of the event.:D But, I guess times are changing, because now, I'm getting more and more email or text inquiries from dads, and I've been dealing with more daddies in the past year or so. I admit, I still get kind of anxious at first, but most of them turn out to be super nice in person. Just like Daddy Joel. Since the family is based abroad, Joel and I corresponded only through email before the actual event. He always seemed quite formal in his emails so I was a teeny bit intimidated.:) But he turned out to be really nice, and the entire family was also really fun to work with!

Here are some shots from Jacob's birthday party.

We started by shooting the details and some family photos at the family apartment.





Jacob wasn't feeling so well that day (in fact, he ran a fever right after the party), but he was still in the mood to face the cameras.








Then we all went to the church for the baptism.

Since Jacob was sick and it poured during the party, this was the only family shot we got that day. Fortunately, they decided to do a mini portrait session a week after the party, so we got really nice shot then.

Venue dress-up was by Polkadot Events led by Jhoanne Alon, who is one of good friends in the industry. This is a pretty popular theme for kiddie parties these days, and it's easy to see why. :)


Gorgeous (and yummy!) cake by Les Sucreries!

More cute details.











Another good friend, Flooch was the host of the party. The kids always have a great time when he's hosting.:)


Jacob was getting tired but he still managed to look cute for the camera.;)


The bubble show.


Candle-blowing!



Venue dress-up: Polkadots Events (c/o Jhoanne Alon)
Host/magician: Flooch
Videography: Zoombox Productions