Alexa Stephanie: Baptism

October 5, 2008
Christ the King Parish
Outback Steakhouse

When Alpha first emailed me about photographing her baby daughter's baptism, I thought her name sounded so familiar that I had to ask if she ever lived in Tacloban many years ago. It turned out I was right! I first met Alpha over twenty years ago, when she was one of my older sister's grade school classmates. She, along with some of their other friends, used to spend a lot of time at our house back then. I was in 2nd grade and they were in 6th grade, and I remember wishing I could be as cool as they were when I got older. Hehehe. Alpha was thrilled when I told her I knew her because she said she had actually been trying to locate my sister for a long time. Small world, right?:)

Even though we didn't get to meet up before the event, I already felt comfortable working for Alpha and her family. She still has that same warm smile that I remember from way back in the 80's.:D

Here are some of my favorites from the event.

The baptismal attire. The photo of the pink dress was taken at the chapel before the ceremony, and while I also took shots of the baptismal gown at the chapel, I liked the ones I took at the reception venue more.




Alexa talking to Daddy before the ceremony.


One of my all-time favorite baptismal shots so far. This part of the ceremony takes about 3 seconds in total, so while I have taken many many versions of this shot, some are just better than the others.

They weren't able to get the private baptistry but luckily, there was only one other baby to be baptized together with Alexa, so I was able to get great angles.

The pretty cupcakes.:)

Alexa holding on to her presents.:)

The lighting and colors outside the restaurant were perfect for the short pictorial. This next one was one of my favorite shots from the day.

A couple more of Alexa during the reception.

Please click HERE for more photos!

Luis Antonio: 2nd birthday party

September 21, 2008
Jollibee Libis

It's always a great honor for me when clients come back to hire me for other family events. It's nice to see familiar faces, and I almost feel like I'm already part of their family. This was my third time to photograph a party for Luis. I covered his dedication and 1st birthday party last year, and it was a delight to see him again, this time for his 2nd birthday party.

It was a simple Jollibee party, but Mommy Nalyn brought in some personal touches. And unlike the first two times when Luis was still too young to really understand what was going on, this time it looked like he really enjoyed his party.

Here are a few shots from the day.

The cake and the cute cupcakes.


It was great seeing how much Luis has grown.:)


His signature smile.;)


Some photos with Mommy and Daddy.




For Luis, eating his Chicken Joy is serious business.:D


Like most Pinoy kids, Luis LOVES Jollibee. He was so happy to see the mascot and they even had a mini dance-off. Hehehe.


Awww. Luis was so sad when Jollibee had to go.

Please click HERE for more photos from Luis' party!

Chen and Sebastian: Portrait session

Chen and I met one gloomy June morning 13 years ago--and I'm not referring to the weather that day. I remember being nervous and so out of my element as I walked through the halls of AS that first day in college. Chen and I were two of the very few girls in a dominantly male ECE (Electronics and Communications Engineering) block in UP. At lunchtime, we, along with a few other girls decided to head out to lunch together. Now, Chen and I came from "rival" schools, came from different backgrounds and had very different personalities...but during that first lunch together at GotoKing, when she ordered TWO whole meals for herself, I knew we were going to be friends forever. Hehehe.

I believe that as you go through life, there will be people who will have significant influence on how you turn out to be later on, whether they are aware of it or not. Whether you were aware of it or not. I think Chen is one of those people for me. She pushed me (in a good way) to do things that I have always wanted to do but was always too shy to try. (Yes, believe it or not, I was once a shy girl. Hehehe.) And although there were many others who were also there to encourage me, Chen was actually there to go through all those things with me. She was the one who convinced me to get professional voice training during our first summer in college, while she took piano lessons in the next room. She dragged me to a performance class, and we sang and danced on stage at the Music Museum in embarassing outfits and even more embarassing dance moves during the recital.:D She also took me to audition for a small theater group where we were able to actually act in front of paying audiences.

When Chen moved to the States 3 and a half years ago, I was still in my corporate job and didn't even have my own DSLR yet. And although she wasn't there to go through it with me, she (along with many other friends) helped in my transition from a corporate slave to what I am now. And I know she helped a lot in building up my confidence through all those years. In other words, kumapal mukha ko because of her. Hehehe. Just kidding!:D

Chen came home with her family (hubby Bondi, and baby Sebastian) a few months ago for a long vacation. And before she leaves again, I wanted to treat her to a special photo shoot with Sebastian. (Bondi left a couple of months ago, but we were able to do a short family pictorial. See their photos HERE.) We talked about the concept that I wanted to do, I sent her a few sample photos, and she prepared their outfits. I hired EJ Litiatco (with hairstylist Taday) to do Chen's hair and makeup. And then we were off.

We didn't get the nice sunny weather that we were hoping for but we did manage to get great shots.:)


One of the first few clicks. I love this one.

Seb wasn't exactly in the mood to do the pictorial either, but we patiently waited for him to be comfortable and we were able to get different expressions from him. (Btw, I think EJ did a great job as always.)


Not everyone would agree with me, but this was actually one of my favorites from the shoot. I just feel that it tells a good story.

My general concept for the shoot came from a couple of photos similar to these next two that I saw on the net. I loved the idea so much I asked Chen if she wanted to do it. The thing with friends is that they don't have a choice but to trust you.;)


Not really in the mood...


...but we did get him to smile for the camera.;)


Last one with the legs. Don't Chen's legs look fierce? Hehehe.

It started to drizzle so we had to take the shoot indoors.


The next few photos are for Bondi.;)

Last one!