Sofia: portrait session

This was supposed to be a "pre-event" portrait session. But Mommy Sheryl texted me a few days before our original schedule to ask if we could postpone the session until after the party. The family had just arrived from abroad and Sofia was still a bit out of her element and was having the case of  "pangingilala".  I know how important it is that a child/baby be comfortable during a portrait session, so I agreed.  We did the mini portrait session a few days after Sofia's 1st birthday party at one of my favorite places to do portraits these days--the Evozone at Nuvali.  I met up with Sofia, Mommy Sheryl, Daddy Arman, and Sofia's Lola (Daddy Arman's mom) for the afternoon pictorial. Sure enough, Sofia seemed so much more comfortable with me (and with her surroundings) than the first time I met her. Getting smiles out of her wasn't difficult at all.

Below are just some of my favorites shots from the session...

This beautiful purple dress from Rajito by Rajo Laurel was one of Sofia's birthday party dresses. Since we weren't able to take portraits of Sofia wearing it during the party, Sheryl decided to make it Sofia's first outfit for the pictorial.


Sofia with her favorite toys.


I love these next family shots!

Sofia has the prettiest outfits!


We let her sit down in the middle of the bridge. At first, she looked confused...


...but she warmed up to the idea quickly.:) This was one of my favorite shots of Sofia.:)





Last outfit change.


Lovely family!


Such a pretty little girl, isn't she?

There's just something that I love about this photo.





Such a cutie!:)

One of the last shots we took that afternoon. Sofia was already a bit tired here.

Kian: 1st birthday party

January 30, 2011
Urdaneta Village Clubhouse

Theme: Elephant and Balloons

I have photographed a lot of gorgeous kiddie parties but I have to say this is one of my recent favorites. I loved the theme, the colors, the charming little details...from the invitations, to the lootbags, and even the napkin holders...everything was just cute and pretty!  And it didn't hurt either that Kathleen dela Merced and her Hi-5 Parties team did an excellent job with the venue decor, as always!

And what made this party even more perfect for me?  The wonderful clients, of course! Mommy Jackie and Daddy Brian were both so easy to work with.  I already knew I wouldn't have any problem with them even when we were just exchanging emails.  On the day of the party, I felt that I had their full trust and it made me want to work even harder to deliver great photos.

Below are some of my favorite shots from the day...

I loved the venue decorations by Hi-5 Parties!


Look at the lovely design of on these lootbags!


Some more photos of the exquisite party details...











Birthday outfit of the cute birthday boy.

We went outside to take a few family shots before the party started.

Such a lovely family, aren't they?


I always love "candid" family photos.





Kian is such a handsome little man, isn't he?





The awesome Flooch was host for the day.


Jiggles the Balloon Lady was also there to make her amazing balloon sculptures!

The kids enjoying one of the games.








Candle-blowing!


Venue decor: Hi-5 Parties (c/o Kathleen dela Merced)
Treat Bar: Hi-5 Parties
Cake/Cupcakes: Vanilla Kitchen
Host/Magician: Flooch
Additional entertainment: Jiggles the Balloon Lady
Carts: Red Mango Frozen Yogurt, NYFD Fries, Hi-5 Corndogs

Special thanks to my good friend Ces Kasilag for being my backup shooter that day.:)

Viene: Baptism and 1st birthday party

November 6, 2011
Binondo Church
Annapolis Seafood Restaurant

For kiddie events, I usually deal with the moms before the actual party.  However, lately, I've been getting more and more inquiries from the dads.  I find it actually kinda refreshing to know that dads nowadays are more involved in planning their babies' parties.  I have to be honest though. Every time I get an email or text from a dad asking about my services, I get a bit intimidated.  The first thought that comes to my mind is that they have probably never heard of me or seen my work, but their wives just asked them to book me.  This was how I felt when I was exchanging emails with Daddy Vince.  Besides, he sounded oh so serious in his emails and he seemed like a man of few words...quite scary, if you ask me!  Well, I was in for a surprise when we finally met in person during baby Viene's party. He's actually one of the coolest dads I have ever worked with! Also, he and Mommy Grace, and their families were so nice to me and Pie that working with them didn't feel like working at all.:)

Below are just some of my favorite photos from that day.

The baptism was held at the baptistry of the Binondo Church. It was one of the shortest baptismal ceremonies I have ever been to! Not that I was complaining...it gave Pie and me some time to go shopping for our favorite hopia across the street before driving to the reception venue!:D





A quick family photo after the baptism.

As soon as we got to the party venue, I started shooting all the pretty little details that Mommy Grace laid out for me.


It was an intimate luncheon, but they had colorful balloons to liven up the place.



I always love taking photos of little girls' dresses.



And their shoes, too!

The super colorful cake and cuppies from Balloon Republic!


And here's our birthday girl sitting comfortably in her stroller.





It was raining outside and there really wasn't any good spot to take photos in front of the building, but we found this area right outside the function room that had good enough light and had plastic plants that reminded me of those old studio photos from the 90s.:D The photos didn't turn out bad at all though.;)

Viene enjoying her lunch.

It was a Chinese Lauriat, and I will never forget how Vince and Grace put aside our share for each course while I was still shooting.  And they let us sit with them in their table! (Oh, by the way, can you see me in this photo?;D)

Viene fell asleep shortly after having lunch, but she woke up just as guests were leaving and everyone was packing up. We took a few more shots of her with the cake.

And one last shot with mom and dad. :)



Venue decor: Balloon Republic
Cake: Balloon Republic
Viene's dresses: Periwinkle