Thursday, April 23, 2009

April & Nelson: A Wedding Documentary

View slideshow here.
More photos here.

April and Nelson had a wonderful wedding. And I was honored to document their most special event.

This was no ordinary event, not only because its a very special union between April and Nelson, but also this was the first time I'll be documenting a wedding unconventionally - - as a bystander.

More photos and full story after the jump.



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I wanted to give April and Nelson moments that their hired photography will not be able to get. You see, a wedding photographer has so many things to do during the event. From knowing the program and coordinating with the organizers to get all the "important" shots to editing on site and preparing the on site presentation. Unless they have 6 or more people to handle the whole group, the photographer would miss a lot of moments that a couple would like to remember of their wedding. Plus knowing the couple, I know when and where to take their photos to convey a story that the couple would surely smile and be fond of. Here's some of the shots.

The bridesmaids (notice how almost all of them were taller than the men!):





A very anxious groom...
The kids:

The bride...


Some random shots...

Finally some shots of the couple....



I hope the couple is having a great honeymoon in Palawan.


Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Weekend Funshoot with Kristen

Special Thanks to fellow photog Daryl Guangco for his assistance and providing our beautiful model

Kirsten's Flare

Had a chance to shoot a friend of a friend from Cagayan De Oro last weekend. Kirsten was kind as she was pretty. All photos shot at Enchanted Kingdom.
Full story and more photos after the jump

We didn't really had any idea of where to take her for the shoot. It seem's everywhere we thought of was either full of people(like Serendra and La Mesa Eco park)or does not allow professional shoots without permits (Intramuros, Baluarte de San Diego - shame on you). So we thought of the only place that allowed anything - for a small fee but further than most of our regular locations.

The challenge now was getting shots creative enough while avoiding other people and the rides in the shot. We started out with close-ups since that was the easiest, then walked around to see other prospective places.

It was nice looking for spots and we got a chance to play around(and practice) with light. The shot below was lit by two strobes, one infront and left of Kirsten and the other directly behind her pointed to the wall to give the background some texture.


This shot was lit by 2 strobes. One to Kirsten's right and infront, while the other lit's her background behind her. I intentionally showed the strobe behind her (that little black thing)so you could see the effect.


Finally this last shot was lit using the same technique on the first photo. 2 strobes: 1 to her left and in front and the other behind her and pointing at her(the first photo above had the strobe behind her pointing to the camera, obviously), This gives a different feel and effect to a normal looking environment.


All of these were thought of and planned lighting/photos. I have already visualized the shots I'll be making the day before. Only challenge was the location and the environment itself.

More to come in the next few days, including a shoot in the park and a "documentary" shoot of a wedding.





Thursday, April 16, 2009

Tax Season's a Beach

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Tax season is probably the worst time of the year and most of you will agree. I've been so busy lately that's why I haven't been blogging for a while now. I just had a shoot a couple of weekends before, and I'll be blogging about that soon.

For the meantime, I'll be giving some links of some of the best sites for photographers and people who just love to take great pictures.

Read more after the jump.

So here's the list:
Flickr - for all your photo storage needs. 99% of the photos you see here is from my flickr account.
Strobist - David Hobby's home. This site teaches you how to light. It's the light, not the lens.
Lightingmods - this site gives out excellent tips and tricks for all you photographers out there as well as do it yourself tutorials to save budget for a gadget you need. Need a ringlight for less than $10? Here is where you need to go.
Zack Arias - Mr Onelight himself. Gives out tutorials and a nice read for tips.
DIYphotography - as the name states, all the DIY youwould need.
Now for some local sites:
TipidPC - where you well get bargain prices and good cheap finds for all your camera and computer needs. 95% of my gear was somehow acquired from tipidpc. Another reason why you shouldn't be overpaying for photography services.
PiPho and DPP- what a better place to start your photography experience but with a great set of people teaching you how to take great photos? The first one lets you speak (or type) in Filipino (as well as trade/sell stuff) while the other one is an all english site (and no selling/trading).
That's it for now. Happy shooting!