Joy & Ron - Prenup

Joy is one of my clients who chose me from wpja.com.
Much like Nicole (previous read), one of Joy's requirements is to have casual shots during their prenup (none of those overly scripted shots).


I flew in to Plantation Bay Cebu where they were having their vacation (they're a US-based couple) as well as in Shangri-la Hotel Cebu where their wedding will be held next year.

Consider the shot below.


How is this different from another shot of another couple kissing during their prenup? Simply looking at the photo, one couldn't probably see any difference. The MAIN difference, however is how the shot was made. Ron's kiss to Joy is spontaneous and natural, I did not give him an order to kiss Joy. Which brings us to the comfort zone of the couple during the shoot - hey, chances are couples will probably show their natural affection for each other anyway, so why force it upon them?

Some more shots below:




Joy also had her own choices for the 'Save the Date' card that she is preparing:




I am assuming that from her selection above, she wants the more simple laid back natural looking shots than the more 'cinematic' ones I chose, although both sets were 'cooked' using 100% natural ingredients, no artificial flavoring. :)

Nicole & Earl - Prenup

I tend to attract clients with some very specific standards or requirements to be met. More often than not, there's a need to adapt a shooting style that would best suit their character and make them comfortable on their wedding day and during prenup.

Some clients prefer a creative fashion style shoot that would produce shots that will be different from the usual standard poses.

Some clients want a laid back casual shoot w/ minimal direction as possible.
Nicole falls into this category. In fact, the first thing Nicole said during the prenup shoot was "Ok, let's get this done and over with." Cheesy, overly directed shots was clearly out of our agenda. So I basically chose a place where Nicole & Earl can spend some time together, and I began shooting from a distance.

During their prenup (as well as during their wedding pictorial), she is happy with what she calls the "touristy" shots, with both of them facing the camera behind a good background. Towards the ending of our prenup though, she wanted to have one (sort of) a lovey-dovey shot to show her sister who is sure to make fun of the shot since it is truly out of her character.

There was no need for a prenup guestbook during their wedding but it was still a deliverable from my end so I took my own sweet time in stylizing some of the shots.












The same pics above can be seen in their original file size for better appreciation by clicking this link. (Please use your browser's horizontal bar at the bottom part of the screen to pan through the panoramic photos.)

Victorian Girls - Revisited

My stylist friend, Myke Francis texted me yesterday, asking for copies of the Victorian themed prenups we did before. He will be interviewed live this March 23 in Studio 23's Breakfast morning TV show.

So it's about time we revisited and reveal more victorian secrets...we actually had four couples who did this already. Two couples were previously posted in this blog. This is a sampler of the other two couples as well as the prior ones to complete the show ... some with new stylized versions.

Featuring:
Jang & Paul (from Germany)- set in my 'Victorian' home
MG & Artz - their Victorian was just one segment in their four-part theme
Malotte & Jhun (from Ireland) - our second day Victorian-Celtic shoot
Cheche & Tantan (from UK) - Lady Cheche and her dashing Tantan

Click here to reveal the "secrets".

Want to view more?

Here are the previous postings:

1. Malotte & Jhun's AVP

2. More of Malotte & Jhun's pics

3. More of Cheche & Tantan's pics

4. Jang's blog featuring her own slideshow of the prenup

Gearing up for Wedding Expo

This is how my place looks like tonight. Crunch time for tomorrow's ingress and should be all set for this weekend's 10th Wedding Expo Philippines. This is the only time that the quota system for suppliers is waived, meaning instead of just having 12 wedding photographers as exhibitors, we will have around 60+ photographers in the KasaLitrato section.

My booth is the easiest place to locate - it is the one nearest the comfort room, literally in this photo w/ the our rest room door in the top right corner, and in Wedding Expo nearest the men's comfort room.

I chose to display art gallery type of photos that are meant to differentiate and express my creative self and remain true to my 'alternative' style of photography. Analysis as follows (click on the photo to get a larger view):

1) Hmmm, mannequins & props on a photographer's exhibit? Smells victorian to me.
2) Buko stylized (Tim & Lara) - creative photojournalism
3) Fashion Lifestyle weddings (Miggs & Tza)
4) The cover girl (a little girl covering her eyes during Chris & Chie's wedding in Pennsylvania) - this is a last minute substitute. The original photo was a church wedding scene but I wanted to show shots that couldn't just be copied by another photographer looking at my work. Some nice humor in it, too.
5) Victorian theme-based prenup (featuring Tantan & Cheche). I was previously considering a feature of four victorian brides but settled for a more minimalist approach. Will just feature the four victorians in my prenup gallery soon.
6) Some more supporting photos to highlight my services and what would set your wedding apart if you choose to avail of my services. :)
7) Where's the albums? Ssshhh quiet lang

Pinag-isipan., since most of you are already branding me as the 'thinking' photographer.

Also note that I don't use fake brides (female models wearing a designer's gown) in the exhibit, in my site nor in any of my presentations. Using such photos is against the ethics of wpja.com. My brides are already beautiful and most can even be mistaken as professional models. :)

Real Brides, True Stories.
Only from Rene Gaviola Alternative Photography.

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And now some shots from the actual exhibit area:



Overall, it was a very productive experience and a worthy exercise!