Posts Tagged ‘filipino wedding photographer’

Websites to Help Plan and Inspire Your Wedding

November 5th, 2012

Getting engaged and planning for your wedding is an exciting but also confusing time. That’s how we felt when Heidi and I we’re planning for our wedding. The exciting part is already a given, but it can also be confusing time especially how to begin planning and booking wedding suppliers. Luckily we are in the [...]
 

Getting engaged and planning for your wedding is an exciting but also confusing time. That’s how we felt when Heidi and I we’re planning for our wedding. The exciting part is already a given, but it can also be confusing time especially how to begin planning and booking wedding suppliers. Luckily we are in the information age and the internet has made things easier for soon to wed couples in searching. But the question is where do you look with so many websites?  As a wedding photographer, I always get asked by my friends or couples I’ll be shooting to give feedback or recommendations on how they can go about with their planning.

So I thought about giving a rundown of helpful websites that Heidi and I used to find inspiration and direction for our wedding. I believe that Filipino wedding suppliers are one of the best in the world and they are so capable at matching other foreign counterparts. Here they are in random order:

Weddings@Work(W@W) – Run by the dynamic couple, John and Benz Rana. It’s one of or if not  the largest and pioneer online wedding resource guide in Philippines. Aside from the site itself.  It has a strong forum network where brides can interact and compare notes for their wedding. Also, the W@W chat is a cool podcast where couples can know more about wedding suppliers that John and Benz interview.

weddingsatwork

Bridal Book – Is a creation by Summit Media, one of the biggest magazine publishers in the Philippines. It’s relatively a newcomer in the wedding industry but they have grown quickly. They provide good content and features to help give couples ideas and inspiration for their wedding.

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Rebellious Brides – If you’re the type of couple who wants your personality to standout, to go against the tide and be different. This is the site for you. “Being a Rebellious Bride, is about creating your own rules and your own traditions for YOUR OWN WEDDING because you feel it in your heart that this is what YOU and YOUR GROOM want and not what society, your parents, or the wedding magazines have carved out for you.” from the words of Kai and Mica who are the creators of this site.

Kai and Mica of rebelliousbrides.com

Bride and Breakfast – Site founder Janna Simpao describes her blog site ” Bride and Breakfast is a wedding resource committed to style, taste and beauty. We feature only the most stylish, gorgeous and magazine-worthy weddings in the Metro, tapping the crème-de-la-crème of wedding suppliers (both seasoned and upcoming), and showcasing inspiring ideas that can help make your wedding fashionably chic and character-filled.”

I kinda noticed that most sites are catered to brides in particular. What about the groom? When I got married, I also was very particular with the suit I wanted to wear and I scoured the internet for inspiration. Don’t worry boys, here are some groom-centric sites to help you voice out your opinion and for you ladies send this to your man so he can be more involved in your wedding :)

Well-Groomed –  ”The Guide to Tying the (Windsor) Knot” pretty much says it all. Well-Groomed is where men’s style meets matrimony. Whether you’re looking for examples of  real guys mixing patterns, non-cheesy groomsmen gifts, or easy, guy-centric DIYs, you’ll find them here.” – Darren Strong the site founder. I give lots of credit to Darren for being the grooms voice in a seemingly bride-centered wedding world.

Darren Strong of wellgroomed.com

Although they are not primarily wedding sites. They offer a multitude of out-of-the box inspirations.

Pinterest – In case you’ve heard about this site but you’ve been putting it off to join. Wake up! If you’re getting married there are so many hidden treasures for inspiration. Pinterest is basically a visual collection of anything you want to get inspiration like fashion home decor and weddings. Pictures are divided into “Pinboards” to make searching categorized and easier. Here’s my pinterest boards if you want to get inspirations.

pinterest.com

Style Girlfriend – This is a site run by a girl who loves men’s clothing. We guys should always listen to the girls, after all we dress for them right? I recently discovered this site from a feature done by GQ magazine. Megan Collins, the brainchild of this site, dishes out style ideas for guys from a female perspective. Again, I’d like to encourage the grooms to be more proactive :)

Megan Collins of stylegirlfriend.com

 

If you have sites that you’ve found interesting and helpful for weddings please share them on the comments section. Have a great week ahead! Hope this helps your wedding plans!

By the way! Here’s a sneak peak from my San Francisco Wedding that I’ll be sharing soon…

 

 

 

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We’re again included at W@W’s Top 10 Wedding Suppliers

November 1st, 2012

Weddings at Work (W@W) is one of the biggest and most influential wedding resource for soon-to-wed couples in the Philippines. We are blessed to be part of their Top 10 wedding suppliers for 2012. This is based on the votes of  W@W couples or site members, a big thanks to our W@W couples whom we [...]
 

weddings at work top 10 suppliers 2012

Weddings at Work (W@W) is one of the biggest and most influential wedding resource for soon-to-wed couples in the Philippines. We are blessed to be part of their Top 10 wedding suppliers for 2012. This is based on the votes of  W@W couples or site members, a big thanks to our W@W couples whom we have served. Also, congratulations to our fellow supplier friends included in the list!

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My New York Bridal Fashion Shoot

October 29th, 2012

” In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of,  Oh there’s  nothing you can’t do, now you’re in New York. These streets will make you feel brand new. Big lights will inspire you, let’s hear it for New York…”-Empire State of Mind – Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys I’ve been to New York City four [...]
 

” In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of,  Oh there’s  nothing you can’t do, now you’re in New York. These streets will make you feel brand new. Big lights will inspire you, let’s hear it for New York…”-Empire State of Mind – Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys

I’ve been to New York City four times already and there is always something new and exciting to see and explore. I chose the lyrics from Jay-Z’s Empire State of Mind song, as cliché as it may sound, because it really embodies what I experience whenever I’m in NYC. I really get so much inspiration whenever I go there. Walking around the streets and absorbing all the culture around me gives me a new perspective on how I see things. This always translates into inspiring me as a photographer.

In my recent trip last May. I made it a point to make a personal project, which, I believe every photographer needs to do periodically in order to sharpen one’s creative mind. I wanted to do a Bridal Fashion Shoot in NYC. The challenge was two primary things – People and Location. I wanted to work with models who are building their portfolio. Also, I was looking for a location that was not over used.

NYC will never run out of models since its one of the fashion capitals in the world but where do I find them? Model Mayhem  is a great resource for creative collaboration. It’s like a Facebook for creatives such photographers, models, stylists and make-up artist. You just sign up and begin connecting. A word of caution, moderators also do a background check and review one’s portfolio. We want to keep the site a place for professionals and avoid posers who just want to hook up.

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Union Square, NYC

Eventually, I was able to build the team after I made an announcement at Model Mayhem that I was looking to collaborate for a Bridal fashion shoot. It was an international team – A Russian, Canadian, New Yorker and Filipino worked on this shoot. Our first task was to meet and do a pre-production meeting and discuss what we will be doing during shoot day like the theme, clothes to wear and location. We met at the scenic Union Square ( a must-see area in NYC) where I also took a few snaps to study their face and body features.

Before I go on with the actual shoot. Here’s the folks that made this possible:

Svetlana Danilina – She’s from Moscow, Russia and pursuing a modelling career in NYC. She kind of resembles the actress Milla Jovovich, think Resident Evil movies. And when I told her about it, she told me she gets that a lot from people.  For more of her portfolio visit her model mayhem site

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 Alex Nazar – He’s from Quebec, Canada pursuing an acting and modeling career in NYC.

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 Reneé Strong – She’s a hair and make-up artist based in Brooklyn. We owe a lot to her since she offered to do the hair and make-up of Svet and Alex at her salon. Most importantly, she also had a few bridal gowns she invested in for her bridal make-up portfolio. It would not have been a bridal shoot without a wedding gown right? Here’s more of her work – facesbyredience.com

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Since Reneé’s salon was in Brooklyn. We decided to look for a location that was close by and she recommended Prospect park. When you think of NYC, one would always think about Central Park. However, there are so many parks that one can explore around the city and Prospect park offered a change of common scenery. I think my post is also timely since Brooklyn is also experiencing a revival of sorts since they also now have the Brooklyn Nets with their new home at the Barclays arena. So there’s a lot of buzz and excitement in the area.

It’s really a dream of mine to put together this fashion shoot in one of my favorite cities in the world. Enjoy the images!

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Thank you again Alex, Svetlana and Reneé for this cool collaboration! It was an honor working with you guys. If anyone would like to work on a fashion, beauty or editorial project. I’d like to make this also an open invitation with all you creatives out there. Let’s do something edgy and creative! Just email me or give a comment on this post on how I can contact you.

By the way watch out for the next blog post. I’m not yet done with Svetlana and Alex. I also had to help them update their model folios so watch out for that!

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Bay Area – Alameda, California Wedding : Michael and Angela

August 7th, 2012

After dozens of emails and a few conversations on skype, I finally met and shot Michael and Angela’s wedding last May 19.  The two met while they were studying in graduate school. Even if they were based in Washington D.C., the two decided to have their wedding in Alameda, California, which was Angela’s hometown where [...]
 

After dozens of emails and a few conversations on skype, I finally met and shot Michael and Angela’s wedding last May 19.  The two met while they were studying in graduate school. Even if they were based in Washington D.C., the two decided to have their wedding in Alameda, California, which was Angela’s hometown where she grew up. It’s really a small world. It turns out that Angela also studied in Manila till high school before she moved to the U.S. She went to the same school where Heidi, my wife, studied and they somehow were introduced to each other before.

Honestly, I really was clueless where Alameda was until I researched it on Google. All I knew that it was beside Oakland and near San Francisco. In my own description, Alameda is a town by the bay. The feeling is very laid back and it has a lot of old Victorian style houses. Even Coral Reef Inn and Elks Lodge where the couple stayed and had their reception, reveals a lot of history and gave out a rustic and homey feel.

This really was my first time to shoot a wedding in the San Francisco-Bay Area. The last time I was there was a quick weekend trip and I shot two engagement sessions in one day (Eric + Fritz & JT + Gucci). Everything felt new, different and unpredictable as compared to being in my comfort zone whenever I’m in L.A., since I’ve already shot two wedding there ( Al + Gi & Justin + Crisa ).

I am blessed and grateful to shoot Michael and Angela’s wedding. Everyone was warm and welcoming…I also need to give credit to Mike and Angela for being so cooperative and so “game” to try whatever I ask them to do to get a shot that I wanted to do…Again congratulations!

Ok, I think I’m talking too much already. I’ll let the pictures tell the story. Enjoy!

coral reef inn alameda

 

alameda elks lodge

Thank you also to Joel Ilao for being my second photographer for this shoot…I could not have lasted this day without his help. Also, here’s the same day edit slideshow I made which we showed during the reception.

 

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3 Reasons Why You Should Have An Engagement Session

July 12th, 2012

Why have a Prenup or Engagement Session? That’s the usual question couple’s ask me or I think what goes through their minds as they plan for their wedding. I believe there’s 3 important reasons: 1. We’re all about Memories These sessions are a way where a couple can show their love story. It’s a great [...]
 

Why have a Prenup or Engagement Session? That’s the usual question couple’s ask me or I think what goes through their minds as they plan for their wedding. I believe there’s 3 important reasons:

1. We’re all about Memories

These sessions are a way where a couple can show their love story. It’s a great way  to show to your  family and friends your personalities and discover your interests and  things you love to do as a couple.

engagment shoot at stilts beach resort in calatagan, batangas by erron ocampo

Heidi(my wife) and I love the beach, so we wanted part of our engagement in the beach (photo by Erron Ocampo)

engagement photography at The Farm in San Benito, Batangas

Maybe you love nature and you can have it in a garden or park setting

angel's knoll, downtown los angeles engagement shoot by carlo cecilio

If you love a particular place or frequent area you go to like this one.

2. Practice makes perfect

It’s a great way to bond with your photographer and get familiar with his or her shooting style. I personally love this time to really get to know my couples and develop a friendship. It helps me in many ways to create a more personal story through the pictures I take.

Also, if you’re type of couple who is not so comfortable with having their pictures taken, this is a great chance to practice. I’ve seen this with some couples of mine and it has worked wonders during wedding day. I sometimes get surprised that they transform into being almost like professional models after I am able help them be at ease in front of the camera.

Las Casas Filipinas Bataan Engagement Shoot by Carlo Cecilio

Just like in theater, you can have a dress rehearsal, so on the actual wedding day you can be like a pro

It’s ok to look silly, dress diffrently and have lots of fun!

 

3. Use them for your Wedding

There countless way to be creative on how to use your engagement pictures for your wedding. To get some fresh ideas check-out Pinterest, an on-line pin board of images and videos wherein people share their favorite ideas and things. Some common use are:  a love story photo and video presentation, guest book albums(where guests can sign dedications for the newly weds) and  framed photos at cocktail areas or reception tables, to name a few.

Here’s a sample engagement session you can show on your reception:

 

How about choosing location for your shoot? Spot.ph has come up with a good guide of places to have your engagement session within the metro.

These locations can serve as venues if you have no ideas in mind but i suggest you also research and try to discover new places to make your engament session different and creative.

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Coast to Coast : U.S. Weddings and More!

July 5th, 2012

I’m finally settling in with married life and it’s really been so hectic before, during and after the wedding. I’m blessed to have Heidi since we are both photographers and she understands the busy cycles of being a wedding photographer. I was in the U.S. for a solid month from May to June. It was [...]
 

I’m finally settling in with married life and it’s really been so hectic before, during and after the wedding. I’m blessed to have Heidi since we are both photographers and she understands the busy cycles of being a wedding photographer. I was in the U.S. for a solid month from May to June. It was quite an adventure since I went around the U.S. My itinerary was San Francisco – L.A. – New York – San Francisco – L.A. It was tiring going around but I believe it helped me a lot in sharpening my skills and thinking of new and creative ideas to shoot . I’d like to share a preview of things that I’ll be posting this month from my shoots there.

 San Francisco-Bay Area

Mike and Angela’s Wedding

Lionel and Courtney’s Wedding

 

New York

Fashion Shoot – Svetlana and Alex

 

The Bahoy Family

The Lee Family

Engagement shoot – Czar and Mavelle

Los Angeles

Fashion Shoot – Bernadette and Tish

The Sambilay Family

Engagement Shoot – Lory and Ryan

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Season’s Greetings!

December 21st, 2011

It’s been a while since I wrote on my blog. So many things has happened, good things, but I’ll save that for another post. Yes, I’m very much alive and shooting. There’s so many new and exciting images worth sharing. I’d just like to give a Christmas greeting to all. It’s a time for love, [...]
 

It’s been a while since I wrote on my blog. So many things has happened, good things, but I’ll save that for another post. Yes, I’m very much alive and shooting. There’s so many new and exciting images worth sharing. I’d just like to give a Christmas greeting to all. It’s a time for love, sharing and remembering Christ’s birth – our reason for this season.

But for now I’ll leave a bit of a teaser from my wedding last weekend.

 

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Mr. and Mrs. Ocampo!

October 8th, 2010

Our dear friends Erron Ocampo and Jesy Alto finally got married! Erron was one of our mentors in Imagine Nation, someone we really looked up to since he is such a naturally gifted photographer and a true artist. Jesy is also one of the top bridal make-up artists in the country. These two have been [...]
 

Our dear friends Erron Ocampo and Jesy Alto finally got married! Erron was one of our mentors in Imagine Nation, someone we really looked up to since he is such a naturally gifted photographer and a true artist. Jesy is also one of the top bridal make-up artists in the country. These two have been together since college and is a match made in heaven and we are so glad that they finally got hitched last October 5, Tuesday. These two were such a joy to watch during their wedding vows, they were like children – playful and pure, as if they just fell in love like yesterday…the way love , I believe, should always be. Yes! I’ll  always be a hopeless romantic.

Since I left for the US the day after their wedding and have been moving around to do my engagement shoots, I’ll post more photos soon when I get some down time over the weekend. For the meantime, here a sneak peak, some of my faves from the wedding. Congratulations Erron and Jesy!

Erron Ocampo and Jesy Alto Wedding 1

Erron Ocampo and Jesy Alto Wedding 2
Erron Ocampo and Jesy Alto Wedding 3


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Around the Corner…California + NYC

September 27th, 2010

With more than a week to go,  I’m getting really excited. I’ll be flying to the U.S. to shoot my first international wedding and engagement sessions. Meet Alex and Regina, whose wedding I’ll be shooting on October 15 in L.A. Their pictures above and below were shot by their good friend, David Sambilay.  I’m really [...]
 

Los Angeles Wedding

Photo by David Sambilay

With more than a week to go,  I’m getting really excited. I’ll be flying to the U.S. to shoot my first international wedding and engagement sessions. Meet Alex and Regina, whose wedding I’ll be shooting on October 15 in L.A. Their pictures above and below were shot by their good friend, David Sambilay.  I’m really blessed and thankful to these two for choosing me to capture their special day. Regina is a gifted graphic artist and website designer, she’s the one who designed my logo by the way. I heart their wedding site: Around the Corner, which she made herself.  See you soon Alex and Regina!

Los Angeles Wedding

Photo by David Sambilay

Here are my U.S. Schedules. I still have a few slots available for shooting enagagements/prenups or portraits sessions. Just shoot me an email if you are interested.

October 7-9 : San Francisco – Have one more available slot for a shoot session

October 10-17 : L.A.

October  18-22 : New York

October 23-26 : L.A.

To my couples, please email me if you have any concerns and I’ll do my best to answer as soon as possible. Thank you Lord for this wonderful blessing and I pray that you will make me your instrument to bring Glory to your name through the couples I will be serving and the people I will meet during my travels.

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Shooting in the U.S. this October

August 24th, 2010

I’ll be travelling to the U.S. this coming October to shoot a wedding and some engagement and family portrait sessions. I still have open slots available, send me an email for my remaining shoot scheds.
 

I’ll be travelling to the U.S. this coming October to shoot a wedding and some engagement and family portrait sessions. I still have open slots available, send me an email for my remaining shoot scheds.

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