Bambi Got Fritzified

When my good friend (and fellow blogger) Fritz decided to pursue his dream as a photographer, I was in full out support. I've followed his blogs and seen his photos and noticed that he has an eye for color, light, and most especially, art. That's why when he took his natural talent to the next level, I really got excited for him. When he asked me to be his model in one of his practice shoots, it was a big yes!!!! Actually to be honest, I was raising my hand and volunteering already before he even asked. Heehee.

Fritz is not the usual blindly point-and-shoot photographer or just an average Joe with a camera and then clicks away 100 shots per minute and goes, "Pwede na yan!" or relies solely on photo-editing. He studies a concept, tries to see how we could execute it and make it our own, and sits down and talks to you as to how he exactly wants it done and lists them on paper or Powerpoint presentation.

Oh and speaking of crew, it was a team of two in our shoot here, no big crowds or huge teams. We brought our own outfits (No pullouts, take note) in our own suitcases. I did my own hair and makeup, and he did the styling, art direction, photography, and arranged his own lights. But I have to say, we did rock the shoot as I share three of some of our favorite shots.

And speaking of rock, here's a very biker chick inspired rockerish peg where I pulled my hair back in a tight ponytail. It was like I raided Fritz's closet here practically as he lent me his pants, shoes (love those Aldo boots mehn, they're like air), shades, and bag for this shot. As for the bra, that's obviously mine, A 200-peso black bra I sewed beads to.

The pants were a tad tight. Either Fritz is really skinny or I have been doing too many squats and lunges. I was about to freak out and say to the world, "DOESTHISMEANIMFAT????" But they did fit me well. Note: Must look at the men's department for awesome jeans. And the abs, I'm proud to say are real as a result of intense pole dance training and not eating junk for the weekend.

Prior to this shoot, I watched the James Bond movie with Grace Jones in it and I was so blown away by the bad Bond girl peg of the one-piece body suit peg. The high-cut of Grace Jones was a bit too much though, so I turned my 80-ish French cut bodysuit into something more conservative with boylegs. Lie down on them speakers and emote and PAK! From Bond villain, here's my love for music and dance.

That cuff was bought on sale and Fritz chose the cuff for me. Love how he understands and knows what things go well together and he made sure that no lock was straying and each crease was smoothed.

Bling it is as I pull my hair back again and let the accessories and bodysuit take place. My epic wedding headpiece goes with a bejeweled bodysuit in this fab headshot. The designer behind the outfit is my good friend Dennis Celestial. I love how the red pops out. It's currently my Facebook profile photo and I'm getting lotsa likes.

photo credits:
photography, styling, lights, and art direction: Fritz Tentativa
makeup, hair, and model: ME!
location: Bulb Studios

Fritz and I had so much fun in this shoot. Take note that I haven't been in front of the camera for quite some time like this but I loved how looking at the pictures, it looks like I had no rest era. Fritz made me feel very much comfortable and brought out all the best angles and assets. Afterwards, he gave me a bit of coaching as to how to improve next time with regards to modelling and what strengths to consider.

Thanks Fritz for a fabulous afternoon and looking forward for more shoots and shenanigans.

Industry Spotlight: Christine Day Lorico

Another feature on a photographer I love and whose work takes up majority of my book.


I met Christine Day Lorico (known as curlytops in Deviantart and Tin to her loved ones) two years ago from a model who invited me to collaborate with her. When she gave me the address, I found out that Christine lives near me. Wow! Another photographer from the South. Normally, I expect photographers with that much of a fan base (she's got fans abroad too) to bring a whole entourage complete with lights and gear but when I got to the location, I saw a curly-haired girl wearing shorts, a tank top, flats, and carrying a camera bag. "Hi! I'm Christine!" she smiled her bedimpled smile and gave a firm handshake. I remembered her ModelMayhem profile and it read, "Don't expect a whole entourage when you meet me. It's just me and my camera!"

Simple and low-profile would definitely be the first impression when you look at her. She's also very charming and I have a private joke to her that she could charm her way out of a parking ticket or driving offense. At first, you wouldn't think that this petite girl could produce pictures that could wow. But she sure could! As Christine narrates:

"Photography started for me when i joined Deviantart to learn some digital art tutorials there and browse the galleries. I've always been drawn to art. I guess I ended up uploading some vacation photos and strangers gave encouraging comments. That's really how it started. A kind word from strangers," she told me.

Extraordinary talent never goes unnoticed. Christine used to keep a low profile just posting her works of art in her Deviant Art page featuring self-portraits or shots taken by her then semi-pro cam. Looks like the kind words from strangers did get her far. Christine started out shooting with a semi-pro camera first, because she thought photography would just be a hobby that would just pass by. But it was one talent and hobby that got her heart pumping and she started leveling up now to fashion photography.

Venturing to fashion photography was a result of Christine's own drive to pursue her career to better heights. "I got restless. lol. I always want to learn and absorb everything I can get when I get obsessed with something. the next step I guess was fashion. I've been collecting Vogue magazines since I was fourteen anyway so it's no wonder that I wanted to learn fashion photography." Her fashion photoblog, Wear Your Lipstick Right features her work on fashion portraiture, which separates her from the point-and-click machine guns. Christine truly imbibes art in her work. With her portraits and photographs, you think Christine has studied abroad through scholarships subjecting herself to intense photography bootcamp. However, Christine's talent is just as raw as the salad on my plate. She never went to photography school. Everything she learned was through experience. Her works remind most people of lomo and fisheye, but she didn't knew the terms until they told her.

Christine works best with natural light, as most of her photos show. She has graduated from a semipro to a Canon d10 and Canon 450d, and a reflector, "na ginagawa kong pamaypay sa shoots!" she would say with a laugh. Oh did I mention she's already playing with lights now? It looks like Christine is now finally serious about going through photography, learning the technical aspect of photography from established photographers who are also, fans of her work. She's open to new knowledge and techniques and even sees and looks forward to the day she would be finally stepping to photography school.

Christine narrates to me the sign that showed her that this is what she truly wants. Funny thing was it was the day her camera conked out.

"When my camera suddenly broke, [and] I felt antsy. I took it immediately to Canon that same day. I found out that that was the last day of my warranty. 'Somebody up there loves me' that's the only thing that went through my head because I had no clue about the warranty. Then out of the blue without pursuing it, I got signed by two agencies consecutively. It also helps that everyone that matters to me seems to believe in me and help me. "


And who doesn't love Christine right? Not only does she produce excellent photos, she's fun to be with. Shoots under intense heat or on the middle of nowhere are fun. Imagine just driving around BF and then seeing an empty lot. "Ayan!" No diva attitude as to the shoot location, Christine has shot in a posh condo unit, an abandoned old hotel, or the rooftop of her old office and the office itself and producing fantastic images each time. I remember our shoot in her old office in BF. I got there, did my makeup, changed to an outfit, and in an hour or so, we were done with five layouts. That with matching kwentuhan.

So what's next up for Christine? I've featured in my previous post Christine's next venture, which is prenuptials and wedddings, a niche that's very much in demand here in the Philippines and one niche that's close to Christine's heart. Being the girly-girl that she is, her love for chick flicks and cheesy romantics has reflected in her work behind the lens, writing love stories via digital imagery. Recently, she was the photographer for my Jhojho's prenup and for my own prenup, I booked Christine to do the shoot (more on that soon). Christine has recently created a new photoblog, Bubblegum and Kisses for her works with couples, children, and close friends and family as subjects.

She vies away from the usual pose-y poses and creates a story in each layout, making each picture truly romantic and unique

As of the moment, Christine enjoys what she currently does, and continues to work harder and leveling up being the best as what she could be. Does she see this as a forever thing? Christine smiles, "I learned to accept my unpredictable nature." Let's stay tuned as to what surprise this new talent has.

Woooootttt! Landing on DPP Magazine.

With the year as young as a newborn baby, I always make it a point to insert a bit of work in the first few days of the year. For me it brings good karma. I dunno why, but it sorta does.

Anyhow, remember my first shoot for the year? I saw in Facebook that one of them landed in DPP magazine. :) That's me on the lower right corner sweeties!
Thanks to Aly Reyes, a photographer met at Manny Librodo's workshop last January. Two of his pictures ended up at the latest issue of Digital Photographer Philippines Magazine (look for issue #32!)

Here's the portrait:The Sleeping Beauty inspired shot is one of my favorites, in fact. And I got a lot of good comments with this photo. Thanks to Manny Librodo for inviting me to his workshop and Aly Reyes for this shot. :) I wanna hang this in my wall now.

Industry Spotlight: Andrian Jutba

After packing his bags and boarding a plane to Manila, young photographer Andrian Jutba has beefed up his portfolio with his fantastic images. Many of his models have gone to Europe, New York, and other Asian countries and use his images. Known for his preference for natural light, fantastic and sensual storyboards, and eye for capturing the right emotion of the subject, Andy's works have this kind of sensuality that leaves the viewer wanting more.

I'm glad Andy has agreed to be featured here in my blog. This isn't his first time to be featured, though, as his works have graced many online magazines and international blogs as well.

1. How long have you been doing photography? What got you to start taking pictures?
I've been doing it for almost 2 years now. What got me started taking pictures is I have huge interest in fashion and somehow being able to inject it with stories that can be seen in daily life would be interesting. But as time goes by, I am more interested in just taking good photographs with beautiful individuals, the ones that inspires me in some ways as a photographer. This is my passion really and it feeds my soul. Photography is the main denominator in my life right now. Most of the important people in my life, I met because of photography.

Screenshots of Andy's work featured in online magazines.

2. Describe the Andrian Jutba photography style.
Natural, Spontaneous, Sensual. It's about their faces, about their bodies.

3. Natural light or studio lights? Which would you prefer?
Natural light surely is the way to go since I always aim for the natural/delicateness feel in my photo, nothing beats sunlight.



4. Who are the biggest influences and inspirations in your work?
There's a lot actually but one photographer really inspires me is Nicoline Patricia Malina, a photographer based in Jakarta, Indonesia. She really is amazing, her photos really speak from the heart, all the drama, emotion, tension it really shows, she's one of the reason why I want to be a photographer and because of her influence to me I just got a tattoo of her name near my left ribcage, and did I say she's amazing?


5. How do you get the models to feel comfortable when posing, especially if the shoot is sexy or if you're meeting them for the first time? How do you cope with those that have a hard time warming up at first?
I just make the models feel comfortable with themselves. I have conversations with them while the shoot is ongoing. I make them smile and make them feel comfortable with their sexuality and things will turn out the way that you planned it, which ends in beautiful photographs. When I work with people that I don't have a connection with, it's a disaster. There are other people who are super uptight and weird and you'll feel like it's going to be a disaster.


6. How do you deal with competition?
Competition is always there and some are really getting rough but it doesn't affect me. I have this hunger for excellence, perfection in everything that I do, but there's no person I'm going to push to the side to get where I'm going. I want to create my own road.


7. How would you want to be remembered in this industry?
I want to be remembered as the young kid who has an incredible drive with his passion in life.


8. Suppose you were to get in front of the camera and you could choose any photographer you want to take your photo. Who would it be?
Hedi Slimane.

For more of Andy's work, visit his online portfolio at http://www.andrianjutba.com.