Trashy Chic

Hey folks! So some pretty exciting news this week!

You've heard me talk about this before, and now it's finally happening! I will by flying out to the West Coast on June 2! Finally get some real R&R with my family. :o)

Here's our travel itinerary for the trip:

June 2-5 Portland, 5-8 Seattle, 8-13 Alaska, 14 Victoria, 15-16 Seattle

If you guys are in the vicinity, hit me up! You could send me a message via Facebook or email me at im.matt.lee@gmail.com, I'd love to meet-up with you. :o) I officially get home on the 17th and I'm not sure how much internet access I'll be getting there so I'll leave this entry behind, one for the road!

This is a studio session that we had for Imagine Nation's Purpose Driven Photographer. It's a first of mine to work with studio lights but I'll definitely be dabbling in studio more often in the near future especially since my friends have opened up a studio along Katipunan extension. :)

So here are some photos from the series: Trashy Chic

Credits for the amazing (seriously!) dresses go to Carina Rodriguez and her team. These guys made 2 dresses from Newspaper and Garbage Bags in under 4 hours. Great work, guys!

Donna and Georard's Pre Not-uals

Here's the next part of the Purpose Driven Photographer Bridal Shoot. Meet team #2: Donna and Georard.  Have you ever seen a couple so sweet? They come close to what I'd consider an ideal relationship: accepting of each other despite imperfections, filled with laughter and good humor, and absolutely loving. :o) To top it off it was really easy and comfortable working with them! :)

Check out the album until the end and I swear they'll make you smile as well. Kilig even. :o)

You can visit the post on the first couple: Justine and Jacob here. Watch out, one last set to go for this bridal shoot! :o)

Cheers :o)

-Matt

Justine and Jacob's Pre Not-uals.

While I should be immersed in my readings for Friday's midterm exams, writing a new entry was the perfect excuse to give myself a well-deserved "study-break". Ahem.

This post just couldn't wait any longer. I've been excited to share with you guys what I've been up to lately so here it goes!! Last Saturday, I had the time of my life. I got to experience how it was like a day in the life of a wedding photographer. My friends from Imagine Nation held an afternoon Bridal Shoot for me and my classmates from the Purpose Driver Photographer Batch 14. As if the opportunity to shoot couples (not necessarily engaged yet, but they're getting there we hope :o)) dressed in the whole wedding shebang wasn't awesome enough, we had one of Philippines' most distinguished wedding photographers, Sir John Mateos Ong, to guide us through the entire day. Really, nothing could match up to this opportunity and it was only through Imagine Nation and with the help of our friends that it was all made possible. 

There were a lot of couples at the shoot that day so I'm gonna package and deliver the photos batch by batch. (Imagine 5 sets of brides and grooms running around the building) So if this were an episode of the Amazing Race, here's team #1: Justine, a preschool teacher and Jacob, a doctor-to-be. These two have been together for 3 years and they're in it for the long haul. But just a disclaimer folks, these aren't their engagement photos yet and was done just for us to shoot couples (It's practice for the real thing, I told them ;) Reserve your congratulations for the near future.)  Justine and Jacob were so easy to work with and what I loved was that they brought their ideas onto the table. We were able to use a lot of the poses they suggested and I think that made the photos more personal and special. A mental note for spouses-to-be :o) So without further ado, here are Justine and Jacob!

Bonus (5 points): Wanna know the secret behind the success of their relationship? :o)

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Tada! It's Teddy Grahams! It was our constant companion throughout the shoot so we just had to get some shots of the biscuits with our couple :o)

Here's the box of Teddy Grahams proxying for Justine's bouquet :o)

Part 2 awaits!! Until next time :o)

-Matt

What's going on in this photo?

Why is our model bride, Justine Ana holding a box of Teddy Grahams? Looks fishy, or should I say grizzly. :oP Find out in the next entry!

Coming Soon...

Annika Turns 1

What every kid dreams of (and every dentist dreads) is to celebrate their first birthday in Candyland! You could imagine the reactions of Annika's guests when they entered through candy cane arches to see thousands of balloons, gumball machines and...a candy buffet!! Sugar and kids make for a energetic afternoon (trust me). Now if you have sugar and a photographer, then it's a real party!

Thanks to Auntie Meme, Yvette and Uncle Ton! I enjoyed covering the party so much! :o)

Have You Met Lauren Laudico?

Meet Lauren Laudico. You know she looks familiar. That's because you've seen her before in Mestizas vs Morenas, Lady in the Water and The Early in Modern and you know you loved her from the very start just like I did. In this shoot, we're putting Lauren on center stage and she's just working the socks off it! Each photo comes out better than the last! :o)

Some things you might not know about Lauren: this girl's an aboulute fashionista. She dresses herself during our shoots, and every look blows us away! A model and a stylist. :o)

Speaking of being versatile, don't think that Lauren is just another pretty face. Other adjectives to describe Lauren are Student-Leader, God-fearing, and Environmentalist. This girl has a natural affinity to mountain climbing. Don't mistake her for a maarte (Google says the English translation is pretentious) Atenista. This girl's so fierce she could hike in her 5-inch heels. Most importantly, this girl's got a lot of heart. When not busy with her curriculars, Lauren volunteers to coach kids at summer camp and advocates communications and production to the youth of Payatas with her org, the Ateneo Association of Communication Majors (ACOMM).

It's easy to see why I love this girl! Lauren just makes the world a more beautiful place to live. :o)

Count on seeing more of Lauren in the shoots to come. :o)

Modeling by Lauren Laudico

Styling by Lauren Laudico

Make-up by Pael Gutierrez