DPP 0811, Day 29 – Megs

Beneath that handsome exterior lies a quiet confidence, which allows Megs to both blend into a crowd and stand out at the same time.

In this shot, I didn’t want to downplay his looks, but also didn’t want it to be the only quality of his that I wanted to feature. I wanted to evoke his contemplative side, but also wanted to hint at the playful nature beneath it. The strong lines in the chosen setting were used to elicit a sense of masculinity because I wanted the ‘handsome meter’ to point towards rugged and as far away from K-pop-boy-band pretty as possible.

A simple one-light portrait, which is currently my favorite from the ones that I’ve shot for this project so far.

Watching the World Go By

Galaxies

DPP 0811, Day 28 – Khristian

In the Philippines, the macho culture is still very much prevalent (thanks in part to beer and liquor commercials). ‘Real’ men do not cry, dance, or know that mauve is actually a shade of purple (and not the same color). I have been in earshot of too many machismo-fueled conversations between male students walking the halls of the university to know that things will not change soon. But, I have faith that the future will be different.

I dream that one day men can both be strong and vulnerable, powerful and graceful, and decisive and intuitive. And from what I know of Khristian, there’s hope for men yet.

DPP 0811, Day 27 – Mjane

Lately, I’ve been debating with myself over whether to stay true to a working style that I had developed or to trade it in for other trendier alternatives. It took me a while to end the debate (it was with myself after all), but at its conclusion I decided to continue to abide by the process that I had nurtured over the years —

At it’s very core, a portrait should primarily be about its subject. The location, composition and lighting come in second.

I hope that it will not only earn me some form of commercial success (enough to quit my day job), but that it will allow me to draw inspiration and fulfillment from it for the years to come.

The Return of the Outtakes

I have never been one to do extensive editing (especially retouching) in post. Sure, I process all my pictures as I shoot in a RAW format; but I realized that if I retouched most of the pictures (especially portraits) on top of my usual workflow, then I’d be stuck in front of the computer for days at a time. And I have always stood by my personal tenet to  never retouch a person’s portrait to the point where even her own mother wouldn’t be able to recognize her.

My rule has always been simple —

If the picture presents the person in the best possible way that they could be in real life (ex. a little less acne, a little more blush) and provided that any changes I make will only enhance the picture, then why not.

Well I didn’t really have a LOT of time on my hands, but I wanted to exercise my post-processing skills a bit lest they atrophy.

Keep On Shooting

From USC PE Festival 2011

These three words that call for perseverance and practice seem to come up a lot in my recent conversations about photography. However, I've also come to realize that they can also be a call to focus amidst the chaos and the demands of every day. A message that I believe should reverberate throughout our lives.

__________

*I may have mentioned in a previous post that the pictures that I shoot during events will be hosted on my Picasa page (hence the watermark). The link on the lower right corner of the above image can be clicked to view the pictures in the album.

Watching the World Go By

Beeline

DPP 0811, Day 26 – Chat

I try not to put too much stock in first impressions. I only got to know some of the most fascinating people in my life upon closer inspection. Being introverted, I could’ve easily shied away from a tornado of vivacity like Chat. And yet working with her on a number of occasions has allowed me to see other facets of her person; I especially admire the grace with which she handles her duties. Where it takes perseverance to make it through a long (and bad) day at work, it requires a rare optimism to make it to the end of the day with a smile on one’s face.

Watching the World Go By

They Only Come Out at Night

DPP 0811, Day 25 – Leif

In my experience in shooting people, no matter how practiced or (on the other end of the spectrum) unskilled the subject is at posing in front of the camera, at some point they’ll ask you the question —

What do you want me to do?

In Leif’s case, he was assisting me while I shot Aying (in the previous post), so the answer ‘Light yourself!’ was not only as good as any, but quite apt for that particular moment in time.